the prime minister says advice on social distancing must be followed or tougher measures will come. borisjohnson says he doesn't want to close down access to parks and playgrounds, but people needed to be responsible and keep to the two—metre rule. 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. a million and a half of the most vulnerable will receive letters asking them to stay at home for 12 weeks as part of the effort to combat coronavirus. also tonight... how european countries are tightening and extending restrictions. spain will bar most foreigners from entry for the next month. all uk and ireland branches

of mcdonalds will close from tomorrow, even for takeaways. the olympic flame is already in japan, but a decision will be made in four weeks about whether the games can take place injuly. and new ways of religious worship — including the live streamed bar mitzvah. good evening. the prime minister urged the public again today to follow the rules for social distancing and help slow the spread of coronavirus. speaking in downing street he said if this didn't happen, further measures would be brought in. his warning came ahead of one and a half million people

at greatest risk being told they must stay in their homes for 12 weeks. the government says it's drawing up plans to deliver food and medicine parcels to those without friends, family or neighbours to help. today, the number of people who have died in the uk after testing positive for coronavirus rose to 281, with 5,683 confirmed cases. our health editor hugh pym has our first report. outside a fish and chip shop in scarborough today, people enjoying the sun, the local streets busy. it's fair to say social distancing has been variable. this was richmond park in south—west london and in recent days there may well have been confusion over the government's messages on what was and wasn't acceptable in the new world of limiting social contact. at his daily press conference the prime minister first had thanks for nhs staff and those who had followed official advice to restrict their leisure plans,

cancelling mother's day visits for example, or sacrificing business by closing pubs, restaurants and gyms. but he hinted there could yet be more measures to come. 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. so, always remember in following this advice, and i know how difficult it is, but always remember that each and every one of us, you, you are doing your bit in following this advice. with early morning trains like this full and some heading into work and aisles at supermarkets packed with shoppers and trolleys, the message isn't always getting through, so doctors and public health experts were out on the streets of bradford today, stressing the guidance to people on measures to limit the spread of the virus.

for almost all of us there are no new rules which say we should stay at home. it's ok to go for a walk or have a run, especially on a day like this, but there are clear, new guidelines on what we should and shouldn't be doing if we do go out. the advice to the general public is to stay at least two metres apart, to avoid all gatherings, for example groups of friends, and to avoid all nonessential travel. the over 70s and those with an underlying condition should be extra careful, for example people with asthma and diabetes, or women who are pregnant. they are advised to significantly limit face—to—face interaction, including friends and family. there is different guidance for up to 1.5 million people with serious health conditions, including cystic fibrosis, specific cancers and those needing dialysis. they have been told not to go out for 12 weeks. we will be setting out to them how we are going to help them, so they might be staying at home for a long time, but they shouldn't feel alone.

we are going to do this in a number of ways. medicines are going to be delivered through community pharmacists and food and supplies are going to be delivered through local councils, with the support of supermarkets and the armed forces. as for the frontline of the nhs, ministers say specialist protective equipment has been dispatched to doctors and nurses who could be treating patients with coronavirus. but some say it hasn't yet arrived. we have been hearing over the last few days and weeks from doctors across the country who are really particularly worried about the lack of personal protective equipment that they have been seeing on the frontline. we have had doctors tell us that they feel like lambs to the slaughter, that they feel like cannon fodder. today doctors and other members of the respiratory team in belfast put out their own message on social media. we are facing our greatest challenge and we are frightened. help us. please stay at home.

doctors and nurses have died. we need to stay healthy so we can help you. hugh pym, bbc news. our political correspondent, vicki young, is at downing street. how close we are for a tightening of advice? the uk could bejust two, three weeks behind. a lot of things have changed already, a lot of the uk economy has been closed down. from tomorrow, schools will be shut to most children. we had there the most vulnerable being told to stay infor12 most vulnerable being told to stay in for 12 weeks. all of us to social distance. but it is clear it may not be enough. boris johnson distance. but it is clear it may not be enough. borisjohnson sounded very reluctant to take further measures. when someone very reluctant to take further measures. when someone suggested the police might have to come into

enforce this, frankly he sounded pretty horrified. but to me it felt like a final warning. he talked about what was happening in other countries and in some places it has involved cu rfews and countries and in some places it has involved curfews and getting permission to leave your own home. it is almost impossible to imagine that happening here, but it could be coming soon. vicki young, thank you very much. let's turn to the latest developments on coronavirus elsewhere in europe. france's parliament has declared a two—month health emergency, giving the government great powers to restrict people's freedom. the country has almost 15,000 confirmed cases and over 500 deaths. in spain, where almost 400 people have died in the last 2a hours and the number of confirmed cases has increased to 28,000, the prime minister pedro sanchez has said he will extend the state of emerency for two weeks and restrict entry to foreigners. in italy, europe's worst affected country, the rate of new infections has fallen to it's lowest level since the outbreak began. but another 651 have died since yesterday

