this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. 1,228 people have now died from coronavirus in the uk — a rise of 209. the british prime minister sends a letter to every household warning that things will get worse before they get better. ministers say the public should prepare for a "significant period" of social distancing. i wish i could predict when this will end, but it is vitally important that at the moment and for weeks ahead, that people maintain the strict social distancing guidelines that have been laid out. india's prime minister asks for forgiveness after imposing a sweeping coronavirus lockdown that he said had hurt millions of the country's poor.

10,000 people in italy have died from the virus — the biggest death toll in the world — but ministers hope infections have now reached their peak. we are living in the peak of this epidemia. i believe that in one week's time, ten days maximum, we will see a drop. i think we will see a drop in positive cases. another 838 people die from coronavirus in spain, marking the country's highest daily number of deaths. president trump decides not to impose quarantine on new york and two adjoining states, despite saying yesterday that he was considering the move. hello and welcome to audiences

in the uk and around the world. we're covering all the latest coronavirus developments here in britain and globally. the death toll worldwide has reached nearly 31,000 and there are now more than 665,000 confirmed cases. in the uk, the department of health confirmed a short time ago that 209 people have died after testing positive for the virus in the last 2a hours, this means that 1,228 people have died with the virus since the outbreak began. the british prime minister boris johnson has sent a letter to every household warning that the crisis will get worse before it gets better. across europe, the number of people killed by the virus has risen to more than 20,000. italy has seen the most deaths from coronavirus and the country's deputy health minister says he believes italy is currently experiencing the peak of the outbreak. elsewhere, australia is reporting

a decline in the rate of infections. in south korea, everyone arriving from overseas will have to undergo two weeks of quarantine. the country has nearly 10,000 confirmed cases. the senior british minister, michael gove, told the bbc there wasn't "a date in the calendar" for when the measures would be lifted, but the peak of cases would depend on how people behaved. 0ur correspondent angus crawford reports. empty streets, empty parks. what a difference seven days can make. last sunday, social distancing meant little to some. then came the lockdown. an urgent attempt to stop the spread and protect the nhs. despite that, more than 17,000 people have tested positive, ——19,000, including borisjohnson. now chairing cabinet meetings from self—isolation.

he is also writing a letter to 13 million homes across the uk, in which he says, "it is important for me "to level with you. "we know things will get worse before they get "better, but we are making "the right preparations and the more we all follow the rules, the fewer "lives will be lost and the sooner life can return to normal." i can't make an accurate prediction, but everyone i think does have to prepare for a significant period when these measures are still in place. and the response so far from the british people has been fantastic, as i say. i wish i could predict when this will end, but it is vitally important that at the moment and for weeks ahead, that people maintain the strict social distancing guidelines that have been laid out. the new nhs nightingale taking shape in east london. a makeshift command centre, created in less than 2a hours. this could soon become the biggest hospital in the uk, with 500 beds

initially, but scaling up to 4,000 if necessary, to cope with the wave of cases that may come in the weeks ahead. a message of hope and solidarity, posted online. thousands have watched it already. we are those three letters that set us apart from the rest, the national health service, our nhs. paying tribute to all those professionals on the front line of the crisis and those volunteers backing them up, like the men and women of stjohn ambulance. all of our people are existing, experienced first aiders, so we normally do event work and some ambulance work. they are having an additional several days' training, specific for this, and then they are going to be very carefully mentored and managed by the nhs nurses in this hospital. warned he may be at the nightingale for at least four weeks, but some medical experts fear the crisis may last three times longer than that.

months more of lockdown a real possibility for all of us. angus crawford, bbc news. 0ur political correspondent helen catt has been giving us more details about why the government is sending a letter to every uk household. this time round, it will cost the government around £8.5 million to send these letters, will do is make sure that key advice will do is make sure that key advice will land on every household's doorstep, said there will the advice on hand washing and on the symptoms of coronavirus, and crucially advice on those rules about when people can and can't leave their homes. there has been confusion in the last week since they were announced, about exactly how to apply some of those rules. we saw earlier in the week, their example, the government having to clarify that when they say people should eat their example, the government having to clarify that when they say people should either

