hello, this is bbc news. the headlines: the prime minister warns the national health service could soon be "overwhelmed" with coronavirus patients. london's mayor urges people to act responsibly. u nless unless people stay—at—home, unless people stop using public transport, u nless people stop using public transport, unless people stop interacting with each other much more people will die. borisjohnson urges people to "make the heroic and collective national effort" to slow the spread of the virus.

he cautions against visiting loved ones on mother's day. nhs england writes to 1.5 million people, who are most at risk, strongly advising them not to go out for 12 weeks, to protect themselves. more than a billion people in india are under a m hour—long curfew to try to limit the epidemic. in europe, italy edges closer to complete shutdown. spain races to create more space to treat the sick after the number of deaths rises by a third. sport now, and a full round up from the bbc sport centre. with most professional sporting events postponed or cancelled across the world, pressure is continuing to grow on the organisers of the olympic games. as it stands, the games are still set to begin injuly in tokyo but brazil, norway and slovenia's olympic

committees have urged them to be postponed. as have the usa's athletics governing body. they've written a letter to the us olympic and paralympic committee asking for the games to be held at a different time. olympic hopeful and usa track and field board member wallace spearmom says the issue of the disease spreading is much more important than sport. so this is my last chance to make an olympic games. and still it doesn't change any thoughts i have. i would never look back on this moment and say i wish something else could have happened. if we can save lives and i don't get a chance to redeem myself at the games, then it's still worth it. i don't care. it's bigger than me. i had my chances. i should have done a betterjob. everything happens for a reason. so, yeah, iwouldn‘t change my mind at all. southampton‘s chief executive has told the bbc that premier league matches could be televised every day while people are still confined to their homes because of the coronavirus outbreak. all football is currently suspended until the end of april, but martin semmens believes football

returning could be "good thing" for the country if it was safe to do so. semmens says teams are hopeful of completing the league by the end ofjune, but did not yet know when play would resume. my understanding, having spent a reasonable amount of time with the government, is that in the right situation and the right time, when everybody is safe and we are not using up resources, the government would like us to get back to playing. they would like us to get back to playing because we are an entertainment, and we would be a sign that the country is coming back to normal. and if people are home for another month and there is a premier league football game on tv, that can only be a good thing. a former manchester united player has tested positive for coronavirus. he has been observing a quarantine period and according to his club he is fit and well, despite the positive test, and they believe he will get better pretty soon.

michael vaughan says he hopes cricket can resume later in the year. the county cricket season was due to start next month, but now it will not start until at least that may the 28 because of the coronavirus crisis. england ‘s international summit is not due to start untiljune. international summit is not due to start untiljune. cricket is, like many sports, up in the air of when they know that they can play again. i think they have made the right decision. day today we are getting different messages about this terrible virus. in cricket we will just have to go on the expert advice. if late in the summer cricket can take place and the international calendar can take place from june the 4th, that would be terrific, but first and foremost, cricket, like everyone else, isjust hoping that everyone stays safe, and sport really becomes secondary in what the country and the whole world are going through. yes, worrying times for the sport, but like eve ryo ne times for the sport, but like everyone in society over here, we will knuckle down and fight through it, and i'm sure we will be back

later on in the summer. after 11 weeks in hospital, have a look at this. he's now managing to walk unaided. his wife tatiana posted this video on social media saying "he was literally paralysed from the neck down ten weeks ago. you're witnessing a miracle that even medical professionals can't explain," that is all your sport now. more throughout the day. we've been getting lots of questions sent to us about the coronavirus pandemic, as well as the impact on health services. we're going to do our best now to answer some of them now on bbc your questions answered.

