percentage fall since 1987, as the trump administration issues new advice to try to curb the spread of the virus. the president has called on americans to avoid groups of more than ten people, avoid bars and restaurants and only make essential journeys, for the next 15 days. the french president has banned people from leaving their homes, except for essential reasons, from tuesday, saying the country is engaged in a "health war". and in the uk the message from prime minister borisjohnson is work from home where possible and avoid ‘non—essential‘ travel and contact with others. 55 britons are now confirmed to have died from the virus. that's all. stay with bbc world news. now on bbc news,

it's monday in parliament. hello, and welcome to monday in parliament. the main news from westminster. there's a sombre mood in the commons, and also a spirit of co—operation, as the government announces tougher measures to control the spread of the coronavirus. we will fight this virus with everything we've got. we are in a war against an invisible killer and we've got to do everything we can to stop it. this virus spreads rapidly. it exploits ambivalence. it demands clarity of purpose. and it demands government efforts like we have never seen before in peacetime. and there are searching

questions from mps about the consequences for constituents. who exactly is going to be tested? there is clear concern from hospital staff and the public alike about the transparency of the plan to tackle the virus. the secretary of state needs to tell us now when he will come before us with a package of financial benefits for businesses and people, because it is getting too late. there is, obviously, one issue uppermost in people's minds at westminster. the coronavirus and whether the government's strategy to tackle the pandemic is the right one. so far, 53 people in the uk have died. measures being adopted around the world to slow down the spread of coronavirus are changing rapidly. germany, for example, has closed its borders. finland has closed its schools. meanwhile, the world health organization said governments were not doing enough and said, "we have a simple message for all countries — test, test, test. "

downing street has been criticised for publicising its plans via briefings to selected journalists. so on monday afternoon, the prime minister made the first of his daily televised news conferences to update the public and answer questions from journalists. he announced that everyone in the uk should avoid unnecessary social contact and travel. he advised working from home where possible and promised to increase testing for the virus. he didn't say that schools should close. shortly after that press conference, the health secretary matt hancock came to the commons to make a statement. he said there'd be a coronavirus emergency bill on thursday. and there was detailed advice for people who have symptoms. these actions will change the ordinary lives of everyone in this country. we appreciate that they are very significant and i understand that people will be concerned. but we have come to the view

that they are necessary to save lives and to stop this disease. first, based on the updated scientific advice, we are today advising that if you or anyone in your home has a high temperature or a new and continuous cough, then you should stay—at—home for m days. and the government is advising behaviour changes for people without symptoms. today we advised everyone against all unnecessary contact and travel. we need people to start working from home as they possibly can. we should steer clear of pubs, clubs, cinemas and restaurants. we should only use the nhs when we really need to. this advice is directed at everyone, but it's especially important for the over 70s, for pregnant women and for those with health conditions. in a few days‘ time by this coming weekend, we will need to go even further to ensure that those with the most serious health conditions are largely

shielded from social contact for around 12 weeks. we want to ensure that this period of maximum shielding coincides with the peak of maximum transmission, and while the risks of transition at mass gatherings such as sporting events are relatively low, from tomorrow, we will be withdrawing our support for mass gatherings. the measures ijust outlined are unprecedented in peacetime. we will fight this virus with everything we've got. we are in a war against an invisible killer, and we've got to do everything we can to stop it. i commend the statement to the house. labour said everyone wanted to see the national effort succeed. this virus spreads rapidly. it exploits ambivalence. it demands clarity of purpose. it demands government effort like we have never seen before in peacetime. with that in mind, can i put

a number of questions to the secretary of state? i trust he accepts a raised and constructive spirit. he asked about advice for people unable to work from home and what would happen if someone refused to follow advice. i understand the gravity of the situation. will the secretary of state update the house on how far away from the peak he now thinks we are? while i understand the reasoning for the decisions he has made today and the government have made, surely there will now come a moment when schools will close. teachers are already anxious, parents need to plan. can he offer parents some advice who will be worried tonight? many of our constituents are asking us why the uk has seemed to take a different call from other nations. they suggested other nations have been deliberately trying to delay to buy time to prepare for future outbreaks.

in that respect, could he explain why the government has rejected or has not rejected what lessons have to learn from countries such as south korea who have brought the virus under relative control through containment policies? can i ask him if we need beds and equipment from the private sector organisations, we should reposition the equipment, not pay for it. finally, we will collaborate with the government on the proposed emergency legislation and i'm grateful for the discussions we have had. but the biggest challenge to the public health social distancing measures will not be boredom and fatigue. it will be finances and affordability. and he said those people needed a package of financial support. the health secretary said he welcomed questions, and there were plenty of those from backbench mps. the snp‘s philippa whitford said the uk had been an "outlier"

in its handling of coronavirus. the uk is now facing an expositional rise and i therefore welcome the uk government decreasing all nonessential contact as i think it is critical to slow down and limit the spread of this. he talked about, the briefing from the prime minister talked about not providing services to large gatherings, but can he clarify whether the government are advising against or permitting mass gatherings? we have revised against unnecessary social contact. it goes without saying that we do not support mass gatherings. at an earlier stage, the uk changed its testing requirements and those who have symptoms and self— isolate are no longer tested. if the full information is to be available, surely the testing has to be very significantly increased. who exactly is going to be tested?

