the uk's top medical adviser says the country is moving from containing coronavirus to slowing its spread. as the number of cases hits 90, chris whitty says measures will be ramped up. by delaying the start of a significant amount of commuter transmission, and by a variety of other measures that we'll come on to, push back the point in which we have the peak of this epidemic. it comes as a senior doctor tells of fears the nhs is not in a position to cope if there is a spike in cases. also this lunchtime... uk airline flybe goes into administration.

when did you first hear? early hours of the morning. got quite a shock? yeah. yeah, i thought we would be saved but not this time. as more air strikes in northern syria kill at least 15 civilians, talks are held to try to find some way out of the conflict. the charity save the children is strongly criticised in a report into its handling of claims of executives‘ inappropriate behaviour towards staff. and rain cancels play, meaning england are out of the women's t20 world cup. coming up on bbc news, the football association investigates an incident where eric dier allegedly confronted a fan who insulted him and his family in the fa cup defeat to norwich.

good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. the government's top medical adviser chris whitty says the uk is now trying to slow the spread of coronavirus, as the country is mainly in the second phase of its strategy to deal with the disease. the first phase had been to try to contain it; the second is to attempt to delay rates of transmission. the number of confirmed cases here now stands at 90. a senior doctor has warned the nhs is not in a position to cope if transmission increases rapidly. italy has closed its schools and universities, and england's six nations rugby match in rome later this month has been called off. our health correspondent sophie hutchinson reports. this is how south korea is fighting the new coronavirus. it has the largest epidemic outside china. in comparison the number of cases in the uk is still very small, but

today officials said they were ramping up measures as part of the next phase aimed at delaying the spread here. we will get 5096 of all the cases over a three—week period, and 95% of the cases over a nine week period if it follows a trajectory we think it is like to —— likely to. if they are spread out in the nhs over two or three years, that would be easily manageable but it is the fact they are so heavily concentrated. he explained why slowing the virus was important. he said it would push the peak of cases toa said it would push the peak of cases to a later stage when the nhs would be in to a later stage when the nhs would beina to a later stage when the nhs would be in a better position to cope. it would buy time for scientists to better understand the virus, and that as the weather gets warmer infection rates might reduce. the prime minister sought to reassure people today and urged them to take simple precautions. the overwhelming majority of people, who get it, this

is going to be a mild to moderate illness. and, you know, we are still at the stage where the single best thing we can do, and we will be like that for a long time, isjust thing we can do, and we will be like that for a long time, is just wash oui’ that for a long time, is just wash our hands. but the minority of people who do become very ill, the government has said an extra 5000 intensive care beds could be created. but the specialist has told the bbc that would not be possible. the consultant did not want to be named but it's understood his views are widely held by specialists across the country. he said there is no way we can increase the number of icy you beds by 5000. the only way to do that would be to shut down all elective surgery in the country and use operating theatres to treat people. and he said, i can absolutely guarantee that we will be rationing. it's going to be major issue. across europe the number of cases continues to rise with italy the worst hit, now closing all

schools for ten days. it is not a question of panicking, but taking the necessary measures. england's six nations rugby match against italy due to take place in rome is expected to be postponed. and in california the search is on for more than 2000 people who had been on this cruise ship after a passenger died from the infection. slowing down the spread of this virus is now a priority for governments across the globe. sophie hutchinson, bbc news. ministers say the nhs is well—prepared for an epidemic. our health correspondent nick triggle has been looking at the plans. it is likely the number of cases will continue climbing possibly for two or three months until it peaks. so how well—prepared is the health service? the nhs has quickly put plans in place to deal with the virus. most patients so far have

been sent to the five big specialist infectious disease hospitals in england. between them they can care for over 100 patients at any one time in dedicated isolation facilities. there are also another 25 hospitals across the uk with expertise and have started admitting patients. those with mild illnesses are being told to self—isolate at home. what if there is a surge in cases? this week all hospitals in england were put on an emergency footing and told to prepare. they may need to cut back footing and told to prepare. they may need to cutback on other work and have been told to work plans to segregate coronavirus patients. there are more than 4000 intensive ca re there are more than 4000 intensive care beds in total. what can we expect? most people infected have a mild illness but one in 20 could need critical care. during the flu pandemic, 2500 needed intensive care but the elderly had some immunity then to that virus. they don't with