bringing the total to 5,476. more on that in a moment from sima kotecha in rome. but first damian grammaticas sent this report from madrid. streets drained of life, but out of sight, spain's fight against the virus is ceaseless. here, in a hotel, the first of many that are being requisitioned to serve as an overflow for ha rd—pressed hospitals, it's how spain is trying to contain the infection. so the prime minister has been forced to govern by teleconference. he announced the current state of emergency will last until mid april. restrictions on daily life getting even tighter. and this is what we found when we ventured beyond madrid. empty motorways. miles and miles of them. with virtually no traffic.

this is one of spain's main north—south highways. the only things moving? trucks. filled with food. so apart from the bare essentials to keep this country functioning, spain really has come to a standstill. but despite these measures, there is no sign that the spread of the virus is being brought under control. the shutdown has left this entire country eerily emptied, public places abandoned. and this is the ancient city of cordoba, usually filled with tourists. not now. nothing. if the virus is a natural disaster, it is one that has left everything intact. just the people have vanished from view. manuela's family have run their gift shop here for 100 years. translation: it is like a nightmare.

my main worry is nobody in my family gets the virus. back in madrid, lorry—loads of oxygen for a new 1000—bed treatment centre the army is building in the city's convention centre, as all of spain's efforts are now directed at trying to save lives. every day, it gets quieter here. now, even hotels are closing after the government ordered all nonessential businesses to shut down, another move that turns this tourist city into something like a ghost town. hotel proprietors are anxious about what lies ahead. translation: on a financial level, let's hope the state helps us in some way. if they don't, it will definitely be very worrying.

but on the other hand, she's keen to isolate. we don't know who's positive with coronavirus. even we could be infecting people who come to stay with us. thousands of doctors from across italy have applied to be part of a task force working in the worst—affected areas. here in rome, a moving tribute to all those working in hospitals and trying to save lives. it says, "we stand with you". planes with extra medical supplies have arrived from russia to help hospitals here cope with the rising death toll. in an attempt to slow the spread of the virus, in some regions, people are no longer allowed to go more than a few hundred metres from their homes. a psychiatrist here is concerned

what impact long—term isolation will have. translation: if you don't allow people a release to go outside, to walk and run, what will the consequence be? people go to look for drugs and other options. he says many of the patients he seeing are anxious about the infection. psychiatrists are on the front line at the moment. in hospitals right now, the only people who come are the ones who are really physically ill, or people who are psychologically disturbed. terrified they have caught the virus. it seems as if europe has stopped and each day, with new death figures, it feels that little bit more still. hugh pym is with me. you see a piece like that and then this morning that we hear repeatedly that the uk is a couple of weeks behind italy, what might that mean for us? nhs leaders are very aware

of this comparison and they know they haven't got very much time at all, matter of weeks. they are working very hard to bring on many more intensive care wards, beds being freed up by cancelling routine surgery are being freed up by cancelling routine surgery are being converted into intensive care. the nhs is dealing with the private sector to bring in a thousand more beds and attempts to up a thousand more beds and attempts to up the stock of ventilators. the deputy chief medical officer for england said, currently 12% of adult critical care beds are occupied by coveitin critical care beds are occupied by cove it in 19 patients. but she said this could change drastically as the academic gains hold. that is why the prime minister under other ministers are so prime minister under other ministers are so keen that people observe the social distance and guideline to stop the virus getting further whole. there was a reminder of the tragic human cost, two of the 48 more deaths in the uk. one wasjust 18 and the other was 102, thought to be the youngest and oldest patient

s0 be the youngest and oldest patient so far. both had underlying health conditions. thank you very much, hugh pym, our health editor. and you can keep up with the latest developments about the coronavirus outbreak, on the bbc news app and on our website. mcdonalds announced this evening that all of its branches in uk and ireland will close completely — removing the takeaway option that had been in place in the last few days. on the high street many stores have been closing their doors — including the fashion chain primark. here's our business correspondent katy austin. there have been queues at wholesalers and a spike in online shopping. amazon has struggled to keep up with demand for household staples and medical supplies. but non—food shops which rely on walk—in customers have suffered badly. timpson's is closing its 2,000 sites after a 60% fall in sales. we've based our assumptions on the fact that we will be closing

