this is bbc news. the headlines at 9pm: the devasting effects of coronavirus pubs, restaurants, and gyms are among the places ordered to close as an unprecedented rescue package is unveiled for workers and businesses. the government will pay all employees 80% of their salary up to 2,500 pounds a month the chancellor said it was one of the most comprehensive set of measures in the world. life as we know it is changing dramatically with the prime minister urging people to stay at home. it comes as scientists warn it could be almost 12 months before social distancing measures are lifted in order not to overload the nhs.

a major london hospital becomes the first in the uk to temporarily run out of critical care capacity for coronavirus patients. and the government suspends driving tests for up to 3 months — with the exception of key workers who will still be able to take their tests. music and as the pubs are ordered to shut, we see how revellers have come up with a novel solution by taking their club night online. good evening and welcome to bbc news. in an unprecedented move the government has ordered

the shutting down of bars, pubs and leisure centres, many of the places we visit regularly. it came as the chancellor rishi sunak announced a dramatic package of measures to help protect businesses, jobs and the vulnerable. saying we've never had state intervention like this in this country before. rishi sunak said the government would pay up to 80% of people's wages — up to a maximum of 2,500 pounds a month to those who's jobs are at risk. and across the uk, the prime minister demanded the immediate shutting down of the vast majority of places where we socialise and exercise. it came as government advisers issued a sobering warning that social distancing measures would need to be in place for the best part of a year to prevent nhs intensive care units from being overwhelmed. the latest figures show that there have now been 3,983 confirmed coronavirus cases

in the uk, although experts think the total number is considerably higher. and there have been 177 deaths. here's our political correspondent alex forsyth. this will become a familiar sight across the country soon. restaurants, cafe‘s, pubs, shut as a result of this virus. for businesses, the key question, how to stay afloat with the doors closed and, crucially, what happens to all the workers with nowhere to go? today, the prime minister acknowledged the impact of this decision but claimed there was no choice. we are collectively telling, telling, cafe is, pubs, bars and restaurants to close tonight, as sooner stay reasonably can, and not to open tomorrow. though, to be clear, they can continue to provide take out services.

from the chancellor, a promise to help thousands inevitably now facing an enormous economic struggle. we are setting up a new coronavirus job retention scheme. any employer in the country, small or large, charitable or nonprofit, will be eligible for the scheme. employers will be able to contact hmrc for a grant to cover most of the wages of people who are not working, but are furloughed and kept on payroll, rather than being laid off. government grants will cover 80% of the salary of retained workers, up to a total of £2500 a month. how long, if you can, do you see these measures lasting and how do you plan to enforce them? i think everybody can see the imperative of doing what is necessary, of protecting our nhs and saving lives.

some businesses have already shut up shop. this salon in east london didn't want to spread the virus. despite rate relief, grants and access to loans already on offer, one big worry was still how to pay their staff. we are trying to keep them on the books for now, that was the last conversation that we had with them and we have just said that we will keep in contact with them, you know, while this all unfolds. we don't have loads of money in the bank. we have a little cushion but not much. the government is putting in place significant measures to try and counter the impact of this virus in just days and weeks, policies that would usually take months, if not years, to implement and with all of the knowledge that the decisions it takes now will have crucial consequences for all of us, as the way we live our lives profoundly changes. not doing enough means that workers, unwittingly, put the whole community at risk, because if you feel the need to go out and work because you have no

alternative as a means of feeding yourself and your family, then you are going to go out. in scotland, an acknowledgement people will have to make sacrifices but a message that there is little option. doing everything we can to slow down the spread of this virus now means that we will save lives and we will protect our nhs. we cannot just carry on as normal. life right now, is not normal. london at lunchtime today. it may look very different tomorrow. the government is promising to help all those who will feel the impact of this announcement, as the struggle to manage this virus reaches a whole new stage. alex forsyth, bbc news, westminster. today's announcement from the chancellor amounts to an unprecedented intervention by the state into the private sector. our business editor, simonjack, has been looking at the scale of the problem facing the government. one of east london's popular social hotspots on a typical saturday. this is what it will look like this weekend.

