this is bbc news — i'm simon pusey. our top stories: president trump says america is ‘gaining ground' against coronavirus — but new york fears the worst. spain's death toll overtakes china, in britain — the rush to get protective equipment to an overstretched health service — amid warnings that some london hospitals are running out of capacity and in other news, the australian man accused of killing 51 people in the new zealand mosque attacks last year enters a surprise plea of guilty. hello and welcome to bbc news.

another grim milestone has been reached as countries around the world continue to step—up efforts to curb are the spread of the coronavirus. more than 20,000 people have now died. the united nations secretary general says the pandemic is a threat to all humanity. the number of those infected globally is nearing 500,000. more than 113,000 people are known to have recovered. italy remains the worst—hit country, with more than 7,500 deaths, but spain's death toll has now also surpassed that of china. us president donald trump says america is gaining ground in its war against covid—19. the death toll there now stands at more than 900 and there are more than 60,000 confirmed cases. which the president says is by far the biggest problem.

we've been spending a lot of time with new york officials because that is by far the hottest spot. they've got a number of very tough weeks ahead of them. the governor is doing a very good job. i spoke to the governor, governor cuomo last night and this morning. got a number of very tough weeks ahead of them. new york's governor has again appealed for more help from the federal government but says there are early signs that stringent restrictions on social gatherings and other measures could be slowing the virus‘s spread. nick bryant reports. new york is paying a price for being the world's most global city. the very thing that makes it great also makes it vulnerable during this planetary pandemic. it saw the tourists and visitors who normally throng places like times square partly explains why this has become the epicentre of america's coronavirus outbreak. bets social distancing is having an effect by slowing good the amount of patients needing urgent care. this is everything.

slowing the hospitalisation rates, coming into the hospitals are everything, so the hospitals can deal with the rate of people coming in. and they're notjust building makeshift hospitals here, they're erecting makeshift morgues. new york is still thought to be three weeks away from the peak of its coronavirus outbreak and it's facing a chronic shortage of medical equipment. it estimates it will need 33,000 ventilators and right now it only has about a third of that number. washington may be deserted but its lawmakers are working overtime to pass a $2 trillion stimulus package to throw a lifeline to american businesses. but there are political tensions here over how to deal simultaneously with an economic crisis and a public health crisis. donald trump's aim of opening up america by easter has been slammed by the democrat hoping to succeed him. i'd like to be able to say we're going to be back to normal next friday. that would be wonderful. but it can't be arbitrary. we've got to look at

the history of what's happened, the recent history of what's happened in other countries. donald trump is a wartime president who wants this to end soon. who suggested easter? ijust think it's a beautiful time. it's a beautiful timeline. coronavirus testing near hollywood in california. scenes from what looked like a movie set a viral not virtual reality. will be coronavirus spring become the coronavirus summerand autumn? nobody knows the timeline. nobody can be sure how this ends. nick bryant, bbc news, new york. spain has now recorded more coronavirus deaths than china. 738 people with the virus have died in the past day alone, taking the total over 3,000. more than 2,500 are in a serious or critical state.

0ur correspondent, damian grammaticas, reports from madrid. on a dark day for spain, a sobering sight. van after van carrying bodies of virus victims. this is madrid's biggest ice rink. it has been requisitioned to hold the dead. they need it, there are so many now. arriving at spanish hospitals are more and more cases, infection is here leaping every day. more than 5,000 medical staff have fallen sick also. so part of spain's urgent efforts are these new rapid testing centres, specifically for those on the front line. this nurse feared she has the virus. the swabs are invasive and unpleasant, handled with extreme care in case they have picked up the pathogen. toni's worried because she has a family she might have infected too. translation: i'm very worried, especially for my family and my patients. at home i stay in one room, isolated, treating myself

or my symptoms alone. so the whole of spain has now mobilised to fight the virus. a tanker load of chemicals arrives at an army base on the edge of madrid. inside, they are now making hand sanitiser — gallons and gallons of it — to supply hospitals, so great is the demand. translation: what we are doing is very important. we do what we can to try to solve the crisis. so in this battle, it's not bullets this military production line is making, but medicines. to replenish stocks that are being used up fast. and this is it, coming off the production line — packs of paracetamol. spain's military have put down their guns and their weapon of choice in this fight now, packs of pills.

