her. the number of people who have died in the uk with coronavirus is now more than a thousand — after the biggest daily increase so far. improvised centres are being set up to cope with the anticipated surge in cases, as testing gets under way this week for front line nhs staff — welcome news for those self—isolating. my colleagues need me and it's quite frustrating being sat here at home when i know i could be at work and i need to be at work. the prime minister — in isolation having tested positive for the virus — is to write to every household urging people to stay at home. as italy's death toll rises to over 10,000, some of the country's critically ill are airlifted to germany. president trump considers

quarantining new york and two other states in order to slow the spread of the virus. and here local services suffer as councils across the uk are forced to scale back. good evening. the number of people who've died after contracting coronavirus in the uk now stands at more than a thousand — after the biggest daily increase seen so far. at today's government press c0 nfe re nce nhs england's medical director warned every one of us has "a part to play" if the uk was to keep the death toll under 20 thousand. two hundred and sixty patients have died in the past twenty four hours — bringing the total

to 1019. the majority of the deaths were in england, with victims aged between 33 and 100 years old. it comes as testing gets underway this week on frontline hospital staff in england and scotland. here's our health correspondent dominic hughes. the logistics of setting up a new medical facility from scratch. a race against time to prepare the newly named nightingale hospital in east london, ahead of the coming surge of those who fall seriously ill with covid—i9. the sharp rise in today's death toll shows why these facilities are needed. the pressure over the coming weeks is going to be extreme. when the nhs is under increased demand, as we expect, and is already happening in london, is that we are not going to be able to maintain the normal levels of staffing that we currently do and so we're going to have to dramatically change the way that we work, so rather than one intensive care nurse looking after one patient, we're going to have to work more as a team.

new figures published today give an insight into who is being admitted into critical care units. the data covers 775 patients in england, wales and northern ireland. more than half of them are being looked after by hospitals in london. most are aged over the age of 50 and the number of men falling seriously ill was well over twice the number of women. and in virus hotspots like london, the pressure is already building. how full are intensive care units in london and around the uk at the moment? work is going on all over the country, because as you are also aware, the infection has spread a bit quicker in london. so, we are not at capacity yet within london, but beds are being opened all the time to produce that extra surge capacity. and a reminder that in order to keep the death toll down, this is no time for complacency. if we do reduce the deaths to a level that is below what we initially thought,

i want to be absolutely clear, that won't be because we are somehow lucky, it won't be because somehow the virus is acting in this country differently from any other country. it will be because every citizen in this country, the british public, have complied with the instructions that the government has given, based on the best scientific evidence, to reduce the transmission of the disease. if the nhs is going to avoid a crisis, it will require all hands on deck. that is why the introduction of testing staff across the uk, who are currently having to self—isolate, as they have already been doing in wales, is a big step forward. doctor arash salah was keen to work, but a rough cough means he has to stay away, at least until he is tested. has it been a bit frustrating, then, waiting to find out whether you have got corona or not? yes, very frustrating, because i know, i know the hospital is busy, even at this relatively early point, when things are really hotting up. i know that my colleagues need me and it is quite frustrating

being sat here at home when i know that i could be at work and i need to be at work. and from the prime minister in isolation, while he recovers from his own covid—i9 infection, a letter to every uk household this week, urging people to observe the guidelines to stay at home and protect the nhs. new hospitals, more testing, an immense effort is now under way to try and shore up the health service for what lies ahead. i think the news that 206 people have very sadly lost their lives to the coronavirus and just a 24—hour period will really shock people, but that unfortunately is in line with predictions that the death rate will double every three days or so, but what we need to remember and it is worth saying over and over again, is that four out of five people, the vast majority have experienced a very mild form of this illness and it is only a very small proportion

