hello, this is bbc news. i'm kasia madera, our top stories: in italy a record rise in the number of deaths from coronavirus, 475 people die in one day, bringing the total to almost 3000. world markets continue to plunge, with analysts warning the virus could send the world economy into recession. the us closes its border with canada and invokes a wartime law to increase supplies of vital equipment. we are going to defeat the invisible enemy, i think we're going to do it even faster than we thought, and it will be a com plete we thought, and it will be a complete victory, it will be a total very. —— a total victory.

the world health organisation urges extra vigilance, as the number of reported cases climb throughout south east asia. don't assume your community won't be affected. prepare as if it will be. and finding musical comfort online. how virtual choirs are helping people sing away the containment blues. hello, and welcome to bbc news. italy has reported the highest number of deaths from the coronavirus in a single day of any country since the outbreak began in china last december. another 475 people have died, bringing the total in italy to nearly 3000. 0ur rome correspondent, mark lowen, has the details.

today's figures take a number of deaths here just below that of deaths here just below that of china, the worst hit country, and likely to overtake it tomorrow, but the real total may be even higher because in some nursing homes, virus —related deaths are not being recorded because the sick there are not being tested. in terms of the number of cases, that is rising by about 13% every day compared to 23% a week ago so the rate is slowing but there is an urgent need to flatten the curve to help ease the pressure on hospitals. the worst hit area remains by far the north where in some small towns, mortuaries are being used to store coffins and crematoria are working 2a hours a day. in terms of the restrictions across the country, italians are on the whole still abiding by them but the government is considering whether to extend them even further, banning all outdoor activities including for example going for a run or riding a bicycle. you see those

pictures and videos of british supermarket aisles empty, this is simply not happening 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 so than that of britain. italians are so numb with shock that they are behaving generally remarkably timely. —— remarkably timely. —— remarkably calmly. extreme volatility continues in the financial markets, amid a slump in economic activity which governments around the globe are trying to combat with hefty stimulus packages. the european central bank has announced it will launch a seven hundred and fifty billion euro, emergency bond buying scheme. michael mccarthy is the chief market strategist at cmc markets in sydney. it is certainly the largest bond buying scheme the ecb has ever announced and important from that perspective but we have already central banks around the globe adding liquidity. the us federal reserve has already done so—and—so have others, but the problem at the moment is not

liquidity, and while in the medium term that might help stabilise and support markets, in the short term, adding extra liquidity to the global monetary system is unlikely to stem the selling we are seeing and market. when it comes to what we are seeing on the markets, we always talk about this idea that markets don't like uncertainty. at the moment, the world has never seen anything like such an uncertain time, surely we shouldn't be surprised that we are seeing such fluctuations in the pound and its lowest level since 1985, the australian dollar set to 17 yellow, no surprises, surely? no, it's not, and what we are seeing an accounting markets as a flight home. investors globally are repatriating their funds. three of the biggest investing bases in the world but every other currency is suffering and falling as investors bring their funds back to falling as investors bring theirfunds back to home falling as investors bring their funds back to home and what they perceive to be as safety. is there anything that

the markets should be doing? is there some way that analyst can be helping to calm the situation down? it seems unlikely at the moment. you pointed to the uncertainty, there is now very little doubt that there will be significant economic damage to the global economy, and the disruption to supply chains and the impact it has on demand will be very significant we simply don't know how significant, and while that's the case, we are likely to see wild fluctuations particularly in share markets that we have been seeing over the last few week. are we're going to see a global recession? it seems likely. none of us know the future with any certainty, but the consensus is emerging that this will be the case. the problem for markets generally is this epidemic appears to be lasting a lot longer than anybody expected that means the damage will be higher and the potential for that to flow into the real economies around the globe is very real. and just to let you know tokyo

stock markets have opened up more than 2% after hearing that ecb bond buying scheme, that scheme to inject 750 billion euros into the emergency bond buying markets, so the initial reactions on the tokyo stock markets is that they have opened up by more than 2%. we will keep an i as and when the rest of the asian market, we get details from that. 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. 0ur 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—19 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. in other developments, german chancellor angela merkel has given an unprecedented televised address regarding the virus.

