this is bbc news. i'm jane hill. the headlines at 2. the government is to announce new measures, giving financial support to self—employed and freelancers, who have lost millions because of coronavirus. i immediately went from earning to not earning. whereas friends who are employed, they are still getting their salary. as nhs staff say they need more protective equipment, the army helps with the distribution of vital medical supplies. vaccum cleaner maker dyson is given an order to make 10,000 ventilators for patients, but they may not be ready for months and the nhs estimate they need 30,000 ventilators in the united states, record numbers of unemployment

as more than three million people claim benefits and nearly 70,000 are diagnosed with coronavirus. the death toll in spain surges over 4,000, as the country's lockdown is extended for at least another two weeks. do you need anything, brenda? and the challenges of living through lockdown — at the top of a tower block. hello. good afternoon. the chancellor, rishi sunak, is preparing to unveil a package of emergency measures for self—employed people, many of whose income has dried up because of the economic shutdown caused by coronavirus. there are more than 5 million self—employed people in the uk, though there are suggestions that

not all of them will be eligible for the help. last week, the chancellor promised to cover up to 80 % promised to cover up to 80% of the wages of employees, to stop them being laid off. in the health service, there is still a huge need for ventilators — the nhs has about 8,000, but 30,000 could be needed within just a few weeks. the infection rate in the united states has soared, and more than a thousand people have now died. and here, we are all being encouraged to stand on our doorstep at 8 o'clock this evening and join in a round of applause, to say thank you to all the health care staff working throughout this pandemic. 0urfirst report, about the chancellor's latest measures, comes from our economics correspondent andy verity.

the country's 5 million self—employed people have never known anything like this. the government orders a shutdown and their income plummets, in many cases to zero. nicky, a nail technician, has enough money in the bank to get her through the next month, but then she will run out. i immediately went from earning to not earning, whereas people i know who are employed still are getting their salaries. thomas wescott is a self—employed plasterer, but, yesterday, his work dried up. a very worrying time at the moment, due to all the customers cancelling, not being able to get materials for the jobs we do have, and it's also very unclear whether we should be carrying on working or not, and no money coming in, either. charlie knight makes costumes for prime—time tv shows — an industry stripped bare by the antivirus measures. it's terrifying, really, because, as an industry, we are notjust costume designers and makeup artists, we are carpenters, we are riggers, we are electricians, we are painters, we are medics.

every possible profession you could think of is within our industry. cabbies know work comes and goes. for some, this is their fourth recession. but they say it's by far the worst. apprehensive, especially when the work has dried up on the streets, the hotels, the restaurants, the bars. there's just nothing out there at the moment and cab drivers are having to rank up near the supermarkets, because they are the only places where custom can be had. millions of self—employed people have seen a drop income the like of which most of them can't remember in their entire working lives. it's estimated that they've lost £781 a month on average. rishi sunak has promised to help firms and their employees, paying 80% of wage bills the firms can't afford. the self—employed want the same. the treasury has been keen to avoid giving money to people who don't need it,

but many are by no means wealthy. people who are taxi drivers, who are hairdressers, cleaners or builders, they haven't got any money coming in. so speed is going to be important. i think it needs to be a scheme which is as generous to the self—employed as the chancellor was, rightly, to employees. support for the incomes of self—employed people, even if it's temporary, will land the government with a giant bill — billions, perhaps tens of billions. the longer the shutdown goes on, the more the national debt will grow. 0ur assistant political editor norman smith gave us this update. they have got to come up with something that is big, but perhaps more importantly quick. big, because there are 5 million self—employed, who, at the moment haven't been offered much beyond going on benefits. the prime minister has said the scheme will offer them parity with employees who were given 80% of their wages guaranteed. it is is going to involve

billions and billions, but it really has to be quick, because we have seen a surge in unemployment — around half a million more people claiming universal credit in the last week. what we have learnt today is that it is the self—employed who are particularly at risk of working in those sectors where demand has collapsed, or they are facing restrictions or even closures — so working as hairdressers or taxi drivers, or cleaners. and indeed the institute for fiscal studies today calculated that up to i million of the country's 5 million self—employed could be working in those at—risk sectors. the difficulty is in devising a scheme for the self—employed. well, it's hugely complex, because their incomes go up and down depending on profit levels, and they are a hugely varied bunch — ranging from mega—wealthy football stars and media celebrities down to someone eking out a living selling knitting needles on the internet. but that is the challenge

the chancellor faces — to come up with something that will be deliverable on the ground quickly to safeguard jobs. the peak of demand for intensive care beds is expected to come in two to three weeks. hospital bosses in london, where a third of the country's cases have been diagnosed, say they're already struggling with the high number of critically ill patients — likening the situation to a "continuous tsunami". staff sickness rates of up to 50% in some hospitals, and a shortage of ventilators, are putting huge strain on the system. lauren moss reports. the race is on to get vital protective equipment out to nhs staff fighting a battle against an invisible enemy. boxes of masks, gloves and goggles are being delivered in their thousands, but still many medics and nurses say they're going without, ahead of what could be a tsunami

of coronavirus cases in the coming weeks. doctors are now looking after some of their own colleagues who are on ventilators. we're aware internationally that large numbers of health care workers have themselves fallen ill by being infected. so the one thing the nhs must do is avoid infection by giving us the protection. that is avoidable. scotland's chief medical officer says the distribution system became clogged up after huge orders were placed, but that supply shouldn't be a problem there next week. and according to the government, 13 million face masks have gone out in the last few days. we entirely understand how important it is that you get the kit you need and feel safe and are safe in doing this amazing work you are doing. we are ramping up deliveries of ppe, we have brought the army in to help with what is a huge logistics exercise. and it's not just equipment for staff. ventilators are also a must

for patients who could become very unwell and need help breathing. the nhs hasjust over 8,000 at the minute, but estimates 30,000 may be needed. please... look at me and listen. if you get coronavirus and you have to go into the icu, that means you're going to struggle to breathe. you keep going with a ventilator. so please, please listen to all the advice of the government. one of those answering the government's call to build more ventilators is dyson. if the blueprint is approved, 10,000 could be consrtucted 10,000 could be constructed at its base in wiltshire — an aircraft hangar which was used in world war ii. as people stay at home, help is also turning to an antibody test which could detect if someone has already had the virus. 3.5 million of those have been ordered for nhs staff and critical workers,

but there's a word of caution that we shouldn't expect to see the test on shop shelves yet. everybody wants this, so there is a global shortage and that's a bottleneck for us, but the next priority is to get critical workers back to work or to say to them, you have got this. so we definitely would like that, not to fight the disease, but to support the nhs. more people are being tested for the virus every day. over 13,000 have been carried out since monday, but doctors say more must be done. it seems that we're trying to make reasons why the uk is a special case, where, last time i checked, we're the same human beings as in every other country. but if we don't also test and trace, then how are we going to avoid when we open the doors and go back outside, there's a risk it will rise againjust as it has? more than half a million people have now volunteered to be an nhs responder, to help the most vulnerable with things like food and medicine deliveries, or even a phone call.

i feel deeply humbled at the strength of our nation and the gift of time that everybody is willing to give of themselves. their humanity, compassion, their talent, their skill. it is a true gift to give. following in the footsteps of other countries, tonight everyone around the uk is being invited to clap for carers as a thank you to those facing the brunt of the crisis. lauren moss, bbc news. we are hearing from public health wales that another six people who tested positive for the virus has sadly died. they tell us the total number of deaths in the country therefore now stands at 28. that is an update just coming through. and we stay with the issue of how to cope with the demands on the nhs we

know so much about wherever you are in the uk. well, preparations are under way to turn the excel london into the nhs nightingale, housing 4,000 patients. angus crawford is there for us. there will be people watching who perhaps do not know what this is but it isa perhaps do not know what this is but it is a vast site. enormous. the excel centre is slowly being turned into the nhs nightingale. it is huge, 100,000 square feet, 600 metres long, better known from the 2012 olympics. it hosted numerous events. the hold things like the international boat show, age —— a gigantic space. they are turning

this into a hospital to treat possibly thousands of patients. the cranes are lifting into place enormous tanks of liquid oxygen that will be fitted up to a system that turnsit will be fitted up to a system that turns it into oxygen, air, gas, which will be piped into the building, where they are building a facility which by the middle of next week is expected to have 500 beds with oxygen and ventilators, but potentially able to scale up to a total of 4000 beds, 2000 on each side of the exhibition halls. we do not know when it will receive its first patients, but it should near completion of the first phase early in the week and just across the dark is london city airport. that is important because, it is closed to commercial traffic, but it could be used to fly in patients from other parts of the country, should those parts of the country, should those parts of the country, should those parts of the country cease to have

enough bed space. we know talks are in place to open other facilities similarto in place to open other facilities similar to this in place to open other facilities similarto this in in place to open other facilities similar to this in birmingham, manchester and scotland. the scale is extraordinary. a quick thought, what do we know about how they will start this? this is a really important issue, because as we know now, there is a shortage of staff across the nhs. there were job vacancies already, but there are people isolating or have had symptoms themselves. we know what happened, yesterday evening, a mass appeal went out within nhs london to recruit staff to work here so we hope that will produce people all the way from porters to consultants. we know earlier in the week there we re we know earlier in the week there were calls for retired nhs staff to put themselves forward. they hope they will serve. there will be

military medics and planners, also, and finally, the stjohn ambulance is training hundreds of volunteers and they will also be represented here. thank you. the crown prosecution service has warned that people who deliberately cough at police, shop workers, and vulnerable people will face criminal charges. the director of public prosecutions says the cps ‘stands behind emergency and essential workers and will not hesitate to prosecute anybody who threatens them as they go about their vital duties.‘ it comes after a man admitted three counts of assaulting an emergency worker after claiming to have coronavirus, and directing coughs at police who were arresting him for a separate offence. our home affairs correspondent, daniel sandford, is with us

explain what the cps is saying. it is clear where the motivation is coming from. it almost beggars belief. the director of public and has has felt it necessary to spell it out that he will prosecute people who either use coughs as a means of assaulting emergency workers or anyone else, shop workers, and that he will make sure are prosecuted to the highest level and his prosecutors will seek severe penalties when doing so. people may not understand this but it is an assault to threaten someone with something that might do them harm. if you cough towards a police officer or anyone else and say you have coronavirus, it counts as an assault. and it is also threatening to cough or spit at someone, that would amount to threatening behaviour. two people have already