across spain, people everywhere are getting involved. designing and producing the goggles doctors are so short of. those stuck at home sewing face masks for the elderly. here, and nurse posts a thank you for the vital protective visor hand—made by people living near to her hospital. and that thanks is returned. every night, in every city, town and village across spain, acknowledgement of the bravery and sacrifice the medics are making. the sound of a grateful nation. damian grammaticas, bbc news, madrid. here in the uk, frontline medics have told the bbc about their concerns over a lack of personal protection as they fight coronavirus. the british medical association says there's growing evidence that thousands of doctors are still not getting the equipment they need to treat patients with coronavirus. but the government says 15 million masks have been delivered to nhs trusts across the country since monday. 41 more people have died

in the uk from the virus. it brings the total number of deaths to 465. hugh pym reports. i am 39 years old and i am... karen is 26 weeks pregnant. she wants everyone to knowjust what it's like to have coronavirus. i've just been told that i have covid—19. and i've been ill for two weeks. i've been in hospital now since saturday and today is wednesday. i have pneumonia in both lungs and i'm fighting for me and my baby. the virus can infect all ages. five—year—old alfie has been seriously ill with symptoms. he's back now from hospital and recovering at home but his mother lauren thought at one stage she might lose him.

obviously i'd seen it all on the news, where everybody's got coronavirus and then the next thing, people are dying from it. and to see him so poorly, i didn't think that he was going to be able to come back from it. for doctors and nurses treating patients, supplies are urgently needed. this sportswear firm in northern ireland has a major deal to produce scrubs for nhs staff. but there are reports there still isn't enough personal protective equipment in some hospitals and gp surgeries, even after recent government commitments. and the british medical association, representing doctors, says its members are being let down. the message to the government is to not talk about increasing supplies or doing something, just please let's have the equipment now, so that doctors can feel safe, feel protected and not be

in this fear of becoming infected with this virus, which would cause a catastrophe for the health service. the department of health said over the last two days, more than 15 million facemasks had been delivered to the front line, as well as millions of gloves and eye protectors, and the full weight of the government was behind the effort. this hospital in essex said it was a priority to protect staff and there was enough specialist equipment. some local health workers, though, are worried about the pressure building with covid—19 patients. i'm petrified of going to work. i'm petrified, buti have to go to work. you have to stay indoors. there is nothing so special out there for you to be going out. yeah, the sun is shining.

yeah? you might be dead in a few weeks because you wanted to go out and go and get some fresh air. converting this east london conference centre into a giant temporary hospital is under way. nhs and military staff are working together to get it ready. 0ne worker posted this video of the inside of the building. we've got 4000 beds to go in. two morgues. this hall is a kilometre long. because of social distancing, the queen's weekly audience with the prime minister was held on the phone. these pictures were posted on the royal family twitter account. at some hospitals, doctors do feel there have been adequate preparations. the feeling in the hospital, while there is one of the feeling of the hospital, while there is one of apprehension, i think from the most junior trainee to the most senior consultant and that management as well, everybody is pulling in the same direction. chloe middleton was 21 and has died after testing positive for coronavirus. it is thought she had no underlying health condition.

her mother said on facebook... apprehension, i do think from the most junior of trainees to the most senior consultants and the managers as well, everyone has really been pulling in the same direction. chloe middleton was 21 and has died after testing positive for coronavirus. her mother said on facebook, to all the people out there that thinks it's just a virus, please think again. speaking from a personal experience, their so—called virus has taken the life of my 21—year—old daughter. a month—long state of emergency has begun in thailand. the government has been criticised for failing to take strong action since the outbreak began. for more, i'm joined byjonathan head in bangkok. it sounds very dramatic, a state of emergency and in effect, it concentrates all power in the hands of the prime minister who is completely sidelining his somewhat cumbersome cabinet, just answering to a few senior bureaucrats. disempowers now to controlled movements, stop people from travelling from town to town and confine people indoors. very strong powers, including the power to censor the media. he has been given very strict warnings what he calls distorted information. some people are being prosecuted even now for criticising what is seen as quite a lacklustre response. he uses these powers or not, we don't know much about.

