this is bbc news. i'm martine croxall. the headlines at 20:00: 1a more patients who tested positive for coronavirus have died, bringing the number of deaths in the uk to 35. the health secretary warns that measures to combat coronavirus will disrupt the lives of everybody, and older people and those with underlying health conditions will be asked to stay at home. the protection of the vulnerable and elderly by asking them to stay away, to stay at home, that is in our action plan, but we do not want formally to say yet that people should do that. british companies are urged to join a "national effort" to produce more ventilators and other medical equipment, "at speed". huge queues today, as supermarkets urge shoppers not to buy more than they need, saying there is enough for everyone

if people are considerate. the eu warns its member states against closing borders, saying checks at frontiers are increasing the risk of shortages. in this moment of crisis, it is of utmost importance to keep our internal market going. good evening. the government says that in the coming weeks, it will advise people over the age of 70 — and those with underlying health conditions — to stay at home to protect themselves from coronavirus. the health secretary, matt hancock, warned that when this measure comes, it will be for a long period. so far, in the uk, 35 people have died, with nearly 1,400 infected. the health secretary says

he will ask manufacturers to see if they could switch their production lines to making extra ventilators for the nhs. also today, supermarkets are warning against panic—buying. we'll have reports about the situation in the uk and around the world. and later in the hour, we'll be asking some of your questions about coronavirus symptoms and self—isolation. but first, here's our home editor, mark easton, with the latest. the centre of leeds today, as the government warns we may be just weeks from asking britain's elderly to go into self—imposed quarantine. to protect those most vulnerable to the virus, ministers plan to encourage more than 10 million pensioners and those with respiratory conditions to consider isolating themselves for what may be several months. we do not want formally to say yet that people should do that, and the reason for that is simply this length of time that they'd need to stay self—isolated, stay at home, to protect themselves, is a very big ask,

it's a very long time. it is a big ask, a measure that poses agonising questions for every family. both myself and my wife have elderly parents who, at the minute, are relatively physically fit, but we've had to change plans with having them looking after our children. my mum, she's 87 now, and i've given her the advice myself to stay in and not go out. whatever they advise, we'll have to follow, won't we? so, we trust in them, don't we? the government knows there's a balance between shielding at—risk groups from the virus at its height and exposing them to the health risks of loneliness, anxiety and depression. i've got underlying circumstances and, yeah, i'm 77, so i'm right into that category and i don't fancy it. i do think we do have to take it very serious, and people to protect themselves. hasn't everything gone crazy? you're just walking around, people are going... constantly. some nursing homes are already

restricting or stopping visits, but what if you're caring for someone in their own home? the health secretary says britain will need an army of volunteers. every single person in this country is going to be affected and going to have to do things. if you are healthy and they are healthy, then please go and help them. the government's plan is based on reducing infections while increasing nhs capacity. this is how the virus might spread without interventions. scientific advisors hope the peak of the virus can be delayed, allowing time for the health service to free up more beds, train more staff and source more equipment. hospitals like this one in central london may soon run out of intensive care beds. so, one idea is to requisition what these days are largely empty hotels, for extra space, drafting in retired medics and volunteers to treat and support patients. 0perating theatres, with their supply of oxygen, may be used as emergency wards. there aren't nearly enough medical ventilators in britain for those whose lives may depend on them,

so the government is asking engineering companies to switch resources to making as many of those as possible. and tonight, it was confirmed that nick matthews, a 59—year—old former police officer from somerset, is among those who've died after testing positive for the virus. he'd previously suffered a heart attack and had been off work. ministers don't want to spread panic along with the infection, but they do want to prepare the country for some very difficult days ahead. mark easton, bbc news. 0ur political correspondent, jessica parker told us more about the criticism the government has received over their handling of the coronavirus outbreak. so, among the critics, the labour party saying the government needs to step up its communications, daily press c0 nfe re nces , step up its communications, daily press conferences, that kind of thing. one of the concerns that emerged over the weekend was first on this issue of herd immunity. patrick balanced the chief scientific adviser talked on friday about building up some kind of herd immunity, a lot of people getting