haynes or some daily exercise, that should be taken for walk. the opposition parties have suggested the government could be clearer on its rules, and the labour party said today they still think the government needs to be clear and have absolute clarity for workers on who should and should not be going to work. the italian deputy health minister, pierpaolo sileri, says he believes italy is currently experiencing the peak of the coronavirus outbreak. more than 10,000 people have died there — the highest death toll anywhere in the world. he told the bbc that the country might see a drop in the death rate in a week or ten days' time. mr sileri was speaking to the bbc‘s andrew marr. i believe lockdown starts to work, we started lockdown in the middle of march, we started the first lockdown between the 8th and the 9th of march, so obviously we need to wait at least 1a, 17, 18 days after that to see

the reduction of numbers of infected people. over the last few days, we had an increase of infection and this was due to the increase of swabs that have been performed, so we are searching more, and obviously we have more results of positive people, mainly with low or without symptoms. could i ask you to explain exactly what has changed, do you think? over the last two or three days, we have started to do more swabs, especially to trace... you are testing more? we are testing more, exactly. 0bviously, when you test more, you find more positive people and this will explain the increased number of positive that we found over the last two days, but i believe that we are living in the peak of this epidemic.

i believe in one week's time, maximum ten days, we will see a drop, a significant drop of positive cases. that's pierpaolo sileri talking to andrew marr a bit earlier. us president donald trump has backed away from imposing a quarantine on new york and two adjoining states, despite saying yesterday that he was considering the move. instead, residents are being "strongly advised" against non—essential travel. freya cole has more. new york city. home to more than 8.5 million people, now a dangerous hotspot for the spread of disease. there are more than 53,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the city alone. across the entire state, more than 700 people have died. president trump told

reporters he was considering a two week quarantine to stop the spread in new york and two other states, the just hours later he backed away from the idea, saying on the recommendation of the white house coronavirus task force and upon consultation with the governors of new york, newjersey and connecticut, i have asked the cdc to issue a strong travel advisory. effective immediately, the centers for disease control and prevention urged residents in the three states to stop all nonessential domestic travel for 1h days. it says the advice does not apply to employees of critical infrastructure industries, including tracking, public health, financial services and food supply. the idea of an enforced quarantine had outraged some city leaders, who feared it would paralyse the economy and cause mass confusion. i didn't speak to him

about any quarantine. i haven't had this conversation. i don't even know what that means. the united states now has the highest number of cases in the world. some medical workers say they no longer feel safe. they are pleading with residents to do the right thing and stay at home. the number of coronavirus fatalities in spain rose by 838 overnight — marking the country's highest daily rise in deaths. 6,500 people have now died from the virus in spain, and there are just under 80,000 confirmed infections. it's one of europe's hardest hit countries, but spanish health officials say the virus there could be near its peak. journalist graham keeley has the latest developments from madrid. the government are going to approve these new restrictions. they will come into force from tomorrow. they will mean that essentially, non—essential workers, who are for instance construction workers, postal workers, people working on production lines that don't relate

to the epidemic, for instance, car workers, some opticians and even people running shops that are not related to food. they will not be allowed to go to work for the next two weeks, and will have to stay at home. in terms of the number of fatalities there, spain, like italy, suffering particularly badly. is there any sense in spain as to whether that country is approaching the peak of the virus in terms of how much damage it is doing? well, the government is saying that they are cheered to some extent by the fact that the number of cases is beginning to level out. however, when you speak to doctors in hospitals they say, "well, that may be what the government is saying, "but it seems that actually the problem "is that not enough people "are being tested because there is a shortage of testing kits", so the real picture may not be quite so optimistic.

that is a journalist from the independent newspaper talking to us from madrid. india's prime minister, narendra modi, has asked for his country's forgiveness after imposing a sweeping coronavirus lockdown that he said had hurt millions of the country's poor. in his weekly radio address, he apologised for the impact of the three week lockdown, but said india was in a life and death battle. translation: first of all, let me seek forgiveness from all countrymen. my conscience tells me you will definitely forgive me, as i had to take certain decisions that put you in a lot of difficulty. especially when i look at my poor brothers and sisters, i definitely feel they must be thinking, what kind of prime minister is this, who has placed us in this difficulty? i especially seek their forgiveness. possibly, many will be angry at me

