tonight at ten, the government unveils a detailed plan, for what would happen in the event of a widespread outbreak of coronavirus. it deals with a scenario in which one in five workers could be off sick, schools closed, and the armed forces called in to help. i fully understand public concern, your concern, about the global spread of the virus, and it is highly likely that we will see a growing number of uk cases. we'll be looking at areas of public life that could be affected — including major sporting events. injapan, the olympic authorities say this summer's games are still going ahead, despite the doubts of

the country's sports minister. and on wall street, an unexpected cut in us interest rates amid growing concern about the economic impact of coronavirus. we'll have all the latest on the coronavirus outbreak — growing by the day, but still not officially classed as a pandemic. also tonight... the home secretary says she regrets the resignation of a top civil servant who made allegations of bullying against her. and a special report from antarctica, where marine life is under increasing threat because of rising temperatures. and coming up on sportsday later in the hour on bbc news, we'll have all the goals from tonight's fa cup ties, including the game between chelsea and liverpool at stamford bridge.

good evening. the government has published a detailed plan for what would happen in the event of a widespread outbreak of coronavirus. the plan deals with a scenario in which one in five workers could be off sick, schools could be closed, and the armed forces could be called in to support civilian health services. but ministers say it's likely the uk will be "significa ntly affected" in the coming weeks. for most people, symptoms would only be "mild to moderate". but health experts say the elderly would be most at risk. the evidence from other countries suggests that 1% of people infected could die. today, ministers revealed the number of confirmed cases in the uk is 51, and 12 of those have fully recovered from the virus. ourfirst report this evening is from our political editor laura kuenssberg. t0 "baby shark" tune: # wash your hands, doo doo doo doo doo doo # wash your hands.#

doo doo doo doo doo doo a simple instruction to us all. doo doo doo doo doo doo # use the soap, doo doo doo doo doo.# as catchy as the song that inspired this class in belfast. # keep them clean, doo doo doo doo doo # keep them clean.# 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 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. prime minister, are you telling people today that, sooner or later, all of our lives are going to be disrupted somehow? the answer to your question is, i'm afraid at this stage it is just,

i think, 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 80%. so, for planning purposes, of course we go up to the highest rate that it 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. with more than 50 cases around 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 that 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 a 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're 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 hit the economy in a big way. the bank of england's role to help uk businesses and households manage through an 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're already doing temperature testing. and the elderly are the most vulnerable. it puts people's minds at rest, really, you know. especially those that go into places like this. you get flu every year, 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. hospitals, like here in sutton coldfield, braced for what might come next. pods for patients who suspect they might have the infection to stop them walking the virus into a&e. the authorities hope that the best laid plans can avoid the worst case for us all. laura kuenssberg, bbc news. to recap, ministers say the uk is likely to be affected in the coming weeks and months. tonight, nhs england categorised coronavirus as the highest level of emergency for the health service. if the virus becomes widespread, non—urgent hospital care may be delayed to treat those infected — while recently—retired doctors and nurses may be asked to return 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're clear that if case numbers accelerate, new measures will be needed such as school closures. the key thing is to get the timing right for managing the virus. what we really want to do is to implement whatever is necessary at the time, depending on how the epidemic goes, goes, at the right time. over a 12 week period or so is probably what will be needed to do it, so we don't want to go too early. so what might that mean for nhs staffing? recruiting retired doctors and nurses to return 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 were fit. i think the goodwill that exists within the national health service and in retired doctors 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. i 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 to a safe level. there are plans for medicines and hospitals. under the direction of health officials, stockpiles of key drugs and protective clothing held by manufacturers will 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. in hospitals, nonurgent operations would be cancelled to free up beds. nhs england said if case numbers go up, all hospitals rather than specialist centres should expect to handle patients with the virus. so across the population, who is most at risk? experts say that 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 whom 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 and people who've previously had stroke, but also people who have 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 plan is to delay the peak of any viral epidemic. that at least buys precious time to continue researching new drugs and vaccines. hugh pym, bbc news. in an unexpected move, the us central bank has cut interest rates in response to mounting concerns about the economic

impact of coronavirus. the g7 group of finance ministers pledged action earlier today following warnings that an economic slowdown caused by coronavirus could push countries into recession. our economics editor faisal islam is here. why this tactic, and will it work? it is significant. we haven't had an emergency cut in us interest rates since the financial crisis over a decade ago. we haven't had a cut this big since the financial crisis too. but the stock markets in the us shot up yesterday. they fell sharply after this news, down 3%, down nearly 800 points. there are a couple of things going on, suspicion in the markets. president trump wa nted in the markets. president trump wanted this sort of cut. it will help boost the economy ahead of the election. there is also a concern that this was a concerted action by the us to try and corral other western central industrial banks to join in. that didn't happen, but may come later. there is also a suspicion that cutting interest rates is a rather blunt tool in