the government has just ordered the closure of venues like this, but its advice on monday to avoid them has already been catastrophic for the hospitality industry. after the prime minister's announcement on monday evening that everyone should avoid bars, restaurants and public spaces, we've decided the next day, tuesday morning, we had to lose 85% of our people. a millionjobs have been lost in hospitality in 36 hours at the beginning of this week following that announcement. we're now focused on trying to save the jobs of the next million. in the last hour, the government promised businesses a rebate worth 80% of their staffs wages. despite that, businesses are still expected to shed hundreds of thousands ofjobs to cut costs as income dries up. on a normal saturday night, 2,500 people would come through this food hall, but it's now shut for the foreseeable future. and although the government has announced hundreds of billions of potential support, it's not size that matters, it's the speed with which businesses

can get that support. for many, it's already too late. like workers at this hotel in scotland who live on—site and were told to leave theirjob and their home immediately. i got this letter telling me i have to leave and i get fired. they didn't give me any reasons. i have been working here for two years. in the middle of a pandemic, it's notjust a normal loss ofjob, it's a pandemic. and what about the millions of self—employed people, like theatre director cat robey and her colleagues who are trying to work out what the future holds for them? all of us are self—employed and we have no idea what that means in terms of our income, anyjob security, whether we can pay our rent next month, and we have no idea when any shows or any work will start again for any of us. the government has just announced the self—employed will be able to defer tax payments and get greater access to benefits,

which will be increased. many businesses are also desperate for a guarantee they won't forfeit their lease if they don't pay the rent — another new front in a health—turned—economic emergency which has seen the greatest government intervention in private business in living memory. our business editor simon jack reporting there. so as we heard — pubs, restaurants, gyms, leisure centres and cinemas across the uk are being told to close — in an effort to slow the spread of the virus. so how are people responding? helena wilkinson provided an update for us. on a normal friday night here in leicester square in the heart of london, this area would be packed with londoners and tourists. these are not normal times though, of course, it is deserted here. there's about 20 people in the square. a lot of the bars and restaurants are already shut here, the cinema behind as being one of them.

there are still some venues still open, still people drinking in some of those venues as well, but the owners of these cafes, pubs and restaurants tonight are digesting the news that from tonight, they are being told by the government that they are going to have to shut for the foreseeable future. the restrictions announced by the government tonight, another sign of the extraordinary impact this virus is having on all of our lives. among the changes to everyday life are all experiencing where he learned this evening that driving tests are another of the activities being suspended in response to the outbreak. suspended in response 0ur correspondentjohn mcmanus is here and can tell us more. we still had a few questions. just give us a bit of clarity in the details of this decision. to sum up what we knew about an hour ago the secretary of state for transport and

announced first on twitter that driving tests were being suspended for the next three months from tomorrow. anybody expecting to take a test in one of the many learning centres around the country across the whole of the uk including northern ireland, that won't happen for another three months. unless they are a key worker. they are exempt from the suspension and he says they will be prioritised. no driving test for most people. however, in the hat last half—hour of the department for transport port has clarified further with me and told me in fact, the lessons that are given out to people that many people take more than 500,000 were taking them in the last three months of last year, that's fine. they can still go ahead because the department that licenses and monitors driving tests, they don't have any power to stop driving lessons. they say they've offered advice to driving schools in individual driving instructors about how to prevent the spread but they don't have the power to stop them offering lessons. so that's gonna be

