in and that will pressure bringing in and that will bring arctic northerlies around the uk. with there will be quite a lot of dry weather with some sunshine, those showers feeding into the north of the uk. this is bbc news. the headlines. germany bans all social gathering of more than two people as it attempts to stem the spread of the pandemic. italy announces a slight decrease in the rate of new infections — for the first time since the pandemic took hold. 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. the olympic flame is already injapan — but a decision will be made in 4 weeks about whether the games can take place in july.

and new ways of worship and religious gathering — including the live streamed barmitzvah. hello and welcome to viewers in the uk and around the world. coronavirus is now affecting more than 160 countries and has claimed hello. this is bbc news more than 13,700 lives. with martine croxall. we'll be taking a look at tomorrow mornings papers in a moment — first the headlines. the rate of new infections in italy the prime minister warns has fallen for the first time. of tougher measures if social distancing advice isn't followed — the country experienced 651 he says people who are acting irresponsibly — new virus deaths in the last are putting lives at risk. 2a hours, in comparison with almost 800 yesterday. the current death toll nears 5,500. we will keep the implementation of these measures under constant review spain is to impose 30—day entry restrictions on most foreigners and yes, of course, we will bring from midnight at ports and airports. forward further measures if we think

spanish nationals, foreign thatis forward further measures if we think residents, air crew, cargo workers, health workers and diplomats will be exempt. the country had already closed its land borders that is necessary. a few days ago. 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 in germany, angela merkel has extended for another two weeks announced a ban on gatherings — while in italy the death toll of more than two people in public outside work. from the virus has risen again. this ban will be in force germany bans gatherings for at least two weeks, of more than two people — but it will not apply to people of the same household. the number of cases in germany has been climbing rapidly, although the number of deaths remains low. announcing the ban, she made an emotional appeal to citizens to stick to the rules. translation: i am very moved by how many people are adhering to these social distancing rules. it is how we show care for the older people and people with underlying health issues for whom this virus is most dangerous. in short, this is how we save lives. please all go along with this. do the right thing for our

country, show reason and empathy. bojan pancevski is the correspondent for the wall streetjournal in berlin, germany. he told us why despite cases having risen rapidly in the country, the number of deaths had not. the primary reason is because essentially, in the initial outbreak here in germany, was driven by younger people. younger people with milder symptoms and they rarely ever die of this disease. so essentially, that coincidence bought germany a bit of time. initially, the outbreak happened in areas where they celebrate carnival and of course it was also driven by people coming back from their skiing holidays in italy and austria which became later hotspots of the virus in europe. and then the virus and golf kindergartens and schools so the initial wave was pushing up the age

ladder, if you will. it takes awhile to get to the and vulnerable. experts are saying we will get there so we are experts are saying we will get there so we are about to experience a sort of change in that regard, u nfortu nately. of change in that regard, unfortunately. there has been criticism of the united kingdom's failure to conduct widespread testing so far. what is germany's approach? exactly. essentially, here they have boosted their testing capacities already in early february, i think. capacities already in early february, ithink. it capacities already in early february, i think. it is pretty much the case that anyone who wants to be tested can be tested and will be tested can be tested and will be tested so germany has been testing, but rather patients who believe they have been in contact with someone who has been infected, just go and get tested, you can go to your gp, to the mobile drive—in stations. there are a number of ways you can get tested, people are taking advantage of that. so germany has done about 200 thousand tests in the

last couple of weeks alone. so some epidemiologists believe that wider mortality rate here is so low is because the actual official figures are closer to the dark figure, to the reality of infection. because the reality of infection. because the general assumption is the reality of the infection is different to the official figures and there are many more people infected than we know. the who, and there was an imperial college study last week that sort of said you should multiply by ten so the experts say in germany perhaps that number is much lower than elsewhere. angela merkel putting herself in quarantine after coming in contact with a doctor with the virus. what sort of level of alarm like that because across the country?m sort of level of alarm like that because across the country? it is too early to say. in her sober way,

she held a press conference, she looked fine, she looked healthy and then minutes after that the news came in that her doctor had tested positive she put herself in self isolation. she will be conducting the business of state from her apartment in central berlin. i think judging by the media, there is no panic, there is no hysteria, germans are typically sober and calm so they are typically sober and calm so they arejust are typically sober and calm so they are just observing what is happening to stop there has been however a lot of speculation about her health last year because a couple of times she had a sort of a fit of shaking, especially during official appointments when the national anthem was played so she was at one point forced to remain seated while the anthem was being played. so there is a bit of speculation about her health. she is 65, she is almost in the risk group so if it were proven that there is a serious