been prosecuted for exactly that. darren rafferty, of dagenham, 45, yesterday admitted assaulting an emergency worker after basically coughing in the direction of police officers trying to arrest him and saying he had covid—19. and david mott, from blackburn, has been charged with spitting at police in blackburn after he was questioned about being it out at night when the prime minister had advised everyone to stay at home. they are spelling it out publicly in a press notice saying this will happen. it has been welcomed by the police federation. the chair of that federation saying it is welcome and timely, a way of dealing with this vile act. and a broader thought about police powers generally and the issue of fines. we

know how we should be behaving. remind us what police powers there are to try to deal with the issue of social distancing. these powers are coming in bit by bit. some more coming in bit by bit. some more coming in bit by bit. some more coming in today. you have powers already there to close down pubs and bars operating when they have been told they must not operate. police have been designated, as have council workers, designated as people who can close premises down. that list of premises is being extended and will include all shops, apart from those selling vital supplies. such as supermarkets, pharmacies, bike shops, mot garages are allowed to stay open, petrol stations but generally any retail outlet otherwise will need to be closed and the police will have powers to close them down. and the

slightly less clear rules will be about people needing to stay at home and not congregate in groups of more than two people. we are waiting to see regulations on those but we expect those to be coming at any time. we will talk about that with liberty later in the programme. another 3 people have died as a result of coronavirus in scotland, taking the number now to 25. the first minister, nicola sturgeon, said the scottish government has brought an extra 1.5 million face masks into use from the nhs stockpile, after they were tested to ensure they're safe and valid. she said new regulations were being prepared to give police in scotland enforcement the power to enforce social distancing rules.

let's take a look at the latest developments around the world. the us senate has passed a $2 trillion stimulus bill — including direct payments of 1200 dollars to most american adults. in europe, deaths surge in spain, taking the total death toll to over 4,000. but better news in italy, as the world health organization says there are ‘encouraging signs‘ , after the country reported a lower rate of infections. more on the picture in europe in a moment, but let‘s go back to the united states. the infection rate has surged, with almost 70,000 confirmed cases and more than 1,000 deaths. 0ur correspondent paul adams reports on that record breaking financial package approved by the us senate last night.

for some californians, the beach is still a place of refuge. the state one of two hardest hit by the virus. across the nation, cases now doubling every three to four days. from coast—to—coast, a country of 338 million people in lockdown. of 330 million people in lockdown. this was miami yesterday, where days earlier streets thronged with students enjoying spring break. as cities shut down, so too does the economy. this is houston, the fourth biggest city in america. figures due out today are expected to show that as many as 4 million americans have lost theirjobs in the past week. after days of political gridlock, congress is finally passing a $2 trillion aid bill — the largest in american history. more than twice as big as the stimulus package passed after the 2008 financial crash. i am proud to announce tonight not a single senator voted

against this $2 trillion rescue bill to save american individuals, small businesses, larger businesses and to provide considerable funding, for the healthcare workers and scientists and doctors. it is an historic day, because it matches an historic crisis. our people need help. they were crying out to us to help. but this national emergency has not papered over america‘s deep political divide. this is an election year. the coronavirus. .. this is the new hoax. we have it totally under control. the president‘s opponents are keen to highlight what they see as a lack of leadership. when you have 15 people and, within a couple of days, it is going to be close to zero... mr trump is bristling — accusing his opponents of wanting to see the economy fail. i don‘t think it‘s going to end up being such a rough patch.

when we open, especially if we can open the sooner, the better, it‘s going to open up like a rocket ship. i think it‘s going to go very good and very quickly. in new york, america‘s coronavirus epicentre, the morgues are filling up fast. 0utside one of the city‘s hospitals, a new makeshift facility is taking shape. the united states now has the world‘s third largest number of recorded coronavirus cases, and the pace of infection is accelerating. paul adams, bbc news. in spain, the number of people who have died following a coronavirus diagnosis has now overtaken china, where the disease initially took hold. 0ur correspondent guy hedgecoe set this update from madrid. it had been until recently focused in madrid, which had seen well over half of deaths until a few days ago but that picture has changed as the virus has spread to other parts.

catalonia in the north—east is seeing more daily cases of coronavirus now than madrid. 0ther parts of the country, the basque country in the north, and in the south, andalusia, they are seeing new cases, so south, andalusia, they are seeing new cases, so it is more spread out now. that new figure of 655 more deaths is of great concern to the authorities, but they are cautiously optimistic because it is slightly lower than the increase in deaths we saw yesterday. they hope this is the beginning of a tendency. 1496 of cases in terms of infection are health care workers. are there complaints or issues around people in the health care system getting supplies they need and protective equipment they need? yes, very much so. equipment they need? yes, very much so. that has been an issue since the beginning of the crisis. a shortage of facemasks, respirators and other

equipment. while the health care personnel have been lauded as heroes, a lot of people believe the health care system is rather underfunded in certain areas. and that has been exposed by this crisis. a batch of test kits were imported from china for use this week and it turns out many of those, one batch of those, is faulty, or not as good as the government hoped, so not as good as the government hoped, so there has been a diplomatic issue between china and spain over these kits, which the government had hoped would improve testing. they are having to turn to other imports of test equipment to improve that aspect of their management of the crisis. bleak and sobering days for many people, but this moment at 8pm every night in spain and we have seen every night in spain and we have seen it in other countries and it will happen in the uk for the first time. this is the people of spain

acknowledging the sacrifice and hard work of health care workers. it gets me every time i hear this. how much is this bringing the country together, and act as a moment of solidarity in spain? it is an emotional moment every day and it‘s happening across the whole country. most of the 47 million people in spain seem to be taking part. it is one way in which they can unite and i think that is something that is uniting, despite the lockdown they have been under the past ten days. guy talking to my colleague on bbc world news and interesting they talked about the applause because tonight we are being urged that this can tree, at 8pm, to stand on our doorstep and give a round of applause for health workers working so applause for health workers working so hard throughout this crisis.

in italy, the rate of new infections has slowed for a fourth consecutive day, as a strict lockdown remains in place. 0ur correspondent mark lowen has more. eyes in the sky to keep italians off the streets. the police now using every method they can to stop the flow of people and the virus. with fines stepped up and more police checks, they‘re toughening the clampdown to flatten the curve. and this is why. the urgent need to help hospitals. this one in rome now opening a new wing for coronavirus patients, and already under pressure. translation: the italian health system in the north is at a very critical point. in rome, we‘ve been able to learn from what they‘ve experienced. for my part, i need to show all the courage i can, because we have to fight with all our strength. we don‘t know when the peak will be. maybe in rome, this weekend. more than two weeks into the lockdown that has emptied

these streets and closed virtually everything, there are some signs that the measures are beginning to work. the latest daily figures show a slight fall in the number of deaths and, for the fourth day in a row, a slower increase in the total number of people currently infected. this drained country is desperate to reach a turning point. behind the figures are the hundreds of lives stolen every day, and with them a dignified farewell. with funerals banned, the priest says a quick blessing. a small group of relatives allowed to be there. getting through them all is like a conveyor belt of eulogies. "being unable to be there at the last goodbye to a loved one adds another layer of pain to the suffering," he says. and for the crematoria that cannot cope, the army has been brought in to take coffins away. it‘s that word again they‘re more used to — war.

man versus virus, and the latter is still winning. mark lowen, bbc news, rome. we will talk more about the powers mentioned earlier. that the police have been given. to enforce social distancing and to try to control the spread of coronavirus. the house of lords has now passed the coronavirus bill, with a set of sweeping new emergency powers. it has cross—party support, some mps have expressed concern at the extent of the legislation. let‘s talk now to the policy and campaigns managerfor liberty, gracie mae bradley. thank you for being with us. do you have any doubt the police here and now do need some powers? essentially

it is for everybody‘s good. now do need some powers? essentially it is for everybody's goodm now do need some powers? essentially it is for everybody's good. it is clear this is a public health emergency and the government absolutely has to take steps to protect life. at the same time, what we see in this new act is some of the most drastic limitations on civil liberties in a generation and we are keen to reiterate it is a pandemic and it needs a public health response, not a criminal justice response. people might say it needs both and has both. the emphasis is on health and social care, it should be, but we have all seen care, it should be, but we have all seen it, we have all been out and certainly yesterday, seeing people in larger groups than there should be. not everybody, lots of people doing what we are advised to do but it is happening. do you think most think it might be quite sensible if

the local policeman can say, this is for your own health? i think we can see from the mutual aid groups up and down the country that people are willing to change the way they live, in order to protect our friends and neighbours and other people. the vulnerable in the community. at the same time, these are some really drastic powers that have been given to the police for potentially quite a long time. we‘re looking at people being able to be detained for up to 48 hours, pending assessment and treatment. we are also looking at people potentially forcibly quarantined with no upper time limit, potentially away from friends and family. and police also having the power is not something to go up to people in the park and politely ask them to move on but to break up protests, to break up strikes, private gatherings and these are some really significant powers and absolutely there is clear public goodwill and trust for things to be

done differently so that people in our communities are protected. but the police and the government absolutely must not abuse that. these are some really draconian powers and this is a public health emergency, not a criminaljustice one. so it is about how the powers are used i suppose? and only time will tell. we don‘t know how this will tell. we don‘t know how this will pan out? that is why it is really important as consistent scrutiny of how these powers are used and if the government continues to make the case that these powers are necessary. mps will be debating and reviewing the powers granted every six months but they all come asa every six months but they all come as a package so parliamentarians will have to say yes to all of them continuing, even if some of them are not necessary or no to any of them continuing even left some of them are still needed. so there is not room for nuance under is a lot of

room for nuance under is a lot of room for nuance under is a lot of room for abuse. and, there are some mps who have questioned why it is for two years which is something that you nodded to earlier. have you got any understanding why that figure was arrived at? no, we don't know why the government chose two yea rs, know why the government chose two years, in fact it is potentially longer than two years. there is a section in the bill that allows parliament to extend the powers further. the document from public health england envisaged an emergency up until spring 2021, so like many mps, we have been asking why you need these for two years when existing legislation had shorter time limits on it. . there are other ways to approach this with much greater safeguards for our liberty. thank you very much for now, we may address at again. thank

you. now it‘s time for a look at the weather with darren bett. following the sunshine today we will have clear skies overnight so temperatures will fall away sharply. not quite as cold for much of scotla nd not quite as cold for much of scotland and northern ireland because we still have a cloud overnight. some patchy rain mainly for scotland. a touch of frost across the far north—west towards the highlands. most of the force will be for england and wales. another cold one like it was last night. some early mist and fog patches through the vale of york but for the most part england and wales see more friday sunshine. somehow developing in south—eastern areas for a while. most of the cloud affecting central and southern scotland. should be drier and brighterfor northern scotland. should be drier and brighter for northern ireland. temperatures for the northern half of the uk summer to what we had today but more of a breeze down south, temperatures not as high. into the weekend, the weather looks very different. high—pressure dominating but it will drawdown more cloud from the north. that is where

our is coming from. it will feel colder, we will have some stronger winds as well. hello this is bbc news. the headlines. the government is to announce new measures, giving financial support to the self—employed and freelancers, who have lost millions because of coronavirus. i immediately went from earning to not earning. whereas friends who are employed, they are still getting their salary. as nhs staff say they need more protective equipment, the army helps with the distribution of vital medical supplies. vaccum cleaner maker dyson is given an order to make 10,000 ventilators for critically ill covid—19 patients, but they may not be ready for months and the nhs estimate they need 30,000 ventilators.

