the prince of wales has tested positive for coronavirus. clarence house says prince charles is suffering mild symptoms. his last public engagement was on march 12th. hundreds of thousands of people sign up in a single day to volunteer with the nhs, helping the most vulnerable self—isolators. the call for 250,000 volunteers is looking to help people with their shopping, with transport, and then also simply, if you like, calling on isolated people. there's still no financial support for the 5 million self employed — the prime minister says the government is working hard to come up with a package of measures. we have produced a quite incredible package to support the businesses and the workforce of this country.

we do need to ensure we protect the self employed as well and you will be hearing more about that in the next couple of days. some construction companies halt projects, to try to help fight the pandemic, but others are still working, amid confusion about the government advice. hundreds of thousands of britons remain stranded abroad with flights cancelled and some borders closed. and in the sport on bbc news, brighton have started a campaign for clubs to donate match tickets to nhs staff. they have set aside 1,000 tickets per game for when the premier league returns. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. the prince of wales has tested

positive for the coronavirus. clarence house says prince charles, who's 71, is displaying mild symptoms but is otherwise in good health. the duchess of cornwall has also been tested, but does not have the virus. concerns are still being raised that there is no support in place to for self employed people — we'll talk more about that later in the programme. meanwhile, an appeal launched yesterday for a quarter of a million people to help the nhs through the coronavirus crisis has already exceeded its target. the volunteers are needed for delivering food and medicines to people's homes, and driving patients to appointments. our first report is from our correspondent richard galpin. the 71—year—old prince, who has a busy schedule, had his last public engagement on march the 12th when a palace source said he also saw the queen. it is understood he became

contagious the following day and after then he had had a small number of meetings. he and the duchess of cornwall are currently in balmoral in scotland and are both self isolating. he tested positive on monday after showing mild symptoms, but it is thought unlikely it will escalate into a more serious case. meanwhile, the nhs appeal yesterday afternoon for a volunteer army has been hugely successful. by 9:45am this morning they had more than they had asked for, 252,000 people had joined up. in times like this, as the chief medical officer has already said, we see outbreaks of altruism, people wanting to help, so it isa altruism, people wanting to help, so it is a wonderful response in the same way that all those doctors coming back, nurses saying they will come back, i am bowled over by it. the volunteer‘s role is to help the most vulnerable people in the

country who have to remain at home for 12 weeks to avoid being infected by coronavirus. the call for 250,000 volu nteers by coronavirus. the call for 250,000 volunteers is looking to help people with their shopping, with transport, if they have a dbs qualification they can help with patient transport. i understand black cab drivers in london are hoping to be mobilised in that effect because they are more secure. also simply calling on isolated people, making a phone call and keeping in touch. proving less successful is that government's decision to allow construction workers to keep working to help the economy. but several firms say they are closing. it is extremely difficult to adhere to the government advice for workers to keep two metres apart from each other. in scotland construction has been halted. in westminster there is still no change. in the construction

industry in particular a number of employers have concluded they cannot follow the public health england guidance and are choosing to close down their sites, in some cases they are doing so over a short period of time, so those sites remain safe, and that is the right thing to do. but if you or your employer believe you can continue to operate safely within those guidelines, then it is sensible for you to do so. but there are, of course, exceptions for critical buildings, like the one under way to transform this, the xl conference centre in london, into a hospital. it is due to be up and running by next week. two wards with 2000 beds in each. it is to be named the nightingale hospital. this broad ranging series of initiatives in recent weeks leading some experts to be more hopeful the nhs will be able to cope as the infection rate surges and then peeks into an a half weeks'

time. in westminster today, this last question time before parliament, like so many other institutions, is expected to close its doors for several weeks. but before the mps here start working from home, it is thought they will pass a set of emergency laws to tackle the coronavirus crisis. and those laws include giving the police extra powers. can you all go home, please. it is not a holiday. the government believes keeping people inside their homes is one of the most effective ways of slowing the spread of the deadly virus. 0ur royal correspondent nicholas witchell is here. how much more do we know? the symptoms are mild, he is in good spirits, so we are told by clarence house. he is up and about and still