for being locked in their homes. i understand your troubles, but there was no other way to wage a war against coronavirus. for a country like india with a population of 1.3 billion, it is a battle of life and death and we have to win it. darkest narendra modi speaking on sunday, the indian prime minister. —— that is narendra modi. criticism has mounted over the lack of planning ahead of the shutdown which was introduced with less than four hours' notice. many of india's1.3 billion citizens have been left jobless and hungry. as the bbc‘s nikhil inamdar reports now from delhi, tens of thousands of migrant labourers have been forced to walk hundreds of kilometres from cities to their native villages. it has been a fairly chaotic 72 hours here in india because even as most of the country is in the grip ofan

most of the country is in the grip of an unprecedented 21 day lockdown, literally hundreds of thousands of migrant workers across the country have begun journeys on foot to each their villages as the economic cost of this cat begins to take its toll, particularly on contract workers and on daily labourers. we have seen dramatic pictures of men, women, children, old, young. literally walking up to 600 kilometres to reach their villages. india has about 100 million internal migrants and quite contrary to the intentions of this 21 day lockdown, several federal governments have now had to actually make arrangements to ferry them from one place to another. evidently, the gravity of this crisis has now become apparent to the government as well because the prime minister, in an address to the country, actually apologised to the poon country, actually apologised to the poor, but said he didn't have much ina poor, but said he didn't have much in a choice. while the government has expanded food and a social security cover, there is mounting criticism about why it didn't

pre—empt a situation like this before announcing the lockdown with just four hours a's notice. india has about four have thousand —— 4000 coronavirus cases positive, but there is a fear that some of these travellers could be carrying the barriers with them. the state has said people infected should be quarantined for 14 days, but given the numbers of people travelling, it really remains to be seen how successfully this can be carried out. the headlines on bbc news: 1,228 people have now died from coronavirus in the uk — a rise of 209. the prime minister sends a letter to every household warning things will get worse before they get better. 10,000 people in italy have died from the virus — the biggest death toll in the world — but ministers hope infections have now reached their peak. another 838 people die from coronavirus in spain

— marking the country's highest daily number of deaths. here in the uk, the duke and duchess of cambridge have lent their support to a campaign to help maintain mental health during the coronavirus pandemic. the british government is also giving mental health charities £5 million — approximately 6 million dollars — to expand their support services. 0ur royal correspondent nicholas witchell has the details. the cambridges have both taken a close interest in mental health issues. they have also been playing their part in supporting the health services dealing with the coronavirus outbreak. just over a week ago, before the lockdown began, they visited an nhs centre in south london to thank staff for their tireless efforts. they have now endorsed the latest initiative by public health england to help people to look after their mental health. in a statement william and catherine said...

the simple steps recommended by public health england include maintaining contact with friends and family via telephone and video calls, and social media, keeping a regular routine and sleeping pattern, and focusing on a hobby or learning something new. an extra £5 million has been given to leading mental health charities so that they can expand their ability to support people who are struggling with their mental well—being during the coronavirus emergency. nicholas witchell, bbc news. brazil only diagnosed its first case of covid—19 at the end of february — a number which is now approaching 4,000, with over 100 deaths. president bolsonaro has accused the media of scare tactics, and has criticised moves by state governments to shutdown certain areas. 0ur south america correspondent katy watson sent this report

from sao paulo. as the world tries desperately to tackle this pandemic, brazil's president is doing his best to downplay it. it is just the sniffles, he says, hysteria and panic whipped up by the media. going against his own health ministry's advice, he has been shaking hands with supporters and posing for sale the. —— for selfies. with supporters and posing for sale the. —— forselfies. he with supporters and posing for sale the. —— for selfies. he is angry because it has hurt the economy and coronavirus has put a stop to his plans. he is determined to make this political, playing his adversaries for trying to destroy the country. this is what bolsonaro is annoyed about. shops, businesses, schools, public spaces have all been closed right across the state of sao paulo, a state that is responsible for a third of the country's well. the city's streets, normally gridlocked, are now virtually empty. you would

