i'm lewis vaughan jones in london. the headlines: world leaders prepare for the worst. britain's borisjohnson says many more families will lose loved ones to coronavirus. spectacular falls on global stock markets. wall street has its worst day since 1987, plunging 10%. i'm mariko oi in singapore. also in the programme: philippine president rodrigo duterte announces plans for a lockdown of the capital, manila, one of the world's most densely—populated cities. one year on, new zealand remembers the victims of the country's

deadliest mass shooting. it is 9:00am in singapore and 1:00am in the morning here in london, where borisjohnson has given a stark warning about the threat posed by the coronavirus, saying that it is the worst public health crisis for a generation. in france they have gone further, emmanual macron calling it the worst health crisis in a century. he has ordered all schools to close. in italy, already in full lockdown, with travel severely restricted, the death toll has passed 1,000. in a moment we will look at the worst day for finanical markets in decades. but first, here is what the british prime minister had to say about the human cost of this pandemic.

i've got to be clear, we've all got to be clear. this is the worst public health crisis for a generation. some people compare it to seasonal flu. alas, that is not right. owing to the lack of immunity, this disease is more dangerous, and it's going to spread further. and i must level with you, level with the british public. more families, many more families, are going to lose loved ones before their time. the french president has now ordered all schools, creches and universities to close from monday. he also stressed just how dangerous coronavirus could be. translation: this epidemic, which has affected every continent, is the worst health crisis that france has faced in 100 years. for the overwhelming majority, covid—i9 is not serious. but the virus can have extremely serious consequences

for those of our compatriots who are elderly or suffering from chronic diseases like diabetes, obesity or cancer. that's why, this evening, i ask all of you who are over 70 or are suffering from respiratory problems or are disabled to stay home as much as possible. stock markets have been hit badly, recording some of their biggest ever one—day losses. the ftse 100 in london closed nearly 11% down after the worst day's trading in more than 30 years. and on wall street stocks dived again, triggering a second emergency halt in trading, and even midday intervention by the federal reserve, but that failed to stop the sell—off. but what options are still available to the federal reserve? our business correspondent samira hussain gave her assessment from new york.

there are very few tools that the federal reserve has available. so the new york fed did inject $1.5 trillion into the market to try to calm nervous investors. and temporarily, it did. but what markets want to see is broader economic intervention. they want to see some kind of tax cut. others have been talking about infrastructure spending to try and spur more economic activity. but that would require both houses of government to try and agree on something, and as we know, in this very divided congress, we have yet to see any kind of movement in terms of getting closer to that kind of economic stimulus that us president donald trump had hinted at on monday. also making news today: 0rganisers have cancelled this weekend's australian grand prix because of coronavirus. the decision was made just hours before the first practice

session was due to get under way in melbourne. on thursday, world champion lewis hamilton said he was stunned the race was still going ahead. arsenal football club say their head coach, mikel arteta, has tested positive for the coronavirus, as the pandemic affects sporting events around the world. their match against brighton on saturday has now been postponed. the english premier league will hold an emergency meeting on friday to discuss future fixtures. the french football federation has called off all matches until further notice. shortly after holding the european premiere of the film mulan, without a red carpet event, disney has announced that it is delaying the full release of the movie. 0ther movie releases that have been delayed over the virus outbreak include a quiet place 2, fast & furious 9, and the james bond film no time to die.

and disneyland in california says it is closing its doors from saturday in response to the threat posed by the virus. itjoins a number of prominent concerts, festivals and other entertainment events that have been scrapped across the us. it is the world's second—most—visited theme park, drawing tens of thousands of visitors each day. it will remain shut at least until the end of the month. let's turn to how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting the united states. there was concern in europe and washington over donald trump's restrictions on people travelling to the us from 26 different european countries. that was on wednesday. now, there is disagreement brewing over how well, or how badly, the us is testing people for the virus. the united states has more the 1,300 confirmed cases, and there have been at least 38 deaths.

president trump has said the us‘s testing system for returning travellers is excellent. if an american‘s coming back, or anybody‘s coming back, we're testing. we have a tremendous testing set—up, where people coming in must be tested. if they're positive and able to get through — because frankly, if they're not, we are not putting them on planes, if they show positive. but if they do come here, they have to have quarantine. it will be a strong enforcement of quarantine. the key is you need separation. you need separation, or this thing takes longer

to go away. but the really important — and i think you can say this for a lot of countries, all countries, hopefully — it goes away. it has gone away. we want it to go away with very few deaths. we call it cases — how many cases do you have? relative to other countries we have very few cases. many major countries have a bigger problem than us. but the top us official on infectious diseases, dr anthony fauci, has been answering questions at a congressional hearing. he had a very different view from mr trump on how easily people in the us can get tested. the system is not really geared to what we need right now. what you are asking for. that is failing. it is a failing, and let's admit it. the fact is the way the system was set up is that the public health component that dr redfield was talking

