this is bbc news — welcome if you're watching here in the uk, on pbs in america or around the globe. i'm simon pusey. our top stories: a two trillion dollar injection for the american economy — congress agrees a huge economic rescue package. a final vote is expected soon. spain's death toll overtakes china — and a madrid ice rink is turned into an emergency mortuary. 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.

another grim milestone has been reached as countries around the world continue to step—up efforts to curb 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 half a million. 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. around half of these are in new york, which the president says is by far the biggest problem.

congressional leaders and the white house have agreed a two trillion dollar stimulus package to ease the economic impact of the coronavirus. the package is now before the senate, which is expected to vote on it shortly despite objections by four republican senators. rich preston reports when the coronavirus first started to grip america, president trump promised that the economy and the wallets of everyday americans would be protected. as the number of infections has continued to rise, millions of americans have been told to stay at home — an order that will save lives but is killing business. for the man who, according to himself, understands money better than anybody — that's unacceptable. we want to use the money for the companies and the planes, whatever they may be, helping to get over this rough patch. and i don't think it's going to end up being such a rough patch, i think it's going to be, the sooner we can open the better. it's going to open up

like a rocket ship. i think it's going to go very good, very quickly. the package includes aid for businesses to help them weather the storm and payments of around $1,000 made directly to many american adults. the average worker who has lost his or herjob, will receive 100% of their salary for up to four full months. unlike normal unemployment benefits, independent contractors and the self—employed will be eligible. it's the largest economic stimulus package in us history under a president who wants to keep america open for business. a report earlier this week gave a dire warning about the economic impact of the coronavirus, suggesting america's national gross domestic product could shrink by 24% in the second quarter of the year. keeping the economy afloat in tricky times is crucial for this business—orientated president ahead of a presidential election due later this year.

this may be the biggest test of the president's negotiating skills yet. he, keen to keep people working and companies producing, and public health officials, urging for restraint and patience in the face of an invisible killer who can't be negotiated with. rich preston, bbc news. that's bring you summer live pictures now of the senate floor. this is in washington of course and this is where that boat is going to take place in about an hour's time. not much they happening at the moment but it will soon be full and thatis but it will soon be full and that is where the vote that is going to take place. it's after a week of marathon talks to try and get this through. donald trump, obviously very keen to secure this package which is a $2 trillion package and it is expected to pass in a boat. and will obviously bring you the news about when that happens. 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. a colleague has it. 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 am 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 4,000 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 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: hugh pym, bbc news. an extraordinary g20 virtual leaders summit will be held on thursday — it's being chaired by saudi arabia with the aim of coordinating a global response to the covid—19 pandemic and its human and economic implications. for more, i'mjoined by ann lee, author of what the us can learn from china and will china's economy collapse? thank you forjoining us. china, us relations aren't great at the moment. is there a chance that this back—and—forth could continue at the g20?

well, hopefully, they will rise above its and find a way to co—operate. this could be an historic opportunity for these two countries to finally come together and work out a solution. the last time these two countries had this opportunity was only the 0bama administration when they assigned the paris accords to combat climate change. clearly, trump decided to rip that agreement apart. but now, there isa-- agreement apart. but now, there is a —— another situation which requires an all hands on deck global response. it is not something anyone country can do on its own, just like the climate change challenge and hopefully this is one where trump can see a way to take some credit and maybe he will

decide to co—operate with china on this. certainly, china has already shown their willingness to pull its weight. they have been sending ventilators to the us through tesla and i think there are many more opportunities like that where the two countries can work together to get this pandemic under control. yes, absolutely. donald trump often referring to it as the chinese virus or the wuhan virus. do you think the us should be trying to learn from the way china approach the virus? because china and south korea seem to have done very well in containing the virus in recent weeks. do you think china and america and other countries should all be sitting down with all the leaders to try and get some strategy from them? obviously, the us and other countries that are experiencing high infection rates should be open to ways of