coronavirus so the numbers needing intensive care could be much higher this time. can the nhs cope? there are huge pressures already. it has been the most difficult winter for a generation, arguably. nearly one in four patients needing a bed have waited on trolleys and in corridors this winter. and there are one in 12 posts unfilled. coronavirus looks to test nhs to the limit, particularly when the peak hits. our assistant political editor, norman smith, is in westminster. so the virus might test the nhs to the limit but ministers are trying to be reassuring? i think they really do want to try and calm things down because there is an awful lot of information that people are reading and seeing on the television, which frankly can be a bit overwhelming, confusing, even alarming. ithink

bit overwhelming, confusing, even alarming. i think the one thing the government wants to avoid above all is panic, so the prime minister today saying there is no need to stockpile food. he guaranteed there would still be food on shop shelves throughout this crisis. on the issue of whether the government would continue to provide geographical brea kd owns continue to provide geographical breakdowns of where the outbreak was occurring, yes, they scrapped the idea of abandoning that. the government will continue to provide a regional breakdown. it won't be a street by street breakdown but we will still be able to see where it is more prevalent. on schools closing, mrjohnson said the advice from medical people is that it isn't necessary at the moment because it probably only had a marginal impact on the spread of the virus. likewise with parliament there have been suggestions may be parliament would have to be closed. that was very much played down, the medical people saying it wouldn't make that much

difference. also many mps worried about the message that would send out if parliament was to shut up shop. even on the vexed issue of whether to shake hands or not to shake hands, mrjohnson waltzed into the this morning studio this morning shaking hands and said it is up to people to decide for themselves. the thrust from ministers is that we have to take sensible precautions, and washing and using tissues, but eve ryo ne and washing and using tissues, but everyone also needs to keep a sense of perspective and not to overreact. norman smith, thank you. the collapse of the regional airline flybe has left thousands of passengers hoping to fly from uk airports stranded. customers hoping to travel have been told not to go to the airport unless they've arranged an alternative flight. the airline went into administration last night, after a fresh bid for financial support failed. it puts the jobs of 2,000 staff at risk, and could have major consequences for some regional airports, where the majority

of flights are run by flybe. more on the impact on specific regions in a moment, but first here's our correspondent charlotte rose. this flybe flight may have been the last two land. been the last to land. the airline's collapse last night means all flights are now grounded, with the loss of 2,000 jobs. when did you first hear? early hours of the morning. it was quite a shock? yeah, i thought that we would be saved. but not this time. sorry. outbound passengers have been warned not to come to the airport, as flights will not be departing, but for some this morning that news came too late. we can't fly from here, there are no other airlines from here that fly to jersey, so you are looking at options like ferries or different airports, but with

jersey there isn't really that many options. i've booked to go to australia, via opodo, with singapore airlines, unfortunately part of the journey was with flybe. and being as they've gone into administration, it is up in arms. unlike with the collapse of other operators like monarch airlines and thomas cook, the civil aviation authority is not putting on flights to bring people home. flybe transported 8 million passengers last year, on 119 routes. for those now stuck abroad, other airlines may step in to help passengers return. all train companies say that they will provide free transport for flybe ticket holders. people with future flights are being urged to contact their travel agents. or their debit or credit card company, to check how they can claim money back. flybe ran into financial trouble in february last year. at the start of this year, they asked the government for assistance.

ministers said they would help, and looked at delaying air passenger duty payments from the firm. but now the company says the impact of coronavirus on upcoming bookings has made its future unviable, and already the blame game has begun. unions say the government could and should have done more. i think for the government to allow an airline of this significance to collapse in these circumstances is its first real test of going from campaigning to the realities of government, and it's a real test of its levelling up agenda, so we will be asking some searching questions about why this has happened so quickly find what this means for the communities, and our members, directly. but ministers say it is down to factors beyond their control. flybe has had a challenging year, in terms of its financial performance, with a decline in bookings and increased competition. levelling up connectivity across our regions and nations is a top priority for this government. some regional airports say they've already had other operators express an interest in taking over flybe routes. but, for passengers facing chaos today, such