development of the illness, people would get worried, but for now she looks perfectly healthy. president trump has approved emergency medical help for the states of new york, california and washington — all hot spots of coronavirus infections in the united states. this comes as new york mayor bill de blasio warned that vital supplies needed to fight the outbreak were expected to run out within ten days, particularly ventilators. in a news briefing, president trump announced emergency medical stations had been ordered to create thousands of extra beds and that major disaster declarations would help states respond to the virus. this action will give them maximum flexibility to use the guard against the virus without having to worry about cost or liability and freeing up about cost or liability and freeing up state resources to protect the health and safety of the people in their state. the federal government has deployed hundreds of tons of supplies from a national stockpile to locations with the greatest need

in order to assist in those areas i approve the state of new york's request for a major disaster declaration, something which governor cuomo has asked for and i agree and we did it in very rapid fashion. the us senate is holding a sunday session to vote on an emergency stimulus bill intended to blunt the punishing economic impact of the pandemic. it failed to get enough votes to clear its first procedural hurdle, with democrats pushing for more funding to help hospitals, workers and families. italy has announced a slight decrease in the rate of new infections — these were up by 9%. a critical week lies ahead to see if the infection curve continues to flatten. this comes as the residents of the worst hit region, lombardy, have been adjusting to life where all outside and physical activity has been banned, as our correspondent sima kotecha reports. every day, it gets quieter here. now, even hotels are closing after the government ordered

all non—essential 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. it seems as if europe has stopped and each day, with new death figures, it feels that little bit more still. here in the uk, the british prime minister has urged the public again to follow the rules for social distancing to slow the spread of corona virus. speaking in downing street, he said the government would bring forward further measures if necessary if the 2 metre rules isn't observed. the number of people who have died in the uk with coronavirus has risen to 281. here's our health editor hugh pm. well, he was going out of his way to thank people for sacrificing not

going out, cancelling plans and so on and businesses who couldn't open. but there was a pretty strong hint that if this social distancing policy wasn't having the effect of reducing the rate of growth of cases, that further measures would follow. the government's never ruled out in the uk further measures being a bit tougher, maybe closing bits of public transport or moving towards people being really told to stay at home and some sort of measure like that, as in france. but has not got to that point at the moment. there was a hint that if people didn't go along with the official adviser to limit social contacts when they left home, that more might follow. but we have still had an increase in cases and fatalities. yes, and news today ofa and fatalities. yes, and news today of a fatality in the uk, someone who was just 18. thought to of a fatality in the uk, someone who wasjust18. thought to be of a fatality in the uk, someone who was just 18. thought to be the youngest so far. that being said, it was somebody with an underlying

health condition and this is, sadly the case with people who are vulnerable, with underlying health conditions, they are more likely, if they get the virus, to suffer more serious consequences. the headlines on bbc news: germany bans all social gathering of more than two people as it attempts to stem the spread of the pandemic. italy announces a slight decrease in the rate of new infections for the first time since the pandemic took hold. 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. sport — and for a full round—up from the bbc sport centre, here's katie. hello, i'm katie shanahan and this is sport today from the bbc sport centre. 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 event.

at an executive board meeting today, they ruled out cancelling the event, which are meant to start at the end ofjuly. ioc president thomas barch has writen to all athletes, admitting that "we are in a dilemma... cancellation of the olympic games would destroy the olympic dream of 11,000 athletes from all 206 national olympic committees, from the ioc refugee olympic team, most likely for the paralympic athletes, and for all the people who are supporting you as coaches, doctors, officials, training partners, friends and family. cancellation would not solve any problem and would help nobody. therefore, it is not on our agenda." athletes have been calling for the games to be moved, including british cycling gold—medallist, callum skinner. he told me that a decision needs to be made now.