of people who will fall seriously ill. kate. dominic, thank you. the government's also announced some more measures aimed at businesses. katie prescott — our business correspondent — joins me. katie — what was offered? another day or schemes to support business through the crisis. the first announcement this afternoon was around protective equipment, things like face masks for front line nhs workers, hand sanitiser, all those things we have seen a shortage of over the past month and what the government said this afternoon is that it is going to reduce red tape around the production of these products in order that businesses can get them to market, it says, in the next few days and what we will see is companies like drinks companies that would normally make alcoholic beverages perhaps making ethanol that can be turned into hand sanitiser. the second set of announcements was around the insolvency laws in the uk, targeted at companies struggling and one of the biggest announcements was around what are called wrongful trading laws. these are laws that mean

company directors can be prosecuted if they keep the business going when it is really not viable. what the government is trying to do is encourage businesses to keep trading through this difficult period and remove through this difficult period and re m ove fear through this difficult period and remove fear of prosecution from company directors who are keeping their business is going. there are some who say that this really could be open to abuse, but in the nine most people agree that what this will do is stop a spike in the number of company collapses which is what so many fear given how much difficulty businesses are in at the moment and the business secretary said what he hopes is that will allow businesses to bounce back once the pandemic is over. katie, thank you. more than 10 thousand people have now died in italy. eight hundred and ninety eight people have died in the past 2a hours alone. hospitals in the north of the country are in desperate need for protective equipment, as well as more staff. jean mackenzie reports from rome. a lifeline lands in lombardy. converted into a mobile hospital, this morning the german military flew critically ill patients from italy's worst hit region

to hospitals around germany. italy's outbreak has been so concentrated in the north that hospitals are struggling to cope. doctor constantinez was one of the first to be overwhelmed. in my town, the situation is a bit improving. i think they are a couple of weeks ahead of the rest of lombardy, so we now are on the plateau of the curve of the new covid infections. at first it was beds and ventilators in short supply, but now it is people. nurses and doctors. because we have some free beds inside our hospitals, we could use for patients, but we don't have any more nurses or doctors. today, italy has reached a sobering milestone. more than 10,000 people dead, after nearly 900 more deaths were recorded since yesterday.

there is some hope here. the rate of new infections has slowed over the past week, an indication that this lockdown which began nearly three weeks ago is starting to work. but italians are wary of being too hopefuljust yet, with the number of deaths still coming so fast. but the government's medical researchers say these recent deaths don't mean italy isn't making progress. these people got the infection two or three weeks ago, so this is an image of italy some weeks ago. how many days away from the peak do you think that we are? we are expecting that the peak will be in the next few days. these days will now be critical in determining whether italy has managed to change the course of this cruel epidemic. jean mckenzie, bbc news, rome.

the number of people killed by the coronavirus in spain has risen sharply — to nearly five—thousand, seven—hundred. the country's prime minister has ordered all non—essential workers to stay at home for two weeks from monday. spain currently has the second highest number of fatalities in the world after italy. president trump says he's considering quarantining new york and two neighbouring states for a fortnight, to try to slow the spread of the virus. but new york's governor criticised the idea and questioned whether it could even be enforced. new york has recorded more than 52,000 cases and over 700 deaths. here's our north america editorjon sopel. mr president! donald trump broke his own self—quarantine today to leave the white house for the first time in a couple of weeks, to travel to the us naval base in norfolk, virginia, where sailors have been preparing the hospital ship comfort to sail to new york.

but on the quayside, the president made clear he was considering dramatic new measures. i am now considering and will make a decision very quickly, very shortly, a quarantine, because it's such a hot area of new york, new jersey and connecticut. we'll be announcing that one way or the other, fairly soon. there's no doubt that the tri—state area of new york newjersey and connecticut have been the worst affected, with about half the coronavirus cases in the whole of the us. but the new york governor seemed blindsided by this. i don't even know what that means. i don't know how that could be legally enforceable. and from a medical point of view i don't know what you would be accomplishing. but i can tell you, i don't even like the sound of it. not even understanding what it is, i don't like the sound of it. donald trump promises he'll make

