this is bbc world news. i'm sally bundock. our top stories: britain brings in the most stringent social restrictions in living memory, to try to contain coronavirus. 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. china has reported a new case of coronavirus in the city of wuhan, after a gap of five days. the of five days. world health organization wa nts the world health organization wants the virus seems to be accelerating as death tolls top 6000 in italy and 2000 in

spain. meanwhile, president trump tells the american people that he thinks more people will die from a prolonged shutdown than as a result of the virus. hello, and welcome to bbc news. britain has put in place draconian restrictions on daily life to try to slow the spread of the coronavirus. in a broadcast to the nation, the prime minister, borisjohnson, ordered the immediate closure of all shops selling non—essential items. he said people should only leave their homes to buy basic necessities, orfor medical help, or to care for the vulnerable, or for one period of exercise a day. jonathan blake reports. ata time at a time of crisis, and

addressed to the nation. doris johnson's statement from downing street last night had a stark and sobering message. —— borisjohnson. stark and sobering message. —— boris johnson. to put it simply, if too many people become seriously unwell at one time, the nhs will be unable to handle it. many more people are likely to die, notjust from coronavirus but from other illnesses as well. so it is vital to slow the spread of the disease. until now, the government has given guidance, issued a device, to help slow the spread of coronavirus. but now there are orders for us all to follow. 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, walk oi’ a day, for example, a run, walk or 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 when this is absolutely necessary and cannot be done from home. nonessential shops will close, as will playgrounds, libraries and places of worship. gatherings of more than two people not in your household are bound. all this and forced by police, with fines for those who don't comply. these are measures that some had wanted to see sooner. we do need to understand how they will 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 is what we were calling for, but we hope the government can quickly follow it up with the details that families do not deserve to hear. far-reaching curbs on all oui’ hear. far-reaching curbs on all our daily lives, now in force across the uk. these stringent restrictions on our normal day—to—day lives that i am about to set out our difficult and they are unprecedented. they amount, effectively, to what has been described as a lockdown. i know how difficult all that is and i am not going to seek to sugarcoat it in any way. but these measures are essential for the protection of all of us. protecting the nhs and saving lives is the aim, but the prime minister said last night there were no easy options, and warned that many more lives would suddenly be lost. —— would sadly be lost.

china has reported a new case of coronavirus in wuhan, ending a five day run of no new cases in the city where the global outbreak began. official government figures say there have been almost 80 new cases reported on the chinese mainland in the last 2a hours. all but four of them were caused by infected travellers arriving from abroad. let's speak to our correspondent robin brant, who's in shanghai. robin, tell us more about these new cases? firstly, wuhan, the city at the centre of this global outbreak, we had an almost week—long run of no new reported cases, according to official government figures. but is now over. there is one new case attributed to the city. there had been ambiguity in recent days when it was revealed that health officials there were not counting asymptomatic cases, that is people who don't present with any symptoms, even if they test positive, and they won't counting people who were not in hospital either. nonetheless, a five—day streak of no new cases

in wuhan has ended with just a single case being reported now in that city. there is an almost near doubling of the number of new cases across mainland china. it is up to 78 today, according to government figures. almost all of those are people travelling to china from abroad. 7a of those cases. that is why we are seeing a real focus now, especially that is why we are seeing a realfocus now, especially in big cities like shanghai and the capital, beijing, as well, of people coming from abroad. there are some foreigners among them, but according to the recent cases discussed, the bulk of them are chinese nationals returning home. i understand there is a family of three britons here in shanghai who are currently in quarantine because they, or certainly one member of the family, has tested positive as well. and some very stringent restrictions in place now in beijing. everybody coming into the capital from abroad beijing. everybody coming into the capitalfrom abroad or domestically will be quarantined for 14 days and will face, as well, a mandatory test. one last thing to tell

you with regard to wuhan and the province of hubei. in the last half hour or so, officials have announced that from april eight, people living in the city of wuhan, after a ten week lockdown, will be able to leave the city if they have an app on their phone which is a kind of traffic light system which presents with green colours. so it looks like the beginning of the end of the lockdown, at the beginning of april. let's focus what is happening elsewhere, particularly in europe. the world health organization has warned the virus seemed to be "accelerating." ever—increasing restrictions on people's movements are in place across europe, in the hope of slowing down the rates of infections and of deaths. the death toll in italy has surpassed 6000, almost double the death toll in china, where the virus began almost three months ago. rich preston has this overview of the latest attempts to stop the virus in europe. and a warning that you might find some parts of rich's report upsetting.

