115 people die from coronavirus injust 2a hours in the uk, as the government announces a multi—billion pound rescue package for the self—employed. millions who work for themselves will now be able to claim 80% of their average monthly profits — up to £2,500 a month. the scheme i've announced today is fair. it is targeted at those who need it the most, and crucially, it is deliverable. and it provides an unprecedented level of support for self—employed people. vast tanks of oxygen installed at a london conference centre being turned into a temporary hospital, as the capital's intensive care units deal with wave after wave of sick patients. in some places, they are really struggling.

they're just about keeping their head above water, but in three or four places, it's clear that they will run out of critical care capacity probably by the weekend. the united states now has the highest number of cases in the world. more than 81,000 people have tested positive for the virus there. the nation applauds nhs health and care workers to give thanks for their tireless work as they try to save lives. and the royalsjoin in, too, with princess charlotte, prince louis and prince george showing their support. and in sport... england head coach eddiejones has agreed to a pay cut of more than 25% as the rugby football union tries to limit the financial impact of the coronavirus. good evening. millions of britain's self—employed workers whose jobs have disappeared

in the fight to control coronavirus, have been told that they will be able to apply for a grant of up to £2,500 a month to help them cope. the chancellor said it would provide unprecedented support for self—employed people. the government has come under intense pressure to provide help, after announcing last week that it would cover most of the wages of salaried staff. the money will be paid in a single lump sum, but will not begin to arrive until the start of june at the earliest. if you're self employed you will get a taxable grant worth 80% of your average monthly profits over the last three years, worth up to a maximum of £2,500. the scheme will be open for an initial three months to people with annual profits of up to £50,000 and only for those who earn the majority of their income from being self—employed. the death toll rose by 115 in the past 2a hours to 578. it was the single biggest

daily rise so far. here's our political editor, laura kuenssberg. happy days like this are on hold. so, vicki's wedding business and income has gone. i personally only have enough savings for about a month for my family. it would be heartbreaking for so many of us in the bridal industry to close over something we have no control over. angela and her husband are both self—employed. they only have six weeks of money left. literallyjust seeing our livelihoods disappear overnight, it's frightening. we've got four children, we got bills to pay. we've got bills to pay. part of britain's army of the self—employed, desperate to know from him what help is coming, and when. you have not been forgotten. we will not let you behind. we all stand together. the government will pay self—employed people who have been adversely affected by the coronavirus a taxable grant worth 80% of their average monthly

profits over the last three years, up to £2,500 a month. this scheme will be open to people across the uk for at least three months, and i will extend it for longer if necessary. so, the treasury will in the coming months be paying much of the nation's wages. but changes could come after this crisis for the self—employed. what we have done will, i believe, stand as one of the most significant economic interventions at any point in the history point in the history of the british state. we will not be able to protect every single job or save every single business. but i am confident that the measures we have put in place will support millions of families, businesses and self—employed people to get through this. you said you hoped to cover nearly all of the self—employed, but what about people who this scheme does not cover, and when do you hope the money will start coming through? this scheme will cover 95% of them.

of the people that it does not cover, that last 5%, those above the income threshold that we set, their average incomes are about £200,000. so, we think what we have done is reasonable, fortunate and fair. proportionate and fair. 0ur expectation is that this will be up and running by the beginning ofjune. we will look to try and do it faster than that but i don't want to promise something that we can't deliver today. as i said before, this is operationally complicated. but those who've just gone freelance and haven't paid tax yet won't be covered, leaving them to apply for loans or benefits instead. the state is stepping into a huge vacuum, but there are gaps. there are already many people in hardship, not because of the illness itself but because this shutdown has shut off their source of income. and although the government is frantically stitching a wider safety net, there are still holes, and there are questions about the decisions they're making. the government was too slow to recognise how serious the crisis was,

but above all, too slow to recognise to recognise that our economy and our society has radically changed. large numbers of people are self—employed, do lead insecure lives, and that the people that are most vulnerable are the ones who are now getting the least help. is it enough tonight? i unfortunately probably won't qualify because my business has only been running for two years. my husband will be able to claim, so that means that as a family, we will be able to have money from the government to tide us over. i am disappointed that the help that the government is going to give us, me and other bridal suppliers, is not going to be good enough. i am also concerned about the delay in when we are going to get the money, because i've got to live and meet my outgoings. when the needs in every corner of the country and in every walk of life, the question for the government is not if to help, but how and when. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster.