a pretty difficult decision for many of them to take especially so many of them to take especially so many of them to take especially so many of them are self—employed. in terms of them are self—employed. in terms of figures here, how many people could be affected by not taking that test? according to the governments own figures over the last three months to december 2019 for hundred and 25,000 practical car tests were taken. that was just over three months. and more than that for hundred and 72,000 took the theory tests that go with them as well. hundreds of thousands of people being affected by this. many of whom of course we know that taking driving lessons are extremely stressful things to do. and it occupies a lot of peoples time and thought trying to get it right. this isn't going to be good news for them. i suspect many of them might have hoped that with so many drivers off the road not going to work, it would've been the perfect time to get this done. but that might not be the case. we're waiting for clarification for some of the uk's biggest driving schools like the aa for example, about what they are

going to do. we should have that later this evening. if they're going to have refresher course of its gonna cost more? thank you very much. a major london hospital has become the first in the uk to announce that it had for a time run out of critical care capacity to treat coronavirus patients. northwick park hospital declared a "critical incident" for 2h hours and contacted neighbouring hospitals about transferring patients. it comes as more than 65—thousand former nurses and doctors in england, wales and scotland are being contacted about returning to work to help deal with coronavirus. here's our health editor, hugh pym. the critical incident was declared at northwick park hospital yesterday because all specialist bed for coronavirus care were full. patients were diverted to other

hospitals. it highlights the strain of the nhs in london as one doctor at another hospital explained. london as one doctor at another i guess if things get really bad, then there is the worry that intensive care beds will get completely full and further patients won't be able to be admitted or they will have to make horrible decisions about who gets an intensive care bed and who doesn't, even though in normal circumstances we want to give them to everyone. those can be really harrowing times. pressure on nhs staff is showing in different ways. finding empty supermarket shelves at the end of a long and tiring ship —shift was the last straw for dawn. people are just stripping the shelves of basic foods. you just need to stop it. because there's people like me who are going to be looking after you when you are at your lowest. just stop it. please! england's chief nursing

officer tell me how sad she was to hear dawn‘s story. it is heartbreaking when you see nurses across the country working 48—hour shifts and they are working so hard. they will be working even harder, i am absolutely sure. i am asking all supermarkets to open their doors for those working in health and social care, providing this expert care to our patients. this taxi firm in the east midlands is offering free delivery of food to nhs staff, as well as those who are vulnerable. they say they made 300 deliveries in the last few days. a call has gone out to retired staff to come back to the nhs front line. bridget worked for 38 years in the health service, mostly as a senior nurse and is ready to return. it is a scary prospect, because we don't know enough about this disease at the moment. and, you know, there is a lot to be learned but i think it is really important for me to go back in.

i think ijust have to take it as it comes. it is clear that nhs leaders are expecting immense pressure as case number search. that is why they want to bring back retired staff, but many doctors and nurses are very concerned about what they are facing up to right now. the work of staff was seen first hand by the duke and duchess of cambridge, visiting an nhs111 call centre. one part of the huge effort being made across the service. hugh pym, bbc news. the headlines on bbc news: the devasting effects of coronavirus — pubs, restaurants, and gyms are among the places ordered to close as an unprecedented rescue package is unveiled for workers and businesses. the government will pay all employees 80% of their salary,

up to £2500 a month. the chancellor said it was one of the most comprehensive set of measures in the world. life as we know it is changing dramatically with the prime minister urging people to stay at home. the government's scientific advisors have warned that social distancing policies will need to be in place for the best part of a year alternating between strict and less strict measures to help intensive care units cope. it's in marked contrast to the prime minister's assessment yesterday that the uk could turn the tide of the disease in 12 weeks. here's our medical correspondent, fergus walsh. intensive care units are overwhelmed in italy. there have been more than 600 deaths there in the past 2a hours alone. the only way to avoid that here, say government scientists, is to keep our strict social distancing controls

in place for at least six of the next 12 months. that includes school closures, general social distancing and household isolation. the scientists are trying to prevent one huge peak of cases of covid—19 which would overwhelm nhs intensive care units. instead, there would be a series of smaller peaks spread out throughout a year. to achieve this, they would suppress and then release the virus, by turning the social distancing measures on and off like a tap to control the flow of patients into intensive care. they predict a two—to—three—week delay between measures being put into place and their impact being felt in intensive care. the scientists estimate that 2% of those aged under 50 who get infected will need to be admitted to hospital, rising to 44% among the over—80s.