working on his balmoral estate, but he is self isolating, as is camilla, the duchess of cornwall. they travelled up to aberdeen on sunday, not on a scheduled flight, it is important to stress. the symptoms by then were becoming evident and he was tested on monday and the results came back late last night. his was positive and hers was negative, so they are self isolating at birkhall. important to say he last saw the queen briefly on the 12th of march, as the package reported. she is in good health, according to buckingham palace. she is at windsor, of course, and has beenjoined by the duke of edinburgh who has come down from sandringham. but everybody is mindful of the fact she is just about a month away from her 94th birthday and the duke of edinburgh is 98, so particular concern and ca re is 98, so particular concern and care and precautions obviously being taken. she is following all the

appropriate advice and one must presume other members of the family are doing likewise. nicholas witchell, thank you. nicholas witchell, thank you. about 5 million people in the uk are self employed, and there's increasing concern that there is still no financial support in place to get them through the coronavirus crisis. in the past hour the prime minister has told mps the government is working hard to come up with a package of measures but, as our consumer affairs correspondent sarah corker reports, the delay is already causing real hardship. iam i am ronnie penicuick. i am a relatively small roofing contractor andi relatively small roofing contractor and i am relatively small roofing contractor andiama relatively small roofing contractor and i am a sole trader, self employed. my name is lena and i work asa employed. my name is lena and i work as a freelance consultant for fashion brands. from roofers to hairdressers, two taxi drivers, the uk's 5 million self—employed are anxiously waiting to see if the government can and will bail them out. this is my van at the moment.

ronnie from edinburgh says his work asa ronnie from edinburgh says his work as a roofer has disappeared overnight. he has now closed his business. the government really has to step in and help in whatever way they can to speed things up. truly forget about the economy for the moment and get money at the front end and help these people who are struggling right now. this is an area i have cleared out. like ronnie the only financial help freelancer selena from london can get is £91; a week, if she claims through universal credit. i have been taking a much, much, like a massive hit on my income if i was to go on to universal credit. it will not even hit like 40% of what i am normally earning a month. that is in stark contrast to the health of direct employees, those affected by shop,

pub and restaurant closures, who will see 80% of their wages covered by the government. but even those who can get financial support are finding it difficult to access. damien shut his restaurant in cambridgeshire and is now doing a ta keaway cambridgeshire and is now doing a takeaway bread service, but says the lack of information is frustrating. ijust make lack of information is frustrating. i just make bread lack of information is frustrating. ijust make bread and i donate the supply to the community and wait until i get more information and until i get more information and until somebody gives me some clues. there is growing confusion over whether construction workers can safely go to work. photos of crowded building sites have angered many. the government is now under intense pressure to support the self—employed, many of whom are now facing financial ruin, but it is proving complicated to design a scheme that is fair and deliverable. we produced a quite incredible package to support the businesses

and the work force of this country. we do need to ensure we protect the self—employed as well and you will be hearing more about that in the next couple of days. a lot of our clients are struggling themselves, so clients are struggling themselves, so they have become less responsive, which makes us anxious. at the end of the day when it comes to cost, we are the easiest to cut. planning is the key now for who can and who can't work. we need to get that sorted out uk wide and not get so many mixed messages. but these workers were among the first to lose workers were among the first to lose work and say they are the last to get help. work and say they are the last to get help. parliament is expected to close tonight after emergency laws to deal with the coronavirus pandemic have been passed. let's speak to assistant political editor, norman smith. we have seen the last prime minister's questions and the prime minister's questions and the prime minister came under a lot of pressure, particularly around the

