is simply not .: gym“? - -:\ §:“fil‘i""—‘f wm" i z gzvmnfi - that is simply not happening here in italy, there is virtually no panic buying, despite the fact that italy's outbreak is far more advanced at the moment than that of britain. italians are numb with shock but they are behaving, generally, remarkably calmly. and jenny hill in berlin, angela merkel today giving this extraordinary address to the nation, impressing upon people that they really must ta ke upon people that they really must take this virus very seriously. yes, angela merkel said that the outbreak posed the greatest challenge to german society since world war ii. she addresses the nation every new year's eve, but not once, not in 15 yea rs of year's eve, but not once, not in 15 years of leadership, has she ever given a televised statement like this one, urging germans to take this one, urging germans to take this seriously and to abide by the restrictions which currently limit so restrictions which currently limit so much of daily life here. the number of cases here in the last 24—hour is has risen by 30%. the

health services, though, arguably among the best resourced in europe, are scrambling to prepare themselves. there was an extraordinary node today from the government, urging hospitals and clinics to search their stores and their basements for equipment which might now come in handy —— extraordinary note. economists are worried, too. bmw the latest big company to announce it is going to shut down production. there are predictions that the economy of this, you're a's powerhouse, could shrink by as much as 5% —— europe's powerhouse. angela merkel said today the restrictions here in germany have not been imposed lightly but many fear the government will yet have to go even further and even as mrs merkel was urging her citizens to keep distance from one another, to keep distance from one another, to try and save lives, it emerged people living in a small town in bavaria have now found that they have had a lockdown imposed on them, they have been confined to their

homes. jenny hill in berlin and mark in rome, thank you both. president trump says the united states and canada have agreed to close their border to non—essential traffic, as all 50 american states registered cases of coronavirus for the first time. mr trump also said that he was sending a us navy hospital ship to new york — the city worst hit by the outbreak. our north america correspondent nick bryant reports. in new york right now, the rush—hour is no more. companies have been ordered to keep at least half of their employees at home. a city known for its infectious energy, a city that likes to boast it never even has to sleep, is experiencing a form of enforced hibernation. it's now ringed with drive—through test centres, as america's largest conurbation has also become a home to the country's largest coronavirus outbreak. and this hospital ship will soon be setting sail for new york harbour. as the city's medical facilities

are overwhelmed in the coming weeks, it will desperately need extra beds. today, donald trump described himself as a wartime president... thank you very much. ..and continued to label covid—i9 as "the chinese virus", something he's been forced to defend. why do you keep using this? because it comes from china. a lot of people say it's racist. it's not racist at all, no. not at all. it comes from china, that's why. it comes from china. i want to be accurate. the virus is paralysing the american economy. this was wall street tonight, and as part of a mammoth $1 trillion stimulus package, the us government wants to give immediate cash payments to all americans to help them through the crisis. the trump administration has warned congress that unemployment could reach 20% if it fails to act quickly. that's almost double what it was during the great recession that started in 2008, and approaching the figure from the depths of the great depression in the 1930s.

at the 9/11 memorial, there are no fresh flowers any more. this sacred place, inscribed with the names of those who lost their lives on september 11th, has also been sequestered. this has fast become a global convulsion that looks like being even more consequential, another 21st—century crisis that separates the past and the future into the before and the after. nick bryant, bbc news, new york. broadcasters and tv production companies are being forced to scale back or abandon filming. the bbc is suspending filming of dramas including eastenders and casualty. but there will be older—age exercise routines as well as educational resources and programmes for millions of children who'll be staying at home. our media editor, amol rajan, is here. what we are going to watch is going to change a lot. it is, there is a paradox here which is with people

staying at home, the demand for tv and radio is soaring, so audience ratings across all networks are massively up, but the supply of fresh material to meet that demand isn't a hugejeopardy fresh material to meet that demand isn't a huge jeopardy because of how coronavirus has affected production. itv announced today that the voice uk hugely popular, the live final will be cancelled. coronation street is going from six episodes a week to three, emmerdale from six to five, eastenders is suspending filming and will be on twice a week, mondays and tuesdays but the bbc has announced a raft of a huge range of special programming to get people through the next few months. exercise routines, fitness shows for older people in particular, the details are being finalised. there is a huge educational effort because of the school closures, so a dedicated programme for every year group on the iplayer, a dedicated kids' iplayer, a podcast for primary schoolchildren and secondary school children. there will be repeats and special editions are coming back to radio four, box sets to the iplayer

and there will be a virtual church service every sunday morning led initially by the archbishop of canterbury on local radio. it is a movable feast and it is worth saying we talk a lot about these days about how social media drives people apart but with sporting fixtures cancelled, your revision counsel, glastonbury cancelled, tv and radio is going to play an important role in bringing the nation together —— eurovision cancelled. well, here, we've been inundated with thousands of questions from you about the virus and particularly about what the government is doing to help people whose livelihoods are being hit so hard by the new restrictions. our business correspondent, sarah corker, has been finding some of the answers. daily updates since the number of people you tested... a lot of you have got in touch asking what happens to people on zero—hours contracts? unions have raised concerns that there are few measures to help those on zero—hours contracts, the self—employed and people working in the gig economy. daily updates since the number of people who've tested... the government has said that those