to help answer your questions, i'm joined by peter drobac, who's a global health physician at the said business school in oxford. we can also speak to dr amir khan, a gp who runs large practice. hejoins me from leeds. welcome to you both. thank you for taking the time to answer questions. the first one comes from elaine. "it is clear that the symptoms of the virus are fever and persistent cough. but are the early symptoms different? "i have currently got sore throat, feel achy and a headache. "could this be the start of the virus?" that is a really good question. we know that the vast majority of

people will have a fever and a cough as part of the illness, but there is as part of the illness, but there is a whole myriad of other symptoms. so a whole myriad of other symptoms. so a sore throats, headaches, aches all over, sometimes diarrhoea and vomiting, and we are also hearing loss of sense of smell and taste, all being part of it. it is an emerging illness. we are learning more and more each time. so if that lady has got a sore throat and a headache, i would take it as the coronavirus. don't take any risks, self—isolate for 14 days. the vast majority get a fever and cough, but there are other symptoms as well. "my husband is over 70 but i am not. should we both be self—isolating?" so, the government social distancing advice applies to everybody, but those who are over 70 or in medically vulnerable categories are asked to follow it more strictly. her husband should maintain the

strictest possible social distancing measures that are possible. as for lorraine herself, as much as possible is advisable, when necessary she would be the appropriate person to go to shops on appropriate person to go to shops on a limited basis, but only for essential things. the more social distancing we can practice, the greater our collective good. "i am just developing symptoms of coronavirus. "once it's over, can i walk around normally because i'll be immune?" that is a question that is coming up a lot, and the answer is you may well be immune, but wejust a lot, and the answer is you may well be immune, but we just don't know. the vast majority of people who have had coronavirus so far have not had it again, but there is a small number where they have been infected again with coronavirus, so although we are relying on herd immunity, and the vast majority will become immune, there is a small number, and that might be due to the

virus or their immune system, that won't be immune to it. so we have all got to practice social distancing for the greater good. i would not rely on thatjust yet. but just be careful. good advice. "how can i increase mine and my family's immune "system against covid i9? "should we eat certain foods or vitamins? " in other words, is there anything other people can do in advance to boost their immunity to this? we know that the most important thing is to maintain a healthy diet as much as possible with fruit and vegetables, and find a way to get some exercise. both of those are more difficult than usual because out access more difficult than usual because our access to food supplies has become more complicated, and many of

us out become more complicated, and many of us our elite macro are at home, but finding a way to maintain a healthy life style finding a way to maintain a healthy lifestyle is the most important thing. along with hand washing. we are all entering thing. along with hand washing. we are allentering a thing. along with hand washing. we are all entering a difficult time financially, don't spend a lot of time buying vitamins, just focus on healthy foods. 0k, thank you. this isa healthy foods. 0k, thank you. this is a mother's day question. "is it advisable to leave flowers, cards or presents outside our "mothers' front doors, in order that they can "pop out to collect them when nobody is around?" it is so difficult to date with it being mother's day. i am not going to see my mother either, and she understands. studies are coming out about how long the coronavirus cannot stay on surfaces, more particularly things like cardboard. that is yet to be reviewed, so we will have to treat it with caution. that could suggest coronavirus could stay on cardboard for up to 24—hour is. it is so hard. you want to do

something if you can't see her, you wa nt to something if you can't see her, you want to give her a present of some sort. just be very mindful of that. you can try to disinfect surfaces, but the best thing is nothing at all, just stay home and face time them, but i do understand that is hard. if you have to leave something on the doorstop, make it as hygienic as possible, but it is not foolproof and it is important people know that. the prime minister said the press to present you can give your mother is not to go and see her —— best present. "i am a single mum, i have twin li—year—old boys, one of which is disabled with respiratory problems, what can "i do if my other son shows signs?" if possible in that situation, if it we re if possible in that situation, if it were possible to find a relative or another person that you are close to who could care for your vulnerable soi'i who could care for your vulnerable son during that time period, that

would be the ideal situation. it would be the ideal situation. it would be the ideal situation. it would be worth preparing now for that scenario, just in case. if that is not possible, there are things you can do as much as possible to maintain some isolation within the home. i would maintain some isolation within the home. iwould recommend maintain some isolation within the home. i would recommend to everyone with questions is that the nhs has good, detailed advice around staying at home. if you google nhs stay—at—home advice, there is detailed, accurate guidelines about what to do in certain situations. thank you. "lots of people writing in about asthma. "i have had asthma all my life, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease for the last 10 years. "what is the risk assessment for me?q. "should i be wearing a face mask if i need to go out?" 0k, ok, the first thing i would say to people with asthma is make sure it is as well—controlled as possible.