infected and then building up a level of immunity that could protect the population in the longer term. this morning, matt hancock the health secretary saying that is not the policy, not the aim. so mix messaging there. and yesterday, we had spilling out this idea that people over 70, vulnerable groups, could be asked to stay at home for many weeks, if not months. matt hancock clarified the situation this morning to some extent saying that is something in the action plan, not for a number of weeks, but it could happen soon. criticism being that kind of important messaging that affects people's lives very deeply, that needs to be coming clearly from the government. also, a lot of questions about why britain is taking the approach it is taking when other countries seem to be much more stringent in what they are telling people to do. yes, and downing street have said all along they are taking a science led approach. they are being led by the

scientists. and interestingly, the modelling that the scientific advisers are using that produce the data that downing street, the government are to some extent basing their approach and, there have been calls for that to be published so eve ryo ne calls for that to be published so everyone can see that. i understand that will be published in the coming weeks so people will see the science the government is basing their decisions on. but questions over whether the government is taking an aggressive enough approach. and within the uk, there are different measures. scotland already moved to stop mass gatherings of more than four 500 people and we went into saturday that the uk government will look to ban mass gatherings as well. and you have this particular issue in northern ireland and ireland. ireland have closed schools and colleges, northern ireland haven't, but there are calls that because of the nature of cross—border co—operation, northern ireland needs to be first on that issue as well. cobra the emergency committee meeting is tomorrow, what might we see in terms of legislation to make sure that everybody understands what they can and can't do? yes, a lot

happening this week in terms of moving from the government side. cobra tomorrow chaired by the prime minister. 0ne cobra tomorrow chaired by the prime minister. one thing we have had from the department of health, there would be more advice in terms of how elderly people cannot necessarily sell face rate, but socially distance themselves, so remove the chances or reduce the chances of catching the infection —— self—isolate. in terms of emergency legislation, we should see more detail as to what will count as a mass gathering, what kind of power is the government will adopt. 0ther things that had previously been talked about, for example, is welcome changing the limits on class sizes. so where there is a statutory class size limit of 30 children, you could lift that so more children can be taught by one teacher in the event of staff shortages. jessica parker. supermarkets are urging people not to buy more than they need, as concern grows over stockpiling. in a joint letter, 12 large food

retailers said they were working night and day to keep the nation fed, and asked customers not to panic—buy. here's our business correspondent, katy austin. queues for supermarkets and shelves emptied of essentials like loo roll, hand wash and long—life foods. pictures like these show shoppers aren't listening to official advice. how was it in there? absolute nightmare, to be perfectly honest. not a lot on the shelves left. no toilet roll at all. have you tried to stock up on anything yourself? yes, to be perfectly honest, just because everyone else is doing it. but they did limit us when we went to pay. it's a bit ridiculous. i can't find the toilet paper. i'm looking for toilet paper for a couple of days, three days, actually. supermarkets have had to adapt quickly by speeding up supplies, increasing warehouse space, and they're running online delivery services at full capacity. they're also being allowed to extend their delivery hours. but still, many shops are limiting the purchases of the most in—demand products. here at aldi, customers are being asked not to buy more than four of anything.

now, food retailers have written to customers asking them to be considerate in the way they shop, telling them, "buying more than is needed can sometimes mean that others will be left without. they are reassured, though, there is enough for everyone "if we all work together." the risk is that we alljust buy that little bit more than we actually need, and if we all did that, then that would cause more of a problem in terms of making sure that we've got the right supplies coming through the system. superstores may be selling out, but stocks are holding up better at corner shops, although they say wholesalers' prices have soared. today's letter from retailers is a plea to all customers to stop panic—buying, for fear of overstretching the system and leaving the most vulnerable without what they need. katy austin, bbc news. train companies today joined airlines in calling for government support, as passenger numbers drop because of coronavirus. it's thought the numbers using some rail lines last week were down by nearly a fifth.