let‘s get more now on the pressures the nhs is under as it prepares for the peak of coronavirus infections. our health correspondent, nick triggle, is with us in the studio. we have been saying, we think, experts think, the peak is perhaps 2-3 experts think, the peak is perhaps 2—3 weeks away. remind us of some of the key things that the nhs still really needs, there are still problems with. getting more ventilators as a key priority as we have heard dyson are looking to manufacture more but in the past few weeks the nhs has been sourcing new ventilators. they have done a deal with the private sector which has brought in another 1200 ventilators. they have been repurposing paediatric ventilators for children. the ministry of defence has some and

there are some older new stocks they are trying to pull in. we understand there is 8000 ventilators available to the health service, double what the situation was a month ago. they are looking to get another 4000 in the coming months. that is the issue of ventilators. everyone is still talking about protective equipment. staff as well. the health select committee has been taking evidence from doctors and health officials this morning. the british medical association leader was talking about the ventilators. he said his members had expressed anxiety about the lack of equipment, the lack of masks, gloves and suits that are available. the government has said they are trying to get on top of this. there has been a distribution problem so some hospitals do have the equipment, but some do not and that is what they are trying to get out of the next couple of weeks, couple of the next couple of weeks, couple of days. we will talk to you again a little bit later. thank you for now.

you‘ve been contacting us in your thousands with questions about practical advice and support. earlier my colleague annita mcveigh and two experts tried to to answer some of them on bbc your questions answered. with me to answer your questions is mark harris, professor of virology at the university of leeds. good morning to you. also, i‘m joined by dr kalpana sabapathy who is a gp and a clinical epidemiologist at london school of hygiene and tropical medicine. good morning to you both. thank you for your time to answer our viewers‘ questions. the first one for mark from philip who asks, "i am worried i may need to give care to an elderly relative at some point in the future." "to protect them i will want

to self—isolate before going to stay with them, even if at the time i show no symptoms." "should it be for seven or 14 days or longer, do i need to go through an incubation period and a potential carrier period as well to be absolutely sure i do not infect my relative?" to be absolutely sure, you would probably want to self—isolate for 14 days, but it is likely if you are not infected that seven days would be sufficient, but to be absolutely certain, yes, 14 days would be appropriate. if someone in your household is suspected to be infected you should self—isolate for 14 days, so that would be the recommendation i think. yes, certainly if they have the time to do that before they have to go to visit that elderly relative to help them. ok, i hope that is a clear answer to your question. to be absolutely safe. next, this is a point i have seen being discussed more and more on social media, whatsapp and so on, can the virus be

carried on the post? do i have to leave my mail for two or three days before i open it? this might have been better for your virologist but to my knowledge the virus can survive on surfaces from several hours to possibly several days. i think it varies depending on the type of surface. various conditions depending on temperature, humidity, all those things will affect the survival of the virus. i do not think at this stage there is any real necessity to go too far in terms of not touching the post. as always, though, when you have touched anything, before you touch anything above the neck, wash your hands. that advice remains. hand hygiene after touching things, especially things that have come from outside, washing your hands before you then eat or have to wipe

or wash your face or anything else, is advisable. absolutely, in all cases. professor, can i get you to come in on that, would you agree with all of that? does post need to be left for two or three days, or should one open it with gloves for example? i do not think that is necessary. there has been a couple of studies that have shown the virus can persist for up to 72 hours but on a hard surface like a metal surface but on paper or cardboard it rapidly loses any infectivity as it gets absorbed into the paper and gets inactive. the advice is clear. if you handle something outside the house, wash your hands before you touch your face or food or anything like that. that is clear advice that everyone should be following. we have heard the mantra about washing your hands, but it is true. wash your hands many times. this is from dennis. my wife and i are 75 and 85

and we are high risk. "we cannot get a slot for food delivery from any supermarket and we have no family close to us." "are we safe to go to the supermarket to buy essential food?" i think this is obviously a very difficult question facing a lot of people who are anxious about this. ultimately the less you go out the less contact you have with anybody outside the household, the safer you are, no question about that. having said that, of course people need to eat and you do need to get food. i would suggest that your viewers could even perhaps contact their gp practice. there are volunteer groups who are informing gp practices they are operating in the area. things have come through the post for a lot of people, volunteers offering their services.

but if none of those are possible and your viewers are not able to go online very easily, they are not so internet savvy, then i think trying to go to the supermarket at times when it is quiet. some supermarkets have allocated quiet times dedicated for more vulnerable patients, trying to go at those times would be advisable, and certainly never forgetting that two metre rule and that is because if you are any closer than that, even talking to someone, there is potential that the virus could reach you. so it is the two metre rule. wash your hands when you get home and certainly before you touch anything above the neck. that is a good suggestion, people could contact their gp practice if they are in this situation, who may be able to put them into contact with a voluntary group who could perhaps deliver shopping to someone‘s door if they cannot easily get out.

the last thing we want is gp practices inundated with calls about this, but i imagine there are some people who have no online access who have no one else they can call upon without going out of the house and having contact, so in those extreme situations gp practices are always trying to help people, but please everybody else if you have other means then do not contact your gp practice for anything other than essential medical advice. absolutely, only in extreme need. linked to that is a question from alex who says, "is it worth me wearing gloves when i go to the supermarket?" "is there not the chance of cross contamination to the products i buy?" "should i wash the products i buy when i get home and then wash my hands?" yes to washing his or her hands. i do not know if it is a man or a woman. wearing gloves is probably not going to help too much because if you pick up some virus

you will pass it on to something else you handle with your gloves. the advice is to wash your hands when you get home and most items in the supermarket will have been distributed in a very hygienic way probably by someone wearing disposable gloves so i do not think you need to worry too much about contamination of foodstuffs or packaging you pick up on the supermarket but the mantra is to wash your hands after you have unpacked everything and to wash your hands if you then manipulate yourfood, prepare it, wash your hands again before you eat it. it is the same sort of message getting across to keep washing with soap and water is fine. simple but effective. "if i have a dry cough, not continual but fairly frequent and no high temperature, could i have coronavirus and can my partner go to work?" yes, i think there is a lot

of people quite confused about knowing when they do or do not have symptoms. certainly i do not know when she developed the cough but if it is definitely a new persistent cough it may be that the fever will go on to develop. at this time we might have to assume that she might be having a mild case of covid—19, because it is possible not to demonstrate a fever. if she can check her temperature with a thermometer that would obviously make it absolutely clear as well. 37.8 or above, yes? that is correct. that would be considered a fever and sometimes people are not always aware that they are running a temperature around that level. can her husband still go to work? again we have heard the message about essential work and if there is any work that

you can possibly do from home do from home. this is certainly a grey area in this sort of situation. i would imagine within a couple of days the symptoms would evolve and she would be clear about whether she might have it or not but it is not always clear. whenever possible i think it is incumbent upon all of us to err on the side of caution and remember that if at all possible we might have the infection and we could be passing it on. that is the best i can say. a couple of quick questions for you. "now the majority of dentists are closed, where should we go if we develop severe toothache?" there are certainly dental a&es dotted around in hospitals but i am afraid i am not sure. i would hope if you rang your dentist there might be a recorded message or something

similar to that. "can prescriptions be taken to doctors‘ surgeries as usual then picked up at a pharmacy?" i can tell you what we're doing at the practice i work at, which is that prescriptions are dropped off so that there's no face—to—face contact and then using that the repeat prescription is issued and absolutely yes, we are sending all prescriptions electronically so that patients can pick them up from pharmacies. professor harris, "how can we test ourselves at home for coronavirus? i am staying at home and my partner is still going to work so how do i know he is not bringing the disease back?" we do not have a home test yet, do we? we do not have a home test yet. we are hoping something will be rolled out soon which will be an antibody test which will tell you whether you have had the coronavirus previously but that is not available yet.

we hope within a week or two but will be available and distributed to all essential workers but also may be available in pharmacies to purchase with a minimal cost but we will wait to see the details. "the keeper is my partner is still going to work. how does she know he is not bringing the disease back?" unfortunately she does not know that because she has no way of testing him or testing herself to make sure that the virus is not present in either. it is just a case of watching for the symptoms. if there are any symptoms you have to act accordingly but at this stage there is no way ofjust telling whether someone is carrying the virus without doing the appropriate test which is currently only happening in hospitals and will hopefully be ruled out further over the next week or so with many more tests particularly on essential workers but at this stage there is no way to do that.

victoria asks, "has the government advised any steps key workers should take so as to reduce the risk of taking the virus back to their families?" "my husband works for the police." "i am asthmatic and we have an eight—month—old baby." "i am so scared he is going to bring the virus home with him." the police certainly will have advice for the two metre rail the police certainly will have advice for the two metre rule wherever possible and hopefully they will also have some personal protective equipment if they feel they are going into a situation where there is the potential for infection. it is working practices that have to be adjusted to make sure the risk of getting infected and bringing that infection back home is minimised, but there is no such thing as zero risk. there is always going to be some risk associated with any activity where you are going to come into contact with other people. i am struck as i am reading these questions.