offers will come too late. charlotte rose, bbc news. one airport which has already been hard hit by the collapse of flybe is southampton, where 95% of flights were operated by the company. duncan kennedy reports. for 2 million passengers, southampton airport is flybe. not any more. nine in ten flights through here were with the airline. some passengers who hadn't heard the closure news turned up anyway. so, we've got a flight out, but then when we checked the flight home was with flybe, so we were going to go tojersey, and then be stuck there. it's just a sad day again. i used to fly myself, so i was crew, and you see so many airlines come and go, and it'sjust a sad sight. the airport employs 1,000 people, 200 of whom are with flybe. the mood at a staff meeting with management today was said to be raw. and this airport has another

really current dilemma. on the one hand it says it could survive if it was allowed to extend the runway, which would allowjets to take off with more passengers, so making it more economically viable. but on the other, environmental campaigners have objected to the lengthening of the runway because they say that will mean more passengers, more jets and more co2 emissions. flybe and its previous incarnations have been at southampton for around 40 years. the council says the government can't simply ignore regional airports. southampton airport is very heavily dependent on flybe. it has been for years. so government may need to step in to give the airport some support to keep going. regional connectivity really matters. that's not often understood by london politicians. they share that view about connectivity at belfast city airport, where 80% of flights were with flybe. we are an island off an island,

so hs2 and such don't help us, so it's vitally important that we quickly re—establish that connectivity. back at southampton today, the airport's anti—stress dogs switched from helping nervous passengers to easing the concerns of staff. around a dozen took advantage at what is this most uncertain of times. duncan kennedy, bbc news, southampton. in a moment, we'll talk to our correspondents in belfast, edinburgh and cardiff. but first, katie austin is in exeter. yes, i'm at exeter airport where flybe is actually based. it was an important link for people and businesses in the south—west to other parts of the uk and europe. council leaders have called the news today a hammer blow for the area's economy. most of the flights set to depart from exeter where flybe flights. when you look at the departure board, you see the impact of all of those planes being grounded. a sea of red, as they were

all cancelled. very few flights out of exeter, today, at all. there have not been many staff hanging around the airport, but we have managed to speak to some, cabin crew, i spoke to were upset, they said all of the staff were very sad and feeling uncertain at this time. we have also been speaking to exeter airport's managing director. he said that there had been discussions with other airlines about potentially taking over some of the many routes that flybe leaves vacant, but it remains to be seen whether all of those can continue in future without flybe. at george best belfast city airport, the flybe desk behind me is empty but it is usually busy because the airline has operated 14 routes out of this airport, flying 1.6 million passengers every year. the loss of this is particularly unique

for northern ireland which finds itself in the unique position geographically and politically. diane dodds, the dup economy minister said maintaining air connectivity between northern ireland and great britain is absolutely vital and sinn fein have said this loss is devastating for businesses, for the economy and of course more commuters. many people commute to other parts of the uk every week, and students, there are 17,000 northern irish students based studying across the uk, some in places that are only served by air, by flybe, so overall this is usually damaging for northern ireland, because other viable transport options are really not available. this ceo of belfast city airport has said the 14 roots here are all profitable and strong and they expect some good news in the next couple of days, or even sooner than that, for all of the people that work here and use belfast city

airport. staff from the administrators are sitting at the check—in desk giving advice to flybe customers and a sign of how quick and unforgiving this process has been is that the flybe signs on the walls behind them have already been painted over. in truth, those decks have been eerily quiet this morning. the advice to passengers was to not travel to the airport. the vast majority have taken that advice. as far as the wider impact is concerned, scotland's transport secretary has described flybe as essential to business and tourism, the airline flew from scotland's four major airports and at aberdeen it accounted for around one third of their business. hundreds of members of staff from flybe based in scotla nd of staff from flybe based in scotland have been affected by this. the scottish government say that they will support them. they are also looking at the scottish carrier loganair taking over some of the routes but there is an immediate problem for many people how to get to where they are going. the