getting financial help to the self—employed is far from straightforward. many people have seen their income suddenly stop whilst their bills continue to come in, but individuals' circumstances are very different. devising a rescue package for them that is both fair and deliverable has been very complicated. our business editor, simonjack, has been looking at the challenges facing the self—employed. closed for business — just opening up to check the mail. and right now, there is little good news in the post. danielle and the other five self—employed massage therapists who work here are not expecting to see anybody any time soon. it's been a bit of a shock. we just don't know where the future is at the moment. i've been very lucky, my landlord has given us a couple of months' rent freeze, but i'm not sure if we're even going to be back in a couple of months, due to the nature of what we do. husband and wife terry and lisa are doubly exposed. you don't get holiday, you don't get sick pay, so, something like this is a bit of a crisis, you know. both are self—employed.

he's a painter and decorator, she's a mobile hairdresser. both make their livings in other people's homes and personal spaces. both have seen business dry up. i've got a young fellow that works for me, i've got other guys that work for me from time to time, and obviously, they've had no work, i've had no work, i can't pay them, can't pay my bills. can't pay nothing. i mean, we've got food on the table at the moment, so it's all good for the foreseeable future, but in two, three weeks' time, we don't know where we're going to stand, you know. salaried workers have had 80% of their income guaranteed up to £30,000. had 80% of their income but the self—employed have proved a difficult target to hit with support. how come? there are roughly 5 million self—employed people in the uk. of those, about a million move in and out of self—employment from year to year. some are rich — football players, actors, people who do self—employed work on the side of salaried work. and their earnings are intermittent, can be lumpy, and they report them long after they've been earned to the taxman.

a taxman who often doesn't have their bank details. that's why it's so hard, and why any programme, including this one, will not, rightly or wrongly, hit everyone. the self—employed will get grants for 80% of their profit, not their revenues. the money may not arrive untiljune, and the government is saying, don't call us, we'll call you if you're eligible. there are also complaints that existing measures, like government guaranteed bank loans, are failing to hit the target. some banks, charging over 15% interest, albeit with a year—long holiday. banking groups insist they are doing their bit. mortgage holidays, overdraft fees are being waived, repossession moratoria, work on credit card holidays that are taking place at the moment, and an absolute commitment through the coronavirus business interruption loan scheme, and normal lending, to extend as much credit to businesses that are capable of repaying their loans after this crisis is over, as is possible. support is coming for some self—employed, but it

may take many weeks, and even the chancellor concedes some businesses may not survive until then. simon jack, bbc news. the chancellor described the financial response to coronavirus as the most signifcant economic intervention of the british state in history. 0ur economics editor, faisal islam, is with me. and support is on its way, but as simon wasjust saying, and support is on its way, but as simon was just saying, it is not coming untiljune at the earliest? so, in many ways this intervention is more so, in many ways this intervention is more generous so, in many ways this intervention is more generous than the scheme last week for employees, because you can still earn and get money in your bank account, but the flipside of thatis bank account, but the flipside of that is the wait, ten weeks, until june. the reason for that is that the government is prioritising the mechanics of the employee scheme first because it wants to keep those jobs going. so there is a lot of owners on the banking system for these self—employed people, to offer overd rafts essentially these self—employed people, to offer overdrafts essentially taking into account that this money will be

coming in injune must you say it is more generous than the salary scheme, can you put a price on it? we think we are talking as much as £10 billion, so it could cost even more than the employee scheme, and there are a number of these schemes are now racking up. how is that going to be paid for at a time when the tax base is shrinking, because of the economy? more borrowing. but this comes at a time when the financial markets have decided to be a bit more sceptical about lending money to governments, the uk government and governments in general. so there is a question mark about where it will be funded, and some seniorformer about where it will be funded, and some senior former advisers at the treasury are starting to look very carefully at that. hospitals in london are having to deal with a tsunami of very sick patients, and critical care beds at some sites in the capital could be full by the end of the week — that's the warning from the chief of nhs providers. he said the nhs is also having to deal with unprecedented levels of staff sickness. preparations for a vast