think a global pandemic would unite a nation trying to find a solution. farfrom a nation trying to find a solution. far from it. this a nation trying to find a solution. farfrom it. this video a nation trying to find a solution. far from it. this video were shared by bolsonaro's son, a politician himself. the message is, brazil cannot stop. the government refuses to claim ownership of the deal, that it is exactly the message bolsonaro has been putting out and is supported by many. translation: we suggest that if you go out on the streets, you could become infected and people become panicked. restrictive measures of social isolation are fine, but as you're going to be made to quarantine and there is no solution in two weeks, all you're doing is causing the economy to collapse. better sao paulo's governor is unrepentant. brazil can stop, he says, and can stop. this week he paid tribute to professionals, and health and science, and people who are trying to save lives, unlike some, who

don't value them. this has been the soundtrack to many an evening recently, people banging pots and protest, angry with a president they see as irresponsible and out of touch. clearly, bolsonaro is not well equipped to deal with this crisis and as a consequence, there is certainly a consensus among health specialists that more people will die and the suffering in terms ofa number of will die and the suffering in terms of a number of victims, but also the economic impact, will be more so the air in brazil because of a lack of leadership. bolsonaro has always railed against the establishment. it is part of his dna. but in these times of crisis, people don't need a blame game, they need a problem solved and fast. i want to return to italy now and then breaking news that has come into us. this is from lombardi, the worst affected region in the north of italy by far. it has

been a lockdown now since early in march, so we are getting on to four weeks, and certainly more than three weeks, and certainly more than three weeks, of the lockdown. the figures are for people who have died there have risen by around 416 in the past 24 hours. that does, though, compared to 542 on saturday. of course, 124—hour figure may compared to 542 on saturday. of course, 124—hourfigure may not compared to 542 on saturday. of course, 124—hour figure may not tell you very much in terms of the trend, but clearly the italian deputy health minister was saying earlier that he thinks the trend is now in their favour, that slowly we might see a drop in the daily numbers. that sort of offers some backing for that, but with the caveat that tomorrow could go up again. we just don't know, you need to measure these things across much longer periods than just 24 hours, but it gives you a snapshot to compare the progress of the infection. in lombardi, iwas progress of the infection. in lombardi, i was talking to a british author and novelist who lives in lombardi, and she was saying that

for her, what brought this all home during the isolation there for her and her family was getting the local paper and saying that it has gone from one page of obituaries within a week to 13 pages of obituaries. that gives you a sense of really the scale that lombardy has had to deal with and is still dealing with as we speak. now i'm some happier news. the world's oldest man is celebrating his 112th birthday — although he'll be spending it in isolation. the former teacher and engineer from hampshire in the south of england was born in 1908. today also happens to be the birthday of britain's oldest woman. 0ur correspondent duncan kennedy reports. they are britain's oldest man and woman. bob weighton and joan hocquard. incredibly, both 112 years old today. bob, from hampshire, is now also the world's oldest living man.

born on march 29th, 1908, he's seen everything, but never coronavirus. which means only his family and carers can get close for his birthday. coronavirus around, who knows what's going to happen? certainly there will be no parties. there will be no special visitors. i don't know. joan! joan did have a little party. she's also in quarantine, with her young partner, ken, who's a mere 92. but it wasn't always like that. joan's early life was in london and africa. speaking last year at her home in poole, she looked back at her school days. i was very naughty. very naughty.

two of us went down to the town, to the shops. and with our green uniform they recognised us. although joan and bob live in neighbouring counties, they've never met. but they do share one enduring philosophy that is so relevant for today. even in adversity, they say, family and friends are at the heart of everything. duncan kennedy, bbc news. a very happy birthday to both of them. nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe has had her temporary leave from prison in iran extended by two weeks, according to her husband. the british—iranian charity worker — who was jailed on spying charges in 2016 — was released because of the coronavirus outbreak. she must wear an ankle tag and remain within 300 metres of her parents' home in tehran. mrs zaghari—ratcliffe has always denied the charges brought against her.