bangkok here is very quiet now, but is already is shut down. without this for the last ten hours, in effect anything but food shops and other essential services. there are now 934 and neighbouring malaysia is at1,700. they are very worried about trajectory. what the government hasn't done yet, despite powers the prime minister might have, and he is effectively a coup leader, it is that these powers buckles that these powers back for some hasn't actually use them because in this country there is very little social safety net, huge informal economy, and shutting down all life will have an deciding talent is the first country to getan talent is the first country to get an infection injanuary but numbers crept up very slowly and in neighbouring countries. some people for perhaps warmer weather would slow the virus down. in the last ten days, we see numbers spike very sharply. at the beauty of march, there we re at the beauty of march, there were only 42 confirmed infections. they've now got 934 so infections. they've now got 934 so the trajectory here is very similarto so the trajectory here is very similar to what we are seeing in europe and the united states and the government feels it has to act. people know an extremely tough month is

coming. there's a great deal of concern are just about this country but in some poorer neighbouring countries like myanmar, indonesia, very few ways of controlling people. the impact could be even worse. we don't really inspect in these countries to see the strictest kind of lot down we've seen in places like wuhan, china. tourism is so important. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: britain's heir to the throne, prince charles, test positive for coronavirus and goes into self—isolation. the two main symptoms of coronavirus to look out for are a continuous dry cough and/or a fever. if you're sneezing a lot, got a runny nose or a headache, you may be ill but you've probably not got coronavirus.

so, how high a fever is a coronavirus one, and what exactly is a continuous dry cough? well, it's when you cough and there's no mucus or phlegm — basically no gooey substance in your tissue. and this is not the odd cough here and there, it has to be coughing regularly for no other reason, such as clearing your throat or smoking. so how high a fever is a coronavirus fever? well, if you have one, you will know about it. technically, it's a body temperature of more than 37.8 degrees celsius, or 100 degrees fahrenheit, but if you've not got a thermometer, basically you will feel hot and your chest and back would be hot. this is bbc news, the latest headlines: there are now more than 60,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the united states, half of them are in new york. spain has now recorded more coronavirus deaths

than china, the cradle of the pandemic. the total is now more than 3,600. we'll return to the virus pandemic in a moment. first, this: the australian man accused of killing 51 worshippers at two mosques in christchurch new zealand last year, has changed his plea to guilty three months before the start of his trial. brenton harrison tarrant admitted 51 charges of murder, 40 of attempted murder and a terrorism charge. let's go to the bbc‘s shaimaa khalil in sydney. 0bviously australia... new zealand has gone into lockdown recently, but this is still a massive story, isn't it? oh, absolutely massive. 0f massive story, isn't it? oh, absolutely massive. of course, we've been expecting a trial... brenton harrison tarrant to stand trial. the family members

of the victims initially asked for that trial to be postponed until after may where the month of ramadan falls, but this has all changed because it's been confirmed too has pleaded guilty for all charges, including engaging in an act of terrorism, the first time in new zealand's history a terrorism charge has been handed. as you mentioned, new zealand is in lockdown because of the coronavirus concerns, trying to contain the spread of the virus, so this has been in a very scaled—down court appearance. brenton tarrant appeared buyer video link and pleaded guilty. thejudge said it was regrettable the family members couldn't be here because of the lockdown, but said the court had no intention of placing sentence before the justice system is back to normal so the family members can be there and can attend the court appearance. we know two

representatives of the people attacked were there to represent the families, and we expect a sentence at a later date. a shame the families couldn't be there because of the virus but nonetheless a relief for them that they don't have to go through a whole trial? that's right. i've been in touch with one of the victims, a family who lost their brother in the master, she said they are trying to understand what happened, in a way they are relieved. a mother who lost their son said she was excited but it's a shame they are in lockdown and they can't go outside to express their feelings. another man who lost his wife and said families will indeed the relieved coz i was there a couple of weeks ago to mark the anniversary of the attack, and the general feeling you get is it will bring so many you get is it will bring so r you get is it will bring so many very difficult memories forfamily many very difficult memories for family members back.