she said the pandemic is the country's greatest challenge since the second world war, and the number of loved ones lost will depend on how strictly people follow the rules. free movement in the european union's schengen area has all but ended, and queues have built up along borders of countries including germany, poland, austria and hungary. travellers from outside the eu are being turned away from airports and borders after the 27—country bloc imposes a 30—day ban, to halt the spread of coronavirus. detroit's major car—makers plan to temporarily close all us factories to help prevent the spread of the disease. ford, gm and fiat—chrysler had faced intense pressure from unions, who were concerned about the safety of workers. in his latest news briefing, the director general of the world health organization praised south korea for its efforts to tackle coronavirus and said other countries could

learn from them. a month ago, the republic of korea was faced with accelerating community transmission, but it didn't surrender. it educated, empowered, and engaged communities. it has developed innovative testing strategy and expanded lab capacity. it has rationed the use of masks. it did exhaustive contact tracing and testing in selected areas, and testing in selected areas, and it isolated suspected cases in these designated facilities rather than hospitals or at home. as a result, cases have been declining for weeks. at the peak, there were more than 800 cases, and yesterday, the report was only 90 cases. all schools in the uk are to shut from friday, under new measures announced

by the government to stop the spread of the coronavirus. exams in england and wales will not go ahead this academic year. scotland and northern ireland are yet to decide whether to follow suit. 0ur political editor, laura kuenssberg, reports from westminster. 0vertime. notjust until the morning, but maybe for many months. i'm very worried about it. because it is gary. scaring the people. perhaps not a last resort for the government, but certainly closing school gates was one of the measures ministers were desperate to avoid. after-school shut the gates from friday afternoon. they will remain closed for most pupils, for the vast

majority of pupils, until further notice. i know that the steps will not be easy for pa rents steps will not be easy for parents orfor steps will not be easy for parents or for teachers and for many parents, this will be frustrating, and it will make it harderfor them to frustrating, and it will make it harder for them to go out to work. families will wonder, more than anything else, how long these closures might last. can you give any indication with yellow a judgement right 110w with yellow a judgement right now is that this is the moment to provide further downward pressure. a wish you could give you an answer about how long it would be, laura, but we have got to do it right now. for the children of key workers, it could mean school as usual, but for teenagers, it means exams are off. we have worked so hard and there has been that long end goal of gcses and it has got to the point now where that is insight and now it's not any more. school closures could make business even trickier for firms struggling to stay afloat. if she can get them for

mother's day, that would be brilliant... sally field, a florist in bristol, has plenty of orders for mother's day. but she is deeply uncertain about what might come next. if the staff were to have do not come m, staff were to have do not come in, look after their children, if we don't get the orders in, they won't be able to pay the rent of the shop, it is a massive warry. there is a rush for more support. the government promised tonight to help renters with a plan to ban evictions. with well over 2500 cases of the disease, ministers and officials keep vowing to do whatever it takes. whitehall is scrambling to keep up with the demands of this crisis before the government to be able to explain quickly and precisely, exactly how they plan to keep the many promises that have been made. is a sense there could be more interventions and more restrictions on the way.

the national safety net is expanding, but there are still holes, like the gaps on the common screen benches today. mps deliberately keeping their distance. coronavirus may be a mild illness for the majority, but the effect on the country could be grave. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: finding musical comfort online — how virtual choirs are helping people sing away the containment blues. today, we have closed the book on apartheid and that chapter. more than 3,000 subway passengers were affected. nausea, bleeding, headaches and a dimming of vision — all of this caused by an apparently organised attack.