as airlines continue to struggle, ryanair has suspended all flights in and out of spain. here's our tranport correspondent, tom burridge. passenger numbers are significantly down at peak times in major train stations across the uk. as the coronavirus spreads, more people are working from home and avoiding nonessential travel. i do a lot of travelling with work, and now we've restricted that to dire need only, so a lot of work is being done via the internet, conference calls etc. with what's happening at the moment, i think we're definitely, like, looking in a bit more detail and only going places where we have to go. so, yeah, i suppose our habits will be changing. the worry and expectation from train companies is that passenger numbers will continue to fall, so they're negotiating

with government and they want relief on payments they make to run franchises. some train companies were already losing money before the coronavirus outbreak, so with passenger numbers falling, drastic measures are now needed from government, i'm told, if those companies are to survive. all of our travel habits will, for a period of time, change. my grandparents have just gone away to spain, and they're stuck in an airport at the moment, wondering whether they're going to get back, so it's made me think about travelling, obviously. ryanair is the latest airline to cut virtually all flights to and from spain for the coming days, the airline telling staff they'll have to take unpaid leave. job cuts could follow. jonathan matthews was due to fly back home with ryanair tomorrow from ibiza. now we've read this lockdown that was supposed to start on monday has been brought forward and we're not supposed to leave, so all today's plans are cancelled.

this airline will temporarily lay off 9,000 of the 10,000 people it employs. tomorrow, virgin atlantic will tell the prime minister that uk airlines need a bailout of several billion pounds. the civil aviation authority called it the "worst moment ever", as travel companies fight to survive. tom burridge, bbc news. and we'll find out how this story is covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10:30 and 11:30 this evening in the papers. 0ur guestsjoining me tonight are the writer and broadcaster dawn foster, and the broadcaster and psychotherapist lucy beresford. close to a complete lockdown came into force in spain today, with people banned from leaving home except to go to work, buy food or get medical care. in the last 2a hours, spain has reported 2,000 new coronavirus cases and more than a hundred deaths. damian grammaticas reports from madrid. she's gasping, grief—stricken

and infected with the virus. last night, in this hospital, her husband died. today, doctors have told her to go home. there aren't enough beds to treat her — she's not sick enough, not yet. around her, trying to calm her, are her children, now at extreme risk too. they warn us to wear masks, keep a distance. spain is in the grip of the virus. everywhere, it's close at hand. milagros tells me the medics working double shifts are overwhelmed and fearful of being infected themselves. translation: it's so hard, you go home and you cannot get close to your child or husband, but it's what we have to do. and this is that frustration boiling over. "don't come to the hospital if your symptoms are mild," the doctor says. "people have to stop flooding emergency rooms." and so, spain has ordered

everyone off the streets. madrid, a major european capital — silent. the police tell anyone they see to go home. unseen, the virus is propagating, and also the anxiety. so, this is what happens when a country really starts to fear the threat posed by the virus. this is part of madrid's financial district, and take a look down here, one of the biggest avenues through the city. just two days ago, this was thronged — now, almost empty. you're only allowed out to buy food or go to work. petrol stations are one of the few places that are open, and people have to keep a distance. but spain was slower to do this than italy. they should have put up the measures before because, i mean, we're neighbours.

it was impossible that it was not going to spread to here, so... and last night, this happened. applause, all across spain, to thank the country's doctors. they came out of their clinics forjust a few minutes to acknowledge the gesture. then got back to work, trying to save hundreds more from succumbing to the virus. damian grammaticas, bbc news, madrid. us airports have been thrown into chaos, as new coronavirus health screening measures for people returning from mainland europe come into force. long queues formed, as travellers waited for hours for the screenings, before passing through customs. the uk government is advising against all—but—essential travel to the united states. let's speak to our north america correspondent, peter bowes, who's in los angeles. peter, tell us how the airports are trying to cope. well, they are trying, but they have really been overwhelmed in the last few hours,

largely by the number of americans returning home. some curtailing their travels, coming home early, anticipating perhaps that things will get worse in the coming weeks and that they might be stranded overseas. and they are being screened at select airports around the country including in dallas, new york and chicago. and the queues are incredibly long. we have heard of some people standing in line for maybe six or even seven hours as they get screened to varying degrees depending on where they have been, and those exhibiting symptoms are given medical treatment or at least told where to go to get medical treatment. everyone is being tested for their temperature. this is a scenario the airports just did not anticipate so quickly. and itjust resulted in these extremely long delays. the federal government says it will, as it puts it, increase capacity at these airports to cope with the situation. it is going to