inhalers are split into two groups. they are on preventatives, which they take every date regardless of how they are feeling, and they have relievers like if they get short of breath. make sure you are on the right to preventative inhalers. if you are using your blue inhaler a lot, then you may not be on the right preventative inhalers, so talk to your practice nurse on the phone about that. do use your inhaler properly and that your technique is good. stop smoking. that's really important. regardless of all of that, you are still in a high—risk category, and west possible you should be self isolating for 12 weeks. —— where possible. if you have face masks at home, donate them to your local hospital, they need them the most. hospitals themselves can become an epicentre of the spread of coronavirus, so it is important that our health workers

are protected. for those who are going out, the most important thing is to wash your hands when you leave the house, and immediately when you return home. when you are out, maintaina minimum return home. when you are out, maintain a minimum of two metres distance between yourself and others. yes, that is interesting. so wash your hands when you leave your house, and when you come back in? that's right. that is important. in general, getting a really rigorous routine of hand washing. but every time someone leaves the house immediately, and when they come back, the first thing should be to wash your hands. that is to reduce any risk that if you had touch a contaminated surface while you were out and about, that he would not carry that back out into the home. this one is from tim in hampshire. "can you tell me if there is a correlation between smoking and more serious complications of catching covid—i9? "

absolutely there is. if you're smoking has led things to like copd, already your lungs are weak, but if you are just already your lungs are weak, but if you arejust a already your lungs are weak, but if you are just a smoking and you have no other underlying health conditions, there is a link between simply smoking and developing the more serious complications of the coronavirus, complications such as pneumonia, respiratory distress, and death. if that doesn't prompt you to stop smoking, nothing will. please stop smoking, nothing will. please stop smoking. smoking alone is a risk factor. "can you get infected from handling the packing on home delivered groceries?" imean, i mean, answer that question, but also tell us about how long this

virus can stay on any kind of surface. there has been some early research that demonstrates that the virus can live on surfaces, different services, anywhere from a couple of hours, up to three days. however, the amount of virus persisting after a short time drops off dramatically. this was in a laboratory setting, so it's hard to apply this to real life. the reality is that the risk from delivered goods is going to be fairly low. but i would recommend that delivered goods is safer than going to the shops yourselves. of course, restaurants are closed, so i would encourage that. my suggestion would be to wash your hands before handling those packages, to store things and put them away, and then wash your hands right after. "my mother is 61 and has addison's disease, "so she is steroid dependent. "could you please advise if she is in a high risk category?"

maybe just tell us what they high—risk category is. we are getting this advice now from the prior minister about 1.5 million people most at risk you need to self—isolate for 12 weeks. but who are those high—risk people? self—isolate for 12 weeks. but who are those high-risk people? to a nswer are those high-risk people? to answer the question, yes, your mum is in answer the question, yes, your mum isina answer the question, yes, your mum is in a high—risk category. addison's disease is a chronic condition, where you are dependent on steroids, so you are high—risk and you should be isolating for 12 weeks. in terms of who else is high—risk, the simplest way to say it, if you have ever been invited to have your annual flu jab, you are it, if you have ever been invited to have your annualflu jab, you are in a high—risk group. that is anyone with a chronic underlying health condition, carers or other people, and people over 65 or 70, which is what we are looking at now. if you have had a letter for a flu jab or pneumonia jab, then you are in a high—risk group. pneumonia jab, then you are in a high-risk group. thank you.