the trophy itself was on the pedestal in the middle of the cabinet here. now, this was an international trophy, and we understand now that the search for it has become an international search. above all, this was a triumph for the christian democrats of the west, offering reunification as quickly as possible, and that's what the voters wanted. this is bbc news, the latest headlines: italy records a huge rise in the number of deaths from coronavirus, with 475 people dying in one day, bringing the total

to almost 3000. world markets continue to plunge, with analysts warning the virus could send the world economy into recession. and update for you on the tokyo stock market. it has opened up 296 stock market. it has opened up 2% after the ecb announced it was creating a bond buying scheme, an emergency bond buying scheme of 750 billion euros so buying scheme of 750 billion euros so that stock market opening up more than 2% after that announcement. we will continue to monitor the reaction. a little bit of a rally in asian markets avenue they open. we will monitor the rest, of course. the world health organisation has issued a stark warning to countries in south east asia, urging them to immediately scale up aggressive action to stop the virus infecting more people. 0ur correspondent in bangkok, jonathan head, says that might have had an impact

on the response there. although the first case was recorded in thailand on the 13th of fabry, the number has crept up slowly. that february. in some countries, they were just not doing any testing and there was severe infections we re there was severe infections were not being recorded. in china, they have been efficient. they have been recording numbers and testing and the number has crept up. that has all changed in the last few days. people were beginning to think warmer weather was a reason the virus was not spreading as quickly as in europe and the us but the numbers are creeping up fast, particularly in malaysia whether 650 and more confirmed cases. i was that three weeks ago and the number was 28. a dramatic rise. the trajectory is very steep, following other countries. in countries with

large populations like indonesia where little has been done to try and contain the virus or myanmar which has a health system which is regarded as one of the most poorly resourced in the world. they have not recorded a single case but people assume there are cases and deaths they have not been noticed. 0nce cases and deaths they have not been noticed. once it gets going into this region, it will bea going into this region, it will be a real worry. jonathan going into this region, it will be a realworry. jonathan had reporting. coronavirus has plunged the world into uncertainty. the daily routine of millions across the world continues to be disrupted by social distancing measures, self—isolation and quara ntines. on top of that is a constant stream of information and misinformation, leaving some people feeling stressed, anxious and overwhelmed. so how do we cope with the current situation? i've been speaking to dr klapow, a clinical psychologist and associate professor of public health at the university of alabama about keeping calm.

i think, you ithink, you know, we i think, you know, we have been saying it over and over, it is unprecedented so feeling nervous and anxious is very normal and the first part two coming our mind is to acknowledge and accept that we may be feeling nervous an anxious versus denying that it is not happening. —— calming. acknowledge and then take specific actions to reduce our anxiety david, a b hour by hour. do you have specific tips on how to do that. it sounds easy to say come down but how on earth do you manage that? -- calm. think for a minute of all the things you do to relax, maybe it is exercise, limitation, taking a few

breaths, taking a little bog. the things you normally do to unwind. the difference is instead of doing it here and there, you may have to build it into your schedule. —— taking a little walk. you have to make anxiety reducing action that we all know how to do more part of your regular schedule versus just doing it on a whim. what about those people who are potentially in a denial and possibly ignoring the dangers that could potentially be out there? one of the things about stress and exciting is not only does it accept your ability to concentrate, to think clearly, but we know it also impacts your immune system. the more your immune system. the more you are in a state of stress and anxious, the worse your immune system is functioning so from a risk standpoint, you are

putting yourself at risk. even if you do not believe you are anxious, work into your daily routines brags. take breaks if you're working from home stop if you're with your family and getting frustrated, actually you have time to reset, may every couple of hours, maybe every couple of hours, maybe every day because at the lease it is not going to harm you but will be beneficial for you. take some breaks, take some news breaks. thank you for your advice, dr klapow. officials in both china and the united states are racing to find a vaccine for the coronavirus. but medical experts warn that it won't be ready for some time. 0ur science correspondent, richard westcott, has been given special access to a team at cambridge university who are trying to find the key to beating the disease. the race to find a vaccine for coronavirus didn't start in a lab, it started on a computer. so this is the dna of coronavirus? yes. yes, it is.

within weeks of the outbreak, the coronavirus dna had been read and put online for scientists across the world to access. like many others, the cambridge team has been using it to find out exactly what they are up against. the sequence helps us to understand how the virus actually looks, in terms of its physical properties and that is really important because the spike protein that you see around the edge of the virus, that is what we need the antibodies to attach to in order to prevent the virus from entering our cells. things then move into a tightly sealed lab. they haven't got the actual virus in here yet. early tests are done on safer, man—made copies of parts of the virus. this is a highly restricted lab, very few people are allowed inside, and we aren't allowed inside, but we are going to be able to talk to jonathan who is leading the research, using a bit of technology to get hold of him. jonathan, hi, can you hear me?