on the point about the world health organization saying that we should test, test, test, i wholeheartedly agree. we have continually increased testing throughout the outbreak. this houses always come together in times of national crisis as one. this is the spirit across the house today. in that spirit, can i ask him to match the unprecedented public health measures he has announced today with unprecedented economic measures to support all the businesses, large and small, their workers who will be affected by the measures announced today? the former health secretary said the government had shown courage. and a slip of the tongue provided a lighter moment. just a follow—up the question to the prime minister, sorry, the former prime minister... laughter is the...

is the advice to healthy over 705 who do not have an existing long—term condition that they should be part of the new shielding policy that is happening at the weekend, or is that policyjust for over 705 with an existing health condition? on that last point, no, the shielding policy is only for those with existing health conditions and those who we will ask to participate in the shielding from next week will receive contact from the nhs. we will publish the list of conditions that we consider necessary for shielding. i bring a message from my colleagues who are working so hard on the nhs front line. they say they don't

have the protective equipment that they need, nor do they have the capacity to manage the spread of the infection in their own department. there is clear concern from hospital staff and the wider public alike about the transparency of the plan to tackle the virus. does the secretary of state agree with me that our incredible staff must immediately have the protective equipment they need to be safe? that they should be tested if they show symptoms of the virus as currently not all of them are being told that they can? that more information must be transparent so that medical teams across the country can prepare their departments for the very worst? the whole of our action plan is based on the science and as much transparency as possible and we have exhibited unprecedented transparency in this crisis so far. i pledge again to full transparency. there is a looming public health crisis in the short—term and long—term mental health crisis.

my own brother who was an agency worker has likely lost his job because he has to self—isolate and it won't be kept open for him. he now won't get anything until early may. the secretary of state needs to tell us now when he will come before us with a package of financial benefits for the people, because it is getting too late. statutory sick pay is played by employers. there is no employer and we cannot put in place in the time that is necessary, a whole use system. we need to make sure that people use the benefits system that exists. we spent £500 billion in this country billing

out the banks in 2008. we need to be prepared to go even further to make sure people working in hospitality know their economic future is not about to be burnt. you're watching monday in parliament with me, kristiina cooper. the continuing debate on last week's budget was also dominated by the impact of the coronavirus, and the government's response to it. mps from all sides welcomed the additional spending announced by the chancellor, but questioned whether it would be enough. the debate was opened by a health minister who was appearing at the despatch box for the first time since having to self—isolate after his colleague, nadine dorries, was diagnosed with the virus. it's a pleasure to be back after last week's precautionary self—isolation, following contact with a confirmed case and on phe advice. they have subsequently advised me that, as i am

symptom—free, i can return. can i put on record my thanks to them for the work they are doing for everyone at the moment? covid—i9 represented the most serious public health challenge in a generation. our goal is to protect life and to protect our nhs. last week's budget showed we will rise to that challenge. under the plans laid out by my right honourable friend, the chancellor, workers will have a strong safety net to fall back on if they fall sick. businesses will get the financial help to stay in business. the nhs will get whatever resources it needs. and all in all, my right honourable friend, the chancellor of the exchequer, announced last week in total a £30 billion investment to the financial health of the nation. will the government look again at the issue of the hospitality, travel, and leisure industries, where some of their businesses are notjust losing 10—20% in a way they might in a normal recession, but are losing the bulk of their revenue?

don't they need some revenue sharing with the government? couldn't we have a scheme like the german one to keep workers in work for a bit when they have a major loss of demand? does the government have the framework by which it will operate and have discussions? so when virgin atlantic come forward saying they need financial support, what will be the framework of that support? and what might the government want in return for that investment? the honourable gentleman makes a good point, which goes back to the honourable lady's point about giving people greater clarity and understanding of how things will work and in what way. these matters, because they are fast evolving, will continue to be under review. but we will ensure we work with industry, and the example he gives, and others. labour's spokesperson said the crisis had demonstrated just how important public services were. a major concern is that there is a lack of clarity on when people should be tested. we are hearing out of many front line nhs staff displaying symptoms but who are not being tested. what does that do for morale, if nothing else?

