built up then has just continued. unsold mother's day flowers as the nation are told to keep away from mum. the many, this is how mother's day gratings have had to be made. i'm sorry i can't be their mum. it's 0k philipl i'm sorry i can't be their mum. it's 0k philip i understand. and for these mothers in lockdown in a care home, a message to their families. the point is to take each day as it comes, carry on regardless, be happy. it is a weekend when we have distanced ourselves from the ones we love but it is seen people come together in new ways. this about the this coronavirus outbreak on the bbc news app and on our website. now it's time for a look at the weather with helen willets. good evening. under the clear skies this evening and overnight, temperatures will fall away and we'll have a widespread

and quite sharp frost once again. the only exception being the north and west, where this thick cloud is approaching. with the wind light as well we might see some mist and fog. heading into monday, some showers for the channel islands as well. quite a sharp frost as we approach monday morning. yes, a chilly start but we should lose the easterly wind we've seen through the weekend and so temperatures will lift more readily. we'll see increasingly hazy sunshine for northern ireland and scotland with this weather front and some patchy rain coming to the highlands and the islands. here with the strengthening wind, touching gale force, it will temper our temperatures. but most will see 12 and 13 and on the east coast, where it's been so chilly, double figures. one or two showers for the channel islands. that rain will hang around for the north—west of scotland, and a met office warning is in force here. it will push south to scotland and northern ireland on wednesday.

hello this is bbc news. the headlines. the uk prime minister warns of tougher measures if social distancing advice isn't followed. he says people who are acting irresponsibly are putting lives at risk. we will keep the implementation of these measures under constant review and yes, of course we will bring forward further measures if we think that is necessary. nhs england writes to 1.5 million of the most high risk people, who are told to not leave home for 12 weeks, to shield them from the coronavirus. spain's state of emergency has been extended for another two weeks, while in italy the death toll from the virus has risen again. germany bans gatherings of more than two people in order to try and control the spread of coronavirus. now on bbc news it's

time for sportsday. the international olympic committee have said they will look at a number of options over the next four weeks as they step up contingency planning for this summer's games in tokyo. they have ruled out cancellation, but a postponement to the start date injuly will be looked at. ioc president, thomas bach has written to all athletes. this comes after more athletes from the around the world

added their voices to calls for the olympics and paralympics to be postponed. global athlete, fronted by the british olympic cycling champion, callum skinner, says that the games should be pushed back. if they're not, he thinks that athletes could be forced into boycotting the olympics. i think they're concerned about having the decision rest on their judgment. i think what we'd prefer to see is for the ioc and the ipc to take leadership on this and say that they don't consider it to be safe. i don't know if you remember the 2016 games, there were concerns about the zika virus. that seems to pale in comparison with what we're seeing with covid—i9 but we saw a number of athletes choosing not to attend because of concerns about that virus. this is also an issue which isn't totally in the control of the organisers, even if they plan to push ahead, which i would think would be ill—advised. you may see mass boycotts and that would do long—term damage to the olympic movement.

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 due to the coronavirus outbreak. as things stand, all football is suspended until the end of april. but martin semmens believes that football returning to the country could be a "good thing," if it was safe to do so. adding that, teams are hopeful of completing the league by the end ofjune, but doesn't yet know when play will resume. my understanding, having spent a reasonable amount of time with the government, is that in the right situation in the right time, when everyone is safe and we aren't using up resources, the government 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. if people are home for another month and there is a premier league football game on tv everyday that could be a good thing.

the former real madrid president, lorenzo sanz, has died after being taken to hospital with coronavirus. he was 76. and was the president at the club from 1995 to 2000, where real won the champions league twice. his son lorenzo described him as "one of the best, most courageous and hard working people". he added that "his family and real madrid were his passion". meanwhile, the former manchester united midfielder, marouane fellaini has tested positive for coronavirus. the belgium international, who currently plays in the chinese premier league, is reportedly in isolation in hospital. according to his club, he is fit and well, and they believe he will get better soon. and, good news, we've actually had some live sport today in the form of horse racing with the ulster national at downpatrick going ahead, but no racegoes in attendance. space cadet, a 33—1 outsider, gave trainer, gareroid o'loughlin his biggest win to date. amateurjockey, ben harvey just did enough to hold off last year's winner,

amorlino in the final straight. that's all the sport. there's plenty more on the bbc sport website. bye for now. now on bbc news, ben brown presents your questions answered. i'm joined by a global health position from oxford. we can talk to doctor amir khan, a gp who runs a large practice and joins us from leeds. thanks for taking the time to a nswer leeds. thanks for taking the time to answer our leeds. thanks for taking the time to answer oui’ viewers leeds. thanks for taking the time to answer our viewers questions. it's clear that the symptoms of the virus, says elaine, are a fever and persistent cough but are the early