he things we could see athletes boycotting the event. they are concerned about having that decision rest on their judgement. the people at the 2016 olympic games, there was worry about a zika virus and that seems to pale in comparison to what we're seeing with covert that we did see a number of athletes, especially in golf, choose not to attend because of the concerns about that virus. this is not totally in control of the organisers at if they pushed ahead, which i think would be ill—advised. it would do damage to the olympic movement. the former manchester united

midfielder, marou—an 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, despite the positive test, and they believe he will get better soon. in scotland, hearts captain, steven naismith has taken a 50 per cent pay cut to help his club survive during the coronavirus pandemic. it comes after hearts‘ owner ann budge had asked all staff to halve their salaries to make sure the club could survive, while the football season is suspended. now the former england cricket captain, michael vaughan says that he believes it was the right decision to delay the start of the season. the county championship was supposed to start on the 12th april, but instead it's been pushed back until the end of may. england's international summer is meant to begin injune with a three—test series against the west indies. cricket is like many sports, not sure when they would be able to play again, ithink sure when they would be able to play again, i think they have made the right decision. they today we are

getting different messages about this terrible virus and cricket will have to go on the expert advice stop if later on in the summer cricket can take place in the international calendar can take place from june four, that would be terrific. but cricket, like everyone else, isjust hoping everyone stays safe. sport really does becomes secondary to what the world and country is going through at the moment. like everyone in society over here, we will knuckle down and fight through it and i'm sure we will have something later on in the summer. and finally some action for you as golden sixty, with localjokey vincent ho on board, came from last to first to win the hong kong derby in a near—empty sar tin racecourse in hong kong. golden sixty won by a neck over play—a—del puente to become only the second horse to win all three legs of hong kong's four—year—old classic series. that's all the sport. bye for now.

singapore has recorded its first two deaths from coronavirus over the weekend. another 23 people have now tested positive, bringing the total number of cases to 455. the authorities have said they will not allow any short—term visitors to transit or enter singapore. mariko oi is in singapore for us. mariko, singapore has so far managed to keep the number of cases relatively low, but now they're announcing new figures? that's right. if you remember, singapore was one of the first countries to have confirmed cases of coronavirus a couple of months ago and the government has put in very street contract does make strict contact tracing measures so they can figure out who may have the virus and who they have spread it to committees head of game, if you like. as you say, the country has recorded its first fatalities over the weekend, a woman in her 70s and

a man in his 60s passed away of the weekend. they were hospitalised for a couple of months now. the who has been comp entry of how singapore has been comp entry of how singapore has been handling the situation, —— complimentary, but we have seen a sharp rise in confirmed cases of the last couple of weeks as singaporean residents and visitors come home over the last couple of weeks. the government has announced tighter measures banning any short—term visitors orforeigners measures banning any short—term visitors or foreigners from entering the country, even if you have a work permit or visit you have to apply for approval in order to enter the country. and for singaporean citizens, they have to stay at home for 1h days regardless of whether they came back from. just briefly, how closely our residence in singapore following the instructions from authorities? —— are residents? quite closely and i would say that has helped the singaporean

government to stay on top of the situation. they have set up a whatsapp group and the government has been tackling fake news on social media quite strictly. so they have been tackling this from various angles in order to keep on top of it of course. there is a second wave i set of people returning from overseas who have started to test positive as they return home —— i said. so authorities are quite concerned and they are telling people if they don't want a complete lockdown, stay on top of it and be vigilant about it. mariko, thank you very much, mariko oi in singapore. the president of the international olympic committee, thomas bach, has said this year's event in tokyo won't be cancelled but that a postponement could be an option. mr bach said scrapping the games would not solve any problems caused by the pandemic, nor would it help anybody. the ioc has faced mounting calls from athletes to reschedule the event, which is due to start injuly.

joining us now from gainesville in florida is rachel axon, investigative sports reporter for usa today. rachel, it's good to have you with us. rachel, it's good to have you with us. why is the ioc taking so long? this is a huge event. and to move it is certainly not a small undertaking. as they sat in their statement today, there are venues that may not be available, the building that is supposed to have the athletes is supposed to be sold out as apartments in the future, so putting this off by any length of time affects that. if they move this, 2021 a sort of weather dog is 110w this, 2021 a sort of weather dog is now although the ioc is not acknowledging that —— where the talk is, but other events need to be moved also, so when you're talking about an event that is billions of billions of dollars, hundreds of thousands of people involved or set to be in tokyo for those games, it is not easy to move it and i think thatis is not easy to move it and i think that is why they are taking as long as they are. what has been the reaction generally from sports