the world health organisation says we should continue to test and contact trace those who are suspected to have the virus, and it is important that we have a full explanation as to exactly why we are currently diverting away from who advice. is my honourable friend aware whether the government's continuing to pursue the herd immunity, namely letting the virus transmit almost unchecked through the nation, which would obviously put overwhelming strain on beds and social services, or anything else? there are all sorts of stories that are coming out from the press, not all of which are necessarily accurate. i think it is really important that we do our utmost to make sure that we have a clear and consistent message across the board. and i'm not sure whether herd immunity is a government policy or not, but i'm sure the secretary of state will take the opportunity today to put that straight once and for all. we welcome the emergency measures the chancellor announced last week. i don't think they will find enough, and i fear that a great many small

and fairly valued businesses in my constituency and all of our constituencies will close and never reopen. a conservative had an example. the gretna blacksmith's shop in my constituency, one of the most visited tourist attractions in scotland, has won numerous awards for their attempts to attract chinese visitors. they have some of the highest number of chinese visitors coming to that location. but not any more. there are none. and there was a plea for people to pull together. panic—buying and stockpiling is not who we are as a country. it is not necessary. it makes it harder to protect the most vulnerable, and in turn puts our people at greater risk of becoming ill. it adds unnecessary strain to our nhs and to its wonderful staff. it may feel like britain has been fraying at the edges over the past few days, mr speaker. images of empty shelves have not helped matters.

moving away from the coronavirus for a moment, ministers have come under pressure to halt the use of live facial recognition technology. earlier this year, the metropolitan police announced that it would use the cameras to help tackle serious crime by matching suspects on a "watchlist". but in the house of lords, peers complained about what they said was invasive and unreliable technology. my lords, as this dangerously invasive technology taking us ever closer to a surveillance society develops, the government continues to claim that it is only for use in the catching of serious criminals, not people with overdue parking fines. but my lords, the metropolitan police's operating procedures make no mention whatsoever of limiting its use to serious criminals. how does the noble lady, the minister, explain this discrepancy? and when will the government end its willful blindness and halt the uncontrolled use of facial

recognition until parliament has had an opportunity to legislate to manage it? my lords, there are several points in that question. and one is that actually, the high court has said that the police are operating within the legal framework. the second is that it wouldn't be used for overdue parking tickets. and i'm going to quote the metropolitan police on their watchlist target, and it is, and i quote, "those wanted for imprisonable defences with a focus on serious crime with a particular regard to knife and gun crime, child sexual exploitation, and terrorism. " it appears that this house have heard the met are not only looking for serious criminals with this technology.

they are also mixing up vulnerable people that are being looked for. could the noble lady, the minister, convince me that that isn't true? well, actually, missing people, people deemed to be vulnerable, at risk to themselves or other people, may well be the subject of lfr deployment for their own safety. how accurate is this facial recognition technology? i've been told that a deployment of the technology at oxford circus on 27 february scanned 8,600 faces to see if any matched a watchlist of more than 7,000 individuals. and that during the session, the police wrongly stopped five people and correctly stopped one. if the information is anywhere near accurate, it would suggest the technology

is not overly reliable. for how long were those apparently wrongly stopped at oxford circus detained, and for how long is the record stopped, including where they were stopped retained? well, my lords, the incident at oxford circus, i understand, was on 20 february, and i understand also — but i'll be corrected if this is wrong — that actually, the machinery on that date was not working. and we finish where we started — on coronavirus. the defence secretary has dismissed reports that the army is to be sent to guard supermarkets during the outbreak. ben wallace was answering questions about the military‘s preparedness and role in responding to covid—i9. this weekend, there's been widespread concern about the government's communication strategy on the coronavirus pandemic, including a number of anonymous briefings given to the media, including on the role of the army. so as well as providing more detail on operation broadshare,

can the secretary of state explain reports that the government is working on the assumption that at least 20% of personnel will contract the virus, and tell us what arrangements are in place to mitigate any impact on operations that this may have? the honourable lady raises an important point about media stories. i have to say to the house, mr speaker, that some of the media stories are entirely fictional. there is no operation hades, as was reported in one media. they are absolutely no plans to send military personnel to guard supermarkets. however, despite trying to clarify that with the media, there is still an intention in some parts of the media to continue to write these stories. and indeed, there is some suspicion about where some of the stories are developed. as to her question, the minister said the government made all kinds of assumptions about the general population and the armed forces, and would make sure it looked after armed forces personnel.

the ministry ofjustice, the police, and the department of health all have the military mentioned in their contingency plans for tackling covid—19. is the minister satisfied that we have sufficient personnel to respond to the plans to tackle the virus here in the uk? and if not, what plans does he have in place to bring military back from all nonessential operations overseas? mr speaker, the ministry of defence plans for all things, whether it be for flooding or pandemic. we are planning for all eventualities in response to covid—19, and we are content we have more than enough resources to meet the needs. are we fully recruited in both regular and reserves to the other parts of the armed forces to deal with the coronavirus outbreak? and will he be calling into full—time reserves service those who are not nhs workers in their civilian careers? i think the honourable gentleman asked me two questions. are we recruited sufficiently to meet the needs of coronavirus in defence? the answer to that is yes.