symptoms different? she has a sore throat and she has a headache. that's a really good question. the vast majority of people will have a fever and a cough as part of having the illness but there is a myriad of other symptoms. a sore throat, headaches, aches all over, sometimes even diarrhoea and vomiting and we also hearing a loss of a sense of smell and taste are part of it. it's an emerging illness and we are learning more older time. if that lady has a sore throat and a headache, i would take it as the coronavirus. don't take any risks, self—isolate. the vast majority get the fever and the cough but there are other symptoms as well. peter, a question from lorraine dixon. her husband is over 60 but she is not. should they both be isolating? the government's social distancing advice applies to everybody but those who are over 70 or in

medically vulnerable categories are asked to follow it more strictly. for lorraine's husband he should be maintaining the strictest possible social distancing and self isolation possible and for lorraine herself as much as possible, when necessary she should be the appropriate person to go out to the shops and other things ona go out to the shops and other things on a limited basis, for essential things. for all of us, on a limited basis, for essential things. forall of us, the more social distancing we practice, the more our social distancing we practice, the more our collective good. doctor amir khan, let me ask you this from sarah murdoch. she is developing symptoms of coronavirus. when it's over, can she walk around normally because then she will be immune? that question is coming around a lot and the answer is that you might be immune but we don't know. the vast majority of people who have had the coronavirus so far haven't had it again but there a small number where they have been infected again with

they have been infected again with the coronavirus, so although we are relying on herd immunity, the majority will become immune, there isa majority will become immune, there is a small number who are not immune to it. so we've all got to practice social distancing and self isolation. i wouldn't rely on that just yet but be careful. peter, let me put this to you. from a 54—year—old in omagh, jordan. —— from amman jordan. asking 54—year—old in omagh, jordan. —— from ammanjordan. asking how to boost the immune just in from coronavirus, should they be eating certain foods and vitamins? anything people can do to boost their immunity from this? you can take that, we know it will help but the most important thing is to maintain a healthy diet with fruits and vegetables and to try to find a way to get some exercise. those things

are more difficult than usual because our access to food supplies is becoming a bit more complicated and of course many of us are at home but finding ways to maintain a healthy lifestyle is the most important thing to do, along with hand washing. we are entering a difficult time financially. i wouldn't spend a lot of money buying vitamins and minerals, i'd focus on buying healthy food. thank you. this is from lara bennett, a mother's day question really. is it advisable to leave flowers, cards or presence outside front door so that mothers can collect them if no one is around? it's so difficult with it being mother's day, we all have to adjust. studies are coming out about how long the coronavirus can stay on surfaces, things like cardboard. a study is yet to be peer—reviewed. it

is said it may stay on cardboard for up is said it may stay on cardboard for up to 2a hours. it is so hard, you wa nt to up to 2a hours. it is so hard, you want to do something for mother's day, you want to give her a present. just be very mindful of that. the best thing to do is nothing at all and stay—at—home and facetime them but i understand that's hard and if you have to do something on the doorstep —— leave something, make it clea n, doorstep —— leave something, make it clean, disinfect everything but it's not completely full proof and it's important that people know that. the prime minister said the best present to give your mother is not to see her on mother's day! peter, this is from laura hall. she's a single mum who has twin for your old boys, one of whom is disabled with respiratory problems. what can she do if her other son shows signs of coronavirus? well, if possible in that situation, if it were possible

to find a relative or another person she is close to who could care for the vulnerable son during that time period, that would be the ideal situation and it would be worth preparing for that scenario. if that's not possible there are things you can do as much as possible to try to maintain some isolation within the home. what i'd recommend is that the nhs has quite good, detailed advice around staying at home and if you google nhs stay—at—home advice, there is a good, detailed accurate guidelines about what to do. thank you, peter. this is from donna mckittrick. a lot of people writing in fact about asthma, and her question is about that. she says she's had it all her life and copd for the last 12 years. what's the risk assessment for her? the first thing i would say to

people with asthma or copd is to make sure that it is as well—controlled as possible. people are in two groups, preventatives which they take every day regardless and they have relievers if they are short of breath, like an inhaler. make sure you're on the right preventative inhaler. if you're using it a lot then you may not be on the right preventative inhaler so maybe you need to talk to your practice on the phone about that. make sure you are using them properly. stop smoking, very important. regardless of that you are still in a high—risk category and where possible you should be self isolating for 12 weeks. peter, this one from beverley. should beverley be wearing a facemask if she needs to go out? if you have a facemask at home, donate them to your local hospital. they need them the most and they are the ones who are really protecting all of us.