new temporary hospital which opens next week in london are under way. here's our health editor, hugh pym. the army comes to the aid of the nhs, helping shift urgently needed supplies of protective equipment like gloves and masks to hospitals, gps' surgeries and other health staff, to help them deal with coronavirus cases, with some areas already seeing large numbers. london, for example — the representative of major hospitals says that in parts of the capital, they're struggling. the scale of the demand and the pace with which it's coming, and the fact that they haven't got enough staff to meet it means it feels like a tsunami. so, in some places, they are really struggling. they're just about keeping their head above water, but in three or four places, it's clear that they will run out of critical care capacity probably by the weekend. patients will be found beds elsewhere, including here at a vast temporary hospital at a conference centre in london's docklands, with oxygen tanks being installed to help care for the sickest. once again, the army is helping the health service

with the preparations. in the east midlands, pria's getting ready. she's a doctor who has been shifted from her normal work to care for covid—19 patients. it's like we're preparing for another war. it is scary because we've never had a... i've worked in multiple health—care systems before, and we've never, ever faced anything of this sort — at least, i've neverfaced it, and most of the doctors haven't. so, we're basically very anxious on the inside, but we don't let that come in our way. that's my little room there, where my bed is. jo is a vicar who is now looking after her sick parents. she felt ill and stayed at home, was tested, but didn't get the results for two weeks. she had the virus. she's frustrated she couldn't warn people she'd met, some of whom are in hospital. it's heartbreaking, it really is. so, please stay away, assume everybody has got it.

call it a plague, not a virus. david's a hospital consultant in south wales. he has himself contracted the virus. i've had a week ofjust feeling absolutely terrible, aching muscles, aching bones, unable to get out of bed, sleeping 16, 18 hours a day. i'm on the mend now, thankfully, i hope. but i can't emphasise to you how sick this can make you. please, please listen to the advice that's going round at the minute. some doctors and nurses say they're still struggling to get the right protective equipment, including masks and visors. some hospitals say supplies have arrived this week. most are preparing specialist wards and hoping they can safely care for the coronavirus patients. hugh pym, bbc news. at eight o'clock tonight, thousands of people opened their windows and doors or went out into the street to applaud nhs staff who are working on the front line of this coronavirus crisis. they clapped from all corners

of the united kingdom and buildings were lit up in blue — the colour of the nhs. members of the royal family took part including six—year—old prince george and his grandfather prince charles, who has the virus and is in self—isolation at balmoral. david sillito reports. applause it had begun with a single post on social media. a young yoga teacher suggested a doorstep show of support for the nation's carers, health workers and all those who support them. and the result, this... cheering and applause ..in what is a time of isolation and fear. street after street, after street. a national moment of thanks and togetherness. glasgow. applause. belfast. applause. leeds. applause. london. applause.

as you can see, it's an extraordinary site, on the street alone everyone has turned out. a reminder ofjust what this has done, notjust to help the carers, but also bring communities together. people are working as cleaners, people are working as nurses, people are working as doctors and we've got some people out in the street as well who work in the local pharmacies. and this is an absolute nightmare so it's time we alljust have to stand together, shoulder to shoulder and show our appreciation. they are doing such a sterling job and i take my hat clean off to them. i could never do it. my heart goes out to them. and all of this from that single online suggestion just a week ago. so this was just an idea of yours and it took off really quickly, didn't it? yeah, it went really fast. the next day even before lunch, my friends were showing me that victoria beckham had posted it

on her page and the sussex royals did it on their instagram stories. yeah, it was unbelievable. and this is a thank you to everyone who is helping. here at the whittington hospital in london, donations are coming in. bicycles, water, toilet rolls, 11,500 hand creams, money. there is also a gift list. these are presents? yes, essentially. iphone charger. we made out a wish list, things which staff need and have asked for, people can go on to our website. and the applause? some of it had to be done before bedtime. there was also a royal contribution to this day's show of support, including prince charles, who has tested positive for the coronavirus and is now in isolation. it was a national thank you. there have been —— there will

be many difficult times in the weeks to come, but this was a positive moment, one we will remember. there have been more urgent calls for those front line nhs staff to be tested to see if they have the virus or not. with sickness rates currently running very high, hospital leaders said it was needed so that staff who are self—isolating could return to work sooner. but how likely is this and when could other tests be available to the wider public? 0ur medical correspondent fergus walsh has more. this is how the test for active coronavirus infection is done all over the world — a nasal and throat swab. at the start of the outbreak in the uk, anyone who'd been referred by nhs111 could turn up at a drive—thru centre like this.