many very difficult memories forfamily members back. it's been a relief for families in a way that they don't have to go in and go through all the details of what happened that day, but they still expect that sentencing. and gun laws have changed so much since that happened there. shaimaa khalil, that's all we've got time for. shaimaa khalil, in sydney, thanks very much indeed. the coronavirus is fast becoming a brutal psychological test with people struggling over the most basic of decisions such as when to go to the supermarket. dr norman freed is a clinical psychologist and professor of psychology at columbia university. hejoins me now from new york the virus obviously a really hot topic but trying to stem the spread creates other problems, doesn't it? yes, it certainly does. i often say to my patients the fear of contagion is more they relent than the actual illness itself. there's so much panic and mania around what everyone is afraid of that we actually sometimes have irrational thoughts and

frighten ourselves more than we need to. the awareness of mental health has increased so much in recent yea rs, has increased so much in recent years, but maybe loneliness and the kind of problems that causes hasn't had so much attention? i would agree. so now we find ourselves throughout the world in social isolation or confined indoors shelter, we find we're actually lonelier. we find we're living with people who we not want to be with. we go to work and we get along better with them but we are now in this kind of quarantine. it's very important we understand loneliness isn't pure by the presence of a friend, that's only one part of the cure, loneliness is cured by having a sense of hobbies, a sense of religion and spirituality, being involved in work and feeling effective and being connected with work either through the internet or e—mails, we need to stay connected as one so we e—mails, we need to stay connected as one so we can lift ourselves from a private place toa ourselves from a private place to a public abode of communication. there are also portions of

society that maybe some viewers may be haven't considered, people like domestic abuse victims, now even more trapped than ever? i'm very worried about that and i'm very worried about that and i'm glad you bring it up. there are many people with whom they're living in what's called an in—house separation, so there's people that would like to be divorced but because of financial difficulties stay together and can't even go to work and have separate schedules. there's people living with abusers and predators or perpetrators. there's children being abused and parents living with alcoholism, and it's very worrisome because there's very little we can to protect ourselves by leaving physically. there's things we can do in terms of creating better boundaries within the home, but we must remember there's many people for whom there's many people for whom the confinement is dangerous. trauma is always worse when things that trigger trauma happen suddenly, and this is one such case, right? absolutely, this is not a trauma we had time to prepare

for, and although that in itself provides and brings difficulty, this is a sudden onset, so we have this belief it will pass quickly, we have this hypervigilance of the recurrence of danger, which in simple words is waiting for the next shoe to drop, worrying that something else is going to happen. there's a sense of numbness and shock that this isn't happening to me although it is happening to all of us. there's a sense of irritability and changing appetite and sleep difficulties and relationships, this comes from the sudden onset of a tragic event and let's not forget there's many of us in this world that have pre—existing experiences, who are going through other losses, we've lost a loved one or we through abuse, this only accentuates and exacerbates the already pre—existing conditions we have. briefly, doctor freed, any advice for people watching who are struggling and cooped up who are struggling and cooped up and struggling to cope mentally? absolutely, several

things to say. number one, structure is very important, it regulates emotion so get up in the morning like you would everyday if you're going to work. get dressed make your bed and go to the place in your home to start the next part of your day. create that order. get fit, we have a storehouse of pharmaceuticals in our brainstem, dopamine, endorphins, involve yourself in some kind of fitness. if you can go outside for a few minutes, get in touch with nature. the elements of nature will help us feel buoyant and lifted and we must remember outreach, contact. social distancing does not mean social judging. we can reach each other through internet. now, more than ever, we must use our voice in a way we can't and didn't before. doctor norman freed, i'm afraid that's all we've got time for, thank you so much for such an interesting interview. doctor norman freed live in new york for us. thank you. now proof that the virus can