officials across europe are desperate to stop this invisible killer ever stricter measures limiting people's movements are now in place across the continent. on monday, spain saw its highest number of deaths in a single day. 462. the virus is hitting those trying to fight it. more than one in ten confirmed infections in spain are healthcare workers. elsewhere in the country, the army brought in to consist with thinker homes some residence abounded soldiers discovering the elderly and vulnerable dead in their beds ice rink turned into a temporary mortuary as the country's toll passes 2300. in italy, europe's worst affected country, no internal movement at all. police stopping and checking everybody‘s id and reason for travel. on monday, authorities said there had been another 602

deaths. and in switzerland, calls for the entire ski retort town of verbais to be sealed off after a rise in the number off after a rise in the number of cases. the country has brought in the army after number of confirmed cases past 8000 stop the british government is now requiring people to stay at home, in the hope death rates in the united kingdom will not climb as high as they have elsewhere in europe. but other european countries also have strict controls in place, limiting people's movements. as well as effective implementation, britain will also need a certain degree of luck on its side in the weeks ahead. let's get some of the day's other news. south africa's president says he will impose a nationwide lockdown for three weeks from midnight on thursday as part of its efforts to contain the outbreak. the army will be deployed to assist police during the lockdown. people will still be able to leave their homes to buy food, seek medical care and collect social grants. the country now has more

than 400 cases after seeing a jump of 104 on monday. uganda's health minitser has announced eight new cases of the coronavirus, bringing the total number of confirmed infections in the country to nine. all are ugandans who recently travelled to dubai. authorities are also trying to trace dozens of passengers who were on the same flight as the first case announced on saturday night. bangladesh is deploying troops to help contain the spread of the coronavirus. soldiers will monitor thousands of people who have been quarantined since returning to the country. as part of a 10—day partial lockdown, the government has also declared public holidays from thursday to the 4th of april. president trump has said he's working with republicans and democrats in washington to pass a new stimulus bill to fight the economic impact of the coronavirus. speaking at a white house briefing, he also said he expects the united states to reopen for business in weeks rather than months, after "winning the war" against covid—i9.

our north america correspondent peter bowes reports. the country is closing down. state after state, comedy restrictions on americans are getting tighter every day. from california to new york, thousands of people have been laid off and the healthcare system is in danger of being overwhelmed by the coronavirus. the number of cases continues to rise steeply. state officials in new york say there isa officials in new york say there is a critical shortage of ventilators, masks and medical staff. this is a national emergency. a bill to provide urgent financial help to american workers and businesses still has not passed the senate. after days of negotiations, the white house, democrats and republicans are at loggerheads over how nearly $2 trillion should be allocated. president trump has

urged senators to put aside their political differences. my administration continues to work with democrats and republicans to reach an agreement on an urgent relief bill for the millions of american workers and small businesses and large businesses that were badly affected by the medical difficulty that we have had. mr trump added america would soon be open for business, and, without providing evidence, he said more people would die from a prolonged shut down then as a result of the coronavirus. he compared the impact of the disease with other causes of death. we have a very active flu season, more active than most. it is looking like it is heading to 50,000 or more deaths, deaths, not cases. 50,000 deaths, which is, but say a lot. and you look at automobile accidents, which are far greater than any numbers we are talking about, doesn't mean

we're going to tell everybody more driving of cars. the us justice department is clamping down on people who are trying to cash in on the crisis through price gouging. the attorney general had a warning for anyone hoarding vital supplies to try to manipulate the market. if you have a big supply of toilet paper in your house, this is not something you have to worry about. but if you have to worry about. but if you are sitting on a warehouse with facemasks, surgical masks, you will be hearing a knock on your door. with growing concern among health officials that many americans are still ignoring the guidelines over social distancing, the police are being brought in in several cities to break up groups of people in public parks and impose fines. the australian state of new south wales says it is going to use harsh penalties to enforce self—isolation against the coronavirus. the number of cases in the state has jumped to 818.

our correspondent shaimaa khaliljoins us from sydney. this how is it going in terms of people response to these regulations? this is a very empty place just outside the syd ney empty place just outside the sydney opera house. on a normal day, this will be filled with people but with border closures last week in and the closures of non—essential services, you can see how empty it is. there are still people coming and going and that's what the government wants to see fewer of. there is still very strong and assertive with their message to self isolate if feeling unwell, social distancing, stay at home as much as they can. pubs, clubs, gyms, places of worship, all of these have been closed. new south wales is the worst affected, more than 800 cases.

