beethoven's ninth plays. it sounds pretty good. well done. this is bbc news, broadcasting in the uk and around the world. i'm ben before we go, a reminder of the new measures, announced tonight by brown. our latest headlines: the uk prime minister, to try to combat coronavirus. the key points are: from this evening, you can only leave your home for britain's prime minister, boris very limited purposes. johnson, announces its stricter new they are to shop for basic curbs on life in the uk in order to neccessities such as food and medicine. tackle the spread of the you can go outside for only one form of exercise a day coronavirus. the british public will only be able alone or with members of your household. you can leave home for any to leave their homes for a number of medical need or to care for a vulnerable person. and finally, you can travel to and from work specific and very limited reasons but only where absolutely necessary and the police will enforce it. and if you cannot work from home. without a huge national effort you can reach me on twitter — i'm @benbrownbbc. to halt the growth of this virus, that's it for me. we have been there will come a moment when no health service in the world watching bbc news. could possibly cope. because there won't be enough ventilators, enough intensive care beds, enough doctors and nurses. a new warning from the head of the

world health organization, who says that the coronavirus pandemic is accelerating rapidly. to win, we need to attack the virus with aggressive and targeted tactics. testing every suspected case. the coronavirus death toll in spain continues to rise. more than 2000 people with the virus have now died in the country. meanwhile, deaths in italy have dropped for a second day ina row italy have dropped for a second day in a row as the country enters an even tougher lockdown. hello and welcome. uk prime minister borisjohnson has announced the most drastic limits to people's lives that britain has ever seen in an attempt to curb

the coronavirus pandemic. without a huge national effort, mrjohnson has made it clear there will come a moment when the british health service will not be able to cope and more people will die. the bbc‘s political editor, laura kuenssberg, reports. the clock starts on a new phase, big ben keeping time on any rat none of us could have imagined. inside, at a desk in downing street, and admission to every of us outside. without a huge national effort to halt the growth of this virus, there will come a moment when no health service in the world could possibly cope because there won't be enough ventilators, enough intensive care beds, enough doctors and nurses. and as we have seen elsewhere in other countries that also have fantastic health care systems, that is the moment of real danger. to put it simply, if too many people become seriously unwell at one time, the nhs will be unable to handle it.

meaning more people are likely to die notjust from coronavirus, but from other illnesses as well. so it's vital to slow the spread of the disease. no longerjust advice on how to battle the virus, but a demand from number 10. from this evening, i must give the british people a very simple instruction. you must stay at home. because the critical thing we must do to stop the disease spreading between households, that is why people will only be allowed to leave their home for the following very limited purposes. shopping for basic necessities, as infrequently as possible. one form of exercise a day. for example, a run, a walk or a cycle, alone or with members of your household. any medical need to provide care or to help a vulnerable person. and travelling to and from work, but only where this is absolutely necessary and cannot be done from home.

that's all. these are the only reasons you should leave your home. if you don't follow the rules, the police will have the powers to enforce them, including through fines and dispensing gatherings. this is not only an emergency for our hospital wards, but for the country, so all shops must shut unless they sell necessities. all gatherings of more than two people are banned. the measures will be reviewed in three weeks, but... no prime minister wants to enact measures like this but, at present, there are just easy options. no easy options. the way ahead is hard and it is still true that many lives will sadly be lost. yet it is also true that there is a clear way through. in this fight, we can beat you no

doubt that each and every one of us is directly enlisted. each and every one of us is now obliged to join together to halt the spread of this disease, to protect our nhs and to save many, many thousands of lives. and i know that, as they have in the past so many times, the people of this country will rise to that challenge and we will come through it stronger than ever. we will beat the coronavirus, and we will be it together. we will beat the coronavirus, and we will beat it together. and therefore, i urge you at this moment of national emergency, to stay at home, protect our nhs and save lives. labour had been calling from today for a firm hand. we do need to understand how they'll be enforced, we do need to understand the details

