this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. as the number of deaths in the uk from the coronavirus rises to more than a thousand, officials warn that social distancing restrictions must be kept in place. if we can keep down to 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. 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. i'd rather not do it but we may need it. spain announces further tightening of restrictions to tackle the virus after being accused

of acting too slowly. hello and welcome to audiences in the uk and around the world. we're covering all the latest coronavirus developments in britain and globally. here in the uk, the number of people to have died from covid—19 is now more than a thousand. 260 people died overnight, taking the total to 1,019. the number of positive tests has risen to 17,089. in italy, the number of people who've died from the coronavirus since the outbreak began has now passed 10,000. 889 people have died in the past 2a hours, fewer than the previous day. meanwhile, spain has recorded 832 coronavirus deaths in a single day,

its largest number yet. it brings the total to more than 5,500, second only to italy worldwide. in the us, president trump says he's considering imposing a quarantine on new york to try to slow the spread of the coronavirus. new york has recorded more than 52,000 cases — around half of the total in the us — and over 700 deaths. more on that in a moment. but first, this report by dominic hughes on the uk's response. 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—19. 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's being admitted to 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 hot spots 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's why the introduction of testing staff across the uk, who are currently having to self—isolate, as they've 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's tested. has it been a bit frustrating, then, waiting to find out whether you've got it or not? yes, very frustrating, because i know, i know the hospital is busy, even at this relatively early point, 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—19 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. more than 10,000 people have now died in italy. 898 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 we 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's 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 01’ 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 5,700. 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 more than 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, ijust...| 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 immediate 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. we can cross live now to talk to new york photographer lisa gualtieri alford who is in lockdown in the fresh meadows neighbourhood of queens, which is the worst—hit neighbourhood in new york city. thank you very much forjoining us.

tell us what life is like in your pa rt tell us what life is like in your part of the city at the moment. everything seems to be very quiet, everybody is trying to abide by the lockdown orders, most people anyway. i know people have been doing their pa rt i know people have been doing their part to stay in part as much as possible, only go out for the essentials that we need. in our neighbourhood, there are a lot going into storage as i tried to keep space for people to keep practising social distancing, there are a lot of empty shelves as well when you get inside the stores. we are all just doing our best to get through this and do our part to stop the spread. yes, what you describe sounds very familiar to us as well. your husband has been designated as an essential worker. why is that? so my husband is an appliance technet

—— repair technician, it my husband is an appliance technet —— repairtechnician, it is considered one of the essential services to make sure that people public appliances are able to work so public appliances are able to work so that they are able to stay home and have their refrigerators and their ovens and other essential appliances working. but he is having to go into people's homes and was a risk him. how well protected is he? the company has been doing their best to supply personal protective equip and. they have been trying to send masks and gloves and sanitising products. so he was waiting for them to come in this weekend we will be going back to work on monday and hope we have everything that he needs to stay safe. what is your view of how well america is being led through this crisis, and new york for that matter in particular, because there seems to be a mismatch between how feasible the governor thinks a total lockdown, a

quarantine would be in new york city, which is what president trump saysis city, which is what president trump says is considerate. yes, i know that they have generally been against a full quarantine because i think it is really difficult to lockdown the city the size of new york. especially since you would need the cooperation of the surrounding areas. so i know that they are doing a really awesome job trying to get everybody to stay home, get hospital set up. as far as a quarantine, i don't know if it would even work at this point because a lot of people have left the city and gone to small towns or other areas, a lot of people have gone back to florida to try to get out of the city. so i don't even know if a quarantine...” out of the city. so i don't even know if a quarantine... i am not sure whether we can still hear you, but let me try one brief question.

it isa but let me try one brief question. it is a huge subject, the health system in the united states and how it differs from the united kingdom. how much of a concern of people expressing about how they are going to for the medical care if they come down with the coronavirus? one of oui’ down with the coronavirus? one of our biggest fears is having to spend any amount of time at all in the hospitalfor any amount of time at all in the hospital for the virus, and the medical that that would amount to, i know that a lot of people, even if you have healthcare in this country, the death that you could get into is just crippling. people that don't have health insurance —— debt. people who don't have health insurance is amount —— another issue because of the amount of debt they will get into. evenjust because of the amount of debt they will get into. even just going for an emergency room visit can end up in the thousands in this country, so it is definitely a really big concern that even if from mild symptoms, if you have to get any

medical care whatsoever, the amount of money that it can lead to will put you into debt. we appreciate you talking to us. we wish you and your family the best of health in these troubling times. thank you very much for talking to us. the husband of british—iranian charity worker nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe says her temporary leave from prison in tehran has been extended by two weeks. the 41—year—old was released from evin prison on 17 march because of the coronavirus outbreak. richard ratcliffe said his father—in—law received the news of the extension when he went to the prosecutors 0ffice. nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe was jailed in 2016 on spying charges that she has always denied. millions of homeless people and migrant labourers have been left in the lurch after india 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 withoutjobs. 90% of india's workforce is employed in the unorganised sector, which is the worst hit. there are many 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 lining 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? facing 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. 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 curfew. 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 literally just 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? the british government is to change insolvency laws to help businesses which are struggling because of the pandemic. the business secretary alok sharma has outlined measures which he says will help businesses bounce back after the lockdown ends. we will introduce measures to improve the insolvency system which provides the legal options for companies running into major difficulties. 0ur overriding objective is to help the uk companies which need to undergo a financial rescue or restructuring process to keep trading. these measures will give those firms extra time and space to weather the storm

and be ready when the crisis ends.