given many veterans will fall into the category of those most vulnerable and at risk to contract the coronavirus, can he update the house on his department's strategy for supporting them? veterans like the rest of the wider population will, of course, be under the current central government plans for dealing with coronavirus via the nhs. however, my department, not only the people working in the department but also serving personnel, will have their own measures in place to ensure we have the duty of care towards that workforce. the coronavirus will test the will of the nation in ways we've not seen since the war. i think it is about when, not if, the armed forces will be mobilised. we know that they will rise to the occasion to help other departments, but the threats that are there today continue to exist. will he make sure that we do not drop our guard in making sure

that those who mean us harm take advantage whilst we are distracted by the coronavirus? defence has one main task, which is defending the nation. only this morning i held meetings with senior officials and military personnel to make sure that both are routine and our units were in that place to make sure they could deliver first and foremost the priority of defending the nation. that is why when we see changes, it will be in areas like exercising or nonessential travel to make sure that those personnel are there to support the rest of the country when it comes to coronavirus. the prime minister has announced a six—month foreign policy, defence, and security review to find "innovative ways" to promote uk interests while committing to spending targets. i'm sure he will agree to me that current events reflect the need to review to make sure britain plays its part in the global stage in the spirit of international cooperation. but can i ask him if he thinks it is feasible to conduct a review that is expected to result

in the biggest recall of our armed forces since the cold war in the present climate and over the current timescale? i hear exactly what the right honourable member says, and this review, the stakeholders of the foreign office, number ten and ourselves, will regularly review that decision. and there is no ideological block or determination to carry on, come what may, with this covid virus growing. if it is the right thing to do, we will absolutely pause it if necessary. if not, we shall move forward. the defence secretary there. well, that's it from monday in parliament. alicia mccarthy will be here for the rest of the week. but from me, kristiina cooper, goodbye.

hello. the week started on a dry, fine, sunny note for many parts of england and wales. and it really was a sparkler of a day, finishing with glorious colours in the sunset, as captured here across great yarmouth. it wasn't like that everywhere, because for scotland, for northern ireland, after a decent start to monday, so that weather front spread some cloud, some wind, some rain quite widely. now, that front drags its way a little bit further south, but you'll notice there's a kink in it. and that's going to be quite an important kink, because it thickens the cloud after a bright enought start in northern ireland and the rain is soon in here. quite a bit of it, as well. and it spreads across the good part of rain in scotland on into the afternoon, some of it getting across the border. further south, wee

bit of brightness. the south—westerly breeze will usher in some really mild airs. and if you get a wee bit of sunshine, to the eastern side of the pennines, east anglia, down towards the south—east, i3, 14, 15 could well be yours. a more showery regime across the northern and western isles throughout the course of the day, and indeed on into the evening. once that little wave is away on the weather front, that will allow it to relax its way ever further south. slow progress, it has to be said, because it's running into an area of high pressure across biscay and the near continent. so it's around and about on wednesday across wales, southern counties of england, the midlands and east anglia and lincolnshire. further north, much brighter skies, but that sunshine doing nothing for your temperatures. the last of tuesday's really mild air is trapped there, particularly in the south—east, where again we could peak at around 14 or 15 degrees. now, from wednesday on into thursday, that weather front, more a band of cloud rather than anything else at this stage for many southern counties, mayjust have enough about it for there to be a bit of rain down into this far south—western quarter.

but wales, north midlands northwards, increasingly sunny as you drift that wee bit further north. but again, there's a chilly feel right across the piece. we are into single figures. a change to the day from thursday to friday, but the overall setup is very little change, other than we might see a bit more activity on that weather front across the southern counties of england, so the chance for some rain here, and a noticeable easterly wind. so that will make it feel fairly cool, to say the least. further north, at least you've got the benefit of the sunshine across the midlands, much of wales, scotland, northern ireland and the north of england. but again, those temperatures are in single figures. the weekend brings us the prospect of mainly dry weather, with some sunshine, feeling chilly, and there'll be some frosty nights, too.

welcome to bbc news, i'm lewis vaughan jones. our top stories: france bans people from leaving their homes unless it's essential, or face punishment. president macron addressed the nation with this solemn message. translation: we are at war. all government and parliamentary action must now be directed towards combating this epidemic. britain's prime minister boris johnson urges the public to stay at home as much as possible, warning the virus is spreading faster in london than anywhere else. us stock markets suffer their biggest one—day percentage fall since 1987, as the trump administration issues new guidance on avoiding public spaces and unnecessary travel. and i'll be speaking to a scientist specialising