it's recorded its largest spy, it's hi spike, nearly 150 cases with the premier saying they are going to be strict measures to make sure social distancing is observed but it's notjust new south wales, you see this in the courier, schools have been closed, making sure people are social distancing in the right way. in different states, they are closing our borders. south australia, western australia and the northern territory. in queensland, the closure is going to come into effect from midnight tomorrow. all ina effect from midnight tomorrow. all in a bid to contain the virus is the cases continue to rise rapidly. i understand you've come across some stranded travellers from the uk. what did they say? that's right. many of them have actually heeded the call by the british government to come home

as soon as possible. they have booked their tickets only for those flights to be cancelled last minute with no refunds. we've spoken to a couple who are here on a working holiday visa and because of the closures, they work casual hours because of the closures, they've lost their jobs hours because of the closures, they've lost theirjobs so that concern really is, with all their money invested in that ticket, they are worried they are going to be stuck here with no financial support, unable to go back in time. tell us about the impact on the australian economy. it was ravaged by the bushfires for months, and now this. absolutely. i've spoken to 70 people in communities that have an effect did by the bushfires and what they tell you is, we've just bushfires and what they tell you is, we'vejust bought bushfires and what they tell you is, we've just bought that we've come across that side, we've come across that side, we've been able to breathe and start anew, only to be hit the

coronavirus. the economy has been hit by the bushfires and now it's been hit by the coronavirus crisis. thank you so much shaimaa khalil. it's thought the virus that causes covid—i9 is very contagious, but some early estimates each carrier infects between two and three people — that's twice the rate of influenza. how, then, is the virus managing to infect so many people so quickly across large parts of the world? jim reed reports. there are many ways of catching coronavirus. the first is through particles in the air. someone breeds out and coughs in the virus is spread in a droplet or aerosol. a single cough can reduce 3000 droplets. you breathe it in and become infected. this is why governments across the world are telling us to stay two metres away from each other to stop the spread. the second way

is through something scientists call fomite transmission. those virus particles land on a hard surface and i spread when an infectious purchase and touches it. because the person who has the virus is shedding the virus from the nose and throat and copping it out into the air, that means anything they touch is going to be covered in this virus. you come along later and touch the same surface, you could pick up from that surface a collection of these virus particles if there are enough of them now if you transfer them to your nose or mouth or eyes, you could infect yourself. it's still early days but a team in the united states has all ready run tests on corona. they found the virus that causes covid—i9 can remain active on some surfaces. on copper, the results show traces forup to four copper, the results show traces for up to four hours. on cardboard, up to 2a hours. and on plastic, and stainless steel, or up to three days. to

mitigate the risk if it's got more than 70% alcohol in it or do what i've seen many of my friends doing which is either wrapping their sleeve around their hand to open a door handle or use your elbow. studies show the amount of virus on a surface declines sharply with time so doctors say it's important to be extra careful with surfaces that are touched frequently by others. as for food packaging touched frequently by others. as forfood packaging it touched frequently by others. as for food packaging it comes to your letterbox, we think people can — we think you can live on cardboard drop to three days. scientists say treat those results with caution. we don't know how much of that virus is needed to infect someone. you could if you really wa nted someone. you could if you really wanted to wipe that down to hand rub. given the virus

will head to have been there foran will head to have been there for an extended period of time, it's probably really low. in all these cases, the most effective thing you can do is to wash your hands with soap, cheapside, fancy soap, 426. it should be enough to kill the virus and break the train of transmission. i've never washed my hands so frequently before. joining me now from brisbane is dr kirsty short, an virologist from the university of queensland. give us your take on how long this crisis could last for in your view. what do you think? this is the really, and i'm sorry to say this, at the moment we don't know because

this is really contingent upon a lot of different factors. this will be largely contingent on how well people comply with these regulations, are vigilant people are with maintaining things like social distancing and it will also depend on each government specific strategy. it's not going to be solved tomorrow and it will go on for some period of time. but this will ensure as it continues, the mortality rate will below. what do you think about the concern of a second wave. as we all self isolate and we all adhere to the rules being laid out by various governments. once they are lifted, we start to move around again and go back to relatively normal. it could just be a new second wave. look, in terms of lifting