our shops for at least three months. we've got to cut costs as quickly as we can but make sure we look after the colleagues who have been with us a long time and to make sure that it is viable for them as well. shops don't have to close but health concerns and lack of trade mean more and more are, from river island tojohn lewis, where shutters will fall across the country on monday night, although its online operation will remain open. now primark is expected to close all 189 of its uk stores tonight and it doesn't have an online offering to full back on. primark has weeks and weeks of stock already on its way to the uk by sea and more sitting in warehouses. so it has cancelled all future orders for now to avoid buying things it simply won't be able to sell. many struggling stores are asking already under—pressure landlords to defer rents. then there's the impact of cancelled orders on the vast retail supply chain. they may be planning two to three years ahead with manufacturers

all over the world. and this isn'tjust about the uk, retailers all over the world are having to withdraw from manufacturing commitments. so the knock—on effects on the global economy are going to be quite significant and will last for quite some time. emergency government measures such as scrapping business rates are designed to protect firms and jobs. shops hope when they're out of hibernation, customers will return. katy austin, bbc news. germany is banning gatherings of more than two people in public outside work, as part of new measures to try to stem the flow of the coronavirus pandemic. just after making that announcement, chancellor angela merkel put herself into quarantine after coming into contact with a doctor who has tested positive for the virus. the number of cases in germany has been climbing rapidly and is nowjust under 211,000. hundreds of millions of indians took part in a voluntary curfew today as part of a nationwide exercise to test the country's ability to fight the pandemic. india has had around 370

confirmed cases of covid—19 — there are grave concerns about how its health care system would cope with a bigger outbreak. zubair ahmed reports from delhi. the usually crowded streets of india's biggest cities looks like ghost towns. the country came to a standstill as hundreds of thousands of people observed a 14—hour curfew, requested by prime minister, narendra modi. translation: we shall neither leave our homes nor get onto the streets, or roam about our localities. the nationwide shutdown, known as janata curfew, was aimed to encourage people to stay—at—home as the country tackles the coronavirus pandemic. most domestic flights were grounded and shops shut their doors during the lockdown. police cars patrolled the streets, urging people to stay indoors. translation: on normal days,

this area is bustling and heavily crowded. but everyone has understood the importance of this. the crowd listened and as the clock struck five, indians across the country came out onto their balconies, ringing the bell in honour of the medics working to contain the coronavirus. india has recorded more than 350 cases and six deaths from covid—19. it has started to put in several measures to control the pandemic. the indian railways, one of the world's biggest networks that carries more than 25 million commuters each day, cancelled all passenger trains until the end of march. with a population of over 1.3 billion people, containing the outbreak in the country is a huge challenge. zubairahmed, bbc news, delhi

charities are warning that a lack of volunteers, caused by the impact of coronavirus, is forcing some homeless shelters to close. it leaves rough sleepers even more vulnerable and efforts are underway to find and offer accomodation. the welsh government is planning to fund the block—booking of rooms at hotels and b&bs — as our wales correspondent hywel griffith reports from cardiff the virus may be emptying our streets, but what happens to the people left behind? for cardiff's rough sleepers, covid—19 is pushing them even further to the margins. nathan has been homeless for three years. if he needs to self—isolate, all he has is a tent. his health is poor and he's scared. if the shelters are closing and this has only started off... where are we going to be in six months? you know, where are we going to be in six weeks? where are we going to be in six days? i've got my tent, how long are the outreach sevices going to be around for,

before they close down? i don't know. it's tough? i don't know what to do, mate. this church—run shelter had planned to stay open but the virus means they won't have enough volunteers and so it will close this week. places like this offer a hot meal, a bed at night but also, much—needed stability. they can link to health services, to rehabilitation. if they have to close, that safety net can be taken away, too. this is all i have to my name. anthony does not know where he will sleep next week or what support there will be if people keep their distance. we have to go back onto the streets, into the cold. obviously, in danger, stress piled up stress, and piled upon stress, again, you know, worrying about where you're going to sleep. where you're going to get your next, you know, hot mealfrom. we're taking the temperatures of all the staff when they come into the service. charities are under pressure, too. huggard runs a day centre and hostel. they can't afford to lose any staff to sickness.