who can't get statutory sick pay, they will make it easier and quicker for them to access benefits if they can't work. and what about people who are working but are still having student loan payments taken from wages? are there any plans to halt those during this difficult time? it is a possibility, but, for the moment, workers should expect to continue making those monthly repayments out of their wage packet. you said, i understand the need for rationing, but what about people like me who will be doing shopping for several elderly relatives? how will we prove it? most supermarkets are dedicating the first hour of shopping to the over 70s and the vulnerable and, while retailers won't be doing age checks are asking for identification, they'll be using their discretion and they say they'll do all they can to support family members who are doing their shopping on behalf of elderly relatives who can't get out to the shops. if tenants can't afford to pay their rent because of coronavirus, are there any

protections for landlords? well, landlords have been asked to be as flexible as possible with tenants. the two biggest landlord groups are urging lenders to look sympathetically on their request for mortgage payment holidays if renters are struggling to pay. and some landlords will have if no rent is paid at all. and some landlords will have insurance cover if no rent is paid at all. you also asked, can you still drive a car with a recently expired mot? 0ur nearest supermarket is two miles away and garages that mot vehicles are closed due to the coronavirus. the aa put this very question to the government today and one solution might be a cover note system that was recently used in northern ireland, when there mot centres were temporarily closed. it meant people could still tax their vehicles until they got their mots done. sarah corker answering some of your questions there,

that's it. now on bbc one, time for the news where you are. have a very good night. hello, i'm gavin ramjaun — with the latest sport. so many events have been cancelled, and football leagues postponed around the country — so clubs are in limbo when it comes to the end of the season — and their finances. the english football league have been meeting to discuss the situation. in the last few hours, they've announced some measures. the efl is continuing regular dialogue with the government and relevant health authorities. and, as and when more information is known regarding the scale and extent of the coronavirus outbreak in this country, a decision will be taken on the resumption of the league's fixtures. and on the financial side, discussions centered on financial relief for clubs in the short term, and while there is no one single solution, measures are to be put

in place to immediately assist with cash flow via a 50 million pound short—term relief package. the international olympic committee president says preparations for this summer's games, will be in line with protecting athletes from coronavirus. the global pandemic has called into question this summer's tokyo 0lympics, thomas bach held a conference call with more than 200 athlete representatives earlier — something he says was very "constructive". we have a month to go and we will address these actions and we will keep acting in a responsible way in the interests of the athletes and a lwa ys the interests of the athletes and always respecting our two principles, the first priority being safeguarding of the health of the athletes and contribute to the containment of the virus and

secondly, to protect the interests of the athletes. the organisers have faced criticism from athletes, who have seen their preparation hampered by coronavirus restrictions. claire taggart is hoping to be in tokyo as part of gb's boccia team and she admits, she having to find a different way to train. for me, personally, i'm trying to do as much as i can in my house and not let the coronavirus or sub isolation restrict me in any way so, yeah, i'm trying to keep going as normal and obviously restricted about not being on the court and stuff like that but trying to simulate that environment at home is much as possible. meanwhile a plane sporting tokyo 2020 logos departed from the japanese capital today bound for athens to collect the olympic flame. there was no delegation from the organisers on board though due to concerns about the coronavirus pandemic. the plane was waved off by staff

at an almost empty airport. after yesterday's suspension of the french open, the wta and the atp have extended the ban on professional tennis until the 7th june. so this will wipe out the entire clay court season, including the french open which has been moved to september, although player rankings will be frozen throughout the period and both organisations will looking to return to the court as soon as possible. formula one bosses are meeting with team's tomorrow, as they attempt to work out a new calendarfor the rest of the season. it comes as the august shutdown is brought forward — and extended to 21 days, through march and april — as a result of the coronvirus outbreak. the 2020 race calendar has already been suspended — with last weekend's australian season opener in melbourne cancelled, and the next three races at least postponed. the sport has said it hopes to race again at the end of may.

that's all the sport for now. and now it's time for the papers. hello and welcome to our look ahead to what the the papers will be bringing us tomorrow. with me are writer and journalist mihir bose and the former pensions minister, ros altmann. many of tomorrow's front pages are already in. they lead on the announcement made by government today that schools many of tomorrow's front pages are already in. they lead on the announcement made by government today that schools across england are to close from friday as a result of the coronavirus outbreak in the country. 0n the front page of the times, picture of workers arriving to clean a primary school in hertforshire. their headline reads ‘exams cancelled after virus forces schools to shut down‘.

it's the first nationwide closure in the country's history. the daily express calls it a ‘schools virus chaos'. it claims that the plan unveiled today to close schools left families and children ‘in the dark over details'. ‘schools out, exams off‘ writes the metro. and on the front page of the guardian, an image of an empty trafalgar square. it follows yesterday's government advice on social distancing. it says ‘johnson is now forced to act on schools after virus spreads faster than anticipated.‘ the daily mail's headline reads ”schools out, exams axed' and questions whether ministers are now considering a total lockdown in london. and the front page of the financial times reports the pound is taking a hit as london may be forced to go into lockdown.

let's did on the site, i'm still getting used to this new way of doing things, looking to the left another red. do you want to take us away first on the time stories on the schools? this is totally unprecedented, even on the second world war, british schools stayed open but on friday, the prime minister announced today that they are going to shut and he is also saying that exams in the summer are being cancelled, so you have all of these students and school veteran floods of tears because they were expecting to sit there a levels and now they're worried that if they don't get the right grades, assessed them, that they want get the necessities that they want. most