she said she was helping to provide information and training. thank you very much for your company, if you're watching from around the world. i met shaun ley and viewers will remain here. today's daily briefing will be at will be happening shortly today. we will be showing it live. some experts will be giving us the latest picture around the uk from the uk government's point of view and we have heard of course within the last hour bonnie scotland first minister about the situation there, continuing sadly the level of infections and one additional death in scotland over night. but perhaps the key thing from scotland was the information on subjects, the launch ofa information on subjects, the launch of a scotland cares campaign, urging people to carry out charitable works

during the course of the outbreak, where they perhaps have time on their hands because they are at home. the other aspect was the attention to get personal protective equipment out to doctors, nurses and other medical staff out around scotland. a single point of contact with health boards and on top of that every gp surgery should have an eight week supply brought out to them this week, covering the whole of scotla nd them this week, covering the whole of scotland by the end of the week. the coronavirus outbreak is affecting everyone's lives. and for people still dealing with the fallout of last month's flooding in england and wales, it's proving doubly difficult. many victims say they're struggling to cope with living in temporary accommodation, or in damaged homes, and thousands of businesses which had onlyjust re—opened have been forced to close again. 0ur reporter phil mackie has been revisiting some of the areas from which he reported at the height of the floods. it's only a month since ironbridge in shropshire recorded its highest ever flood levels. the force of the water was so strong that barriers buckled and where no

defences were homes were inundated. i've no idea what the cost will be. are you insured? no. i met vic haddock as he tried to pump the water out of his home. now the river's down, but there's a bigger threat to livelihoods because of coronavirus. we've just got to get on with things, haven't we? with this virus going on and what have you, it's not about us in ironbridge or the poor people in yorkshire who got flooded any more, there are much bigger things on the horizon now with this coronavirus. we have to beat it. a lot of these businesses had barely reopened after the floods when they had to shut again because of coronavirus. now, ironbridge is a world heritage site, and that means there are usually hundreds of thousands of visitors every year and, in this weather, this place would normally be packed. so it's a double whammy. all that people can do is keep an eye on their properties and check the post. it's nothing short of biblical. we've had the floods that shut the place down for weeks on end and then obviously this. we had an opening day when i bought the business on the 14th of march,

which was a roaring success, but then, suddenly, this, and, as you can see, the streets are empty and you have masks and gloves on now and obviously running a barbershop is really...it's not a good idea, is it? the day after ironbridge flooded those record levels on the river severn reached bewdley in worcestershire. the flood barriers there weren't high enough and water poured over the top, causing devastation for dozens of homes. this is irene buxton when she met the prime minister three weeks ago. the ground floor of her home has been completely destroyed. now she and her husband, who are self isolating, are living upstairs. 0h, we've had it all! but you've just got to get on with it, you know. so there's people worse off than us. at least i've got me electric and me gas on and we are warm and feeding.

it might be soup and beans on toast a few nights, but you survive. 2020 has been a miserable year for the flood hit communities across the country. the downturn for them started long before lockdown. phil mackie, bbc news, shropshire. now it's time for a look at the weather with nick miller. there has been a cold wind out there today and that wind is going to ease over the next couple of days, and as for the temperatures, they are not going to high this week compared with last week, actually a little bit below average. 0vernight with last week, actually a little bit below average. overnight in a frost on the way for many others. still a few showers running down the parts of scotland and temperatures will be below this in the countryside, where there is a greater chance of seeing that frost into the morning. still 80 showers from the word go across northern scotla nd from the word go across northern scotland and the eastern side of england and as cloud bills elsewhere, a few showers will break out. a greater chance of catching

those tomorrow, compared with today. the wind isn't quite as strong tomorrow, average speeds with gusts a bit stronger possibly. although the wind will ease a little bit, it is not going to be quite as cold, temperatures topping out around 10 degrees. that is where they are going to stay at the next few days with dry weather. hello. this is bbc news. the headlines: 1,228 people have now died from coronavirus in the uk — a rise of 209. the prime minister sends a letter to every household warning the crisis will get worse before it gets better. 10,000 people in italy have died from the virus — the biggest death toll in the world — but ministers hope infections have now reached their peak.

another 838 people die from coronavirus in spain, marking the country's highest daily number of deaths. india's prime minister asks for his country's forgiveness after imposing a sweeping coronavirus lockdown that he said had hurt millions of poor people. president trump decides not to impose quarantine on new york and two adjoining states, despite saying yesterday that he was considering the move. in the uk, thousands of vulnerable people who have been told to self—isolate have received care packages today to help them through the next 12 weeks. they'll contain basic supplies including pasta, tinned food, cereal and tea bags. karl mercer has been to camden, in north london, where volunteers have already been delivering them to those in need.