issue of testing. it was striking, really, although the prime minister again and again said he was taking action to boost testing and to get more protective equipment. listening to mps there is real frustration and apprehension that more progress has not been made, particularly on testing, where we heard from the former health secretary jeremy testing, where we heard from the former health secretaryjeremy hunt, saying we are no further forward than we were last week when the world health organization told us to test, test and test. he said we are still only testing around 5000 cases a day. one protective equipment we heard this lunchtime from the mp who represents northwick park hospital, the hospital in london at the centre of the coronavirus crisis where they recently of the coronavirus crisis where they rece ntly ha d of the coronavirus crisis where they recently had to close their intensive care unit, saying even they do not have sufficient supplies of protective equipment. jeremy corbyn saying he had been told of nursing staff having to buy

facemasks from diy shops. the health secretary has said they are in negotiations to buy millions more testing kits, we have got the army involved to supply the protective equipment. but i really sense the view amongst many mps is that words do now need to be turned into action and this cannot be allowed to continue if we are going to get on top of this crisis. norman, for now, thank you. nearly half a million people have applied for universal credit over the last nine days, with more than 100,000 claims yesterday alone.

since monday of last week 477,000 claims have been made for universal credit, many from the self—employed. it is creating huge pressure on the government. we are currently experiencing high call volumes. call back later. jonathan hume's contract asa back later. jonathan hume's contract as a research associate ended early this month and has been calling the helpline for the past few days. since friday i tried from about eight up to 100 times. hundred times? sometimes it will draw after you choose the options on the system and the other few times when i have got through i will be on hold for two hours and then my network will cut me off. about six to eight hours in total on hold. universal credit isa in total on hold. universal credit is a new service... the benefit is designed to be claimed online, but those who have done so have

experienced problems. queues to verify identities passed 100,000 yesterday, with many giving up. officials at the department for work and pensions told mps this morning there had been 105,000 applications for universal credit yesterday alone. little wonder, they admitted, there had been problems. we have had capacity problems with the verify system and we are working closely with the government digital service and their providers to build incapacity. there are things they are doing to build capacity to change the way the system works and iam hoping change the way the system works and i am hoping that system will see changes and improvements over the coming hours and days. with job centre is now closed due to coronavirus, staff will be redeployed to deal with new claims, pa rt redeployed to deal with new claims, part of the 10,000 additional civil serva nts part of the 10,000 additional civil servants being moved to cope with the surge. forjonathan hume trying to process his claim by a dwp imposed deadline on thursday, it is

all very stressful. until it is sorted i have no income and i don't know what is going to happen after the time limit for organising the meeting is past, whether my claim will be automatically entered, or whether they will make an allowance for it. there has been no communication from anyone. ministers maintain welfare payments will be made ina maintain welfare payments will be made in a timely manner, but they are facing significant challenges. british transport police are patrolling stations to remind passengers that only essential travel is permitted. our correspondentjohn mcmanus is at king's cross in london. what are the police doing or having to do? 500 british transport police officers have been on the network this morning talking to travellers and asking if they've heard the advice from government that they should not be travelling unless absolutely necessary. and also quite

blu ntly absolutely necessary. and also quite bluntly asking them where they are going. we've seen large numbers on transport networks this morning and particularly in london and also complaints about overcrowding on train carriages which of course can aid transmission of the virus. but transport for london sake tube travel is down one third since yesterday and bus travel also down but the chief constable of british transport police says his officers will take greater action in the next few days particularly if parliament gra nts few days particularly if parliament grants the new powers. if you look around today, there are still far too many people who are travelling that i don't think necessarily meet that criteria so, first and foremost, we communicate with people, we use the powers of persuasion, but we should be under no illusion that we need to enforce these and we will take those measures that are necessary. on that overcrowding on some services the mayor of london sadiq khan says that is because up to one third of staff are at home with symptoms of coronavirus but the

government says that he must do more to ease the problem. whether you are in the uk if you are planning to travel on public transport in the next few days and are prepared to be challenged by the police. our top story this lunchtime. the prince of wales has tested positive for coronavirus — clarence house says prince charles is suffering mild symptoms. his last public engagement was on march 12th. and, india goes quiet as more than a billion people stay at home. and in the sport on bbc news, manchester city manager pep guardiola has donated one million euros to help fight the coronavirus outbreak in spain. the money will be used to help purchase medical equipment and protective material. a two trillion dollar stimulus package has been agreed in the us by senate leaders and the white house,