of who can actually travel to work and who can't travel to work. people are frightened, people are concerned, people just want certainty and clarity. so we welcome what the prime minister has said tonight, it's what we were calling for, but we hope the government can quickly follow it up with the details that families tonight deserve to hear. the demand in every corner of the uk tonight, close the doors. let me be blunt, the stringent restrictions on our normal... they are difficult and they are unprecedented. they amount, effectively, to what has been described as a lockdown. i know how difficult all of that is and i am not going to sugar coat it in any way. but these measures are essential for the protection of all of us. our politicians can't hide from the scale of this. now neither can we. after effort and pain, this will pass, but the country may look different on the other side.

laura kuenssburg reporting. well, let's get more from our political correspondentjonathan blake joins me from westminster. borisjohnson has boris johnson has many borisjohnson has many critics are saying he should have done this earlier and sooner? yes, and in the political reaction in westminster, there is some evidence of that, but i have to say there's very little political point scoring going on. labour have welcomed this move by the prime minister, they say they we re the prime minister, they say they were calling for tighter restrictions and they welcomed the measures the prime minister has put in place. the acting leader of the liberal democrats, ed davey, has said much the same, that this is the right thing to do. there are questions and some have about the exact nature of the measures and how they will be enforced, particularly, and calls for clarity around which workplaces will remain open. the

government has published some more detailed guidance after the prime minister's message online, and is encouraging people to check that, but, for the moment, people are processing and taking in what the prime minister had to say, which we should stop and remind ourselves is an extraordinary set of far—reaching measures, like of which no prime minister before boris johnson measures, like of which no prime minister before borisjohnson has ever had to contemplate, let alone actually enforced. those restrictions limiting gatherings of more than two people and saying people cannot leave their homes other than for those reasons of exercising once a day, going to work if they dlouhy have to, for medical needs or for if they dlouhy have to, for medical needs orfor shopping for if they dlouhy have to, for medical needs or for shopping for basic supplies, and the restrictions on social events, including weddings, churches will close and all non—essential shops will also be closed. the guidance was very strict

in the last few days. now that guidance has been turned into instruction. that is the key difference tonight, a key message from the prime minister that the restrictions are being imposed with the backing of enforcement. jonathan, many thanks. jonathan blake there, our political correspondent. the head of the world health organization has warned that the coronavirus pandemic is rapidly accelerating. tedros adhanom ghebreyesus said there were more than 300,000 confirmed cases worldwide, but stressed that it was still possible to change the trajectory of the outbreak. he said it was critical to test every suspected case. asking people to stay—at—home and other physical distancing measures are an important way of slowing down the spread of the virus, and buying

time, but they are defensive measures that will not help us to win. to win, we need to attack the virus with tactics, testing every suspected case, isolating and caring for every confirmed case and tracing and quarantining every close contact. the director—general of the world health organization. he also set out plans to put pressure wealthier nations to ensure developing countries are not deprived of vital medical equipment in limited supply. this week, i will be addressing heads of state and governments from the 620 heads of state and governments from the g20 countries. among other issues, i will be asking them to

work together to increase production, avoid export bans and ensure equity of distribution on the basis of need. we need unity in the 620 basis of need. we need unity in the g20 countries who have more than 80% of the global gdp. the director—general of the world health organization. the mayor of new york city, bill de blasio, has warned that the city's hospitals have only enough supplies to last until next week. he's urged, president trump to increase the production and distribution of vital supplies like masks and ventilators. new york's governor, andrew cuomo, has attempted to offer some reassurance, saying the state has achieved a higher testing rate, than anywhere else in the world. however, he said competition between us states is driving up

the price of equipment. you have manufacturers who sit there and california offers then $4 and they say, well, california offered $4, i offer them $5, calls in and offers $6, it's not the way to do it. i was speaking to governorj.d. pritsker about this the other day, why are we competing? let the federal government put in the federal government put in the federal defence production act. it does not nationalise any industry. all it does is say to a factory," you must reduce this quantity. that's all it does. i understand the volu nta ry that's all it does. i understand the voluntary public—private sector partnership and there's a lot of good companies coming forward and saying, let us help, but it can't just be, hey, who wants to help? let me know! we need to know the numbers of what we need produced and who is going to produce that and when.