trying to deal with a prospective pandemic. it might be that the better option is to use tax—and—spend policy, target your intervention at those industries that are most clearly affected. we have seen tonight the world bank announced $12 billion of support for developing countries. there is a big concern over whether this will hit countries with health systems that are countries with health systems that a re less countries with health systems that are less prepared than, frankly, our health system. but all eyes are really on the budget next week. we thought this would be all about the long—term plan and levelling up, but it seems there will now be a lot of focus on the short term tonic to the economy required as these coronavirus economic fears grow. faisal islam, our economics editor. iran has announced another sharp rise in the number of cases of coronavirus. the official figure now stands at more than 2,300. 77 people are known to have died from it there, though the real figures are believed

to be bigger. in italy, the total number of coronavirus cases has increased to more than 2,500 — an increase of nearly 500 on yesterday. 79 people have died. italy is considering setting up a new quarantine red—zone near the northern city of bergamo — given the high number of cases in the area. 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 5,000 confirmed cases, and 28 deaths. and at buckingham palace, the queen wore gloves at an investiture ceremony today but the palace would not confirm whether her majesty queen was taking a precaution because of coronavirus. it's believed to be the first time the queen has worn gloves at a palace investiture. the japanese government is stepping

up tests for the virus in response to widespread public criticism because of the low rate of testing. until recently, japan was carrying out significantly fewer tests compared to other countries in the region. just five months before japan is due to hold the olympics, one senior doctor has told the bbc that because so few people have been tested, the true number of infections in the country could be in the tens of thousands. our correspondentjenny hill reports from tokyo. it's the tokyo the authorities want you to see. business as usual, gearing up for a summer of sport. but for now, the stands are empty, schools are shut and events postponed as japan struggles to contain covid—19. the authorities know they can't afford another mistake. they were criticised over their handling of passengers and crew quarantined on the diamond princess. six people died after

being infected on board. but now a new concern, that the true number of corona cases in the country could be far higher than reported. because like masatoshi, many citizens report that despite having symptoms and in his case having travelled to china in december, they've been refused a test. translation: if i did have the virus, i would have caused problems for my family, my colleagues and people around me. i wanted to find out as quickly as possible whether i was infected or not. i constantly wondered, "am i all right? am i really all right?" in japan's frozen north, a state of emergency. hokkaido has nearly 80 confirmed cases, the highest injapan. but even a government expert admits that the true figure is likely to be almost 1,000. and this doctor, who told us he's not allowed to test every patient with symptoms, believes the official

nationalfigure, more than 250 cases, is nonsense. translation: it's the tip of the iceberg. it's tens of thousands, at least. at least. the japanese government has said it's increased the number of tests and will continue to do so. it knows that the world is watching. the world health organization has named the four countries about which it is most concerned, and japan is on the list. all this just five months before tokyo is due to host the summer olympics. jenny hill, bbc news, tokyo. as mentioned injenny‘s report, tokyo is due to host this summer's games but today the japanese olympic minister suggested they could be postponed because of coronavirus. but olympic bosses insist they are still expecting the games to go ahead as planned. and the olympics is not the only sports fixture under threat. our sports editor, dan roan,

reports from outside the ioc headquarters in lausanne, switzerland. tokyo thought it was on track for the olympics but the build—up to the games is starting to be affected. the coronavirus restricted the city's marathon this weekend tojust 200 elite runners. 38,000 other participants told to stay away. so, could the main event really be under threat? today the international olympic committee met in lausanne, the most powerful man in sport insisting the games would go ahead on time. we remain very confident with regard to the success of these olympic games. i would like to encourage all the athletes to continue their preparation for the olympic games tokyo 2020 with great confidence and with full steam. with a budget of £10 billion, japan has spent years preparing for the games but speaking in parliament today, its olympics minister said the agreement with the ioc allows

the event to be delayed until later this year. given the cost and the scale of the olympics, and an already crowded sporting calendar, the ramifications of an unprecedented delay to tokyo 2020 are hard to quantify, and that is perhaps why the ioc here today seemed so reluctant to even contemplate it. but elsewhere in sport, the impact of the coronavirus is being felt. those in charge under mounting pressure to take the right decisions. before the olympics are football's euros — set to be staged across the continent but with league matches in italy and switzerland already being cancelled, governing body uefa today met amid mounting concern. the organisation are having conversations with the government all the time because they have got to be across what might happen with the leagues or other fixtures. but equally, we are very calm about it. with the government not banning public gatherings, next week's cheltenham festival is set to go ahead as planned but this is a worrying time for the sport.