to try to alleviate the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak. the deal includes a payment of 1,200 dollars to most american adults, and money for small businesses to help them pay their staff. our correspondent in los angeles, peter bowes, has more details. it is huge, it has never been seen before, $2 trillion and it took several days of negotiations to get there. democrats and republicans disagreeing over that time in terms of the detail and the emphasis, where the money would go. we now know they've reached a deal with the white house as well and there will be $2 trillion and most significantly perhaps for american workers who have been laid off because of this crisis, around $1200 will be going out there listen to them. also money for businesses, states and significantly, hospitals

for the $130 billion for american hospitals that are of course struggling to control this virus as it spreads and really there's no end in sight in terms of the number of people that it is affecting. so the markets are likely to welcome this, global economies, but especially the american people. speed is of the essence now and i think that is reflected by what we are hearing coming from congress, that there will be a vote probably later on wednesday in both houses and could well become law within days. then just a matter of digesting the details and sorting out the paperwork and getting those payments out because this money is needed right now by those americans who simply are worried about paying for their food and getting through the next few weeks. and those hospitals very concerned about where the essential supplies are going to come from and ultimately how they will be paid for. the world health organisation says the us has the potential to become the global epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic, but president trump has been sending

out a different message — that america could have the virus under control as soon as easter. easter is a very special day for many reasons, for me, for a lot of our friends, it's a very special day. and what a great timeline this would be. easter is our timeline. what a great timeline that would be. the us government says anyone who has left new york city in the last few days should self quarantine for the next two weeks. laura podesta is a reporter with cbs news and joins me from darien in connecticut. donald trump talking about easter, if you listen to people living in new york city that seems pretty optimistic? absolutely and you know you mentioned people who have left new york city in the past couple of days are supposed to be self quarantining and that is what i'm doing right here in connecticut

about an hour from your new york city. connecticut like the state of new york is in a shelter and pay situation which means that all nonessential workers are supposed to stay home right now. you are allowed to go to the pharmacy or grocery store or to the doctors if you need to. i went to the grocery store yesterday and based on what i saw you could not imagine that by easter things could be returning to normal. there was a line at the door, of course there were social distancing between people in the line and once you got inside people were picking out their fruit and vegetables wearing gloves and face masks. people are taking this seriously and i think they are receiving conflicting messages from governors of states like connecticut and new york. new york governor andrew cuomo said we should be expecting to self—isolate and stay in a shelter in place situation for the next four to nine months so we are talking until the end of the year. that is

not what the president is saying, he has said by easter a lot of people could return to work. i think the general public has the feeling that we wa nt general public has the feeling that we want to do whatever it takes to keep our parent site, keep our grandparents safe. and keep ourselves safe, we know that a teenager recently passed away in california so this is hitting young people hide as well. india is in its first full day of a three—week lockdown. the prime minister, narendra modi, told the country's 1.3 billion citizens that the only way to save themselves from coronavirus is for no—one to leave their home. our correspondent arunoday mukharji has sent this report. the message for all indian citizens, stay indoors and stay safe or else face not only health but legal consequences. once bustling cities turned into ghost towns overnight as

the country observes a complete lockdown. only those doing the most essential jobs allowed lockdown. only those doing the most essentialjobs allowed on the streets. we came across this family of four who failed to get home before the lockdown. translation: no one is helping us, people are scared to give us a ride because of the virus, the police are also asking for identity cards. desperate and wait for the children they are having to cycle almost 15 miles to get home. these were the scenes in old delhi as hundreds of homeless gathered demanding food from authorities. some fear and hunger will kill them before coronavirus. others who were out to buy medicines and groceries told us the situation was challenging but agreed to complete lockdown was needed to beat the virus. there is