well, a short time ago, us president donald trump said he wouldn't allow the coronavirus outbreak to do lasting damage to the economy. we are going to save american workers and we're going to save them quickly, and we're going to save our great american companies, both small and large. this is an american problem, we're not going to let it turn into a long lasting financial problem. it started out as a purely medical problem and it's not going to go beyond that, i'm just not going to allow that to happen. north america correspondent peter bowes is in los angeles. tell us more about what president donald trump had to say. a very different tone to borisjohnson. the president of the united states almost going out of his way to play

down the long—term implications of this virus and the consequences of the virus, talking about how america will soon be open for business. he said, and he's repeated this phrase he tweeted earlier, he said we should not let the cure be worse than the problem, and he's referring to the impact on businesses as more and more states every day essentially closed down and order people to stay—at—home. that's been the situation in california since the situation in california since the beginning of the weekend, very similarto the beginning of the weekend, very similar to the the beginning of the weekend, very similarto the uk the beginning of the weekend, very similar to the uk now, but i'm coming back to this line, as he said, "we've got to win this war much sooner than people think", he even put a number on it, he said it's going to be sooner than the three some people are talking about. some saying that is overly optimistic when you look at exponential increase that's continuing. the number of cases in america today, more than 100 deaths for the first time.

peter, in terms of the stimulus package, where are we on that? the economic stimulus bill that's being proposed? well, talks are continuing, negotiations between the white house, republicans and democrats in the senate. so far they have failed. there's been several votes now and the sticking point seems to be the detail and the emphasis on helping corporate america versus helping the ordinary man and woman suffering from this hoover lost theirjobs and need money now —— who've lost. a big pa rt need money now —— who've lost. a big part of this stimulus will be a lump—sum pay—out to working americans, people are talking in terms of $1200. and the democrats are concerned republicans are putting more emphasis on industry and corporate america than they would like to. in terms of the number of cases and deaths in the united states, what are the latest figures? well, we heard in this news conference that 313 tests has been

carried out, 41... 42,000 seems to be the latest number of people who have tested positive. that really goes to the issue again that's been concerning so many americans, that not enough tests has been done, that test kits have still been very slow in terms of getting them to those states, those hotspots, as people have been describing california, washington and new york, and it still doesn't really give a representative idea of what percentage of people are testing positive as opposed to those that have symptoms and perhaps need to have symptoms and perhaps need to have a test that the test isn't available to them. peter, thank you very much indeed. peter bowes in los angeles and. stay with us on bbc news.

the coronavirus pandemic is accelerating rapidly. when italy first quarantined 11 northern towns over fears of a potential coronavirus outbreak in mid—february, it was a small part of a global story that still largely centred on china. today, muffed punt, europe finds itself at the heart of the well‘s coronavirus pandemic, ramping up restrictions on its citizens while struggling to cope with the explosion in infections. thousands of army reserve it's been called up in switzerland to relieve hospitals under pressure as the number of people testing positive to coronavirus jumped by 15% in people testing positive to coronavirusjumped by 15% in 24 hours. it is now more than 8500. spain has again registered its highest daily, death toll, of people from the virus, 462 have died in the past day. the deputy prime minister, carmen calvo, is being tested in hospital. in italy there is some good news, the rate of infection has dropped for the second day in a row but it's

still europe's worst affected country. 6077 people have now died, with 601 deaths in the last day.in a moment we'll hear from damian grammaticas in madrid, but first. mark lowen sent this report from italy. tightening the screw on people and the virus. two weeks into a nationwide lockdown the measures are toughening again. italians now banned from leaving their town. not since wartime curfews have these scenes played out. now the movements —— limits on movements are being stepped up. with more spot checks to see if people can justify why they are out. most italians would support even tighter restrictions. there is virtually no sense of rebellion or complacency. with streets deserted, all non—essential companies will now

