welcome to bbc news — i'm duncan golestani. our top stories: the us becomes the country with more confirmed cases of coronavirus than anywhere in the world. as europe continues to be the worst affected region, leaders of the 620 countries promise to inject $5 trillion into the global economy. 115 people die from coronavirus injust21i hours in the uk as the government announces a multi—billion pound rescue package for the self employed. applause britons take to the streets to applaud the healthcare staff who are trying to save lives.

there are now more confirmed cases of covid—19 in the united states than in any other country in the world. according to the latest figures from johns hopkins university, the us now hasjust over 83,000 cases, overtaking both china, and italy. it comes as the total number of confirmed cases around the world has now passed half a million. in terms of lives lost, countries in europe continue to be worst affected — the death total in italy is more than 8,200. there was a jump in deaths in spain too. meanwhile, another 115 people have died in the uk after testing positive for the virus, taking the total to 578. there are now approaching 12,000 confirmed cases. let's stay with the total number of us cases though — a short

while ago, president trump was asked about the numbers. it's a tribute to the amount of testing that we're doing. we're doing tremendous testing, and i'm sure you're not able to tell what china is testing or not testing. i think that's a little hard. 0ur north america correspondent, peter bowes, has more on the dramatic surge in cases. not unexpected, sadly a lot of people around the country had expected this as the cases continue to rise in a quite dramatic fashion in certain areas. those hotspot cities like new york city and new orleans and louisiana — which hasn't had as much attention as some of the other big cities, but there's been a really, very worrying surge in the last few hours and days. the number of people, the number of cases and the number of deaths in that part of america and it is another densely populated area.

it is also popular with visitors and that is one of the reasons why local health experts believe there has been a surge there. at the moment, there doesn't seem to be any end in sight for this increase in numbers. in los angeles where i am, officials are saying they think this city is a week or so behind new york and expect to see a surge here soon. effective are they being seen? well, measures that are very similar around the country. of course, everyone is being asked to stay at home. the social distancing guidelines have been enforced and by and large, people seem to be taking note of that. the big problem, again, seems to be a lack of equipment, especially in some of the hospitals in new york city. we had a number of reports from health workers bemoaning the fact that they simply do not have, it seems the resources, and the available equipment to deal with the huge number of people that are coming in and needing urgent help.

we just heard from president trump there saying that the rise in the number of confirmed cases is because the us is now testing more people and he compared that to china. what is the public perception about how the government, both federal and state, is handling the crisis? well, the public perception has been that the trump administration responded slowly to this, that there haven't been enough testing kits available around the country. and there has been continued confusion, i think it's fair to say, as to who should be tested. and very different opinions. some people believe there should be much more testing to, if you like, rule out certain people within the community. others say that testing isn't going to necessarily improve the situation and that more emphasis should be put on social isolation. so, depending on where you are and depending on your viewpoint, people have very mixed feelings about the administration's response of this.

peter bowes in los angeles. in europe restrictions on people's lives continue to be ramped up. in italy — the death toll has climbed sharply again — the number of confirmed cases has now reached more than 80,000 and the death toll stands at 8,165 people. there are fears that southern italy could be facing a similar outbreak to that experienced in the north of the country. mark lowen reports from rome. 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. so 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, once—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 will 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 an advantage of being two weeks behind italy with the outbreak. they should have used it better. i'm afraid boris johnson lost precious time. there's 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 is now growing in the poorer south, and here in the capital, where cases and deaths are rising. in rome, this hospital has opened a new coronavirus wing, and it 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're more used to, war. man versus virus, and the latter is still winning. mark lowen, bbc news, rome.

spain has extended its lockdown for at least another two weeks, as the number of deaths linked to coronavirus passed 4,000. 655 patients died in the past 2a hours, the first fall in the daily number for a week. guy hedgecoe reports from madrid. while the healthcare personnel of the country have been lauded as heroes, a lot of people believe that the healthcare system is rather underfunded in certain areas. and that has been exposed by this crisis. now, a whole batch of test kits we re now, a whole batch of test kits were imported from china for use this week and it turns out that many of those, one batch of those, is faulty or it's not as good as the government had hoped. there has been a diplomatic issue today between china and spain over these kits which the government had hoped would improve testing. so

they're having to turn to other imports of test equipment in order to improve that aspect of their management of the crisis. let's get some of the day's other news: japan has warned coronavirus will become rampant after a surge in tokyo. the country has banned people entering from europe. and the government has set up a task force exploring a possible state of emergency — although tokyo says there are no plans for one yet. india has announced a $22.6 billion economic stimulus plan that provides direct cash transfers and food assistance to millions of people hit by the country's lockdown due to coronavirus. india has recorded 649 infections and 13 deaths so far. scientists have suggested that the pandemic would have caused a0 million deaths across the world if it had been left unchecked. the researchers from imperial college london say ‘rapid, decisive and collective action‘ is needed by all

countries to save millions of lives over the next year. 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 national health service 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, priya is getting ready. she is 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 healthcare systems before, and we've never, everfaced 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 is frustrated she couldn't warn people she had 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 is 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, and unable to get out of bed, sleeping16, 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. following days of intense pressure, the british government has announced a series of financial measures to support self—employed workers whose incomes have been hit badly by the coronavirus outbreak. freelancers and people who work for themselves would be able to claim grants worth 80% of their average earnings, up to a maximum of £2,500 a month — mirroring the package offered to salaried staff last week. the scheme will be open to anyone with trading profits of up to £50,000 who filed a tax return for 2019 — but it may not be up and running until the beginning ofjune.