athletes and organisations around the world? you've seen a huge shift in the conversation i would say in the past week or so, especially as we have seen here in north america and also over there in europe, a lot of restrictions on movement. local authorities, federal governments, putting in restrictions in and out of the country on where you live. and for athletes, that has had a significant impact on their training, so they feel they are getting a mixed message where they are being told be saved, do the things you need to do to protect yourself and the virus, but also stop the spread of it by social distancing and be prepared. if you need a pool or specialised equipment, that is becoming quite impossible in the past week. equipment, that is becoming quite impossible in the past weekm seems it is becoming harder and harderfor seems it is becoming harder and harder for athletes to know how to prepare. yes, absolutely, and i think that's why you've seen there have been a lot of noteworthy calls for postponement. we conducted a

survey and us athletes kind of surveyed themselves in a town hall last night, 70% were supporting postponement. you are seeing national federations: postponement. you are seeing nationalfederations: for postponement. you are seeing national federations: for it and significantly today, world athletics became the first international federation to call for it. and that is significant for a couple of reasons. one, they would have to move there were championships next year to accommodate this if 2021 is where this is going, and the head of world athletics as you well know, ran the games in london. he knows what the stakes are to put on the games and if he is saying this is not feasible, then this is a pretty strong message. racheleon from usa today, thank you very much for joining us. let's take at some other news making headlines around the world. 23 people have died in a riot in the main prison in the colombian capital, bogota. inmates at la modelo were protesting against overcrowding and poor health services during the coronavirus pandemic. shots were reportedly fired as security forces clashed with prisoners attempting to escape. there were also protests in the two otherjails in bogota and in male

and female prisons all over the country. opposition activists say at least ten people have been killed in guinea where a controversial referendum is being held on a new constitution. critics say it is a ploy by president alpha conde to stay in power beyond his mandate. the deaths occurred in the capital, conakry, where police fired tear gas to disperse demonstrators. many people say they are worried about the vote taking place during the coronavirus epidemic. police in croatia have set up roadblocks to prevent people heading to coastal areas following this morning's earthquake in the capital, zagreb. the authorities say it's to prevent the spread of coronavirus. the earthquake — the country's strongest in 140 years — damaged scores of buildings, including the capital's cathedral, hospitals and the country's parliament. 1,000 people will be in need of temporary accommodation.

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... here in east london, this was friday prayers. welcome to st albans cathedral. a scene repeated all 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's 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 have had to be made. happy mother's day, mum. sorry i can't be there this year.

oh, 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's a weekend when we have distanced ourselves from the ones we love, but it's seen people come together in new ways. philip norton, bbc news. you are watching bbc news. time for a look at the weather forecast. hello there. the most we should see a bit of unsettled weather thanks to high pressure anchored the baltic states. however, it isn't going to be dry everywhere. this weather front will continue to be stronger outbreaks of wind and rain to the north—west of scotland and as we head through the week. it should then introduce something colderfrom then introduce something colderfrom the north for all of us by the end

of the week and we can. the week ahead will be largely dry, there will be raining ahead in the north—west with chilly nights. we will have a chilly start to monday morning, a widespread frost and a ha rd morning, a widespread frost and a hard frost away from the north—west of the country which will be less cold, because of the breeze, the cloud and outbreaks of rain. it looks like that will continue to putting too much of scotland and northern ireland through the day, outbreaks of rain really starting to pick up across the northern western isles and those winds touching gale force here. further south for england and wales mac after that semi— start plenty of sunshine although plenty of —— england and wales although plenty of sunshine after haze. as we had to monday night, a bit of a repeat performance for england and wales under clear skies, with the wind and cloud and rain in the north, it should be as cold as it would be further south. we start tuesday on a chilly note, bright, lots of sunshine in england

and wales again, some of the undersigned will be hazy at times —— some of the sunshine. if you say i was developing a bit further south, though, into the afternoon. you will notice the temperatures are higher are southerly winds and milder air will bring highs of around 15, maybe 16 degrees in one or two places. the passage at the wednesday shows high pressure continuing to dominate for most, so again central and southern ranges will be largely dry a very good start with some hazy sunshine. that weather front across the north and west weakening, bringing quite a bit of cloud, some spots of rain to scotla nd bit of cloud, some spots of rain to scotland and northern ireland. temperatures here into double figures otherwise again, a mild one