you can really feel the anxiety in these questions, the conundrums people are faced in their daily lives, whether it is something as simple as picking up the post that has come through the letterbox, needing to go out and get food, worried about the virus coming into their home by another source. this one, doctor, "i have a 19—year—old son who has special needs." "due to these needs we would struggle to keep indoors as it would increase his anxiety and his behaviour." "we would have to take him outside and want to check that is ok." i mean, ithink, certainly, if there is a private outside space they can take him out to, obviously there is no restriction on that, just members of the household in the garden for example. if they would have to go into a public space then certainly for everybody there is the guidance

that we can go out once a day for exercise, so along those lines, as long... we come back to the simple messages the two metre rule, as long as all of them and as a household stay two metres away from others, not from their household, that should be reasonable, that is the best they can do. again, the handwashing when they come back home. i hope that answers your question. you can still get out and get some fresh air and exercise. this from david, "my wife works in a care home and is under the vulnerable category also, as she is pregnant." "how does she maintain social distancing and follow guidelines to protect herself?" that is really difficult because there are certain jobs, certain vocations, where you have to get close to other people and you cannot maintain the two metre distance. that is absolutely right and this is a very difficult situation. i would hope she would have some personal protective equipment like a mask she could use

when she was working with patients in the care home. i do not have the absolute answer for that. there is no such thing as zero risk, you just have to do everything you can to minimise that risk and if there are people in the care home showing symptoms and that changes symptoms then that changes the situation quite dramatically. then yes, she should obviously remove herself, given she is pregnant, if people in the care home have symptoms? unfortunately i think that is what she should do if she feels she is in an at—risk group for whatever reason she should not expose herself to excess risk of becoming infected. this next question is one i will get you both to come in on. "i am fairly confident that my husband has coronavirus and has been displaying symptoms for 11 days." "we have two young children and they have not yet had any symptoms and neither have i."

"is it possible we have not caught it or is it more likely we have caught it and are not displaying symptoms? this is the question so many people are grappling with, but in the absence of a test being widely available to check whether people actively have the infection or indeed the test that shows whether someone has been infected, there is simply no way of knowing. the good news is she and her children are well. for her husband, as long as, if his symptoms are persistent, provided he is not breathless or deteriorating, then i think that is fine and after seven days his maximum infectiousness has already passed effectively, but as for her and her two children there is no way of knowing but they should stick to the 14 day rule for them because they might yet develop symptoms. professor harris on that point?

yeah, if he has been showing symptoms for 11 days and he... if he does indeed have coronavirus, he will have been shedding virus and it is very likely they will have been infected if they are in close contact with him in the household, unless he has been isolated within a part of the household, which i guess is not the case. given what we know about the infectiousness of the virus, it would be highly unlikely they have not been infected, so i think that is probably good news, because it says they are some of the people who will show a mild infection or maybe not even notice they have been infected which, to be honest, is probably the majority of people who get infected with this virus. another question, a short question, possibly a short answer, "can you drive while under lockdown?" i am not sure if this is something that has been on your radar particularly, but i am sure

you will try to give a good answer. no, it is not strictly a medical question, but again being sensible it is all about maintaining isolation, maintaining that physical distance from other people. if somebody is going out of their mind, going stir crazy and getting in the car and going for a short drive i think my personal advice would be to say that it might be worth doing but bear in mind that something could happen, you might end up in an accident or whatever else and it would be incredibly unfortunate if you were then to catch the virus in that way, but it all comes down to the basic principles. no one can tell anyone else what to do but people need to know the principles which is to stay two metres away, wash your hands and maintain those rules so that you keep yourself safe and you keep others safe. and i guess they should maybe bring some food, some hand sanitiser if they have it,

in case they get stuck somewhere and they have to clean their hands while they have gone out for that drive, all those basic precautions. exactly, that is where ideally should not be doing that, i would say they should not be doing that, because you bring in all these additional complications and what if and all of that. the advice is preferably not, but if you absolutely have to every now and again to stay sane, it is a balance. thank you very much for answering a reviewers‘ questions. our viewers‘ questions. following the sunshine today we will have clear skies overnight so temperatures will fall away sharply. not quite as cold for much of scotland and northern ireland because we still have a cloud

overnight. because we still have a cloud still because we still have a cloud some patchy rain for there still some patchy rain for scotland. there may be a touch of pro stored the high wind. another cold one like it was last night. some early mist and fog patches through the vale of york. england and wales seeing more sunshine on friday. somehow developing in south—eastern areas for a while. most of the cloud affecting central and southern scotla nd affecting central and southern scotland with some patchy rain. temperatures for the northern half of the uk similar to what we had today but further south, with a bit more of a breeze, temperatures may not be quite as high. as we move into the weekend, the weather looks very different. still high—pressure dominating but it will drawdown more cloud from the north. that is where ourair is coming cloud from the north. that is where our air is coming from. it will feel colder, we will have some strong winds as well.

this is bbc news. i‘m jane hill. the headlines at 3. the government is to announce new measures, giving financial support to the self—employed and freelancers who have lost millions because of coronavirus. i immediately went from earning to not earning, whereas people i know that are employed are still getting their salary. as nhs staff say they need more protective equipment, the army helps with the distribution of vital medical supplies. leaders of the g20 countries have pledged to inject five trillion dollars into the global economy to try to offset the impact of the pandemic. in the united states, record numbers of unemployment as more than three million

people claim for benefits. nearly 70,000 are diagnosed with coronavirus. the death toll in spain surges over 4,000, as the country‘s lockdown is extended for at least another two weeks. do you need anything, brenda? and the challenges of living through lockdown at the top of a tower block. hello and welcome. the chancellor, rishi sunak, is preparing to unveil a package of emergency measures for self—employed people, many of whose income has dried up because of the economic shutdown caused by coronavirus. there are more than five million self—employed people in the uk, though there are suggestions that not all of them will be eligible for the help.

last week, the chancellor promised to cover up to 80% of the wages of employees, to stop them being laid off. in the health service, 30,000 ventilators could be needed within just a few weeks. the nhs presently has about 8,000. six more people have died from coronavirus in wales, bringing the total there to 28. in scotland another three people have died taking the number now to 25. the infection rate in the united states has soared, and more than a thousand people have now died. and here, we are all being encouraged to stand on our doorstep at eight o‘clock this evening — and join in a round of applause, to say thank you to all the health care staff working throughout this pandemic. 0urfirst report, about the chancellor‘s latest measures, comes from our economics

correspondent andy verity. the country‘s 5 million self—employed people have never known anything like this. the government orders a shutdown and their income plummets, in many cases to zero. nicky, a nail technician, has enough money in the bank to get her through the next month, but then she will run out. i immediately went from earning to not earning, whereas people i know who are employed still are getting their salaries. thomas wescott is a self—employed plasterer, but, yesterday, his work dried up. a very worrying time at the moment, due to all the customers cancelling, not being able to get materials for the jobs we do have, and it‘s also very unclear whether we should be carrying on working or not, and no money coming in, either. charlie knight makes costumes for prime—time tv shows — an industry stripped bare by the antivirus measures. it‘s terrifying, really, because, as an industry, we are notjust costume designers

and makeup artists, we are carpenters, we are riggers, we are electricians, we are painters, we are medics. every possible profession you could think of is within our industry. cabbies know work comes and goes. for some, this is their fourth recession. but they say it‘s by far the worst. apprehensive, especially when the work has dried up on the streets, the hotels, the restaurants, the bars. there‘s just nothing out there at the moment and cab drivers are having to rank up near supermarkets, because they are the only places where custom can be had. millions of self—employed people have seen a drop in income the like of which most of them can‘t remember in their entire working lives. it‘s estimated that they‘ve lost £781 a month on average. rishi sunak has promised to help firms and their employees, paying 80% of wage bills that firms can‘t afford. the self—employed want the same.

the treasury has been keen to avoid giving money to people who don‘t need it, but many are by no means wealthy. people who are taxi drivers, who are hairdressers, cleaners or builders, they haven‘t got any money coming in. so speed is going to be important. i think it needs to be a scheme which is as generous to the self—employed as the chancellor was, rightly, to employees. support for the incomes of self—employed people, even if it‘s temporary, will land the government with a giant bill — billions, perhaps tens of billions. the longer the shutdown goes on, the more the national debt will grow. andy verity, bbc news. we will bring you more details that have come through. all about the new rules, certainly in england, as i understand it, but all about new legislation to do with police powers

all around social distancing. to ta ke all around social distancing. to take you through the details, because it is interesting, depending on your view, butjust hearing... more details about the vines. i am sorry, it is moderately complicated! these are rules allowing police to find anyone who for example runs a business that is not exempt, so we know there are certain categories that can stay open such as banks, building societies, chemists, supermarkets, but anybody running a business not on the list can be fined. anyone who makes a journey without lawful reason. and the key thing of gathering in a group of more than two people. details of the penalties. we are told a fixed penalty is £60, but that will be £30 if you pay within 14 days, like some parking fines, it will be £60 if you

do not pay within 14 days. if subsequent fines are issued, they double in value on each infringement, which means it takes you to a maximum of £960. a fixed penalty of £60 can be levied and if subsequent fines are issued they double in value on each infringement. this is anyone flouting the current rules we are living under. this is about making a journey that does not have a proper reason behind it, you can go for medical appointments, you can take a vulnerable person to an appointment, but anyone making a journey that does not have a valid reason or for example someone running a business thatis example someone running a business that is not meant to be open. if it is not on the list of businesses allowed to open. those details coming through. i expect we will get more breakdown on that. those are

the rules. it is a busy afternoon in the rules. it is a busy afternoon in the world of politics because we expect that statement, more details from the chancellor later regarding help for self employed people. we can go to westminster and join our political correspondent. these will be details that anyone who is self—employed, a freelancer, is desperate to hear about. this is something the government has been under pressure on? ever since rishi sunak announced measures for people employed by companies last friday that he would cover 80% of wages of workers who would otherwise be laid off because of the outbreak and since then there has been pressure to do something similarly generous if you like for people who are self—employed. what is in place is they have access to universal