are the maintenance guy, the volunteers and the council leader. toilet roll — that's in high demand. this is normally age uk day centre. it is now the base for emergency food parcels. we have just had a list ready to go out for local tenants. they are vulnerable people that are living in the area that have phoned through for a supply package. once it's bagged up, the supplies are off around the burrough. darren is off for his second run of the day. hello, love, i have a delivery for you. she was already waiting for me with the door open, she grabbed it at arm's—length. off to the next one now. hello, love, i've got your parcel. bless you. thank you very much. 0ne satisfied customer, there are plenty more customers to come on darren's list. sweden has seen more than a hundred deaths from coronavirus — but unlike many other countries around the world, it hasn't enforced stringent social distancing measures.

from stockholm, maddy savage reports. it's maddy savage reports. become warm enough to si outside it's become warm enough to sit outside in the swedish capital and people are making the most of it. outside in the swedish capital and people are making the most of itm feels important to support the bars in the restaurants and be outside.|j think it's nice that it's open. i try to isolate myself, but it's kind of hard, when you see in sweden people running around outside. gatherings of more than 50 people are banned here, and there are few strict rules. the focus is to long guidelines like limiting travel and working from home. voluntary responsibility is the key to the swedish strategy. trusting the public to make enough changes to showdown —— slow down the spread of the virus. but the approach is controversial. i think we have high trust in the authorities in sweden,

soi trust in the authorities in sweden, so i think people are prone to listen to their recommendations, but this is kind of a very critical situation, and i'm not sure it's enough, but i'm hoping it is. swedes love the outdoors, and peeping people friendly —— physically mentally healthy is why officials are keen to avoid a lockdown and there are hopes it will limit the economic impact as well. in general, the business community, i would say thinks that the swedish government has implemented more rational, sensible policies than in other countries. how much riskier do you think it is for other countries that have closed a lot more businesses and a lot more society? this will cause great harm. they will see mass unemployment, and i am dead scared for the societal effects due to that. but even without a lockdown,

business is already taking a cut. this barbershop is usually packed. soon, they will have trouble paying the bills. staff here fear they may yet be forced to stay home. if sweden follows other countries and changes in style. it's we will be joining viewers on bbc one and my colleague rita chakra party will be presenting the news as we go into the latest downing street news conference led by the community and local government secretary. before that, victoria derbyshire has the latest information on health advice on combating coronavirus.

welcome to the special programme, i'm victoria derbyshire. stay with us as we i'm victoria derbyshire. stay with us as we try to tell you the latest on coronavirus to help you, so you can share the information with others. and a reminder, that for the latest on the spread of coronavirus you can always head to the website for information on how it is affecting people in your community and your country. first, we all know the main advice to stop the virus from spreading. wash your hands regularly for around 20 seconds. avoid touching yourface regularly for around 20 seconds. avoid touching your face and maintain social distancing, which is making sure there is around two metres between you and anybody else, as laura foster explains. politicians, scientists and even celebrities want us to practice social distancing. it means no coming into contact with people u nless coming into contact with people unless you need to, so no more visitors at your house, visiting other peoples houses, going to

restau ra nts, other peoples houses, going to restaurants, parties, pubs, sporting events restaurants, parties, pubs, sporting eve nts — — restaurants, parties, pubs, sporting events —— you get the idea. if you can work from home, the government says you should, and your employer should help you do this. if you absolutely cannot work from home, avoid busy travel times. you can go out for a walk and buy essentials, but you need to stay at least two metres from everybody else. imagine you are holding a big broom. you will be the correct distance away if you can't touch anybody with it. the people who need to practice social distancing the most of the over 70s, anyone with underlying health conditions and pregnant women. but really, everybody should do it to stop the virus from spreading and reduce the pressure on health services. because if you limit the contact services. because if you limit the co nta ct you services. because if you limit the contact you have with others, you will reduce your chance of catching the virus and passing it on to somebody else. so that is social distancing, but we're hearing a lot about people being asked to quarantine. social distancing on quarantine. social distancing on quarantine are not the same thing. here is laura again. a big problem with coronavirus as you can have it