a decision on this quickly but how would a quarantine be enforced, and by whom? it's one thing for beijing to ordered the people's liberation army to forcibly shut down wuhan, but three of the most populous states in america? that would be some undertaking. that's for the future. the most important concern is to get the urgently needed medical resources to new york to deal with the crisis now. this ship will arrive in the next couple of days. not a moment too soon. jon sopel, bbc news, washington. councils across the uk are having to scale back local services in the fight against coronavirus. it means that in some areas, people won't be able to visit their recycling centre, local library or physically visit relatives in care homes. it comes as some councils say their workers have been attacked as they try to do theirjobs. here's our correspondent judith moritz. shut until further notice, this recycling centre in harrogate

is one of many run by councils to have locked the gates. people are being asked to hold onto their large household waste for now and not put it out for a bin collection. play areas like this one are closed, too, along with a whole range of other services. it is to encourage social distancing. county councils say it is so that their efforts can be redirected toward social care. there has been a real important onus on intensifying our efforts to get patients out of hospitals, either back to their homes or into secure settings such as care homes. there is a real imperative to free up hospital beds and so we are doing everything that we can to get those patients out of hospital when it is safe to do so. many services are continuing, but there are reports that council workers, from bin collectors to highways crews, are experiencing increased attacks and abuse as tensions and emotions run high during this crisis.

the local government association is calling on the public to respect the tireless efforts of council staff. i mean, frankly, it is disappointing and ridiculous that people are, you know, being aggressive towards binmen. you know, they are being aggressive towards people that tidy tips when they did have them open, they are spitting at them, swearing at them, you know, these are people who are going above and beyond their normal duties. they are working seven days a week, they're working longer shifts, to try and deliver services to our residents and the last thing they need is abuse. they actually should be receiving praise. many libraries are closed and councils have said that library loans will be extended. they are also encouraging people to go online instead and use digital archives and services. judith moritz, bbc news. the foreign secretary dominic raab says he spoken to his indian counterpart about ways to bring back british citizens stranded in india. it's thought that thousands of british travellers and holiday

makers remain stuck there. the say they feel abandoned by the government. 0ur south asia correspondent rajini vaidya nathan reports. 0nce crowded beaches, now under cu rfew. for many british tourists in india, dream holidays have turned into misery. we're not hearing anything and we have no idea how we're going to get out of here, and the worst thing is, when we're going to next get some food. as india suspended flights until mid—april and embarked on the largest lockdown in living memory, brits have been left in limbo. esther from leeds is on a round the world trip. she says most locals have been friendly to her, but as fear around the virus grows, so does suspicion. i've been kicked out of two places of accommodation in the last two days. that's because i'm foreign and they believe automatically that foreigners have the virus. the last place that we moved from was an apartment. we were asked to stay away

from windows, to not go out on the balcony, we had to leave our money in a separate room, in order to be collected so that there was no face—to—face contact. and it's notjust tourists. many brits visiting family in india are also in a desperate situation. i'm trying to get hold of my medication at the moment. i can't get hold of it. i'm diabetic, i'm asthmatic, i have chronic migraines and i can have seizures. i'm not getting hold of anything at moment. i'm still lucky in where i am, but the hotel is supposed to be closing down. we're literallyjust stuck. in some parts of the country, basic supplies are running low, with police cracking down heavily on anyone who breaks the curfew. britain's acting high commissioner to india has promised to help those who have been stranded. this is an absolute priority for us and we are working around the clock to put arrangements in place. but there is frustration at a lack of information.

miss england, bhasha mukherjee, travelled to kolkata for charity work. a junior doctor in lincolnshire, she just wants to get back to the hospital. i took the hippocratic 0ath to save lives and, you know, do what it takes. and it's a team feeling, you know, when you're part of the nhs. tens of thousands have signed an online petition calling on the government to bring people home. with other countries such as germany, japan and israel evacuating citizens from india, many are asking, why isn't the uk doing the same? in russia, a partial shutdown has come into effect today with bars, restaurants, parks and entertainment venues shut across the country in an effort to contain the spread of the coronavirus. according to government statistics, russia has a relatively low number of infections so far, although many believe the official figures don't tell the full story. from moscow, steve rosenberg reports.