ta ke with the situation. it is going to take time, though. it is because they have decided to introduce more stringent restrictions on where people can come into the states from. yes, that's right. the first announcement came last wednesday, when there was a restriction on non—us nationals from europe. now, thatis non—us nationals from europe. now, that is being extended to the uk and irish citizens from midnight eastern time in the us on monday, so a little earlier in the day in the uk, which means that those citizens specifically from the uk will not be able to travel into the united states. the main problem today is caused by americans, it seems, coming back to the country. a lot of them simply scared to be away from home, they feel it is the safest place to be. and they don't want to be abroad during this time. peter, for the moment, thank you very much, from la. let's take a look at some of the other updates on coronavirus around the world. france recorded 29 additional

coronavirus deaths — the biggest one—day increase in the country since the outbreak, bringing the total death toll there to 120. south africa has closed its borders to "high—risk" countries, which include italy, the us and the uk among others — that comes into effect on the 18th march. and ireland will shut all pubs from midnight tonight for two weeks, meaning they'll be closed on st patrick's day, which is on tuesday. germany is the latest european country to announce new restrictions to protect its residents from the coronavirus. there will be checks at its borders with austria, france, switzerland, denmark and luxembourg. i am nowjoined by timm 0pitz, from the solidarity network germany. the group has started a campaign to help the most vulnerable, in the age of corona. timm, thank you forjoining us, this has happened very quickly, how did it begin? well, we can say that on monday, they are going to shut down

the schools and this was announced some days before. yes, that is why we are now in a situation where we really have to act in solidarity. we are now in a situation where we really have to act in solidaritym began with a tweet, i believe, neighbourhood kindness. then people came together to offer to help. what are you offering to do? exactly, well, it is quite easy. we just have a leaflet where we are just offering we can go to help go into shops and the supermarket. we can help to take out a dog or get the medicine. and we also think it is necessary to help workers who are not allowed to leave their working place. to support them with their children. who in particular are you trying to support? well, in general, we aim to support? well, in general, we aim to support our neighbours who are older than 60 because they are mostly affected by the coronavirus. but also, other workers affected by the situation, because they cannot leave

work because at the end of the month, they all have to turn around each coin and they are frightened if they leave work now, they may lose theirjobs. to what extent are you a citizens of germany stepping in to fill gaps left by the government? yes, that is a true situation. and this has to do a lot with the health system in germany, where there had been big discussions in the last yea r‘s been big discussions in the last year's already and even discussions about diminishing the hospitals, having less hospitals. well, we think that is a necessity to have more nurses and a better situation for nurses and if we have done this better before, we would not be in the situation right now where it is necessary to really support us inside the neighbourhood. so, how likely is it, do you think, that this network will spread across the whole country? well, we have to start with a single place and then

it has to spread. we are organised in several cities of germany and we can see that at least on social media they are organising a lot of groups, thousands of people, who really are ready in groups, facebook, and we think it is something that everyone can do in their own house and their own building. yes, it is necessary and it is possible for everyone. well, it is possible for everyone. well, it seems like similar things are happening here in the uk. it is very heartening to hear. timm 0pitz, from solidarity network germany, thank you for talking to us. thank you. italians are embracing life under lockdown by taking to their windows, balconies and terraces, from where they've played instruments and burst into song. music: volare this latest neighbourhood performance was in the borgo area of central rome.

volare, by dominico modugno. that is one way to keep entertained! well, as some in the uk self—isolate, let's see how perrie edwards, from little mix, and her partner, the liverpool footballer alex 0xlade—chamberlain. have been spending their time. careful on those stairs! all the latest developments on coronavirus — and advice such as symptoms to look out for — are all on the bbc news website, bbc.co.uk/news, or via the bbc news app. sport, and for a full round—up, from the bbc sport centre, here's... katy. far less to report on at the moment! yes, and afraid so! with a host of sporting events

called off over the weekend due to the coronavirus, it's understood that premiership rugby are considering a number of options. including a 12—week suspension of top—flight matches because of the pandemic. the pro 1a — that includes clubs from wales, scotland and ireland — have already postponed fixtures. a meeting will take place tomorrow with premiership clubs to discuss what to do next. how long the postponement is for is up how long the postponement is for is up in the air. it will be discussed on monday. it could be four weeks, it could be as many as ten or 12 weeks, but there is a feeling in premiership rugby that continuing to play in the current climate is simply unfeasible. so that coal will be made in the next day or two and i am also hearing that european cup by am also hearing that european cup rugby will also be postponed. the quarter final weekend rugby will also be postponed. the quarterfinal weekend is rugby will also be postponed. the quarter final weekend is scheduled for the first weekend of april. that won't be happening, they will also put their rugby on hold for the foreseeable future as well. chris jones reporting. tomorrow will also see the british horseracing authority discuss whether meetings should be held behind closed doors.