we have to keep going because the alternative is that people are forced to sleep on the streets. and if you're sleeping on the street at a time when coronavirus is pandemic, you're putting lives at risk. as everyone searches for ways to cope and plan for the future, some of our most vulnerable fear they will be forgotten. hywel griffith, bbc news, cardiff. the possibility of delaying the tokyo olympics this summer was discussed today by the international olympic committee. the games are due to start at the end of thejuly and the ioc says it will be looking at all options. it seems hard to imagine the games taking place as scheduled at the moment? very unlikely it will start injuly the moment? very unlikely it will start in july the 24th. moment? very unlikely it will start injuly the 24th. we have been hearing the concerns and the fears of olympic, the health and welfare,

disruption to their training programmes. looking ahead to the summer games, programmes. looking ahead to the summer games, looking for guidance from the ioc. we heard from the ioc today and they said they will be stepping up their scenario planning, looking at all their options. we know the olympic flame is injapan and the olympic president said looking at the country, there have been significant improvements since the first outbreak there. he says he is not going to cancel the games in tokyo. but a postponement, that is certainly on the table now or a possible downsizing, scaling back of the games. the british olympic association say they want some rapid decision—making on this for the sake of their athletes. they want a postponement, so do world athletics. the trouble is, they say it could be up the trouble is, they say it could be up to four weeks, all these discussions taking place with the stakeholders, over 200 participating nations, before he is in a position to make a decision one way or the other. he has written an open letter

to all athletes around the world and he says that olympic flame, that is the light at the end of this tunnel. he also writes in that letter, nobody knows how long that tunnel is now. olly foster, thank you very much. for many of us — aspects of daily life have changed in ways we might not have anticipated even a couple of weeks ago. mother's day get togethers were advised against and church of england services didn't take place today. but faith communities, and others, are finding ways to worship, and come together, as phillip norton reports. on this mothering sunday, when many are far from family, friends or loved ones... church services like never before, on facebook, youtube, and this, broadcast on local radio stations. the temptation is to pull up the drawbridge and just look after ourselves. that is the kind of thing that leads to panic buying, to growing fear and to spiritual and emotional, as well as physical, isolation.

all faiths finding new ways to celebrate and support. 13—year—old yuval‘s bar mitzvah, broadcast to his family. glory be to the omniscient... boss have been broadcasting friday prayers online. welcome to st albans cathedral. a scene repeated across the country. we are keeping our social distancing. just weeks ago in flooded yorkshire, the church was a focal point. but there were no services for vicar eleanor robertshaw in snaith today. it almost feels like, what else can you throw at us? everybody‘s already really fatigued from dealing with the flooding and now, to move straight into this is just exhausting. but we have the advantage that community spirit was so built up then that itjust continues and that is brilliant. there are unsold mother's day

flowers, the nation told to keep away from mum. for many, this is how mother's day greetings had to be made. happy mother's day, mum. sorry i can't be there this year. that's ok, phillip. i quite understand. it's the same for everybody. and for these mothers in lockdown in a care home in prestwich, 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 has seen people come together in new ways. philip norton, bbc news. that's all from us for now. goodbye. welcome to bbc london.

by by the end of the week. so for the week ahead most places will be largely dry and that ran in the northwest and we continue with the chilly nights and it will be a chilly nights and it will be a chilly start to our monday morning ina chilly start to our monday morning in a widespread frost and hard frost and one or two places away from the northwest of the country which will be less cold because of the breeze in the rain. looks like the cloud will continue to push into much of scotla nd will continue to push into much of scotland and northern ireland through the day and we start to pep up through the day and we start to pep up across the north and west and isles in those wings touching gail force here but further south, as eventually start, plenty of sunshine and hazy but pleasant temperatures, 12 and 13 degrees, always a little bit cooler around southern and eastern coast. heading through monday night, a repeat performance,

turning colder and under clear skies, though with the wind and the rain in the cloud in the north and the west, it should be as cold as it will be further south. we start tuesday on a chilly note, a lot of sunshine. some of that sunshine will tend to be hazy. a bit more clout for scotland and northern ireland, most of the rain again across the north and with a few showers further south. into the afternoon. you will notice the temperatures higher in a southerly wind with modern air bringing highs around 15 or maybe 16 degrees. the pressure chart for wednesday shows high pressure continues to dominate for most. central and southern areas will be dryer under a cool start with hazy sunshine and the weather front across the north and was weakening but bringing a bit of clout and spots of rain in scotland and northern ireland temperatures here just into double figures otherwise and at the mall at one. but the modern air doesn't last towards the end. we see a new area of high pressure building and it will bring art northerly front across the uk.

it will be turning colder to in the week and it will be quite a lot of dry weather with sunshine and the northerly 112 feet in a few showers across the north and some of these will be wintry.

hello. this is bbc news. we'll be taking a look at tomorrow mornings papers in a moment — first the headlines. the 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