we've learned from italy that hospitals themselves can become epicentres of the spread of the coronavirus so it's important that health workers are protected. there are shortages. for those who are going out and i hope that is limited, the most important thing is to wash your house when you leave the house and when you return home and when you are out, you maintain a minimum of two metres distance between yourself and others. that's interesting, say that again. wash your hands when you leave your house and when you come back into the house. that's right, that's very important. in general, getting a rigorous routine of hand washing but i recommend that whenever anyone leave the house, immediately, when they come back, the first thing to do is to wash their hands, so they can reduce the risk if you have touched a contaminated surface when you're out, so you don't bring it into the home. this one is from tim gregory in hampshire, going back to what you said about people, if they smoke, trying to stop now. tim is

saying, can you tell him if there's a correlation between smoking more serious complications, i either risk of death, from catching covid—19? absolutely there is. if your smoking has led to things like copd, already your lungs are weakened and you are at risk but if you are smoking and you have no underlying health conditions, there is a link between simply smoking and developing the more serious, locations of the coronavirus such as pneumonia, respiratory distress and death. if that doesn't want you to stop smoking, nothing well. please, please, please stop smoking. smoking alone is a risk factor. peter, global health physician, let me ask you this one about handling... anything, really, but this one specifically from daniel in chester. can you get infected from handling

the packing on home delivered groceries? answer that one, but also tell us a bit about how long the virus can stay on any kind of surface? we may have mentioned this before, there has been some early research demonstrating that the virus can live on a surface 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 is hard to apply it to real life. the reality is that the risk from delivered goods is probably going to be fairly low. i'd recommend delivered goods is still better and safer than going to the shops yourselves, and of course restaurants and things are closed. i'd encourage that. i'd suggest washing your hands before handling those packages to get things sorted out and put them away and then to wash your hands after. this is from yasmin. her mother is

61. she has addison's disease so she is steroid dependent. is she in a high—risk category? and can you tell us high—risk category? and can you tell us what the high—risk category is? we're getting now from the prime minister about 1.5 million people, the most at risk people, needing to isolate for 12 weeks, but who exactly a re isolate for 12 weeks, but who exactly are those high—risk people? to a nswer exactly are those high—risk people? to answer the question, yes, your mum is in a high—risk category. addison's disease is a chronic condition where you are having to ta ke condition where you are having to take steroid supplements. you are in a high—risk and you should be isolating for 12 weeks. in terms of who else is at high risk, the simplest way is that if you have ever been invited to have the annual flu jab, you're in a high—risk group. anyone with a chronic underlying health condition, they may be carers for others and over the age of 65 or 70, which is what we're looking at now. if you've had

a letter in the past to have your flu jab ora a letter in the past to have your flu jab or a pneumonia jab, you're ina flu jab or a pneumonia jab, you're in a high—risk group. flu jab or a pneumonia jab, you're in a high-risk group. thank you. peter, one for you from sean curtis, a cattle farmer. during the foot and mouth epidemic the ministry of agriculture fisheries and food listed substances which destroyed the virus, such as washing soda. is there a similar list available regarding covid—19? there a similar list available regarding covid-19? a different situation, i don't know of 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, likely had sanitisers and bleach. for those who are concerned about reducing risk in and around the home, your normal household washing products should be adequate. when you wash your hands, if you aren't using so, is that not really dealing with the virus? yeah,

rinsing with water might wash off i suppose some of the virus theoretically but it is the detergent action in the soap that disrupts the membrane of the virus and kills it. we recommend 20 seconds minimum of washing with soap and water. pretend you're a surgeon on television when you're doing it and really rub your hands together on all surfaces, get onto your wrist and in between the fingers and don't leave any areas uncovered. it's got to be pretty vigorous. this is from gordon watson. his father was in hospital, diagnosed as terminally ill. he says he has asthma but is otherwise well and he's terrified at the thought of not being able to visit his dad. what should he do? firstly, gordon, very sorry to hear about your dad. it's a really tricky situation. you want to go, it is an emotive drive to want to go but gordon, you have asthma, you should be self isolating. and also for the