last week's cheltenham festival went ahead with an overall attendance of over quarter of a million people across the four days of racing, only slightly down from last year. tomorrow's meeting at kelso will take place without spectators after the scottish government ruled that gatherings of more than 500 people are banned. the italian football federation has called for euro 2020 to be postponed to allow time for the serie a season to finish. it's one of many leagues that has been suspended due to the coronavirus. italy is the worst country to be affected in europe. the first game of the tournment is due to take place at the stadio 0limpico in rome on 12thjune. uefa will hold a meeting on tuesday to discuss its response to the pandemic. the former manchester city defender eliaquim mangala has revealed he's one of five valencia players to test positive for coronavirus. mangala says that he's self—isolating, but is ok. la liga was suspended on thursday, after the real madrid squad had to go into quarantine.

super league champions st helens have suffered back—to—back defeats, after losing 28—14 at castleford. the home side were in control from the start, leading 14—0 at one stage. derrell 0lferts scored two of their tries. they ran in five tries, jake trueman with the last of them. the victory moves castleford up to second, level on points with leaders wigan. hull kr squeezed past leigh centurions by 22 points to 19 in the fifth round of the challenge cup, thanks to a try from nick raws—thorne with just seven seconds left on the clock. sheffield eagles and widnes were among today's other winners. leicester riders have won the women's british basketball league trophy for the third year in a row. they beat durham 70—66 in a replay of last year's final, thanks to a game—high 23 points

by match mvp sara hinriksdottir. in the men's final, it took this free throw from darius defoe for newcastle eagles to secure their eighth bbl trophy. the eagles saw off a late comeback from semi—professional side solent kestrels to win 96—91; in over—time. it's finals day at the all—england badminton championships in birmingham. tai zu ying won her third title in four years in the women's singles, while victor axelsen of denmark has been crowned the men's champion. axelsen beat the top seed, chu tien chen, in straight sets to become the first danish winner of the men's title since 1999. and it was certainly a different way to celebrate. that's all the sport for now. thank you very much. now it's time for a look at the weather, with tomasz schafernaker.

monday promises to be mostly sunny day across the uk. for the time being, cloud around across the uk, some of it is producing rainfall. high pressure from the azores is starting to build and it will try and establish itself across the uk during the week. but that does mean that in eight, the skies are going to clear and we will see a widespread grass first at the very least developing outside of time. this is what it looks like elio was a monday morning. you can see where the air frost is, the blue colours, and many towns and cities very close to freezing even in the far south. forecast for monday shows a lot of sunshine for much of the country, but then in the afternoon, it does look as though the weather will go downhill in northern ireland and western scotland. so a different picture here, stronger winds and outbreaks of rain. but for eastern scotland, england and is, the weather looks absolutely fine, plenty of sunshine on the way. that high pressure continues to affect southern parts of the uk, but it does look as though this weather

front will sneak into central parts of the uk on tuesday, so that does mean that after a sunny monday, clouds will be on the increase during the course of tuesday as this weather front is stuck in the south—west of these. probably bringing rental to western areas. the south—west of these mean the temperatures will also be on the high side, 1a, 15, 16 or 17 by the time we get to wednesday, tuesday night into wednesday, we still maintain south—westerly winds close to this high pressure in the south, so this is where the mildest weather will be. but we still have quite a bit of quiet here and may be spots of rain. scotland, different story. atla ntic of rain. scotland, different story. atlantic winds, it will be a lot fresher, so temperatures on wednesday will be around single figures and in the south, up to around 16 degrees celsius. and then thursday, a bit of a complication with this weather front, it could bring rainfall on thursday and friday to southern parts of the uk.

but be on friday, it does look as though the weather is going to turn a lot more settled. so a bit of raising the temperature in the week and back down a little bit as you head towards friday with a little bit of rain. goodbye.