ra i lwa ys to where they are going. the railways offer one solution, the operators of the east coast and west coast main line providing free travel for flybe customers providing that they can show their ticket. at cardiff airport there is real concern over what this will mean for connecting wales to the rest of the uk and parts of europe. there are six regular flybe routes that have been going to edinburgh and belfast as well as places like paris. around as well as places like paris. around a quarter of all of the passengers he flew from cardiff last year on flybe flights, but the very last flight flybe flights, but the very last flight landed in dublin last night, the return flight cancelled, of course. not many people turning up at the airport, the attention going to have to get those people back in the air, over the to have to get those people back in the air, overthe next to have to get those people back in the air, over the next year. there's an offer for people with boarding passes to use transport for wales trains but that will not help if you had a flight booked to get to jersey. interestingly cardiff airport is owned by the welsh labour government. so the taxpayer has a sta ke government. so the taxpayer has a stake in this, making sure this

airport remains viable. the chief executive says conversations are on going all the time about getting other companies in, but that may need incentives, particularly if it involves bigger aircraft than the ones flybe operate with. thank you to our correspondence in exeter, edinburgh, belfast and cardiff. our top story this lunchtime: the authorities are focusing on slowing the spread of coronavirus as the country moves into the next phase of the strategy to curb the disease. and why england were knocked out of the women's t20 cricket world cup, without bawling a single ball. england set out for revenge against the usa as they begin the defence of the shebelieves cup in america.

the leaders of turkey and russia are holding talks in moscow to try to ease tensions which threaten to bring the two countries into direct conflict in the civil war in syria. turkey, which is backing anti—syrian government rebels, is hoping to agree a rapid ceasefire in idlib, in the north—west — where they are trying to push back syrian government forces, which are supported by russia. paul adams has sent this report from the turkish—syrian border. diplomacy in a distant capital, fresh carnage here. fleeing civilians, among the million displaced in three months, had sought shelter in this chicken farm. last night, while they slept, it was hit twice. rebel sources say it was a russian jet. more than a dozen people died, including women and children. until now, i don't know anything about my family. my father survived his initial injuries, but the warplanes returned and hit us again. he died. there he is. now there is just my mum, my sister and my brother,

and they still haven't been able to retrieve them from the rubble. hours later, and the turkish leader arrived in moscow, determined to drive a hard bargain. his army is now heavily involved in the fighting. he has lost more than 50 soldiers in a month. he can't afford to come home empty—handed. both leaders have a lot at stake in idlib. vladimir putin supports syria's president, basharal—assad, but doesn't want a direct confrontation with turkey. president erdogan doesn't want a confrontation, either, but he fears a fresh influx of refugees on top of the 4 million his country already hosts. there is talk of a new ceasefire, but russia, which has forces on the ground in key areas once agreed to the regime giving up all its recent gains. mr putin also wants turkey to disband the main rebel group, which it regards as a terrorist organisation. it should have happened under the terms of an earlier agreement.

it is hard to see it happening now. on turkey's other border, more uncertainty about the fate of migrants and refugees encouraged to leave for europe, and yesterday tear—gassed by greek police. having bussed them to the border, turkey says it won't let them back, and is deploying a thousand special police to stop them. they are trapped. paul adams, bbc news, turkey. the eu's chief negotiator has warned that it won't be "business as usual" when the brexit transition period ends in december. speaking at the end of the first week of trade talks, michel barnier said reaching a deal between the uk and the eu would be challenging. damian grammaticas in brussels. it sounds like he is going to drive a hard bargain. macritchie. we have

a hard bargain. macritchie. we have a problem with the audio on that line, i'm so sorry. —— no an investigation of the charity save the children by the charity commission over claims of sexual harassment has found serious failings in the way it handled the allegations, which involved two senior executives between 2012 and 2015. the former chief executive, justin forsyth, and the policy director, brendan cox — who was the husband of the murdered mpjo cox — were both at the centre of harassment complaints. naomi grimley reports. the entire charitable sector was up two years ago following revelations that oxfam staff had used prostitutes in the aftermath of the 2010 haiti earthquake. save the children wasn't implicated in that, but it still suffered reputational damage because of its workplace culture in london. two executives, justin forsyth, here on the left, and brendan cox on the right, allegedly behaved inappropriately to