and not know about it. it means you can go about your day as you've a lwa ys can go about your day as you've always done, feel completely fine, but actually infect around two or three people per week. what happens thenis three people per week. what happens then is that those people you have infected go on to infect another two or three people each, and then those people will infect others and that is how the virus spreads. but look at what happens when people stay at home and practice social distancing. for instance, if this person didn't go round to their friends house, for instance, if this person didn't go round to theirfriends house, if this person work from home, if this person didn't go to the corner shop, if this person didn't visit their mother. this reduces the number of cases from 406 down to just 15. as the number of cases goes down, so does the pressure on doctors and nurses and on our health service. this will make the difference between people living and dying. you can go out to exercise once a day, or fetch food or medicine, can go out to exercise once a day, orfetch food or medicine, but can go out to exercise once a day, or fetch food or medicine, but only with people you live with. in short, stay at home as much as possible, it

will save lives. washing your hands often and for at least 20 seconds is vital in stopping the spread of the coronavirus. not sure how to? here is how, and watch until the end when we have a special treat for you. so, first, we create a lather. back of my hands. between the fingers. the ends of my fingers. and again my palms. my wrists. the top of my hands again. and rinse. but, i'm going to use a tissue to turn off the tap to stop cross contamination. so that is how to wash your hands properly, but now here is your surprise.

music washing our hands and keeping clear of other people are both vital to stop the spread of the virus. but what about other things you are co nsta ntly what about other things you are constantly in touch with, literally, like your phone? while washing your handsis like your phone? while washing your hands is vital, if you're worried about germs on your phone, you can clea n about germs on your phone, you can clean it effectively with simple soap and water. i'm a microbiologist at university college london, and i'm going to show you how to clean your phone. unplug your phone, turn it off and remove the case. all the major phone makers warn against using chemicals, and gels and a brace of wipes on your device as this can damage the screen's protective coating. dampen a microfibre cloth with water and simple household soap. gently rub the services on the phone with a damp cloth. take care not to get moisture in any of the openings, because even water resistant phones lose their protection over time.

finally, dry your phone with a clean microfibre cloth. even just using soap and water can effectively remove bacteria and viruses from your phone and we can test that by using this little device and the swa bs. using this little device and the swabs. the device gives a reading of relative light units, and that is a measure of the microbial activity on your phone, so the higher the number, the more germs are present. we tested all of these phones on their cases before and after cleaning with soapy water and they we re cleaning with soapy water and they were all significantly cleaner afterwards. 0n were all significantly cleaner afterwards. on a surgical service, we wa nt afterwards. on a surgical service, we want to get a figure of 50 or less and all of the phones and cases reading is lower than that. if you have an iphone, apple says you can safely clea n have an iphone, apple says you can safely clean it with 70% isopropyl alcohol wipes, the ones you can get from computer shops or online. there are also devices you can sterilise your phone with using ultraviolet uvc radiation. they should not harm your device but some phones or cases could be discoloured over time. remember, with all of these methods, as soon as you touch your phone, you

will get germs back on it, so keep washing your hands regularly and thoroughly. so that is how to get rid of the coronavirus from your phone. but what about other services —— surfaces where the virus may lurk? there are two main ways of catching coronavirus. the first is through particles in the air. someone breathes out all coughs, and the virus is spread in a droplet or aerosol. a single cough can produce 3000 droplets. you breathe it in and become infected. this is why governments across the world are telling us to stay two metres away from each other to stop the spread. the second way is through something scientists call fomite transmission. those virus particles land on a hard surface and are spread when an infectious person touches it. because a person who has the virus is shedding the virus from the nose and throat and coughing it out into the air, that means that anything

they touch is going to be covered in this virus. if you come along later and cut —— touch the same service, you could pick up on that server is a collection of virus particles and if there are enough of them, or transfer them to your nose, mouth or eyes, you can affect yourself. it's still early days but the team in the us has already run tests on corona. they found the virus that causes covid—19 can remain active on some surfaces. 0n copper, the results show traces for up to four hours. 0n cardboard, up to 24 hours. 0n plastic and stainless steel for up to three days. to mitigate the risk, wash your hands frequently and use alcohol gel which deactivates the virus very efficiently if it's got more than 70% alcohol limit or do what i see many of my friends doing, which is wrapping their sleeve around their hand to open a door handle or usual elbow. study show