at times, it felt like just another saturday in moscow. but today was anything but normal. the park by the kremlin, usually packed, was empty. the iconic red square department store shut. all cafes a nd restau ra nts in russia, too. to slow the spread of coronavirus, russians are being asked to stay off the streets, but not everybody is listening. speaking russian. "they've exaggerated the danger," he says. "i'm not scared of anything." moscow says everyone over 65 must stay at home. hard to enforce, but the restrictions have reduced the crowds. until very recently, the kremlin were saying that everything here is under control and in fact, there is no coronavirus epidemic in russia. now, shops are closing,

flights in and out of the country are suspended, and people are being urged to stay at home. it's a mixed message which is causing confusion. so is some of the coverage on russian tv. a deadly virus risks becoming a source of entertainment. but the illness is spreading here. we were allowed to film this moscow medical facility, re—purposed for coronavirus cases. hospitals across the city are preparing for a flood of patients. this week, moscow's mayor told president putin the situation in the capital was serious, and he admitted there were far more cases of coronavirus here than official figures had been suggesting. choral singing. and yet, despite the danger of infection, the churches remain open. no social distancing here.

they want to be close to god. it's impossible to get infected in a church because it is a holy place, she says. she's a doctor. more restrictions are expected, possibly a full lockdown, to protect russia. steven rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. and you can keep up with the latest developments about the coronavirus outbreak, on the bbc news app and on our website. that's all from us for now. from me and the team here a very goodnight. goodbye. hello. you're watching the bbc news with me, kate silverton,

broadcasting in the uk and around the world. the fate of millions of homeless people and migrant labourers in india is hanging in the balance, after the country announced a 21—day lockdown in a bid to contain the spread of coronavirus in the country. with factories and construction sites closing down, many have expressed fears that they might starve to death. many are walking hundreds of miles to their villages, as arunoday mukharji reports from delhi. ajarring image in times of a nationwide lockdown. thousands of migrant workers pour out onto the streets of india's capital city, new delhi. the government arranging buses to help them get home, four days after the lockdown started. but the sheer number of stranded has overwhelmed authorities. social distancing here doesn't exist. many had already set off on foot soon after

the lockdown was announced, travelling unthinkable distances. translation: there are no buses. i have to walk another 260 kilometres to get to my village. no work here. that is why we are running away. all of india was ordered into a 21 day lockdown to limit the spread of coronavirus. the pandemic has crippled the economy, shutting down factories and businesses, leaving hundreds of thousands without jobs. 90% of india's workforce is employed in the unorganised sector, which is the worst hit. there are many wage labourers who will not find work. other than having an economic impact, it will also have a huge social impact that will happen here. earlier this week the indian finance minister announced a $23 billion package just for the poor. we do not want anyone to remain hungry. we are looking at both cash transfer is one set of measures and another

set of measures will be food security related. 0n the same day, barely a few miles away, this was the reality on the streets of old delhi. the poor and homeless during up for the two meals a day promised to them. we have been hungry since morning and now we are getting this food. can we survive on this? racing criticism the government has promised to help those unable to get home, assuring food, shelter and medical help. for the poor, it may solve the immediate problem but it's the uncertainty of the near future without any jobs that they're most worried about. as india battles a rising number of coronavirus cases, a health emergency is just one of the many concerns. in the chinese city of wuhan, where the global coronavirus emergency began, some transport

services are resuming as hubei province gradually lifts its lockdown with the coronavirus crisis apparently stabilizing there for the time being. james ra nsley reports. wu han's train station, once an empty hub, is now busy with people with places to be. the city is slowly and steadily coming back to life. translation: i think this is the result of the hard work of all chinese people who came together as one and defeated the epidemic. for us, the news about lifting the lockdown is like the biggest recognition for us staying at home for more than two months. wuhan, a major engine of the chinese economy, got its freight train service back up and running. it's carrying medical supplies and electronics to europe. the city's banks opened earlier this week for business and buses are back on the roads. but residents are still being advised against unnecessary travel, and those over 65 told to avoid taking public