it is frightening because it is the culmination of a whole year's work that goes into four days. while the organisers of the six nations have said there will be no further cancellations, one player now ruled out of the tournament is england's mako vunipola. the prop in self—isolation as a precaution after travelling through virus—hit hong kong over the weekend. dan roan, bbc news. so far coronavirus has spread to more than 60 countries, but the world health organisation has still not classed the outbreak as a pandemic. the last declared pandemic was 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. our medical corresponent fergus walsh. and there's more about the symptoms of coronavirus and how to protect yourself on our website. that's bbc.co.uk/news, and on the bbc news app. that has the same material for you and you can access it there. the home secretary, priti patel, has written to all staff in her department, saying she regrets the resignation of her chief civil servant. sir philip rutnam resigned suddenly at the weekend, saying he'd been constructively dismissed, and accused ms patel of bullying staff — a claim she denies. our political correspondent jessica parker is at westminster.

jessica, tell us more about the letter. this e-mail is a joint one from divitel and sir philip notman's acting replacement and they both say they regret his decision to resign put no direct reference to the allegations in a facing priti patel which he strongly denies but they talk about the well—being of staff, the importance of candour, confidentiality, courtesy between ministers and civil servants and it urges everyone to come together as one team. so what does it tell us? it shows that priti patel plans to toughen this out. she does enjoy the confidence of the prime minister but there was a cabinet office enquiry under way, albeit one critics claim lacks independence and sir philip rutnam plans to pursue this claim of this constructive dismissal. if it is an effort to halt this huge department away from the recent saga, the truth is this episode is not quite over yet. jessica, many

thanks, jessica parker at westminster. in the us, voting has started in the series of contests called primaries to choose a democratic candidate to face donald trump in november. it's known as super tuesday, because of the number of contests taking place, in 1a states including texas and california. delegates will then vote for their favoured candidate at the democratic party convention injuly. today, around a third of those delegates will be allocated. just under 4,000 are allocated across the united states. the winner needs almost 2,000 of those delegates to become the democratic presidential nominee. bernie sanders is currently in the lead, but prominent figures in the party have rallied behind the former vice—presidentjoe biden. our north america editorjon sopel reports from bernie 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 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 and i think that is in response to a real disgust with the 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 away. you think that is what bernie would do? oh, yeah, 100%.

that's what he's done his whole life. from here, in this remote, frozen wilderness in the north—east, bernie sanders has built a grassroots organisation that fans out across the whole united states. it's impressive. his supporters talk about ‘feeling the burn'. where we are now, it would be nice just to feel a little warmth. but the person who has caught fire these past few days is the moderate, joe biden. he won south carolina and now two of his big name rivals have pulled out to throw their weight behind him. i'm delighted to endorse and support 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, who's on the ballot for the first time. he has spent an eye watering near half billion dollars

of his own money on tv ads alone, and who knows what impact he will have. i'm mike bloomberg and i approve this message. 3.58lbs. here on lake bomoseen, they are announcing the winner. it's taken a weekend of 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. european leaders have agreed to give greece more than £600 million to deal with the thousands of migrants and refugees trying to make their way into the country from turkey. over the past few days, around a thousand people have managed to cross the aegean sea, most of them to the island of lesbos, where their arrival has heightened tensions. our europe correspondent jean mackenzie is there. for those who have made it across, what has happened to them? this island has already massively been

overwhelmed and there are now more than 20,000 migrants and refugees here and to give you a sense of how crowded it is, the main camp here has a capacity for 3000 so although 700 have made it to lesbos alone in the last few days, it has proved a tipping point. many of those who have arrived had been taken to a sort of holding pen by the port and are not being allowed to leave. they are not being allowed to leave. they are being told it is because the camps are full but some of those people have been here for three days now and are sleeping outside in this area and there are a lot of children there. given the numbers that you talked about, how would you describe the kind of atmosphere there is on the kind of atmosphere there is on the island ? the kind of atmosphere there is on the island? today it has been extremely volatile here. earlier we had about a thousand people walk out from the main camp to the port, hearing there would be a ferry that would take them to the mainland. these people are desperate to get off the island so when they found out it was not the case there was a

stand—off between riot police but skirmishes like this are becoming more common in what has changed in the last couple of days is the attitude of locals. a small group of people have become quite aggressive. we spoke to aid workers and migrants who have been harassed and some even attacked and in the last day or so, aid agencies have taken the decision to pull some of their workers off the island. there was a real sense here that everyone on the island is at breaking point now. gene, many thanks for the update. jean mackenzie, our correspondent in lesbos. antarctica is home to some of the world's richest marine life, but now the future of that wonder of nature is under threat. a record high temperature was recorded in antarctica last month — over 20 degrees centigrade. marine biologists are researching what effect this rise could have on the ecosystem, as our chief environment correspondentjustin rowlatt reports. 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, —2 centigrade. 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.

that's all from me. now on bbc one it's time for the news where you are. have a very good night.