warmer weather reduces flu cases, but the science is unclear whether the coronavirus outbreak will subside in summer. the fatality rate for covid—19 is very age dependent, varying from 0.01% — or one in10,000 — among the under—20s, rising to 8% — or one in 12 — among the over—80s. a vaccine could save millions of lives globally. scientists at porton down in wiltshire are playing a key role, but it's unlikely to be ready for at least a year. fergus walsh, bbc news. italy is set to tighten its coronavirus lockdown, after the number of deaths jumped by more than six hundred in a single day. reports suggest that from saturday, parks and public gardens will be shut down and people will be allowed to take exercise only

around their own homes. to take exercise only it's the biggest daily rise to take exercise only since the virus first emerged in the country one month ago and comes one day after italy overtook china as the country with the most deaths recorded from the virus. the hardest—hit region of italy remains lombardy in the north. for comparison, china — where the contagion has slowed sharply — never reported more than 150 deaths from the virus in a single day, even at the height of the epidemic. sima kotecha has more from rome some people here in italy are calling it the 9/11 of italy. incredibly alarming figures. and as you say, we've now surpassed china. if you look at the population of the two countries, china having a population of 1.4 billion, italy having a population of 64 million, there are questions to be asked, why this has happened, in a smaller country with fewer people. most of those fatalities are in the north of the country where hospitals are incredibly stressed.

running out of key pieces of kit such as ventilators and facemasks. we know that the chinese have bought nine tonnes of kit with them. chinese medics have come over with a lot of extra supplies for hospitals in milan where they are struggling to cope. this concern of the outbreak and moved to the south. the people have made thatjourney south that they tried to flee the outbreak. it is not as well—equipped, it's a poor part of the country and the government is worried that if the outbreak does move down there how will those hospitals cope? a priority for the government is to make sure doctors and nurses remain protected from this virus. and the stringent measurements that are in place at the moment restricting people's movement around the country with the stringent measurements can be made even more strict. we heard from the sports ministry

yesterday saying that at the moment people can go out for a jog, they can walk their dog, they can go to the supermarket, there's a possibility that even those things might not be allowed. it'll be very much aware that it's probably going to get worse before it gets better. —italy this figure is expected to continue rising, but also the agitation of some having to stay in their homes 11 days already and knowing that those measurements might be in place for another month or so is hard for them to take. spain marked a grim milestone today. now the virus has claimed more than a thousand lives. climbing by 235 deaths in the past day. the latest statistics from the countries health ministry showed 19,980 confirmed cases of coronavirus. many british nationals are stuck in southern

spain. from where are your comments delete that correspondence reports. 0n the loudspeaker warnings that hardly seems necessary and a half empty airport. the q is for the flight empty airport. the q is for the flight to london it sold out. people scrambling to get while they can the last tickets going deer. up to £1000 i thought, i'll stick with try find my way dark back down to brighton. so you're 0k than? you're getting back? who knows, who knows, who knows. in the middle of it all we found these two. in years, she's getting upset, i just want mum. you should come home.

she is 86, herfamily had been begging her to come home too.|j she is 86, herfamily had been begging her to come home too. i got 20 grandchildren, 16 grey, six great great great, five generation and they're all oh,. there is one think she's looking forward to. hopefully i'iow she's looking forward to. hopefully now i can put on to a lovely roast dinner. big slice of beef with all the lovely veg from the garden. from today flights from the uk are still running, next week they may be even fewer leaving tough choices for those still here. we have enough food for maybe another for five days. because of her dogs, the only way allison can get home is by ferry. she worries about being on a ship with up to 2000 other people. would that be safe. and should have to cross spain to get to it.|j would that be safe. and should have to cross spain to get to it. i have been quite anxious this week. we haven't left the house since last friday. getting back to the uk poses real problems. it's a 12 hour drive.