restrictions, depends on how these restrictions are lifted. what you may see is a staggered lifting of the restrictions whereby people can go to work but they are still recommended social distancing of certain services. it's got to depend and again, something to really emphasise, this is something we are all in together. depending on when countries reopen borders and such. it's really going to depend on whether there is a spike, if other countries have the situation under control. we've seen that in singapore. we have the situation well under control and a large number of individuals coming back. the important lesson we can learn from this is that it's notjust about controlling viral infection, but controlling this ona infection, but controlling this on a global level. you can see,

hong kong, singapore, they are now importing the virus after many weeks or months of having to manage it within their own countries. i don't think you had president trump, where he talks about the us in a matter of weeks, may be trying to business. what slowly emerging as the number of people. the more tests that we can do, the better. because testing is not just going to identify people who are sick, is going to identify those who don't feel sick time for it with the virus potentially going about spreading it so it's going to depend on how thick given how efficient we are with testing. also, the concern that for those who have had it and they know they've had coronavirus, and they are better and well and they are better and well and recovered, whether they can

actually get it again, it's not clear about that either. it's not 100% clear. we know there is definitely an immune response launched to this virus and it seems to be good. our past experience. it should last at least a year and preliminary animal studies suggest it lasts at least a few months. i'm optimistic that it will have at least some prolonged immunity but if we are in a situation, when learning, it is a process. what is the most important thing we can do? the basics such as that. it's actually really incredible when you think about it. often we are told every single person can

make a difference but here is a concrete, tangible example of where every single person can actually make a difference. because if you wash your hands, then you are preventing the disease being passed on to another individual. that's then presenting —— preventing it being passed on to two more individuals and so on and so forth so little changes you make in yourdaily forth so little changes you make in your daily routine can actually have incredible knock—on consequences for society. doctor kirsty shaw, thank you for your time. we appreciate your expertise. a virologist from the university of queensland in brisbane. i was just looking. if you of queensland in brisbane. i wasjust looking. if you look at bbc on line, you can find out more about the new restrictions put new restrictions put in place here in the uk and elsewhere, and of course more about the symptoms of coronavirus and how to protect yourself — that's all on the bbc news app and on our website, which is bbc.co.uk/news. you can reach me on twitter. i'm @sallybundockbbc.

good morning. nota good morning. not a massive amount of weather change during the next 24—36 hours in the enps4 england and wales, a couple of days were blue skies would dominate in a bit of warmth in the sunshine. the scotland, northern ireland, lots of cloud in the summer, there will be quite a bit of wet weather, especially close to this when the want in the far north and north—west of scotland. the rain may feel relentless. further south with high pressure in charge, this is where it will be, a bit of a chilly start. morning frost degree new day. temperatures close to if not below freezing inafew close to if not below freezing in a few spots but lots of sunshine overhead. further west, a bit more cloud. not just wet, cloudy, also wet and

windy. some of the rain at its heaviest and most relentless across the hebrides, sky and the far north—west highlands of scotland. orkney & shetland seeing rain. the odd splash elsewhere. england and wales, a bit more cloud, west wales and cornwall, sunshine will dominate and it's here where we see temperatures at their highest. widely into the teens, some around north—east wales, merseyside, above 17 celsius. just getting into between ten and i2 celsius the scotland and northern ireland. cloud and occasional rain will remain. keeping temperatures up once again. another chilly night for england and wales. especially further south, not as cold to start wednesday morning. morning cloud, the odd patch of mist and fog clearing. lots of sunshine for many again. scotland, northern ireland, very cloudy. some occasional rain but it will not be as persistent across the north—west, even lightning appear later. temperatures into

the teens across england and wales in one or two kids out there on thursday with sunshine dominating. a bit misty and foggy in parts of northern england. that zone will push its way to the south it will open on the door and it will be tempered by the fact we have that strong sunshine overhead. one ortwo, that strong sunshine overhead. one or two, the odd flurry of snow.

this is bbc world news. i'm sally bundock. our top stories:

the coronavirus fallout. five major economies reporting business sentiment today, japan already in and the figures are dire. and the plight of the gig worker. we go to san fransisco to follow the struggles of some workers caught in the vortex of the virus crisis. today we will get the first snapshot of the damage done to the global economy by the coronavirus outbreak. five of the world's largest economies will release preliminary so called pmi figures. that stands for purchasing managers index. japan the first one to report its services pmi, and it's the lowest number since the survey started