"during the 2002 foot and mouth epidemic, "the ministry of agriculture, fisheries and food listed substances "which destroyed that virus, like washing soda. "is there a similar list available regarding covid 19 virus?" it isa it is a different situation. i don't have a specific list, but what we know is that all forms of soap with detergent action, with adequate contact detergent action, with adequate co nta ct of detergent action, with adequate contact of about 20 seconds, should kill the virus, as does anything containing 60% concentration of alcohol, like the hand sanitiser rubs, as well as bleach. for those concerned with reducing risk in and around the home, your normal household washing products should be adequate. so just to household washing products should be adequate. sojust to be household washing products should be adequate. so just to be clear, when you wash your hands, if you are not using soap, is that not really dealing with the virus? rinsing with water might wash off some of the virus, theoretically, but it is the detergent action in the soap which

disrupts the membrane of the virus and kills it. we recommend 20 seconds minimum of washing with soap and water, pretend you are a surgeon on television when you are doing it, rub your hands together, all surfaces, on rub your hands together, all surfaces, on your rub your hands together, all surfaces, on your wrists, rub your hands together, all surfaces, on yourwrists, in rub your hands together, all surfaces, on your wrists, in between your fingers, surfaces, on your wrists, in between yourfingers, and surfaces, on your wrists, in between your fingers, and don't leave any spots uncovered during that period. "my father is in hospital and has been diagnosed terminally ill. i have asthma, but otherwise well. it terrifies me, the thought of not being able to visit my dad. "what should i do?" first of all, i am sorry to hear about your dad. it is a really, really tricky situation. you do want to go, it is very emotional, there is an emotive drive to want to go, but you have asthma, you should be self isolating. also, for the sake of the staff at the hospital, who are looking after your father, if there is anyway you can skype him,

that would be ideal. these decisions are highly emotional, which makes them so difficult, but for your own sake, and for the sake of the staff, if you can possibly avoid going, i really would. "if my carer cannot come in to help me how will i survive? i have multiple health problems and permanently housebound. "what shall i do?" a really poignant question. this is one of the great challenges we will face in the coming weeks and months. maintaining home—based care for individuals who need it. i think the most important thing right now would be to try to plan for back—up options in the event that your carer is not able to come in, if it is through a service where maybe somebody else can come in if the normal carer falls ill, or family members or neighbours who might be willing to help out. we are seeing a lot of local organisations, charities, neighbourhood

associations, really rallying together to prepare for this now. reaching out and getting connected is very important. "do you need to have both a fever and a cough to have the coronavirus or can you just have one?" you can certainly have just one. it is fever or cough and i get this question all the time. people think they have just got the cough so they don't have it. yes, you may well have it. even mild cold like symptoms, we have got to take precautions with that now as well. please stay at home if you have any symptoms of airway issues, so anything in your throat or nose alongside that of eva will stop we can't be too careful. —— that fever. if you aren't doing it for yourself, do it for us nhs staff. do you think we asa do it for us nhs staff. do you think

we as a country are doing enough? are people taking this seriously enough? i am worried that we have not been acting quickly and aggressively enough to contain this. if you look at the countries that have come before us, there are some that acted quickly, like south korea and singapore and have been able to contain this for now. others waited too long, like italy and iran and are now suffering terribly. we may still have a small window of opportunity to prevent this from overwhelming the country and the health system, but we are already starting to see that now. we need to move as aggressively as possible. i think that more aggressive social distancing and really shutdown places like london, is definitely worth considering. in the absence of more aggressive government advice, we can all take matters into our own hands by staying home as much as possible, and preparing i think for a prolonged period of social

distancing. thank you both will being with us. peter, global health physician from the business school in oxford, and amir khan from a gp practice in leeds. thank you for asking so many of our viewers questions. —— answering. well, as we were hearing, it is mother's day in many parts of the world, but people are being warned not to visit elderly mothers, and that has caused a huge fall in demand for flowers that would otherwise have been destined to become a mother's day gift. in the netherlands, growers are destroying millions of flowers a day. inside the world's largest flower auction, the demand forfresh blossoms has been decimated by the pandemic, leaving horticulturalists with the undesirable job