credit, paying £94 a week. and a lot of people are seeing business drop—off or have needed to close. research released by the institute for fiscal studies said the self—employed are more likely to be in restricted occupations such as hairdressers and cleaners. the shadow chancellor said they are likely to be among the working poor and he criticised the delay in getting measures put into place. the treasury has said it wants to help but there are logistical problems with this, it says, and it needs to find afair with this, it says, and it needs to find a fair scheme that is targeted and deliverable. issues they have run up against our things like the fa ct run up against our things like the fact that self—employed people file tax returns and therefore declare their income in arrears, so they have older figures to work on and their income can be volatile because it is less stable and also logistical issues like people who

are in employment, they will be sorted through the paye scheme so they have everybody‘s bank details which they do not necessarily have for everyone who is self—employed. the government has said they looked at those issues to come up with a well targeted scheme, and whether it lives up to expectations, we will not know that for a few hours. are we looking at huge amounts of borrowing to pay for this?” we looking at huge amounts of borrowing to pay for this? i think we are. the government has not spelt out how it will be paid for but when you look at the 330 billion announced last week, it is difficult to see where else that will come from. the feeling in westminster is there is no choice. to keep the economy going and ensure once we get through the outbreak and crisis there is an economy to go back to, companies to operate. the chancellor has said they need to do whatever it ta kes. has said they need to do whatever it takes. thank you. we will talk more

about that in a moment. i will talk toa about that in a moment. i will talk to a representative of the tuc but before that, just to tell you on health issues specifically from northern ireland. figures coming through from northern ireland and the latest figures on the situation regarding coronavirus. there have been three more deaths in northern ireland linked to covid—19 in the past 24 hours. that brings the total number of people who have lost their life to this in northern ireland to ten. and 32 further positive tests. in northern ireland, 241 positive cases and regrettably ten people have died. we were talking about the

situation facing self—employed people. kate bell is head of economics and employment rights at the the trade union, the tuc. she joins us from south east london. what do you hope to hear from the chancellor? we urgently need to hear help is coming. people across the economy from construction workers to people working in the creative industries face dramatic drops in income and the self—employed need to know there will be an income guarantee. we hope it will be a fair system that is targeted at those who need it most. what people most want to know is there will be the support they need right now.|j to know is there will be the support they need right now. i guess it is about speed, because if you are self—employed, by definition your income fluctuates from month to

month and you could have been in a parlous financial situation already for quite a few weeks. the most important thing is reassurance help will be there so people know they will be there so people know they will get support. then it is getting it up and running as fast as possible. we understand there is a new scheme and it is complicated, and people need reassurance and need to know the cash will end up in their pocket. what stories have you been hearing? what have people contacting you been saying since coronavirus has taken hold, and since there has been a level of awareness that people paid infrequently, perhaps, or on a contract, are in a tricky position? it is across the economy. it has happen fast. we are hearing from people in employee jobs that businesses are not taking advantage of the scheme announced last week,

vitally important they get reassurance. self—employed people, if you are an actor, your work, the west end has shut down, your work drying up. if you work as a film camera technician, again more limited work opportunities. construction, we see variable issues across the economy and some issues where people are sent to work but in u nsafe where people are sent to work but in unsafe conditions. there is a concern for everybody and we need the schemes up and running so people do not fall into poverty as a result of this terrible pandemic. we have heard talk about mortgage holidays and about rent holidays. pressure put on landlords to try to do the right thing, if their tenant is someone who cannot afford to pay rent or needs to take a reduction in rent. are you hearing those sorts of smaller policies have been of some

help? are they being acted on? most people‘s main income is from their job so that is the first priority. then we have to look at how we can reduce people‘s costs. a main debt people faces council tax debt so we have called on government to look at what it can do about that, is it a place where you could have a repayment holiday? but getting the money people would normally get from employment into their pockets is the first priority. and a quick thought on something you said earlier. we have had the big announcements about help for people who are paye, companies can apply for a grant to pay at least 80% of what each employee has been earning. you said your experience is that some companies are not acting on that, not taking up that help?” companies are not acting on that, not taking up that help? i think thatis not taking up that help? i think that is the case. unions are trying

to negotiate agreements and we have seen good agreements using that scheme. but we hear reports of companies laying off people and we need guidance from the government about how the scheme will work. we urge companies to think about the long—term. holding on to workers is the best option in the short and long—term. it is the responsible thing do and the most sensible thing to do so that hopefully we can recover after this crisis and get the economy moving again. there is a moral case. ifeel we the economy moving again. there is a moral case. i feel we should the economy moving again. there is a moral case. ifeel we should be aware of companies that have let staff go, are not taking up the scheme of that rishi sunak outlined. we should know who these companies are and when this is over and life we hope it‘s back to normal, we know and give our business to companies who have done the right thing.|j could not agree more. one thing the

crisis is exposing is the longer—term way in which workers have been devalued by bosses. we have been devalued by bosses. we have allowed a situation where people are treated like disposable labour and there is no interest in their wellbeing. rules and regulations has not force them to do so. in february, we were talking about people on zero—hours contracts, just under 1 about people on zero—hours contracts, just under! million now, it had arisen. when something like this happens we see the costs of that casual labour approach which too many employers have taken. kate bell from the tuc, thanks. the peak of demand for intensive care beds is expected to come in two to three weeks. hospital bosses in london, where a third of the country‘s cases have been diagnosed, say they‘re already struggling with the high number of critically ill patients — one likening the situation to a "continuous tsunami". staff sickness rates of up

to 50% in some hospitals, and a shortage of ventilators, are putting huge strain on the system. lauren moss reports. the race is on to get vital protective equipment out to nhs staff fighting a battle against an invisible enemy. boxes of masks, gloves and goggles are being delivered in their thousands, but still many medics and nurses say they‘re going without, ahead of what could be a tsunami of coronavirus cases in the coming weeks. doctors are now looking after some of their own colleagues who are on ventilators. we‘re aware internationally that large numbers of health care workers have themselves fallen ill by being infected. so the one thing the nhs must do is avoid infection by giving us the protection. that is avoidable. scotland‘s chief medical officer says the distribution system became clogged up after huge orders were placed, but that supply shouldn‘t be

a problem there next week. and according to the government, 13 million face masks have gone out in the last few days. we entirely understand how important it is that you get the kit you need and feel safe and are safe in doing this amazing work you are doing. we are ramping up deliveries of ppe, we have brought the army in to help with what is a huge logistics exercise. and it‘s not just equipment for staff. ventilators are also a must for patients who could become very unwell and need help breathing. the nhs hasjust over 8,000 at the minute, but estimates 30,000 may be needed. please... look at me and listen. if you get coronavirus and you have to go into the icu, that means you're going to struggle to breathe. you keep going with a ventilator.

so please, please listen to all the advice of the government. one of those answering the government‘s call to build more ventilators is dyson. if the blueprint is approved, 10,000 could be constructed at its base in wiltshire — an aircraft hangar which was used in world war ii. as people stay at home, help is also turning to an antibody hope is also turning to an antibody test which could detect if someone has already had the virus. 3.5 million of those have been ordered for nhs staff and critical workers, but there‘s a word of caution that we shouldn‘t expect to see the test on shop shelves yet. everybody wants this, so there is a global shortage and that‘s a bottleneck for us, but the next priority is to get critical workers back to work or to say to them, you have got this. so we definitely would like that, not to fight the disease, but to support the nhs. more people are being tested for the virus every day. 0ver13,000 have been carried out since monday, but doctors say more must be done.

it seems that we‘re trying to make reasons why the uk is a special case, where, last time i checked, we‘re the same human beings as in every other country. but if we don‘t also test and trace, then how are we going to avoid when we open the doors and go back outside, there‘s a risk it will rise again just as it has. more than half a million people have now volunteered to be an nhs responder, to help the most vulnerable with things like food and medicine deliveries, or even a phone call. i feel deeply humbled at the strength of our nation and the gift of time that everybody is willing to give of themselves. their humanity, compassion, their talent, their skill. it is a true gift to give. following in the footsteps of other countries, tonight everyone around the uk is being invited to clap for carers as a thank you to those facing the brunt of the crisis. lauren moss, bbc news.

well, work is under way to turn the excel london into the nhs nightingale, housing 4,000 patients. 0ur news correspondent angus crawford sent this update from the site. enormous. the excel centre is slowly being turned into the nhs nightingale. the excel is huge, 100,000 square feet, 600 metres long, better known from the 2012 olympics. it hosted numerous events. it holds things like the international boat show, — the international boat show — a gigantic space. slowly but surely they are piping in facilities turning this into a hospital to treat hundreds, possibly thousands of patients. the big cranes are lifting into place enormous

tanks of liquid oxygen that will be fitted up to a system that turns it into oxygen, into air, gas, which will be piped into the building, where they are building a facility which, by the middle of next week, is expected to have 500 beds with oxygen and ventilators, but potentially able to scale up to a total of 4000 beds, 2000 on each side of the exhibition halls. we do not know when it will receive its first patients, but it should near completion of the first phase early in the week and behind me just across the dark is london city airport. that is important because, it is closed to commercial traffic, but it is thought it could be used to fly in patients from other parts of the country, should those parts of the country cease to have enough bed space. we also know talks are in place to open other facilities similar to this in birmingham,

manchester and scotland. there is a shortage of staff across the nhs. there were job vacancies already, but there are people isolating or have had symptoms themselves. we know what happened, yesterday evening, a mass appeal went out within nhs london to recruit staff to work here so we hope that will produce people all the way from porters at one end to consultants at the other. we know earlier in the week there were calls for retired nhs staff to put themselves forward. they hope they will serve. they hope they will serve as a pool. there will be military medics and planners, also, and finally, the stjohn ambulance is training hundreds of volunteers and they will also be represented here. another 3 people have died as a result of coronavirus in scotland, taking the number now to 25.