sake of the staff at the hospital who are looking after your dad. if there's anywhere you can skype, that would be ideal. i know these decisions are highly emotional which makes them so, so difficult but for your own sake and for the sake of the staff, if you can possibly avoid going, i really, really would. thank you. peter, this one is from margaret smith. if her carer cannot come into helper, how can she survive? she has multiple health problems and she is housebound, what should she do? important question, this is one of the big challenges we're going to face. maintaining home—based care for individuals who need it. the most important thing right now would be to try and plan for back—up options in the event that your care was not able to come in. if there is a service may be someone in. if there is a service may be someone else in. if there is a service may be someone else can come in. if there is a service may be someone else can come in if the normal carer falls ill. family members or neighbours as well who

might be willing to help out. we are seeing a lot of local organisations, charities and neighbourhood associations and even neighbours who are rallying together to help and prepare for this now, sol are rallying together to help and prepare for this now, so i think that reaching out and getting connected is very important. last question, from anonymous actually in cheshire. asking if you need to have a fever and a cough to have the coronavirus, or can you have one? you can have one, it is fever and or cough. one of the other. i get that question all the time at work, people ring in and think theyjust have the cough, so they don't have it. you may well have it. even mild cold like symptoms, we have got to ta ke cold like symptoms, we have got to take precautions with that now. please stay at home if you have any symptoms of airway issues, anything in your throat, in your nose alongside that fever. we can't be too careful and if you're not doing it for yourself, do it for the nhs

staff. peter, speaking of that, do you think we as a country are doing enough, are the government doing enough? are people taking it seriously enough? i'm worried, frankly, that we haven't been acting quickly enough and aggressively enough to contain this. if you look at the countries who have come before us, there are some who have acted quickly like south korea and singapore and have contained it for now, and others that waited for too long like italy and iran and are suffering terribly as we are seeing on the news. we may have a small window of opportunity from preventing this overwhelming the country and health system but we are already starting to see that now so i think we need to move as aggressively as possible. more aggressively as possible. more aggressive social distancing and possibly even shutdowns of places like london is definitely worth considering. in the absence of more aggressive government advice we can

ta ke aggressive government advice we can take matters into our own hands by staying at home as much as possible and then preparing for a prolonged period of social distancing. thank you both for being with us. peter, and doctor amir khan. you both for being with us. peter, and doctoramir khan. many you both for being with us. peter, and doctor amir khan. many thanks to both of you for answering so many of the questions. it has felt chilly in the easterly breeze over the weekend but we'll change the wind direction for the start of the week, picking up more ofa start of the week, picking up more of a south—westerly. we will have frost by night even though there will be a lot of dry weather with high—pressure hanging on. in the north and west we'll see the rain falling and a met office warning of over 100 millimetres on falling and a met office warning of over100 millimetres on monday— wednesday, especially for the

islands and highlands of scotland. the weather front is going to move in overnight. elsewhere under the starry skies, temperatures plummeting, a widespread frost, claude of the —— colder than last night for some and we may even get some mist and fog as we are losing the breeze. in the far north and west we will see hazy sunshine in northern ireland and parts of scotla nd northern ireland and parts of scotland with the proximity of the weather front. the rain scotland with the proximity of the weatherfront. the rain for the western and northern isles and north—west mainland. showers potentially in the channel islands. for most of us as we lose the breeze, we get 12 or 13 more widely and double figures on the east coast where it has been so chilly. light went overnight. some mist and fog. -- light went overnight. some mist and fog. —— light wind overnight. the cloud was going to be thickening. gale force wins on monday and into tuesday in parts of north and

western scotland. more cloud and rain in the mainland of scotland, pushing into northern ireland and possibly some high cloud elsewhere. but here with light wind and sunshine we'll see 15 or 16. two very different weather types on tuesday. by the time we get into tuesday. by the time we get into tuesday night and wednesday the weather front moves south, influencing the rest of scotland and northern ireland, so some rainfall to come but for most of any lin dan wales, a bit chilly first thing and maybe some mist and fog —— for england and wales. on thursday and friday we think the weather front is going to reach southern parts over england and wales but by then we think it's going to be weakening because it comes into the high pressure. behind it, a cold arctic wind which will bring with it some wintry showers as we head towards the end of the week and into next weekend. warnings on the website.

this is bbc news. the headlines. the uk prime minister warns of tougher measures if social distancing advice isn't followed — he says people who are acting irresponsibly — are putting lives at risk. we will keep the implementation of these measures under constant review and yes, of course, we will bring forward further measures if we think that is necessary. nhs england writes to one and half million of the most high risk people, who are told to not leave home for 12 weeks — to shield them from the coronavirus. spain's state of emergency is extended for another two weeks — while in italy the death toll from the virus rises again. primark is the latest uk high street chain to close its doors