about was a system where we put it out there in the public, and a physician asks for it, and you get it. the idea of anyone getting it easily, the way people in other countries are doing it, we are not set up for that. do i think we should be? yes, but we are not. earlier i asked david willis in los angeles exactly what the situation with testing was in the united states. the lack of testing kits, lewis, undoubtedly donald trump's achilles heel as far as combating the effects of this virus are concerned. the united states opted to develop its own test. there were problems with it, and that's left it lagging behind other countries. indeed, to date, it's been estimated that about 11,000 tests in total have been conducted here in the united states. compare that to the 20,000 tests a day that are being carried out in south korea and you have a considerable discrepancy.

and you heard their from dr anthony fauci, who is the leading expert on communicable diseases in the us. he went on to concede that this represented a failure on part of the trump administration's response to the coronavirus. the bottom line is that the united states doesn't know how many people here have the coronavirus, and it may not find that out for many weeks. and this isn't the first time during this crisis that we heard a difference in language and statements from the president, and then clarifications, shall we say, from different government departments or experts. absolutely, and that's played into the criticism that we've seen from the democratic contenders for the presidential nomination, joe biden and bernie sanders, both of whom today addressed the media and accused donald trump of mismanaging this crisis. they've both called for free testing and treatment of people who display symptoms.

the trump administration has also been criticised for its decision to basically ban or suspend the travel of people from 26 european nations for the next month. there's a feeling that that effort has been misdirected. a lot of experts here also saying that perhaps there should be more attention paid to equipping hospitals and making sure that they are ready and equipped to deal with a possible influx of patients with coronavirus, which some have predicted could reach into millions eventually. mariko, the financial markets in asia are starting to open. what's the latest? well, lewis, it's yet another brutal day, i'm afraid. japan's nikkei, i told you earlier, was down six — 7%, an hour ago, now

down six — 7%, an hour ago, now down by more than 5%. that is -- 996. down by more than 5%. that is -- 9%. that down by more than 5%. that is —— 9%. that is possibly the biggest intra— default since the tsunami struck japan. we are seeing sharp falls across the region, from australia, new zealand and south korea, but one factor affecting the japanese market in particular is the fact that the japanese yen is seen as a safe haven currency. so it strengthens at the time of crisis like this, and that hurts japanese exporters‘ shares, because it makes them less competitive abroad, and that is why we are seeing even a sharper fall on the japanese market. i was just talking to a guest about how these sharp falls remind us of these sharp falls remind us of the global financial crisis from 2008. but of course, back then we didn‘t have a virus outbreak. nor did we have all these travel restrictions, travel bands, that president trumpjust travel bands, that president trump just announced yesterday —— bans. that is starting to affect a lot of airlines‘

shares, some airlines‘ shares down 25% on wall street. and we are seeing slightly less fall here in asia on airlines as well, because they have been hit hardest so far. we will have more on that one asia business report shortly. you‘re watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: how the philippines is preparing to deal with an increase in coronavirus cases. also on the programme: we answer some of the common questions people have been asking about the virus. the numbers of dead and wounded defied belief. this the worst terrorist atrocity on european soil in modern times. in less than 2a hours then the soviet union lost an elderly sick leader and replaced him with a dynamic figure 20 years his junior. we heard these gunshots in the gym. then he came out through a fire exit and started firing at our huts. god, we were all petrified. james earl ray, aged 41,

sentenced to 99 years and due for parole when he's 90, travelled from memphis jail to nashville state prison in an eight—car convoy. paul, what‘s it feel like to be married at last? it feels fine, thank you. what are you going to do now? is it going to change your life much do you think? i don't know really. i've never been married before. this is newsday on the bbc. i‘m mariko 0i in singapore. and i‘m lewis vaughan jones in london. our top stories: world leaders are preparing for the worst. in britain, the prime minister says the country is facing the worst public health

crisis in a generation. we‘re seeing spectacular falls on financial markets around the world. the dow recorded its worst day since 1987. let‘s take a look at some front pages from around the world. there‘s sobering news in the japan times which warns a last—resort remedy for severe cases of covid—19 may be in short supply. specialist ecmo machines can be used to help coronavirus sufferers, but most of those available are already needed for patients with other serious heart and lung issues. singapore‘s business times says the prime minister sees no need to raise the disease outbreak response level alert to red. while prime minister lee says the situation in singapore remains under control, the paper reports he told a tv audience the outbreak

could continue for up to a year or longer. and the financial times reports on what it‘s describing as the worst day for london‘s top 100 companies since the black monday crash of 1987. the ftse ended the day down 10.9%. the ft says markets responded violently to donald trump‘s travel ban on european countries — one analyst described the announcement as "the most expensive speech in history." and those are the papers. thanks for that, lewis. as new zealand approaches the first anniversary of the country‘s deadliest mass shooting, prayers are being held in christchurch. 51 people were killed when a gunman opened fir at the al noor and linwood mosques, during friday prayers. this is what the prime minister said a short time ago. a year on, i believe new zealand and its people have fundamentally changed.