the first minister said the scottish government has brought an extra 1.5 million face masks into use from the nhs stockpile, after they were tested to ensure they‘re safe and valid. nicola sturgeon also revealed how new regulations were being prepared to give police in scotland enforcement powers to enforce social distancing rules. we are now preparing regulations to give police in scotland enforcement powers. colleagues in the uk government are working to do the same and we expect regulations to be in force perhaps as early as today. they give us power to enforce rules that most people are following anyway and i want to thank people for their compliance with the advice. these powers i hope do not have to be used but they are there to make sure we can ensure the right things are done to help us delay the spread of the virus. where necessary, regulations will give powers to require

the closure of listed businesses on premises and help to ensure and premises operating. and it provides powers to police and where appropriate people designated by local authorities. it will help to enforce the rule there should be no public gatherings are the same household or circumstances such as responding to an emergency. they will enforce restrictions on people staying at home and it will be the rule you should only be outside for a reasonable purpose, buying food or essential supplies, travelling to and carrying out essential work, exercising once a day or providing care or assistance to others. those found not to be acting in line with regulations can be made to return home and also could be subject to prohibition notices and if people do not follow

instructions to return home, they could be liable to an on the spot fine and ultimately, if necessary, prosecuted. as the chief constable has set out and i echo these comments, we expect the majority of people to do the right thing without requirement for enforcement. i remind people why they are asked to follow these rules because by doing these things we help to slow the spread of the virus to reduce its impact on the nhs and ensure the health service can provide treatment to those who need it. this is about saving lives. nicola sturgeon. more details coming from the home office about the new police powers that apply from today. we were talking about fines that can be levied by police. a breakdown of this coming through from the home

0ffice. this coming through from the home office. the statement saying to ensure that people stay—at—home and avoid nonessential travel. from today if members of the public do not comply the police are allowed to instruct them to go home, to leave a certain area, or to disperse, to ensure that parents are taking the necessary steps to stop their children breaking these rules, and as we mentioned earlier in the hour, they can issue a fixed penalty notice of £60 if the various rules we are meant to live by now are not abided by. £60 fixed penalty notice but like a parking fine, if you pay within 14 days, that will be halved, £30 if you pay quickly. but in theory, £60. a second time offender would have a fixed penalty notice of £120, and then going on to say that if those fines are not paid in

theory someone could be taken to court and a magistrate could impose an unlimited fine. again, in fact the home office make the point that police are applying common sense and discretion and we have heard from the police federation saying we police by consent. this is about trying to get people to do the right thing, to follow the rules as we know they stand, which is you can go out once a day to take exercise. you are allowed to help people who are vulnerable or elderly. those sorts of issues but just vulnerable or elderly. those sorts of issues butjust a little bit more information coming through from the home office about these new powers. 0n home office about these new powers. on this topic as well... police in north yorkshire have begun carrying out spot checks on motorists in a bid to halt the spread the coronavirus. police have been given powers

to enforce social distancing 0fficers here stopping vehicles and asking motorists where they are going, why they are going there, i guess making sure the journey is necessary and it complies with current rules. those are pictures there from north yorkshire police in north yorkshire enforcing those rules. the crown prosecution service for england and wales has warned that people who deliberately cough at police, shop workers, and vulnerable people could face criminal charges. the director of public prosecutions says the cps ‘stands behind emergency and essential workers and will not hesitate to prosecute anybody who threatens them as they go about their vital duties.‘ it comes after a man admitted three counts of assaulting an emergency worker after claiming to have coronavirus, and directing coughs at police who were arresting him for a separate offence.

our home affairs correspondent, daniel sandford, has more on what the cps is saying. it almost beggars belief. the director of public and has has felt it necessary to spell it out the director of public prosecutions has has felt it necessary to spell it out that he will prosecute people who either use coughs as a means of assaulting emergency workers or anyone else, shop workers, and that he will make sure are prosecuted to the highest shop workers, and that he will make sure they are prosecuted to the highest level and his prosecutors will seek verey severe penalties when doing so. people may not understand this, but it is an assault to threaten someone with something that might do them harm. if you cough towards a police officer or anyone else and say you have coronavirus, it counts as an assault. and it is also threatening, to cough

or spit at someone, that would amount to threatening behaviour. two people have already been prosecuted for exactly that. darren rafferty, of dagenham, 45, yesterday admitted assaulting an emergency worker, after basically coughing in the direction of police officers trying to arrest him and saying he had covid—19. and david mott, 40, from blackburn, has been charged with spitting with threatening to spit at police in blackburn after he was questioned about being it out at night when the prime minister had advised everyone to stay at home. two examples of how the cps will pursue this. they are spelling it out publicly in a press notice saying this will happen. it has been welcomed by the police federation. the chair of the police federation saying it is welcome and timely, a way of dealing with this vile act.

and a broader thought about police powers generally and the issue of fines. we know how we should be behaving. remind us what police powers there are to try to deal with the issue of social distancing. these powers are coming in bit by bit. some more coming in today we expect. you have powers already there to close down pubs and bars operating when they have been told they must not operate. police have been designated, as have council workers, designated as people who can close premises down. that list of premises is being extended and will include all shops, apart from those selling vital supplies. such as supermarkets, pharmacies, bike shops, mot garages are allowed to stay open, petrol stations but generally any retail outlet otherwise will need to be closed and the police will have

powers to close them down. and the slightly less clear rules will be about people needing to stay at home and not congregate in groups of more than two people. we are waiting to see regulations on those but we expect those to be coming at any time. 0ur correspondence between earlier before we had some of those details from the home office. those is coming into force today. as we‘ve been reporting, a package of measures to help self—employed people in the uk is to be announced later. let‘s just take a look at what rights and support are available to different workers in this crisis. if you can‘t work because of

coronavirus, your first stop for support is your employer. many firms are still paying staff as usualfor the moment. if they can‘t meet the costs themselves, the government has said it will cover 80% of wages. for the first time in our history, the government is going to step in and help to pay people‘s wages. the process is automatic, so you won‘t have to claim. it gets more complex for workers on zero hours or flexible contracts. if you are paid like a regular worker through paye, the government should pick up some of the bill, but it is not yet clear how your earnings will be calculated. otherwise, you might qualify for statutory sick pay or other benefits like employment and support allowance. the government says it is still working on detailed measures to support the self—employed. an announcement is expected soon. as things stand, you can claim universal credit — the amount you get depends on factors like savings, the size of your family and your partner‘s income.

there have already been reports of large queues to register online as tens of thousands try to apply at once. let‘s discuss what the chancellor‘s latest package of measures and the impact the coronavirus could have on the uk economy, i‘m joined by philip thomas, professor of risk management at the university of bristol. could afternoon. there is an a cce pta nce could afternoon. there is an acceptance that self—employed people, freelancers, need some help, just as other employees need help. i suppose you are looking at the whole issue of the longer term stress on the economy of all of this? yes, thatis the economy of all of this? yes, that is correct. in a sense, the plight of the self—employed worker isa plight of the self—employed worker is a symptom of the countermeasures that we are starting to put in place. i understand those countermeasures, but what i would be looking for from the chancellor is

leadership and getting the nation back to work. further down the line,? i hope not. i have used the judgment value and that has given the mrs that an unmitigated long lockdown could cause a recession thatis lockdown could cause a recession that is as bad as, or worse than, the recession that we had in 2007 — 2009 and a big financial crash. if measures are not taken to correct that we will lose more life than we gain. this government and governments all around the world are

aware of the economic impact and have to make these announcements like the one we‘re waiting for today on that basis. it is a heck a juggfing on that basis. it is a heck a juggling act but... they know that, it isa juggling act but... they know that, it is a given? you put your finger on it exactly. it is a heck of a juggfing on it exactly. it is a heck of a juggling act. what i would be looking for is a number of measures in the short—term by which i mean in the next few months. and they are that we can get smarter medically, we need to get smarter medically. we need perhaps more field hospitals, we need more equipment, ventilators, staffing, possibly volunteer staffing, possibly volunteer staffing from these to 50,000 or higherfigure, 400,000. staffing from these to 50,000 or higher figure, 400,000. —— staffing from these to 50,000 or higherfigure, 400,000. —— 250,000 or higher, 400,000. and we need this test to see how many people have had a virus and have recovered and could

go back to work. the second thing i would like to emphasise and i don‘t think i have seen this discussed, are not much discussed, as we need to get smarter in developing new methods of working. so that we can get people back to work but back to work safely. i understand what you‘re saying that when you talk about smarter ways of working, i appreciate you are trying to save we need to get back to work as quickly as we can because the economic damages potentially enormous. absolutely, people listening will accept that. there are so manyjobs that simply can‘t be done mostly. as far as we that simply can‘t be done mostly. as faras we can that simply can‘t be done mostly. as far as we can market today people are absolutely doing that.” far as we can market today people are absolutely doing that. i agree with you. the software industry is doing very well, i have friends in the industry seeing their productivity is going up as a result

of working from home. a lot of people whose jobs are not like that. so if we got encouragement from the chancellor, leadership from the chancellor, leadership from the chancellor, to encourage better working practices using work study engineers, public health officials, people who are experts in those industries, there will be ways of working i am sure that enable, will enable people to work and restart some of the sectors that at the moment are closing down. yes, very interesting. let‘s see how much of that we get is an element of what the chancellor might see a little bit later on today. thank you very much for now. more now on the new powers that the police have been given, to enforce social distancing and stay—at—home rules, to try to control the spread of coronavirus.