now, testing is mostly limited to sick patients in hospital. huge numbers of nhs staff are being forced to isolate at home because they can't find out if they or their family members are infected. now, basingstoke and north hampshire hospital is among the first to offer swab tests to its nhs staff, and it can produce the results in as little as two hours. the brilliant thing for our frontline staff is, they know they can get a rapid test. if they're unwell, we can screen them through our screening programme, on day three of their illness, and we can get them back to work more rapidly. the coronavirus tests are produced by hampshire biotech firm novacyt, which is aiming to turn out 2 million a month to satisfy global demand. rapid testing of nhs staff, patients, indeed anyone with covid—19 symptoms will transform the fight against coronavirus. currently, around 7,000 tests

are being done everyday in the uk. the ambition is to get that up to 25,000 tests a day before the end of april. there is a little bit of blood, 0k? a finger prick blood test to see if you've already had coronavirus, and have built up antibodies, would be incredibly useful. such tests already work for other viruses. this is a test, in fact, for dengue fever, which is another viral infection, and the way you use that is, you take a finger prick and you take the blood of your finger and you put it off your finger and you put it into this little hole here, and then after a couple of minutes, you'll get either the two lines or one line that we're so familiar with with the pregnancy tester. a rapid finger prick test like that is the hope here. the uk has bought 3.5 million antibody tests and there's been talk of them being sold via pharmacies or online. the trouble is, we don't

know yet if they work. so, don't expect them to be widely available for some time yet. fergus walsh, bbc news. and our health editor hugh pym is with me. the immediate concern is for the protective equipment on the front line and ventilators, whether we have enough? yes, there was a call tojoin an eu wide have enough? yes, there was a call to join an eu wide ventilator scheme. they say it is brexit aetiology and labour say it is a scheme britain should be part because this equipment is desperately needed. government sources deny it and say there was a communication problem because they didn't realise why told that britain could be part of the scheme. there is an immediate challenge, downing street say another 8000 ventilators are on the way to the nhs on top of the existing stock of 8000,

irrespective of what manufacturers like dyson might come up with. they concede it might be months before some of them arrive, there is a challenge in the weeks ahead. many parts of the uk are fine, they have had time, but in london, as we have heard, there is intense pressure right now. thank you. police in england and wales have been given tough new powers to fine people who gather in public places or refuse to go home. other parts of the uk are expected to follow. fines for england start at £30 — repeat offenders could face penalties of almost £1,000. danny savage has this report from york. the centre of one of britain's most popular tourist cities this afternoon — police spot checks on motorists to make sure they are only making essentialjourneys. if they aren't out for good reason, they are ordered to go home. but police also now have the powers to fine people for not heeding advice. the vast majority of the public are listening and i thank them because we are all in this together. we've all got to do what we can

to protect the nhs and save lives. but those who don't listen and those who do break the restrictions, we will deal with them accordingly. in derbyshire, police released this footage of the peak district, annotated to show what people shouldn't be travelling to the national park for. they say driving miles from home to walk the dog or go for a stroll is not essential, even if there is no—one else around. we have policing by consent in this country. the police will be out and about engaging the public in the right kind of responsible way in which they do, exercising their professional judgment. but the fact of the matter is, the police now have powers to enforce fines if people do not comply with the social distancing measures that were announced by the prime minister earlier on this week. because of the glorious weather, police say there are still too many people heading for a day out, rather than staying at home. and on top of today's crackdown, it's now a criminal offence to use coronavirus to threaten somebody. that's because, believe it or not, over the last few days,

police and other key workers have been coughed at by people claiming to have the virus. dispersing young people is another issue that is causing police concern. too many youngsters who live in different households are getting too close to each other. so neighbourhood patrols will be out dispersing them and sending them home. danny savage, bbc news. the united states has tonight overtaken china and italy to become the country that has recorded the highest number of coronavirus cases anywhere in the world. more than 82,000 people have been confirmed positive. 0ur north america editor, jon sopel, is at the white house. two very u nco mforta ble two very uncomfortable sets of statistics have emerged today for the united states of america. there are more cases of coronavirus in the