no vegetables, nothing a baby needs, idid not no vegetables, nothing a baby needs, i did not find milk or bread for the people at home. translation: this is good that the prime minister has enforced a lockdown, this is the only way forward. these are unprecedented scenes in a country of 1.3 billion people, unimaginable before the crisis. many observers say that only a politician like narendra modi could take and implement such a drastic step. while the lockdown comes at a massive cost that alone cannot help battle the virus. we need a good sanitary system with testing, testing will be the backbone of a good response strategy. if you do not know where the fire is you cannot tackle the fire. the reality is that india has tested fewer people than most other countries, the virus is already likely to spread in far greater

number than officially recognised. for the second most populous country in the wild disaster could still be ahead. russia has been stepping up its response to coronavirus. from tomorrow, anyone over the age of 65 in moscow must stay at home, although that won't apply to 67—year—old president putin. steve rosenberg reports. in russia, according to officialfigures, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases is relatively low. it's in the hundreds, compared with tens of thousands in italy, which is really surprising when you consider russia is a massive country. but they are preparing for an influx of patients, including here at the city hospital they have converted a whole section to the battle against covid—19. well, this is the green zone, the safe zone to be in.

it's actually the cardiological department of the hospital, but because of the pandemic what they have done here is to re—purpose one of the units for coronavirus patients. what they say here is that they have all the facilities, all the equipment they need, to treat people. so, if we look over here, this is where the patients who have suspected covid—19 are brought in. as you can see, everyone is in protective gear. it took them three days to set up this area, and they have put in 80 beds here. you can see some of the beds here. and they are all full. the situation is serious, but it is not a catastrophic situation. why do you think the official figures are quite low in russia for people with coronavirus? if all people who have mild signs of infection, a cough, maybe a runny nose,

would make tests, the number of people with coronavirus would be much more. so the message from this hospital at least is everything is under control, but russia is the largest country in the world with a health care system which for years has been underfunded and under enormous pressure. coronavirus is a huge challenge for everyone, including russia. it remains an uncertain time for hundreds of thousands of britons who've been away travelling, and now find themselves stranded abroad as the world responds to the coronavirus outbreak. some borders are now shut, and many flights have been cancelled. our correspondent simon browning has been speaking to people who still don't know how, or when, they'll get home. please get us home to get back to work. my mum is nervous and wants to get back to the uk because we have

all medications they are. trapped in far—flung corners around the world, normally dream destinations but not desperate for escape. hundreds of thousands of brits are struggling to get home after the government advised people to return as the pandemic spreads for the will and ben have been travelling in cambodia for month. i'm jane, his mother and we tried everything to get them out and so far we've had two flights cancelled and were sick to death of being told to get our boys home when we just cannot do that. we are really concerned about advice coming from the foreign office, it is nonexistent. when they did reply it was just nonexistent. when they did reply it wasjust an nonexistent. when they did reply it was just an automated response. since then they recommended some flights but the atmosphere and now are starting to get quite hostile towards us with some restaurants banning setting nationalities for mentoring. lots of hotels and hostels are shutting around the city as well. the challenge facing the foreign office is unprecedented.

embassies that are closed and staff flown home days ago, doors shut to our travellers. dominic raab told parliament yesterday stabbed in 168 countries are working round the clock but it is still not enough. we doubled our capacity and we are now doubling it again to deal with this surge in demand. the malaga team took 28,000 calls in one day and as foreign another staff we are abused and spat at trying to help british nationals to come home and they are working in tough situations so there is no easy solution. tens of thousands of brits have now returned from spain but as 80 countries face restrictions on their borders the usual routes to international hubs are closed. it is thought 1000 brits have been stuck in peru, later today 200 people will leave the country and a government backed british airways flight can each passenger paid airways flight can each passenger pa id £250 to airways flight can each passenger paid £250 to get home and found all passengers have been prioritised. but with airports around the plate now filled with grounded planes questions are being asked if the

government should