affect anyone came earlier on wednesday when it was confirmed prince charles has tested positive for the virus. clarence house says he is displaying mild symptoms but is otherwise in good health. the duchess of cornwall has also been tested, but does not have the virus. here's our royal correspondent nicholas witchell. birkhall today, the prince of wales's home in the scottish highlands. it's here that the heir to the british throne is self isolating, as is his wife. they had arrived here on sunday night, he was already showing mild symptoms. he was tested on monday, the results came through late last night. in a statement, clarence house said: scotland's chief medical 0fficer stressed that the prince had been tested in line with normal procedures. he was tested for clinical reasons and i'm very pleased

also that he is very well, and, as with many people who have had this virus, has had a mild illness. the prince has met hundreds of people over recent weeks. 0n the 6th of march in newquay he was still shaking hands quite freely. 0n the 9th of march, he was at westminster abbey with the queen. handshaking was out. charles adopted the indian namaste greeting instead. but two days after that, on the 11th of march, he was evidently having difficulty remembering the no—handshaking rule. at that stage, it was still something to laugh about. 0n the 12th of march, the prince was at buckingham palace for an investiture. he also briefly met the queen. buckingham palace is usually pretty sparing when it comes to information about the health of senior members of the royal family. on this occasion, though, the palace was quick to say that the queen remains in good health. the queen left buckingham palace last week for windsor, where she has beenjoined by the duke of edinburgh. according to the palace

all appropriate advice is being followed to shield them from the virus. nicholas witchell, bbc news, buckingham palace. that's it from me, thanks for watching. hello there. for the next few days, it looks like england and wales certainly are going to stay dry with plenty of sunshine after chilly mornings, but this weather front lying across scotland and northern ireland is going continue to bring quite a bit of cloud around, like what we saw on wednesday, and it really won't be moving far and also thursday and friday look pretty similar, rather grey skies for scotland and northern ireland through today. some spots of rain on it. to the north of it, to the far northwest, it is brighter with some sunshine, perhaps one or two showers, and to the south of it for most of england and wales, again after a cold start it is another sunny day, those temperatures reaching 13, 14 degrees. a little bit cooler along

southern and eastern coasts, maybe not quite as warm as what we have had over the last few days. as we head through thursday night, it stays cloudy across much of scotland and northern ireland, with a few spots of rain at times. elsewhere, clear skies. it's going to be another cold night with some frost around, less cold under those cloudy skies further north. friday is a repeat performance again, rather cloudy skies, scotland and northern ireland, perhaps brighter for the north—west, for the northern isles and the western isles, one or two showers around, and for much of england and wales it is another dry and sunny day after that cold start. temperatures coming down a touch, highs of 11 or 12 degrees. into the weekend, that band of cloud across scotland and northern ireland sinks southwards with the cold front here and we open the floodgates to a much colder northerly for saturday and sunday and it is really going to feel noticeably cold, particularly when you factor in the wind, and yes there will be even a few wintry showers. so, this is the picture for saturday — variable cloud, some sunshine too, wind blowing in wintry

showers, northern and eastern scotland, perhaps eastern england and it will feel quite raw in exposure to that wind. temperatures ranging from 6—11 degrees across the south. sunday, similar story. it will feel even colder on sunday. again, variable cloud, some sunshine and chance of a few wintry showers across northern and eastern coasts and those temperatures struggling to even get into double figures. these are the values that will be showing on the thermometer. add on the strength of the wind and there's going to be significant chill factor. a few places feeling like they're not getting much above freezing. so there will be a noticeable chill to the air this weekend. as we head into next week, it looks like we hold on to the cold air. could see something a little bit less cold for a time before more cold air moved down from the north and you can see that slight recovery of temperatures into double figures for many. the chance of it turning colder again towards the end of the week particularly into the north.

this is bbc news. the headlines:

the united states now has over 65,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus, the third—highest number behind china and italy. about half are in new york, where the state governor has said health officials fear there could be more than twice as many virus patients as available hospital beds. spain has now recorded more coronavirus deaths than china, the cradle of the pandemic. 738 people with the virus died in the past day, taking the total to more than 3,600. the country's deputy prime minister has tested positive for the virus. the australian man accused of the mass shootings of muslim worshippers in christchurch in new zealand just over a year ago has changed his plea to guilty. during an unscheduled hearing via video link,

brenton tarra nt admitted murdering 51 people.