the house of lords has now passed the coronavirus bill, but though it has cross—party support, some mps have expressed concern at the extent of the legislation. earlier, i spoke to the policy and campaigns managerfor liberty, gracie mae bradley, about the need for legislation to tackle the virus. it is really clear this is a public health emergency and the government absolutely has to take steps to protect life. at the same time, what we see in this new act is some of the most drastic limitations on civil liberties in a generation and we are keen to reiterate it is a pandemic and it needs a public health response, not a criminaljustice response. people watching might say it needs both, it has both. of course the emphasis is on health and social care, it should be, but we have all seen

it, haven‘t we? we have all been out and certainly even yesterday, seen people in larger groups than there should be. not everybody, lots of people doing what we are advised by the scientists to do, but it is happening. do you think most think it might be quite sensible if the local policeman can say, "you know what guys, this is for your own health?" i think we can see from lots the mutual aid groups springing up and down the country that people are willing to change the way they live, in order to protect our friends and neighbours and other people who are vulnerable in the community. at the same time, these are some really drastic powers that have been given to the police for potentially quite a long time. we‘re looking at people being able to be detained for up to 48 hours, pending assessment and treatment. we are also looking at people potentially being forcibly

quarantined with no upper time limit, potentially away from friends and family. and police also having the power not o le in the park and politely ask them to move on, but to break up protests, to break up strikes, private gatherings and these are some really significant powers and absolutely there is clear public goodwill and trust for things to be done differently, so that people in our communities are protected. but the police and the government absolutely must not abuse that. these are some really draconian powers and this is a public health emergency, not a criminaljustice one. so it is about how the powers are used, i suppose? and only time will tell. we don‘t know how this will pan out. no and i suppose that is why it is really important that there is consistent scrutiny of how these powers are used and as the government continues to make the case that these powers are actually necessary. mps will be debating and reviewing the powers in the coronvacirus act granted every six months

but they all come as a package every six months but they all come as a package so parliamentarians will have to say yes to all of them continuing, even if some of them are not still necessary, or no to any of them continuing, even if some of them are still needed. so there is not much room for nuance and there is a lot of room for abuse. and there are some mps who have questioned why it is for two years which is something that you nodded to earlier. have you got any understanding as to how or why that figure of two years was arrived at? no, we don‘t know why the government chose two years, and in fact it is potentially longer than two years. there is a section in the bill that allows for parliament to extend the powers further. the leaked document from public health england envisaged an emergency up until spring 2021, so like many mps, we have been asking why you need these for two years when existing emergency legislation has shorter

time limits on it. the civil contingencies act for example allows for regulations up to 30 days that can keep being renewed. there were other ways to approach this with much greater safeguards for our liberty. and that was the policy and campaigns managerfor liberty, gracie mae bradley. leaders of the g20 countries say they‘ll inject $5 trillion dollars into the global economy, to tackle the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. we‘re hearing that the uk has become the largest contributor to find vaccine. donating to £10 million in new aid funding, that is what is coming —— £210 million. yes as leaders of the g20 having a virtual

summit hosted by saudi arabia. leaders of the g20 countries say they‘ll inject $5 trillion dollars into the global economy, to tackle the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. they also promised joint action and what they called ‘robust‘ support for developing nations. 0ur middle east business correspondent, sameer hashmi is in dubai. explain a little bit more about what the leaders have been saying about what some of the promises are. the statement has just come out a few minutes ago and what they are saying is there are two sets of announcements. 0ne is there are two sets of announcements. one is to fight the pandemic, especially when it comes to the medical requirements, they have pledged to increase manufacturing of medical equipment. which includes testing kits, ventilators which are needed right now in this hour, they have not

mentioned how much would be the amount but they have pledged they will increase capacity is and make sure the distribution is equitable across the globe because some countries need these basic medical supplies, they have an acute shortage and they needed immediately. that is one of the main announcements to have come. the second is on the global economy front. they have said they would be ingesting about, injecting about $5 trillion in various economic measures. we have seen a lot of economies and countries have been doing that over the last few weeks. the united states, the united kingdom, europe, here in asia, a lot of countries have come out with stimulus packages which means government funding the economy at a time when demand has gone down, there is not much production happening so there will be a coordinated action. at the same time by various governments which will help prop up the global economy. the imf or the world bank predicted there would be a global recession,

there would be a global recession, the airline industry struggling, these industries need money. that is these industries need money. that is the second big announcement. they have spoken about more coordination with finance ministers and central bankers of these countries. they would continue to meet to work on specific programmes and so will the health ministers of these countries, to come up and work out a coordinated action, especially as far as exchanging information is concerned. what is interesting in the statement is that they spoke about pad and see. as far as treating patients and exchanging information is concerned. in the context that the united states has co nsta ntly context that the united states has constantly been blaming china for the current crisis said china was not very transparent with your information especially in the beginning or early stages and that is why the coronavirus outbreak is so widespread and has become a pandemic. these are some of the key announcements, announcements being made in the statement. everything that you have outlined is just a

reminder briefly of how this is utterly interconnected in every way. this affects every nation or well affect almost every nation we can think of, and this really requires a joint effort. it is a effort economically as the who has been telling us we all have to work together in terms of the health issues that are part of it? that is right. this meeting was notjust attended by the leaders of the g20, the world health organization, the united nations, the international monetary fund, all of these organisations had representatives as pa rt organisations had representatives as part of the idea is it has to be a coordinated action. i think what is as important at this point in time which people hope will come out from the meeting as, all the differences you see at a global level, the trade war between the united states and china, the oil price war we are

seeing well be put aside. the statement says it is important the markets are fair as far as exchange of goods is concerned, especially at a time weather is a need but there is no word on the oil price war. the who was part of the meeting to give outinput who was part of the meeting to give out input and what has become very clear in this meeting is that is a need for all these countries, because they are the 20 largest economies in the world, to step up medical supplies, manufacturing and do whatever they can because clearly the numbers are expected to go up in the numbers are expected to go up in the coming weeks and the problem could become more acute as far as supplies go. thanks very much for now. it is 3.50. as nhs staff across

the country care for those affected by covid—19, tonight, we‘re being asked to thank them. the event has been dubbed as "clap for our carers" has seen a huge amount of support on social media and will see thousands of people amount of support on social media and organisers hope we will see thousands of people taking a moment at 8pm tonight, opening their doors and windows to applaud nhs staff. annemarie plas is the woman behind it all and shejoins me now from south london. good afternoon. where does this idea come from? i was inspired by what i saw happening in my home country, i am in many dutch whatsapp groups. i

saw the actual applause and i was looking up and so what is happening in way more countries than the netherlands. and i thought, you know, why don‘t we try to do that here as well? it was and spontaneously, i posted it on my social channels and before we knew it it could spread throughout the nation. it is such a simple idea and the best ideas always are, butjust say for anyone watching right now who has not heard about this before, what exactly do you want people to do wherever they are?” what exactly do you want people to do wherever they are? i want people tonight at apm two, if possible, go either outside, hanging out the window, on the balcony, applauding making noise, using pots and pans and anything they can to create some noise and then applause to show our appreciation for the people working

in the nhs, working at the front line, fighting this virus on our behalf. as long as they are all two metres apart that will be grand, wanted? metres apart that will be grand, wanted ? what about metres apart that will be grand, wanted? what about someone, i can see how that will be amazing for people who live in a built—up area, the sense of community, lots of people around you, you can hear and see people, some people live enmore rural areas. what if they say i would feel a right lemon, standing on my doorstep at apm, what would you say to them? i would still say do it because —— 8pm. you can always film it and post it using the hashtag so you can see others do it and most importantly the people who cannot watch it at 8pm who we are applauding for can do it. because brits are meant to be reserved, we are not meant to be up for the sort of thing are we? the dutch aren't either. but i saw it happening there

and thought well if the dutch can do it, the brits can certainly do it. and does it still happen every thursday in the netherlands where it started ? thursday in the netherlands where it started? where you are from? no, they have only done it once but because they were not sure at the time they were not having the heavy lockdown as we are where we are going through at the moment. but yes, the idea is hopefully to keep doing it for as long as we are here in our houses and for as long as the nhs has to work so hard. they certainly are working hard, thank you for talking to us. thank you very much indeed, stay safe. while i was talking, we were hearing that the bbc as saying it is launching a series of films with clips from classic programmes to help communicate that central health

message that we should be all abiding by the current health rules. transmitting essential health m essa g es transmitting essential health messages throughout the coronavirus crisis. i am messages throughout the coronavirus crisis. iam reading messages throughout the coronavirus crisis. i am reading this as i am coming through, i hope it makes sense. it has been another long and busy day but we will have to clip something like miranda, the effect of it, they will be on television and radio, it does not see radio, why would it not be? it is all going to be about reminding us all what the rules are, what we should all be doing, what is best for everybody up and down the uk. a few more details on that to come. i have not got the full just of that as you can tell. it says, it contains some alan partridge and that is appropriate sometimes in these busy times so we look forward to that. more details later. now, australia is in lockdown too, and one affected group is the pub choir.

so the organisers decided to start a choir for people stuck at home and in the end, 1,000 people from 18 countries took part in this virtual choir performance. let‘s take a listen # why do stars fall down from the sky # every time you walk by? # just like me, they want to be # close to you # on the day that you were born # the angels got together # and decided to create a dream come true # so they sprinkled moon dust # in your hair of gold # and starlight in your eyes so blue.#

now it‘s time for a look at the weather with darren bett. hello there. even as early as this morning, the temperature in west wales was up to 16 degrees. and we are continuing to see today the higher temperatures across the western side of england and wales thanks to the easterly breeze. further north in scotland and ireland, it‘s a bit cooler here, because we‘ve still got this band of cloud. it‘s a very weak weather front, still producing some patchy rain, maybe across scotland. mainly across scotland. a little bit drier, thinner cloud coming into northern ireland. for england and wales, we will have some clear skies. may well find some mist and fog forming through the vale of york and there will be a widespread frost as there was last night. there may be frost for the highlands of scotland to the north of that band of cloud where we will see some sunshine on friday, may be the odd shower too. most of the rain continues across central southern scotland, generally light and patchy. drier, brighter weather i think for northern ireland. maybe some cloud affecting parts of the south—east for a while,

but on the whole it is still pretty sunny for england and wales. but there will be more of a breeze i think on friday, so temperatures won‘t be quite as high as we‘ve seen today. more significant changes, though, coming this weekend. we‘ve still got high pressured dominating our weather. it‘s sitting to the north—west of the uk. so it‘s changing the wind direction and where our air is coming from. so we‘re going to be picking up air coming from the north, so it‘s going to be colder. you‘ll notice that. but there will also be a stronger wind, which will make it feel colder as well, and that really starts to develop during saturday. you also notice much more cloud across the uk. not just in scotland and northern ireland, but pushing into england and wales. a chance of one or two light showers near some of those eastern coasts, but on the whole, i think it will be dry. but temperatures are going to start to ebb away, so perhaps 12 degrees across more southern parts of england and wales, but with the wind picking up through the day, it will feel colder as well. so that colder theme continues as we move

into british summer time on sunday. again, a lot of cloud, still some sunshine here and there, but a fair bit of cloud. showers are more likely towards the north—west. those temperatures are more typical ofjanuary, but when you add on the wind, with the strongest winds across more central and eastern parts of england, well, here it may feel more like two or three degrees. as we move into the early part of next week, we will find this quiet, generally dry and fairly cloudy weather continuing, but the winds won‘t be as strong. it won‘t feel as cold by day, but it could be chillier at night.