i can‘t see how you could have an event like these and not but the challenge for us will be in ensuring that in our everyday actions and every opportunity where we see bullying, harassment, racism, discrimination, calling it out as a nation, that is when we will show that we each individually have a role to play in making sure new zealand has fundamentally changed for the better. and that is what we must do. 0ur respondent had letters from christchurch. it's a day that is going to conjure up very, very difficult memories, mariko. and as you said, this attack of course devastated the muslim community and devastated the peaceful city of christchurch but really shocked new zealand. we have been seeing a steady stream of worshippers from both the al noor and linwood most making their way to the arena behind me. we are expecting large

numbers to attend the friday prayers today —— mosque behind me. we understand from the muslim community, people coming together, remembering this difficult day in solidarity with the rest of the people here. we have seen families, mothers, young children, but again it was on a friday during friday prayers a year ago that a gunman killed 51 people and injured dozens more. this has had a devastating effect. i‘ve been speaking to some young people this morning who say remembering it is almost as difficult as living through it because you go through these emotions. the banister has spoken about the support the government has been affording and has been offering the community, mainly of course on mental health and trying to support the muslim community. she spoke a lot about standing up she spoke a lot about standing up against racism, standing up against bullying, and making sure all of new zealand is united. she also spoke about

the steps the government has taken since that event, mainly on gun reform and the fact that after the banning of semiautomatic weapons, literary grade semiautomatic weapons, literary g ra d e style semiautomatic weapons, literary grade style weapons, more than 60,000 weapons have now been taken off circulation. she says there are more phases and that succumb but of course it is a very difficult time. it is to be difficult for families who have lost one —— but of course it isa have lost one —— but of course it is a very difficult time. more how on coronavirus. in the philippines, president rodrigo duterte has raised the country‘s public health emergency to the highest level in response to a rise in covid—19 cases. the country has a total of 52 confirmed cases and five deaths. but experts believe there is under—reporting of cases because of a short supply of test kits. 0ur philippines correspondent howard johnson sent this report. the authorities he is a practice social distancing to reduce the spread of covid—19.

for many, living in the squatter areas of the philippine capital, it isn‘t an option. this is one of the‘s most densely populated cities and there have been confirmed local transmission cases of covid—19. there is few busy areas like this could to accelerate the spread of the virus. the nearby hospital is one of the country‘s frontlines against the outbreak was that it was here the first covid—19 death outside of china happened, and where many other confirmed cases are now being treated. but a well—placed source inside the hospital says staff are already struggling to cope. speaking to the bbc on the condition of anonymity, the worker told i was the hospital doesn‘t have any covid—19 kids of its own for testing and would limit the number of isolation rooms. the hospital would be easily overwhelmed if there was a spike in cases. judge basin maximum of us might get infected and we could run out of the people who could ta ke out of the people who could take care of those who test positive. according to our

source, the hospital has a maximum capacity of 41 coronavirus patients at any time. we contacted the department of health but they we re department of health but they were unavailable to comment. due to be graduates are readying themselves to join the fight against the covid—19 pandemic. this class has been sought by manuel, the philippine secretary of health during the sars outbreak of 2003. he winds if covid—19 cases rise in line with countries like italy, manila‘s hospitals could be incapacitated. i think many of these patients won‘t be able to get into hospital. and they will probably be critically ill, maybe in their houses. i think what happened in wuhan, although it isn‘t very well publicised, is that when their hospitals could accommodate many of these patients, many of these patients actually died where they were. the regional head of the world health 0rganization head of the world health organization is now urging other countries do show international solidarity. we

need countries to come together to support those countries with limited capacity. so that they can also equally prepare for the large—scale immunity outbreak situation. in a bid to slow the spread of the virus, cool classes and domestic flights in and out of manila have been suspended. given covid—19 is already inside the city of 13 million, it may prove to be too little, too late. howard johnson, bbc news, manila. testing is the only way to be sure that you have or don‘t have the disease, but that‘s just one of the questions people have about the outbreak. the bbc has received nearly 15,000 questions about the coronavirus from viewers. 0ur health correspondent sophie hutchinson has been taking a look at some of the most common concerns. my dad‘s got a chronic lung disease, copd, and i would like to know, how dangerous is coronavirus

for people like him? for anyone with a lung condition such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or asthma, there is a raised risk from the coronavirus. charities are advising that people take any medication they might need with them at all time and really manage their conditions. the virus is dangerous because it attacks the tissues and airways deep inside the lungs. i‘m wondering if, once i‘ve had the illness and if i thankfully get over it, i will then be safe because i‘ll be immune? is that the case? well, the truth is we don‘t know, but it seems highly unlikely that you could get the coronavirus more than once. there have been a small number of reports from china of people who say they‘ve had it twice, but usually with a virus, once you‘ve recovered you have antibodies — and they protect you in case you come into contact with another infected person.