addressing this. if some of these asian countries have come up these asian countries have come up with more effective ways to get it under control, it is certainly worth examining and worth trying out. no reason why political ideology should get in the way of trying to save lives. can there be such a thing as a global response because it is very separate pending on which country you are and what stage of the virus you have got but is there such a thing as a consensus in terms of how the whole world can look at this and try to treat it? certainly there are some things that have to be done at the local level but there are ways that the global response can come together. one would be to maybe co—ordinate supply chains better, certainly they are breaking down because people

are going home sick and things are going home sick and things are becoming much more inefficient, where you have an onslaught of demand and not enough supply, so countries can try to come together and work out solutions there. certainly the terror fourth should be ceased at that point so that needed medical supplies can get to the places that urgently need it, and put aside political differences here and just try to save lives in the lowest, streamlined economic way possible. testing and ventilators seems to be a common theme. that is all we have time for, thank you for joining us. it will be interesting to see how that meeting pans out in the next few days. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: britain's news, still to come: air to the throne, prince britain's air to the throne, prince charles to positive for

the virus and goes into 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: us senate leaders and the white house have agreed a $2 trillion economic rescue package for the coronavirus outbreak. 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, a0 of attempted murder and a terrorism charge. so what does that mean for the trial? the bbc‘s shaimaa khalil is in sydney. the family members of those

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

representatives of the two mosques that were attacked were there to represent the families and we are expecting a sentence at a later date. a shame that the families cannot be there but a relief that they do not have to go through a whole trial. that's right. i have just been in touch with one of the victims families, who lost her brother in the shooting and al noor mosque. she said, we are still trying to understand what just happened. in a way, we are relieved. my mother, she is excited but she did say it is a shame that we are in lock down, that we can't go outside and express our feelings. the german government has abandoned its long held commitment not to take on new debt so that it can finance the biggest economic rescue package in the country's modern history. more than 37,000 people have tested positive for the virus in germany, but the relatively low number of deaths

in the country, around 200 is puzzling experts. 0ur berlin correspondent jenny hill reports. for so many, it is about survival. this german knitwear factory now churning out masks. it's that, the owner tells us, or go bust. translation: this is not about making big money — it's to help people who urgently need masks and of course it's to create a certain level of security for our company. germany's politicians are taking no chances. today they approved of the biggest economic rescue on new debt.

it is thought fast and widespread testing might be a factor. germany has tested more than 400,000 people this month. a lot of those people were younger, returning from ski trips in the alps. that, say some, might contribute. the virologists, the medics we have spoken to, are all puzzled but also wary, warning that germany's death rate could yet rise in line with that of other countries. these, they say, are early days. for germany, just the beginning. but already an evening ritual. applause for germany's health workers who are readying themselves for the worst. but already an evening ritual. applause for germany's health workers who are readying themselves for the worst. so, i am worrisome looking

at the next days and i don't know, i fear it will develop like in italy. if it will not happen, then we did everything correct. if it will happen, we will have to deal with the situation as the italian people at the moment do, with the most efforts they can do. in aachen, they are reviving the relics of an ancient martyr — saint corona, said to protect against epidemics. some scientists have cautiously suggested that the infection rate might be slowing. it is too soon to be sure but it gives this country hope. 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 to say 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 just about it from me for now, don't forget you can get more news on our website. you

can more news on our website. you ca n follow more news on our website. you can follow me and some of the rest of the team on twitter. but for now, thanks for watching and do stay tuned here on bbc news. 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 north—west, 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's another dry and sunny day after that cold start. temperatures perhaps 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 move 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 in the north.

this is bbc news — the headlines: the senate is scheduled to vote shortly on a $2 trillion rescue package to stimulate the us's sagging economy and rush federal funds to medical centers struggling to respond to the coronavirus outbreak. the united states now has over 68,000 confirmed cases of the virus. 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 murder 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 killing 51 people. he also admitted forty charges of attempted murder.