this is bbc news. the headlines at 4pm: the government is to announce new measures, giving financial support to the self—employed and freelancers, who‘ve lost millions, because of the coronavirus outbreak. i immediately went from earning to not earning, whereas people i know that are employed are still getting their salary. as nhs staff say they need more protective equipment, the army helps with the distribution of vital medical supplies. downing street says the uk has become the largest contributor to the international coalition to find a coronavirus vaccine, after donating £210 million, in new aid funding. leaders of the g20 countries have pledged to inject five trillion dollars into the global economy to try to offset the impact of the pandemic. in the united states,

record numbers of unemployment, as more than three million people claim for benefits. nearly 70,000 people there have been diagnosed with coronavirus. the death toll in spain surges over 4,000, as the country‘s lockdown is extended for at least another two weeks. the chancellor, rishi sunak, is preparing to unveil a package of emergency measures for self employed people, many of whose income has dried up because of the economic shutdown caused by coronavirus. there are more than five million self—employed people in the uk, though there are suggestions that not all of them will be eligible for the help. last week, the chancellor promised to cover up to 80 %

of the wages of employees, to stop them being laid off. leaders of the g20 nations have just agreed to inject five trillion dollars into the global economy to counter the impact of coronavirus. here, in the health service, 30,000 ventilators could be needed within just a few weeks. the nhs presently has about 8,000. six more people have died from coronavirus in wales, bringing the total there to 28. in scotland another three people have died as a result of the virus, taking the number now to 25. and a further three people died in northern ireland, bringing its total to 10 and here, we are all being encouraged to stand on our doorstep at 8 o‘clock this evening and join in a round of applause, to say thank you to all the health care staff working throughout this pandemic. 0urfirst report, about the chancellor‘s latest measures, comes from our economics correspondent andy verity.

the country‘s 5 million self—employed people have never known anything like this. the government orders a shutdown and their income plummets, in many cases to zero. nicky, a nail technician, has enough money in the bank to get her through the next month, but then she will run out. i immediately went from earning to not earning, whereas people i know who are employed still are getting their salaries. thomas wescott is a self—employed plasterer, but, yesterday, his work dried up. a very worrying time at the moment, due to all the customers cancelling, not being able to get materials for the jobs we do have, and it‘s also very unclear whether we should be carrying on working or not, and no money coming in, either. charlie knight makes costumes for prime—time tv shows — an industry stripped bare by the antivirus measures. it‘s terrifying, really, because, as an industry, we are notjust costume designers and makeup artists, we are carpenters, we are riggers, we are electricians, we are painters, we are medics.

every possible profession you could think of is within our industry. cabbies know work comes and goes. for some, this is their fourth recession. but they say it‘s by far the worst. apprehensive, especially when the work has dried up on the streets, the hotels, the restaurants, the bars. there‘s just nothing out there at the moment and cab drivers are having to rank up near supermarkets, because they are the only places where custom can be had. millions of self—employed people have seen a drop in income the like of which most of them can‘t remember in their entire working lives. it‘s estimated that they‘ve lost £781 a month on average. rishi sunak has promised to help firms and their employees, paying 80% of wage bills that firms can‘t afford. the self—employed want the same. the treasury has been keen to avoid giving money to people who don‘t need it,

but many are by no means wealthy. people who are taxi drivers, who are hairdressers, cleaners or builders, they haven‘t got any money coming in. so speed is going to be important. i think it needs to be a scheme which is as generous to the self—employed as the chancellor was, rightly, to employees. support for the incomes of self—employed people, even if it‘s temporary, will land the government with a giant bill — billions, perhaps tens of billions. the longer the shutdown goes on, the more the national debt will grow. andy verity, bbc news. our political correspondent helen catt is at westminster. we just heard that on average the self employed have lost something like 800 quid a month so a result of the coronavirus outbreak and the effect on the economy. what are we expecting from rishi sunak in a few minutes‘ time? expecting from rishi sunak in a few minutes' time? there is certainly pressure on him to come up with

something that is dead livable and ona par something that is dead livable and on a par in some way with what was promised to workers last week. they promised to workers last week. they promised they would cover 80% of their wages. —— something that is deliverable. that was well received in westminster on all sides. there is expectation that there will be something along those lines but we don‘t know exactly what will be proposed. you‘re talking about the losses that some self—employed people have suffered already. research from the institute for fiscal studies released earlier today suggested that the self were more likely to be among the groups that were facing restrictions or closures. the shadow chancellor has also said that they are more likely to be among the working poor and he has criticised the delay that the government has taken on coming up with these. has said it has been difficult in terms of the logistics to work out a system that is fair and fairand to work out a system that is fair and fair and deliverable and well targeted for practical reasons like the fact that self—employed people, while they declare their earnings

retrospectively. there are issues like that and they don‘t have a lot of the details on file that they would for someone who is employed by company. the government has said there has been a logistical issues but they believe they are bringing out a scheme that they hope as well targeted and fed and deliverable. thank you. the peak of demand for intensive care beds is expected to come in two to three weeks. hospital bosses in london, where a third of the country‘s cases have been diagnosed, say they‘re already struggling with the high number of critically ill patients, likening the situation to a "continuous tsunami." staff sickness rates of up to 50% in some hospitals, and a shortage of ventilators, are putting huge strain on the system. lauren moss reports. the race is on to get vital protective equipment out to nhs staff fighting a battle against an invisible enemy. boxes of masks, gloves and goggles are being delivered in their thousands, but still many medics and nurses say they‘re going without, ahead of what could be a tsunami

of coronavirus cases in the coming weeks. doctors are now looking after some of their own colleagues who are on ventilators. we‘re aware internationally that large numbers of health care workers have themselves fallen ill by being infected. so the one thing the nhs must do is avoid infection by giving us the protection. that is avoidable. scotland‘s chief medical officer says the distribution system became clogged up after huge orders were placed, but that supply shouldn‘t be a problem there next week. and according to the government, 13 million face masks have gone out in the last few days. we entirely understand how important it is that you get the kit you need and feel safe and are safe in doing this amazing work you are doing. we are ramping up deliveries of ppe, we have brought the army in to help with what is a huge logistics exercise. and it‘s not just

equipment for staff. ventilators are also a must for patients who could become very unwell and need help breathing. the nhs hasjust over 8,000 at the minute, but estimates 30,000 may be needed. please... look at me and listen. if you get coronavirus and you have to go into the icu, that means you're going to struggle to breathe. you keep going with a ventilator. so please, please listen to all the advice of the government. one of those answering the government‘s call to build more ventilators is dyson. if the blueprint is approved, 10,000 could be constructed at its base in wiltshire — an aircraft hangar which was used in world war ii. as people stay at home, hope is also turning to an antibody test which could detect if someone has already had the virus. 3.5 million of those have been ordered for nhs staff

and critical workers, but there‘s a word of caution that we shouldn‘t expect to see the test on shop shelves yet. everybody wants this, so there is a global shortage and that‘s a bottleneck for us, but the next priority is to get critical workers back to work or to say to them, you have got this. so we definitely would like that, not to fight the disease, but to support the nhs. more people are being tested for the virus every day. over 13,000 have been carried out since monday, but doctors say more must be done. it seems that we‘re trying to make reasons why the uk is a special case, where, last time i checked, we‘re the same human beings as in every other country. but if we don‘t also test and trace, then how are we going to avoid when we open the doors and go back outside, there‘s a risk it will rise againjust as it has? more than half a million people have now volunteered to be an nhs responder, to help the most vulnerable with things like food

and medicine deliveries, or even a phone call. i feel deeply humbled at the strength of our nation and the gift of time that everybody is willing to give of themselves. their humanity, compassion, their talent, their skill. it is a true gift to give. following in the footsteps of other countries, tonight everyone around the uk is being invited to clap for carers as a thank you to those facing the brunt of the crisis. lauren moss, bbc news. an official review into historic care failings at a london hospital has found that significant shortcomings "probably, most likely or definitely" contributed to the deaths of 67 patients. st george‘s university hospitals foundation trust has offered an unreserved apology for what they called serious failings in care. let‘s get more on this from our health correspondent dominic hughes. just tell us what the review found?

as he said in the introduction, this was a review of more than 200 patient deaths and it follows a troubled history at this trust. com plete troubled history at this trust. complete heart surgery was suspended there in 2018 after reports that a toxic row between surgeons had led toxic row between surgeons had led toa toxic row between surgeons had led to a growing number of unexpected patient deaths so they were exceeding what was expected in terms of patient deaths. this review looked at more than 200 deaths and found that in 102 of those cases, so more than half of the cases they reviewed, there were significant failings in care and that in 67 of those cases, those failings probably come as you said in the introduction, probably, most likely, or definitely led to the deaths of those patients. what sanctions, if any can we expect? the trusts has issued this unreserved apology to the families but the review report has been passed now to the general

medical council, which is the regulator, the doctor‘s regulator, and they will have a look at whether any further action is needed against individual doctors. the hospital trust itself is also under intense scrutiny and has been for a couple of years now as they try and resolve the problems in the cardiac unit. to be clear, this seems to have centred on doctors? this seems to be the case, it dates back more than a decade. reports of this first surfaced in 2010 and there were two subsequent reports, one in 2010 and one in 2018 at which point a surgeon was suspended and this was the third report into failings and it does seem to centre around factions within the surgical team, rouse it within the surgical team, rouse it within doctors that are affecting patient outcomes. we would leave it there, thank you. in a moment we will bejoining viewers

there, thank you. in a moment we will be joining viewers on there, thank you. in a moment we will bejoining viewers on bbc there, thank you. in a moment we will be joining viewers on bbc one. and that announcement we‘re expecting on help for the self—employed, because of the economic shutdown, because of the coronavirus ourbreak. on average freelancers have been losing around about £800 a month. the announcement on help for them we are expecting from the chancellor, rishi sunak, in the next couple of minutes. all that coming up here on bbc news.

this is bbc news, i‘m clive myrie. the headlines... the government is to announce new measures within the hour, giving financial support to the self—employed and freelancers, who‘ve lost millions, because of the coronavirus outbreak. i immediately went from earning to not earning, whereas people i know that are employed still are still getting their salary. as nhs staff say they need more protective equipment, the army helps with the distribution, of vital medical supplies. downing street says the uk has become the largest contributor to the international coalition to find a coronavirus vaccine after donating £210 million in new aid funding. leaders of the g20, the grouping of the world‘s largest economies, have pledged to inject five trillion dollars into the global