nice to see you, are you collaborating with other people around the world? are all experts like you chatting online and sharing ideas about what to do next? absolutely, this is a huge global effort, i was in australia, i was in british columbia, i was in the us and we had teleconferences daily about the state of the situation, they have already begun testing possible coronavirus vaccines on animals. but to be sure it is safe and effective, it could be next summer before a human version is finally approved. wishing them lots of success. we heard earlier about some techniques to manage this period of social distancing. well many people are going online to find a community. take the sofa singers, an online choir with some 500 vocalists. 0ur arts correspondent, david sillito, logged on to hear their first rehearsal.

0k, everyone, great to see you alljoining us, hello there... meet the sofa singers, an online musical solution to corona isolation. they sing "stand by me". across the uk, europe, america and africa, a new global chorus. and this isjust a fraction of them. there is page after page, there are 500 sofa singers, all at home, all in isolation, and all singing together. # so, darling, darling... i beamed from ear to ear. it was a thing of beauty, heart—opening. as someone who cannot sing, i love it, even though it fills me with fear. and the inspiration forjames sills' new online collective choir? the balcony singers of italy.

we saw in italy there was spontaneous singing in the street and music making and someone messaged me and said,james, you run singing but your choirs have stopped, is there anything you can do online? 72 hours later, i was there online with 500 people. here we go! # the way you are # the way you are...# we were all waving our hands and clapping and singing along — just the joy of that, itjust made me super happy. so, we might not be able to be together but we can still sing together. david sillito, bbc news. some great stuff there. on our website, we have various ideas on how you can keep motivated

and in control. parents, really good section on what to tell your children when it comes to tell them what is happening right now. thank you for watching. yesterday it was in scotland that of the day's bright weather with spells of sunshine coming through, for example this weather watch picture. it was not like that everywhere. england and wales, slow—moving weather without bringing murky weather without bringing murky weather and outbreaks of light rain and drizzle. that front is this cloud you can see how. it is this weather front that separates the murky weather to the south with a clearer and colder conditions across the north of the uk. 0ver colder conditions across the north of the uk. over the next few hours, the weather front is still with us, bringing cloud and rain, murky across parts of the midlands, wales and england with fog patches. the cloud

stops it from getting too cold. temperatures for some around eight celsius over the next few hours. further north, with clear skies, cold enough for a few bits of frost. it will bring a future showers into shetland and 0rkney as we start the day. a few more showers into the north—west of scotland later on as well. the winds will be getting lighter all the time. further south, weather front not moving very far. if you start off with outbreaks of rank, chances are they will be there even into the latter part of the afternoon. temperatures around 8— 10 degrees. 0n the northern edge, quite chilly for one or two areas. friday, our front is a seal that moving further southwards. the cloud still quite thick. cold went around the headlands of

south—west england. the wind will make it feel quite chilly even though there will be a little bit more of the sunshine to go around. looking at the weather charts into the weekend, this area of high pressure really setting up for a prolonged spell of dry weather for the uk but a prolonged spell of dry weatherfor the uk but the amount of cloud we see ferries from place to place. on saturday, we could see some areas of cloud across the north sea. it will affect eastern coast. west of scotland, north—west england, north—west wales, the favourite areas for seeing spells of sunshine. cool wind knocking the edge of the temperatures on eastern coast. not particularly well before the time of year. the second half of the weekend also looks like it will stay dry stop fund weather looks set to last into the first part of next week as well.

this is bbc news, the headlines: italy has reported nearly 500 extra deaths from coronavirus, the highest—one—day toll of any nation. it brings the country's total to nearly three thousand. more than a third of all coronavirus fatalities now originate from the country. the virus pandemic is continuing to impact world markets. in new york stocks plunged, following earlier declines seen in europe. analysts warn the virus could send the world economy into recession. the european central bank has announced it will launch an $820 billion emergency bond buying scheme. america has ramped up its response to the coronavirus. president trump has closed his country's border with canada and invoked a wartime law to increase supplies of vital