stay with us on bbc news, still to come: britain applauds its healthcare staff — to give thanks for their tireless work as they try to save lives. the two main symptoms of coronavirus to look out for are a continuous dry cough and/or a fever. if you're sneezing a lot, got a runny nose or a headache, you may be ill, but you've probably not got coronavirus. so, how high a fever is a coronavirus one, and what exactly is a continuous dry cough? well, it's when you cough and there's no mucus or phlegm — basically no gooey substance in your tissue. and this is not the odd cough here and there. it has to be coughing regularly for no other reason, such as clearing your throat or smoking.

so how high a fever is a coronavirus fever? well, if you have one, you will know about it. technically, it's a body temperature of more than 37.8 degrees celsius, or 100 degrees fahrenheit. but if you've not got a thermometer, basically you will feel hot, and your chest and back would be hot. this is bbc news, the latest headlines: the us has overtaken china and italy to become the country that has recorded the highest number of coronavirus cases. more than 82,000 people have been confirmed positive. as europe continues to be the worst affected region, leaders of the g20 countries promise to inject $5 trillion into the global economy.

as we heard earlier, the number of americans filing for unemployment has surged to a record high, as the economy goes into lockdown due to the global health crisis. nearly 3.3 million people registered to claim jobless benefits for the week ending the 21st of march, according to the department of labor. that's nearly five times more than the previous record of 695,000, set in 1982. for more on the staggering figure, i've been speaking to greg daco, chief us economist at 0xford economics in new york. what 0xford economics in new york. seemed impossiblt couple what seemed impossible just a couple of weeks ago has become reality. we have a number of unemployed people that has surged to levels we have not seenin surged to levels we have not seen in the past. an order of magnitude, five times as many people claiming benefits for unemployment in the last week

as we had during the peak worst time of the great recession backin time of the great recession back in 2008 — time of the great recession back in 2008 - 2010 time of the great recession back in 2008 — 2010 so it really staggering numbers in terms of the unemployment rate. what makes up these numbers? are these businesses laying people off because they are not open or doing business they have not been? definitely original administration implementing lockdowns across the country, a lot of the service sector occupations are seeing essentially a sudden stop in economic activity and if they have no other recourse but to lay off their and employees. you see workers that work in restaurants, hearts and recreation, hotel, tourism that are being laid off because of the sudden stop in economic activity. are these numbers are fully reflective of the pictures? what about part—time workers, contractors? as of

last week, these workers were not eligible for unemployment benefits. now the congressional act of more than $2 trillion passed by the senate and the house, is going to offer those benefits to the individual ‘s so we expect to see even more claims in the coming weeks. we would not be surprised if, as a whole, there may be as many as 20 million individuals that end up 20 million individuals that end up unemployed over the coming weeks and that would push the unemployment rate to above 12% which would be a historic surge from the 2.5% we were in february. the headline number of 3.3 million could actually be millions of more families feeling a lot of pain now? u nfortu nately, feeling a lot of pain now? unfortunately, this just may be the tip of the iceberg and what we are hearing of the last few days, many more employees were laid off or of the apparel and in that case we are going to see a major hit two household

incomes and that will lead to wea ker incomes and that will lead to weaker spending so essentially what the us economy is facing isa what the us economy is facing is a double hit from the economics of fear, the economics of fear, the economics of fear, the economics of sudden stop and that will lead to a larger contraction in economic activity ever. gdp could fall by 20% in the second quarter. speaking to me earlier. —— greg daco. coronovirus causes the illness known as covid—19, and scientists say for most people who get it, the effects are mild. it's a new virus so how much do we actually know about it now? why does it affects some far more severely than others? and if you get it, do you become immune? 0ur science editor, david shukman investigates. in the race to understand this new virus, we've learned a great deal from a massive international research effort. but some critically important questions still need to be answered. the first of these is a real mystery, but something that's vital to get a handle on.