of wrecking the source of their own livelihoods. at the moment, the growers are destroying the flowers at their own nurseries. maybe 70%, 80% of the total production is being demolished. the combination of rock bottom prices and high quality roses and tulips left on the shelf is, they say, unrivalled in the last century. the dutch auction already exists for more than 100 years and this is the first time that we are in such a crisis. the growers are now asking the dutch government to rescue them with an emergency financial package, or face ruin within weeks. a lot of companies, growers and trade companies, will go bankrupt and that

will be devastating. for some, it's already too late. this mother's day, the best way for most of us to show our love is by keeping our distance, to protect those and their 60s, 70s and beyond who appear to be more likely to die if they catch the coronavirus. anna holligan, bbc news, in the hague. the latest on the situation in spain, it is the second worst outbreak in europe after italy. the latest number of coronavirus cases has risen up to 28,572. that is a pretty big jump. in terms of the death toll, that has risen from

1326, up to 1720. another huge rise in the death toll in spain. second only to italy, in terms of the number of cases and deaths. hello. it's a dry sunday out there, across most of the uk. notjust dry, but there's a fair amount of sunshine as well. that's all because it's high—pressure close to the uk, seems like it's a long way away but its influence is still being felt across the british isles in terms of settling the weather down, making most places dry, and allowing a good deal of sunshine out there. the exception, north, north—west scotland staying mostly cloudy, a bit of patchy rain in the western isles, some of that continuing into the afternoon. elsewhere, we've seen some cloud this afternoon, a lot of that will be clearing away to allow abundant sunshine. there's still this east—south—easterly breeze.

it is a bit lighter than it was yesterday, still noticeable and particularly across these north sea coasts holding temperatures seven or eight celsius, whereas elsewhere, many of us creeping into double figures. into tonight, that breeze eases a bit further in england and wales, with clear skies there will be a widespread frost taking hold. frost in southern and eastern scotland as well but north west scotland into northern ireland, there is a breeze there. some cloud around, still a bit of rain into the western isles, temperatures here though are holding up. elsewhere, it's going to be a frosty start to monday, temperatures going down to —5dc across parts of north—east england, for example, to start the day tomorrow. a lot of fine weather to come, again particularly in england and wales, barely a cloud in the sky. some brightness in scotland and northern ireland will turn increasingly hazy but no brightness for the north west of scotland and the western isles, it will turn very wet here into the afternoon. a burst of quite persistent heavy rain around, and a brisk breeze. where you have the sunshine, temperatures will be a little bit higher. this weather front bringing the rain

to north, north west scotland, is still there on tuesday. so initially this week it's in no hurry to move away, that means another very wet day for some of us here on tuesday. the rain totals will start to mount. could see a few spots of rain elsewhere, in scotland and northern ireland, increasing cloud and breeze. still a lot of fine weather through much of england and wales, and here temperatures are a little bit higher. so for some it's turning milder. that's not going to last, the weather front towards the north—west as the week goes on will sink south, it will tend to weaken and as that clears on through, we are left with a bright end to the week, a few showers and a chilly northerly breeze.

it this is bbc news. the headlines: the national health service could soon be "overwhelmed" with coronavirus patients — warns the british prime minister. london's mayor urges people to act responsibly. unless people stay at home, unless people stop using public transport unless it is essential, unless people stop interacting with each other, more people will die. borisjohnson urges people to "make the heroic and collective national effort" to slow the spread of the virus. he cautions against visiting loved ones on mother's day. nhs england writes to 1.5 million people, who are most at risk — strongly advising them not to go out for 12 weeks, to protect themselves. in europe, italy edges closer to complete shutdown.