we normally stop in madrid on the way and say the hotel. and i referred the are closing. for those who do stay even the beaches are now closed. these are difficult i love his thousands are facing. is it better to leave before travel restrictions tightened even further. 0r stay put. where is the best place to ride out the difficult times approaching? whether the public are following social distancing advice. said it was in talks with government and how i could aid against the fight against a pandemic. againsta pandemic. 02 against a pandemic. 02 said it had been asked mapping the virus but ruled out individuals to be identified.

as we've been here and we all have to adapt over the coming months, one of the novel innovation for socialising during the new restrictions are new apps for hosting and joining online house parties. 0ne one person who's been instrumental in galvanising a huge online community is samuel farley who started a facebook group encouraging others to party with him. earlier i spoke to samuel who was mid party. basically, a couple of weeks ago i was seeing what was going on and i was seeing a lot of events a re going on and i was seeing a lot of events are being cancelled. for me at my social life, i really love to go out to see people. i'm having a

second wind in my 30s. i have a lot of amazing friends that i've met through different communities in the uk. and all around the country. and i thought why can't ijust do something for my friends? we can get together, do some things and i made this groupjust together, do some things and i made this group just randomly one—day. and then people started to comment, ohi and then people started to comment, oh i want help. this amazing tactic quy oh i want help. this amazing tactic guy helps and then, people created events and more and more people came and created events. she does dance parties, people love it. and then it's just been incredible focal point of peoples fears and can isolation and we just come together and it's a beautiful community gathering online. hope for the future of how we can use online to connecting kind of healing. when you've been talking to your party animals what have they been struggling with whilst they been in

isolation? just, people are not used to being alone. and not having the opportunity tojust to being alone. and not having the opportunity to just go out. i think people haven't really experienced that before. all those difficult emotions, boredom and stress just raises up and becomes really difficult to deal with. how long to these parties last? when does everybody load out? you logout don't you? we've everybody load out? you logout don't you ? we've got everybody load out? you logout don't you? we've got a party going for two hours. then we have an after party. with live musicians and djs and that will go on to probably like 12. we are seeing people there but there's people still dancing,. you can't beat a good book can you? know, what i realised is dancing makes me happy. and just moving, just allowing the music to let you move, it's just a allowing the music to let you move, it'sjust a wonderful allowing the music to let you move, it's just a wonderful way to express yourself. you can't do better than that. party

animal samuel farley there. 0k, animal samuel farley there. 0k, now it's time for a look at the weather with helen willets. good evening. after the sunshine for many today, the temperatures are already falling away. still lengthy nights, still long enough to produce some frost quite widely through the coming night, although in the south, we're still having to clear that cloud slowly away and the keen winds. that will hold temperatures above freezing here, but it's cold elsewhere. perhaps not such a hard frost for parts of scotland and northern ireland, but nevertheless a noticeable chill first thing saturday. almost two seasons in one day because by the time we get into the afternoon, with a strengthening sunshine away from the east coast where there's that keen wind in the south, i think we'll appreciate the 10s and 11s. perhaps just a little bit cloud in the south—west and later on towards the west of northern ireland. with the approach of this very weak weather front through the course of saturday night into sunday, but for most the high—pressure is clinging on throughout the weekend. in fact, it hangs on into next week. perhaps a little bit more cloud

for eastern scotland and eastern england sunday. otherwise, a little bit less wind, so feeling a little less chilly. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines. the devasting effects of coronavirus. pubs, restaurants, and gyms are among the places ordered to close — as an unprecedented rescue package is unveiled for workers and businesses. the government will pay all employees 80% of their salary — up to 2,500 pounds a month — the chancellor said it was one of the most comprehensive set of measures in the world. life as we know it is changing dramatically — with the prime minister urging people to stay at home. it comes as scientists warn it could be almost 12 months before social distancing measures are lifted — in order not to overload the nhs. a major london hospital becomes the first in the uk