we know that people with symptoms can pass on the virus, but what about people without symptoms? the question is, who really is spreading the virus right now? this is crucialfor working out the future of the outbreak. many adults may not even realise they are carrying the virus. and children often don't show many symptoms at all, but may have a role in passing it on. the scientists are struggling to work this out. most individuals who are infected with novel coronavirus will have very mild symptoms or no symptoms at all, and yet their potential to spread the virus is real. we have to get an understanding ofjust how much virus these people are transmitting, particularly if we're going to get a lid on this outbreak. next, there's something that's far from understood. can you become immune? in other words, if you catch the virus, can you get it ain? it is well known that the virus has the ability to invade

different kinds of cells, and early studies have shown that antibodies can respond. but does that create immunity, and how long would that last? no one is sure. we know from other human coronaviruses that immunity can be fairly short—lived. that is why they re—infect us. but hopefully, it will last at least months if not several years, but these are important things to address. then there's a question that has been puzzling many experts — why does it seem that more men than women have been dying of the virus so far? a major study in china found that for infected men the death rate was 2.8%, while for women, it was 1.7%. and in italy, of everyone who has died of covid—19, about 70% were male, based on recent figures. one theory is that smoking is a key factor. a big proportion of chinese men are smokers. another explanation is that women have more effective immune systems than men, but the research has only just started.

so amid all the pressures of trying to cope with the virus, there's a rush to work out the full scale of its impact. david shukman, bbc news. across britain tonight thousands of people opened their windows and doors or went out into the street to applaud national health service staff who are working on the frontline 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 prince charles, who has the virus and is in self—isolation. 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... 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 sight. on this street alone, everyone has turned out — a reminder ofjust what this has done... well, not just 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're 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, that was unbelievable. and this is a thankyou to everyone who's helping. here at the whittington hospital in london, donations are coming in. bicycles, water, toilet rolls, 11,500 hand creams, money. there's also a gift list. these are presents? yes, essentially. like an iphone charger. we made out an amazon wish list, things which staff need and have asked for, people can go on and there's a link

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 thankyou. there will be many difficult times in the weeks to come, but this was a positive moment, one we will remember. david sillito, bbc news. and you can keep up to date with the latest coronavirus developments, on our website. you'll find in—depth analysis, and features on how it's being tackled in italy, venezuela and india — that's all at bbc.com/news or you can download the bbc news app. don't forget you can get in touch with me and some of the team on twitter. i'm @duncan golestani

we are back again very soon but for now, thank you and goodbye. hello there. temperatures on thursday reached highs around 18 degrees across the far north—west of england thanks to plenty of sunshine. southern scotland didn't do too badly as well with the sunshine, but generally speaking friday is going to be a similar picture to thursday. this weather front bringing more cloud across northern parts of the country, so could be quite grey and drizzly through the day across central and eastern scotland. to the north of the weather front, northern scotland should see some sunshine and sunshine appearing at times across northern ireland, but by far most of the sunshine will be across england and wales once again after that cold and frosty start. now, we'll have more of a breeze blowing in from the north—east for many of us, particularly across southern and eastern areas, so it will feel a bit cooler generally, certainly

more than it has done over the last few days. as we head through friday night, looks like that cloud across northern areas begins to drift southwards into parts of wales, northern england and the midlands. because there will be more of a breeze generally, then it's not going to be quite as cold as what it has been the last few nights. so, for the weekend, things are set to turn colder in fact. high pressure will be dominating the scene, sitting to the north—west of the uk, but it will be bringing down these very cold winds from the north. you can see the blue colours enveloping the whole of the uk, and the wind arrows indicating these winds will be quite a feature as well, just accentuating the cold, particularly on sunday. saturday starts off chilly. there will be quite a bit of sunshine around but the cloud temperatures to build across northern and eastern areas and that strong north, north—east wind will push in a future into north—eastern scotland, eastern england. these will be of a wintry flavour. single—figure values in the north, just about double figures in the south. sunday could be a bit of a cloudier day i think generally. they'll be glimmers of brightness here and there. again, if you wintry showers in the north and east. and a keen wind, especially in the east and the south—east. these temperatures sticking in single figures for most.

factor in the wind, it will feel almost like freezing in one or two places, so a noticeable chill factor, particularly on sunday. as we head on into next week, it does look like high pressure sits again towards the north—west of the uk, bringing in further chilly air. but i think it will be a little less cold for the start of the week than what we have over the weekend. so, this is monday's picture. again, quite a bit of around. a few glimmers of brightness here and there. one or two showers affecting the far north, but most places dry once again. those temperatures maybe up a degree or so — highs of ten or 11 degrees. it stays pretty chilly throughout the week. there are signs of some colder air returning to northern parts of the uk, again with the risk of wintry showers across some exposed coasts.

this is bbc news. the headlines: the us has overtaken china and italy to become the country that has recorded the highest number of coronavirus cases. more than 82,000 people have been confirmed positive. the grim milestone came as president donald trump predicted the nation would get back to work pretty quickly. as countries in europe continue to be worst affected, leaders of the g20 countries have promised to do whatever it takes to minimise the damage to livelihoods. they're injecting $5 trillion into the global economy. there have been more than 700 deaths in italy in the last 2a hours. in the uk, 115 people have died from coronavirus in just 2a hours. the british government has announced a multibillion—pound rescue package for the self—employed.

and now on bbc news, victoria derbyshire has all the latest information and health advice on the coronavirus outbreak, in this special programme. hello and welcome to this special programme. i'm victoria derbyshire. over the next half an hour, we're going to try and tell you as much as we can about coronavirus to help you and so that you can share the information with others.