this is bbc news — welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. i'm simon pusey. our top stories: a $2 trillion injection for the american economy the senate agrees a huge economic rescue package. 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 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 has now topped 1,000 and there are more than 68,000 confirmed cases. around half of these are in new york, which the president says is by far the biggest problem.

in the past hour, the us senate has unanimously passed a $2 trillion stimulus package to ease the economic impact of the coronavirus. that's after objections were raised by four republican senators. vote against this to dollars rescue bill to save american individual small businesses, large businesses and to provide considerable funding for the healthcare workers and scientists in doctors and others who are trying to solve this pandemic stop so i think i i were writing your headline, the senators pivoted from one of the most contentious partisan periods in the nation's history to passing

this rescue package 100. nothing, all in one quarter. from the most partisan, divided opinion to coming together, it says a lot about the united states senate as an institution. , our willingness to put aside our differences. to do something really significant for the country. that was mitch mcconnell, the leader of the house, speaking a bit earlier. with more on the stimulus package here's the bbc‘s rich preston. 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. 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 three thousand. 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. 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 leaders of the leading industrialised nations will hold an extraordinary summit on thursday, but the g20 meeting, which is being chaired by saudi arabia, will be held as a video conference. but what could and should be discussed or decided during that conference? aynne kokas is an assistant professor of media studies at the university of virginia. she works on technology issues between the us and china. i think what the objectives are with this meeting are to identify potential areas for global collaboration, particularly with regard to the production, distribution of key technologies for the prevention of the virus, as well as personal protective equipment, virus vaccines and vaccine production and potential testing, the tests that we need

leveraged to identify if somebody has already had the virus. the other key area that the meeting will likely address is how to deal with people around the world should they have the coronavirus outbreak, so we saw today the world bank already advocating for that. will the g20 not just look out for themselves, is there a chance they will not cover their own interest instead of the whole world? to be perfectly frank i don't have a high level of optimism about this meeting because today the g7, which is an even smaller group of nations was incapable of even coming up with a joint statement because the us is still using the term wuhan virus, so the ability for the g20 to come together, let alone to help other nations at this particular juncture

of high stress, i am not particularly optimistic. it is very difficult because if you are trying to come up with one consensus for the whole world, obviously different countries have different needs, so it is going to be tricky either way. absolutely. what we are seeing is china attempting at this point to leverage its comparative success in treating the coronavirus, something which a lot of countries are pushing back against, the us in particular. we are also seeing a particularly strong opposition on the part of the us to fully engage in wartime powers, to enhance our production capacity as we have domestically let alone working collaboratively with other countries. and on a practical level, it is interesting that this is going to be the first virtual meeting of the nations. how exactly is that going to work? we have all had skype issues, is there a chance that it would be a smooth hope? as we have seen, it is a huge

challenge to have the technological capability to be able to do that. the other thing i think we're noticing in this new social world is some of the informal discussions which actually, in a diplomatic context are essential for building rapport and talking off—line about potential issues or potential areas of commonality, won't be available in this particular context, so i think that also makes it much more difficult to form a consensus. that was aynne kokas, assistant professor of media studies at the university of virginia. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: with tens of millions of people around the world confined to their homes because of the coronavirus pandemic, what will be the impact on their mental health? we talk to an expert. 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 world news, the latest headlines: a $2 trillion injection for the american economy — the senate agrees a huge economic rescue package. 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. but first, 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 the month of ramadan falls, that has changed now because brenton tarrant has pleaded guilty to all charges including engaging in an act of terrorism, which is the first time in new zealand's history that a terrorism charge has been handed. as you mentioned, 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 has commented and 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. obviously a shame that the families couldn't be there because of the virus 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 in al noor mosque. she said, "we are still trying to understand what just happened. in a way, we are relieved." 0ne mother, hussein's mother, she said 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. we were expecting a trial forjune, so later this year. ina way in a way for families, this brings relief they don't have to go in and go through all the details of what happened that

day, but they're still expecting that sentencing. 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. but, as clinical psychologist dr norman freed explains, trying to stem the spread of the virus creates other problems. i often say to my patients the fear of contagion is more virulent 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 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 indoor 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 cured by the presence of a friend, that's only one part of the cure, loneliness is cured by having 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 can lift 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 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 the confinement is dangerous. and 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, dr freed, any advice for people watching 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 socialjudging. 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. clinical psychologist doctor norman frida speaking to me a while ago. after hours of wrangling, the us and it has voted in favour ofa us and it has voted in favour of a financial stimulus package, the biggest in us history, to ease the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak. the bipartisan bill involving $2 trillion will include payments of $2000 to

many american families. that's it, stay with us on bbc news. thanks for watching, see you soon. 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, 1a 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. then 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 into the north.

this is bbc news, the headlines: the us senate is scheduled to vote shortly on a $2 trillion rescue —— has approved the package to stimulate the country'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.