be shut down two. italy is running out of things to close. still open is this laboratory, where they are working on a coronavirus vaccine, dna injections, to produce an immune system response. they are aiming for clinical trials by the end of the year. we are going to use a genetic vaccination that is a fragment of dna that is injected into the muscle. we are really confident this technology will work because we have been using this technology to generate anti—cancer vaccines are. it can't come fast enough for hospitals in the worst hit region of lombardy, where all 800 intensive ca re lombardy, where all 800 intensive care beds are now taken. 24 doctors have died. latest figures show a slowdown in your cases, but experts warn caution. we have to wait more days to evaluate. is it continue eating —— continuing or as a just the good news of the day. at one

crematorium, the backlog is piling up. among the companies allowed to stay open are manufacturers of coffins. coughing listen to the coughing from virus patients sprawled in the corridors of a madrid hospital. this is a health service starting to be swamped. inside another hospital. spain's capital is the epicentre of this country's outbreak. medical staff say this isjust the beginning. cases are expected to keep rising for days yet. so they're making desperate appeals. translation: we don't have beds, ventilators, staff, protective equipment. i am just finishing a ten hour shift. look at me. look at my tears. please, stay at home. we watched today a constant

flow of new arrivals. ambulance after ambulance. every time, it means hospital staff are being exposed themselves. and healthcare professionals really are making extraordinary sacrifices here. more than one in ten of all confirmed infections in spain are amongst doctors, nurses and other health workers. maria is an anaesthetist in isolation after testing positive. her symptoms have been mild, but also infected have been her boyfriend and baby. things are so dire, maria is waiting for a new test and the all clear — her hospital needs her. if i'm negative, i will want to work, yeah. so, straight back into the hospital? straight back to the war, because now, things are dramatic here in madrid. so dramatic, she says, doctors are now having to prioritise. the young get ventilators before the old.

first you need to take care of the young people, of course. very old people who are not going to recover from this case of disease, well, you help them not to suffer, but probably, they won't go to the critical care unit. in one of those units, doctors removed a breathing tube and the patient recovering takes their first breath unaided. applause a moment of triumph. the reward for all the risks the medics are taking. david dramatic is, bbc news, madrid. ina david dramatic is, bbc news, madrid. in a rock people are being advised not to travel within the country —— ina not to travel within the country —— in a rock. iran is struggling to contain one of the biggest outbreaks outside of china. more than 1,800 people are confirmed to have died. rana rahimpour reports. ignoring the warnings — over the last four days,

more than eight million iranians have been travelling to visit family members and to celebrate the persian new year. that's according to iran's red crescent, who've been screening people for the virus at checkpoints across the country. many thousands showed symptoms. translation: we will come back very soon. we won't stay long. we are not travelling, we are just going to visit our parents. the iranian authorities are taking measures. shrines have finally been closed and new hospitals are being built, but maybe too late. with more than 20,000 confirmed cases, the country's health service is struggling to cope. and it's the nurses and doctors who are paying the highest price. translation: hey, guys, are you all well? unfortunately, i'm not well. i still have a fever.

i'm taking multiple medications. god willing, they will work. two days after posting this video online, dr mehdi variji was dead. dozens of medics have lost their lives battling covid—19 in iran. translation: our staff are risking their lives here and we don't have the equipment. just look at how unsafe my clothes are. just plastic bags tied around her feet. with iran's medical staff completely stretched and millions of people refusing to stay in, officials are warning of a second wave coming in a few weeks, possibly killing far more people. rana rahimpour, bbc news. with countries across europe banning public gatherings to fight the coronavirus outbreak, an orchestra in the netherlands decided to stage a very unique performance, while staying at home. these are musicians from the rotterdam philharmonic orchestra, playing the finale to beethoven's 9th symphony, using webcams 00:24:58,128 --> 4294966103:13:29,430 in their homes.