transport altogether. people are allowed to enter wuhan, but restrictions on those wishing to leave will not be lifted until april 8th. translation: it has been a long time since we last saw wuhan. people from hubei who travelled out of the province face some discrimination. i hope people will not treat hubei people as a virus. the city in hubei province was placed under lockdown back injanuary. its 11 million people have faced some of the harshest restrictions on daily life. in hubei, more than 50,000 people have been infected with the disease. more than 3,000 have died. but the partial reopening of wuhan signals a turning point in china's fight against the virus. translation: yesterday, china's mainland reported 5a new confirmed cases, all of which are imported cases. there are three fatalities reported, all of them in hubei. after months of enduring total lockdown, life for the people of wuhan is beginning to get back on track. james ransley, bbc news.

you are watching bbc news. there is more on the website. and we'll be taking an in—depth look at the papers with our reviewers martin lipton from the sun and broadcaster lynn faulds—wood. that's coming up after the headlines. time for a look at the weather with ben rich. hello, good evening. it's certainly started to feel colder this weekend. we take that chilly feel with us into sunday. not only will it be cold, it will also be windy. quite a significant wind chill. one or two wintry showers around as well, but also a lot of dry weather thanks to this area of high pressure. quite a strong high pressure area, actually, that's going to stick with us throughout the next few days and with the winds around high pressure flowing in a clockwise direction,

that's bringing cold air down from the north and the strength of that wind really accentuating that chilly feel. so, temperatures dipping away through this evening and tonight, some clear spells around, large areas of cloud as well, and one or two of those showers wintry over ground, but even at low levels, a little bit of wintryness mixing in at times. temperatures generally hovering around about freezing. i think will drop below freezing for some spots in the countryside. the other thing happening through the small hours is the clocks are going to spring forward an hour. these are the sunrise and sunset times tomorrow. sunset, crucial, of course, the sun not setting until after 8pm across parts of northern ireland, so you will notice the extra daylight during tomorrow but as far as the weather is concerned, large areas of cloud and some sunny spells in between but again, some showers, there will be some showers, some of which will be wintry and you will notice the strength of the wind. the windiest conditions to be found across england and wales. gusts of a0 mph or more. could see gusts of 50 mph or more for some eastern and southern coastal districts.

that is really going to make it feel chilly. 0n the thermometer, most places tomorrow will be in single digits but when we factor in the strength of the wind, this is what it's going to feel like. in many spots, it's not going to feel much better than freezing. now, as we move into monday, similar sort of weather, really, the winds will be a little bit lighter, you will still notice the strength of the breeze. a lot of dry weather around, large patches of cloud. some sunny spells and one or two showers here and there. just signs that things might be a little bit less chilly by this stage. 9—11 degrees. then as we head deeper into the week, well, this strong area of high pressure really stays with us, so that is going to provide a lot of dry weather, certainly through the middle part of the week. these frontal systems trying to edge into the north, bringing some outbreaks of rain here and eventually something colder. so, temperatures in the north of the uk will dip away towards the end of the week. something a little bit less chilly further south, and plenty of dry weather.

hello. this is bbc news with me, martine croxall. we'll be taking a look at tomorrow morning's papers in a moment — first the headlines. president trump says he's considering imposing a quarantine on new york to try to slow the spread of the coronavirus. well, this would be an enforceable quarantine and, you know, i'd rather not do it, but we may need it. as the number of deaths in the uk from the coronavirus rises to more than a 1,000, officials warn that social distancing restrictions must be kept in place. if we can keep deaths below 20,000, we will have done very well in this epidemic. more than 10,000 people have now died from covid—19 in italy since the start of the outbreak. spain announces further tightening of restrictions to tackle the virus, after being accused of acting too slowly.