united states than anywhere else. it was only a month ago when donald trump said there was only a dozen cases and they would soon go down to zero. another thing that emerged today was the astonishing unemployment figures. this graph is that unemployment of the last 50 yea rs every that unemployment of the last 50 years every week. we see a spike in 1982 and during the financial crisis in 2008. but now it has skyrocketed, more than 3 million people registered for unemployment last week. that has led the chairman of the federal reserve to talk about a recession coming to america. if there is a recession in the well‘s biggest economy, that will ripple out to the rest of the world. donald trump is hoping there will be a quick rebound. he hasjust been talking about that at his news conference. he says he wants to reopen america by easter. but as his chief medical adviser pointed out, it is not we he set the timetable, it is not we he set the timetable, it is not we he set the timetable, it is the virus which sets the

timetable. jon sopel, thank you. europe is now the epicentre for the global pandemic — and restrictions on people's lives continue to be ramped up across the continent. spain has extended its coronavirus lockdown another two and a half weeks until at least april 12th. the number of cases has reached more than 56,000. more than 4,000 have now died. in france, the number of confirmed cases has now jumped to almost 30,000. almost 1,700 people have lost their lives including a 16 year—old. and there's been a big jump in the number who are critically ill there — almost 3,500. in italy, the death toll has climbed sharply again, with more than 80,000 cases and more than 8,000 deaths. most of them in lombardy in the north but there are now fears that southern italy could be facing a similar outbreak. mark lowen has this report. in today's italy, the essentials are food and solidarity. local associations buy the basics for those in need.

dozens are taking part, doing their bit to get the country through this crisis. it's the first time in italy we live something so hard and difficult, so powerful and difficult situation. this is only way for me to help people, something very basic. they deliver to the elderly and the isolated, acts of kindness to ease the social and economic emergency. for this virus is grinding italy to a halt. 0nce—buzzing factories forced to close to stop the flow of people. this one of bathroom fittings shuts today. the last of the 130 employees are being sent home. the ovens slowly cooling. the lockdown is containing the outbreak, but it is crushing the economy with it. translation: closing the factory has an awful impact. in the current situation, we understand we have to do it

to send the message of hope and to slow the spread of the virus, but we can't shut for too long. the economy can't be stopped. if this continues for months, it would be hard to sustain our business. it is a sacrifice being made for cities like bergamo, the epicentre, where they blessed the urns of 113 victims, grouping together the fallen. wearing a sash of the italian flag is the mayor, who we reached. with the uk finally emulating the italian lockdown, a warning. translation: britain had the advantage of being two weeks behind italy with the outbreak. they should have used it better. i'm afraid borisjohnson lost precious time. there is a risk it could cost many lives. losing those days could turn out to be a serious mistake. the containment measures may have started to work in northern italy, although there is again today an increase in new infections. but concern in the poorer south and here in the capital

where cases are rising. in rome, this hospital has opened a new coronavirus wing and is already under pressure. the peak hasn't yet been reached here. with crematoria bursting, the army is clearing coffins away. it's that word again they are more used to, war. man versus virus, and the latter is still winning. mark lowen, bbc news, rome. the south african government is trying to get ahead of the spread of coronavirus — so far the country hasn't recorded any deaths but nearly 1,000 people are infected — a lockdown has just started there. 0ur correspondent andrew harding has been looking at how the nation is preparing to stay at home for the next three weeks. the beaches of cape town are already empty. the lifeguards, sent home. and injohannesburg, the middle classes are queueing for supplies ahead of tonight's lockdown.

polite, but jittery. it's panicjust in case. just in case we are asked to stay indoors longer. so, yeah, part of it is panic, i think. panic and a bit of common sense? yes, yes, yah. and you said she collapsed? is she conscious or unconscious? medical teams here are gearing up for a dramatic increase in coronavirus cases. this is a developed nation which has planned well for the pandemic, but still. my biggest worry at the moment is that if this spills over into our poorer communities where it's more difficult to identify patients, more difficult to contain, and in those poorer communities today, clear signs of trouble. the message about social distancing has not got through to some.