ijust wanted to know how long the coronavirus lasted on various surfaces? she coughs if somebody infected with the virus coughs in their hand and then touches, say, this cash machine, it‘s possible that it could become contaminated. and that‘s the same for this bank card and this money. it‘s estimated that it takes up to 72 hours for the virus to die on a hard surface, but it‘s slightly quicker on something like fabric. a huge amount is still not known. the first cases of the virus emerged just three months ago. but perhaps the best advice is the simplest — wash your hands with soap for 20 seconds, cough or sneeze into a tissue. if you don‘t have a tissue, use your sleeve. throw tissues in the bin, try not to touch your face and avoid close contact with people who are unwell. for most people, this coronavirus infection will be mild.

but for a small proportion, it is much more serious. these are uncertain times and we don‘t yet have all the answers. sophie hutchinson, bbc news. you have been watching newsday. i‘m lewis vaughan jones in london. and i‘m mariko 0i in singapore. stay with us. i will be back with a business news $0011. and we‘ll be in thailand, where the country‘s massive tourism industry has taken a hit in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. we‘ll ask what they can do to cushion the blow. and before we go, we‘d like to leave you with these pictures of a rescue with a difference in turkey. a 10—year—old boy was dangled into an oil well in the south—east province of diyarbakir to rescue a puppy that was stuck there. after pulling it to safety and washing it in a nearby pond, the puppy was left looking good as new.

no problem at all. that‘s all for now. stay with mariko. bye—bye. hello there. well, the weather‘s been quite unsettled really, often quite windy with a number of showers around. we certainly have plenty of these on thursday and this was one of those shower clouds spotted in the skies around the wolverhampton area. now, the satellite picture shows showers swirling around an area of low pressure that‘s just moving out to the north sea at the moment but that‘s not the last of the lows. we have another couple of swirls of cloud, one coming in late on friday and another one working in just in time for the weekend. now, if you‘re out and about for the next few hours, across northern areas, there will be further showers and at times, those will be falling as snow over the hills of scotland. elsewhere, it‘s going to stay quite windy. temperatures of the most part keeping above freezing but with a nip of frost

in scotland, perhaps northern england, where we could see if few icy stretches where we see those showers fall. the rest of friday morning, showers get driven down the north sea by these cold northerly winds and we could see cloud thicken and outbreaks of rain across wales and south—west england. in these two areas, we‘ll see areas of sunshine that is when moves across wales combined with winds coming across the north sea, we will get this line of moisture which will generate showers, more from merseyside down through the midlands to the greater london area. it could be quite slow—moving and could turn cloudy for a time as well. we got rains on the day across wales and south—west england. the aim becomes more extensive overnight and for the weekend, slow—moving weather front pushes its way eastwards across the uk so we will see rain at times across this weekend. the rain will be followed by showers. so it is an unsettled looking weekend and often it‘s going to be pretty windy as well. we‘ll take a look at more detailed forecasts and on saturday, a strip

of cloud, the rain quite heavy in scotland, easing off later in the day but that‘s only because the next weather system will be racing its way in, bringing more rain across northern ireland and the return of wet weather for western scotland, north—west england and wales across the day. the rain could turn quite heavy across the hills across northern england overnight. and on into sunday as well. with some fairly large rainfall totals. given how what it‘s been recently, this could provide a risk of some further localised flooding. as it moves into east anglia and south—east england, it will then be followed by showers and eventually, we will start to drag in some cool air across north—west areas as well. looking beyond that, we could see some high pressure develop towards the south, so it could become drier in london but it will become rather unsettled further north.

i‘m lewis vaughan

jones with bbc news. our top story: world leaders initiate tougher measures. britain‘s borisjohnson has called the coronavirus pandemic the worst health crisis in a generation. he warned that many more families would lose loved ones before their time. he said it was important to get the timing right for the toughest procedures. in total, ten people have now died in the uk with the virus. the outbreak has led global stock markets to record some of their biggest ever one—day losses. in new york, the dowjones closed 10% down, while european markets also saw double—digit falls. and this story is trending on bbc.com. england‘s football premier league will hold an emergency club meeting on friday regarding future fixtures. it follows arsenal‘s manager, mikel arteta, testing positive for the coronavirus. club staff who had recent contact with arteta will now self—isolate. that‘s all, stay with bbc world news.