female staff members but, in 2015, they were then allowed to move onto otherjobs outside the charity, without facing any formal sanctions. this woman once interrupted a government conference on the aid sector arguing that it had a long way to go in reforming itself. she worked at save the children at the time and raise concerns. bullying was rife, and it was very clear it was rife, and it was very clear it was coming from the people at the top, so where do you go to in an organisation where you have senior staff setting the tone for behaviour, and when the behaviour has turned into inappropriate sexual behaviour, there was nowhere for us to go. the charity commission says save the children acted poorly by not reporting the allegations will lead to the watch though, especially not flagging up that its then ceo, mr forsyth, was implicated. the woman who made complaints, and there we re

woman who made complaints, and there were a woman who made complaints, and there were a number of them, complained about inappropriate behaviour that left them feeling uncomfortable, and thatis left them feeling uncomfortable, and that is why we say that these allegations should have been investigated properly. today at the save the children offices, they were keen to stress that they are ashamed of what happened. we fully accept the findings of the charity commission report, we are sorry for what these women went through, we got it wrong, we do lots of work since then to put in place a much stronger systems to work on the values and behaviours that underpinned the organisation. we are not complacent, we need to keep working on this but we are very committed to do so. the sexual harassment scandal at the london offices of save the children caused a much loved brand a great deal of reputational damage. it also cost it a lot of money as it promised not to bid for government bonds, until it had put its own house in order. save the children now wants to move on, but there are still calls for the current chief executive to resign,

asa sign current chief executive to resign, as a sign that the charity has properly learned its lesson. naomi grimley, bbc news. profits at the john lewis partnership plunged by nearly a quarter last year. in response, the company, which also owns waitrose, has cut its staff bonus to 2%, the lowest since 1953. it caps a tough year for the group, which has warned it may have to close some stores. our business correspondent, emma simpson, reports. three, two... nearly a decade ago, and john lewis partners were celebrating a whopping annual bonus. 18%! it seems incredible now. it has been falling steadily in recent years. today, it was just 2%. better than nothing. john lewis knows it needs to keep the employees who own this business onside. on the one hand, they have had a terrible year. on the other hand, john lewis‘ competitive edge in the marketplace is based on customer service.

it is based on its people, the superiority of its staff, and their commitment, and retaining that at its levels of the past is really difficult if you cut their remuneration. waitrose did all right. it is these big department stores which are under real pressure. just two years ago, john lewis was making more than £257 million a year. look at the profits today. down to 40 million. it says weak sales in home and electricals, investment in technology and higher costs were largely to blame. until fairly recently, john lewis seemed immune from the turmoil in retail. not any more. a new chairman has the helm here, just as this business faces one of the most challenging periods in its history. sharon white is now going to take a good, hard look at what needs to change, and that will inevitably include some store closures. starting with news today

of another three waitrose supermarkets to shut this year, putting some 400 jobs at risk. more difficult decisions lie ahead. emma simpson, bbc news. england are out of the women's t20 cricket world cup, after their semi—final against india was abandoned because of heavy rain. india were at the top of theirgroup, and so they went through without a single ball being bowled. jo currie reports from sydney. it was the wash—out that knocked them out. rain had been forecast, and it came to sydney's scg. england's optimistic eyewear making light of their predicament. an hour and a quarter after their semifinal was supposed to start, it was abandoned without a ball being bowled. and it was indian fans who were celebrating. their team progress to the final, having won their qualifying group. england paying the price for finishing second in theirs. i think it is pretty clear. no team wants to go out of the tournament without

having the opportunity to play in semifinals and finals, they are what you play for, and getjudged on and to probably not have that moment is pretty gutting. the icc doesn't schedule reserve days for semifinals in either the men's or the women's t20 world cups. however, questions will be raised about why these matches were played in one of the rainiest months in sydney. next up, australia, who, like england, had also finished second in their group and they were hoping the rain would hold off, for their match against south africa. and it did, as the hosts set their opponents a difficult target which was reduced because of the weather. try as they might, south africa couldn't get the job done. into a home world cup final! the defending champions through to sunday's world cup final. the duke and of ben rich are in galway for the final day of their official visit to that the republic official visit to that the republic of ireland. prince william tried his

hand atjuggling of ireland. prince william tried his hand at juggling as of ireland. prince william tried his hand atjuggling as the couple