the amount of virus on a surface decline sharply in time, so doctors say is important to be extra careful with surfaces that are touched frequently by others. as for food packaging, deliveries or other stuff that comes to your letterbox, we think the virus can live on cardboard for 24 hours and on plastic for up to three days. but scientists say treat those results with caution. we don't know yet how much of the virus is needed to infect someone, or how easily it is transferred back to your hand. and if you're really worried about the fa ct if you're really worried about the fact that the shell stuck in the supermarket might have had virus on the skin you could, if you really wa nt the skin you could, if you really want to, wipe it down with a hand rub in the same way you would wash your hands, but that is probably not necessary. the risk from these sorts of surfaces given the virus would have had to be there for extended period time is probably really low. in all these cases the most effective thing you can do is wash your hands with soap, cheap soap, fa ncy your hands with soap, cheap soap, fancy side, any soap, the 22nd. if the particles are on your hands, it

be enough to kill the virus and break the chain of transmission. reminder to wash your hands. that is the advice from top scientists at the advice from top scientists at the world health organization, to gps working to save lives in hospitals. but alongside the good advice have come some dangerous myths about the virus. here is chris morris from the bbc reality check team. we know what the experts say, wash your hands frequently to limit the coronavirus spread but there's also been a variety of myths circulating on social media and elsewhere which amount to fake health advice. so here are a few things to ignore. myth number one, eat garlic to avoid infection. there is no question that garlic is a healthy food in the same goes for other fruit and vegetables. but the world health organization says there is no evidence that eating garlic or anything else is protecting people from covid—19 team. number two,

drink water every 15 minutes. again, drinking water and staying hydrated is good for you but that doesn't mean you can stop coronavirus. you get a virus like this when you breathe in. there is no biological mechanism to suggest you can flush it out of your system by constantly drinking water. number three, it out of your system by constantly drinking water. numberthree, don't eatice drinking water. numberthree, don't eat ice cream. the idea that avoiding ice cream or other cold foods can prevent the virus taking hold is totally untrue. i'm trying to heat your body to make it in hospitalfor to heat your body to make it in hospital for the virus just won't work. —— inhospitable. we know the flu virus does not survive well outside of summer heat, but we don't know enough about how the heat might impact the new coronavirus. number four, drinkable silver. the use of colloidal silver, tiny particles suspended in liquid has been suggested, but the clear advice from

health authorities is that it doesn't treat infections in the body or boost immunity. in fact, it could cause serious side effects like kidney damage, seizures or even turning your skin blue. the best advice in all circumstances, keep washing your hands. covid-19 teen is busily forcing family gatherings and parties across the world to be cancelled and the young children can be especially upsetting, but those tasked with organising children's birthdays are not being deterred and are ready to use tech to keep youngsters happy. social distancing, live indoors. it's not much fun, especially if you are free. if there is germs crawling around, you can't go outside, so we have to do is stay indoors. are you ready everyone? can you not like this? # do you want to

build a snowman? but one thing has not been cancelled. jessica kingsley is today also from frozen and has found a way to give harry his birthday party online. harry started asking this in december to have a frozen party and we were looking forward , frozen party and we were looking forward, so the fact we managed to have one was just unbelievable.- let it go let it go. forjessica, this experiment with a virtual birthday party seems to be working. just their little faces. so how did that feel? really weird, but really lovely. because it meant that i could still give the children the magic, and that is what it's about. because it's their special day, and

this crazy pandemic should not take it away from them. # do you want to build a snowman? i can still see their eyes on me and all enjoying it, and that was amazing.

this is bbc news. we're waiting for today's government news conference on coronavirus, but first the latest headlines. 1,228 people have now died from coronavirus in the uk — a rise of 209. the prime minister sends a letter to every household warning that things will get worse before they get better. ministers say the public should prepare for a "significant period" of social distancing. i wish i could predict when this will end, but it is vitally important that at the moment and for weeks ahead, that people maintain the strict social distancing guidelines that have been laid out. 10,000 people in italy have died from the virus — the biggest death toll in the world. but ministers hope infections have now reached their peak. we are living in the peak

of this epidemia. i believe that in one week's time, ten days maximum, we will see a drop. i think we will see a drop in positive cases. president trump decides not to impose quarantine on new york and two adjoining states, despite saying yesterday that he was considering the move. another 838 people die from coronavirus in spain, marking the country's highest daily number of deaths. and coming up... we'll be putting your coronavirus questions to a gp and a global health expert. that's in just over half an hour.

hello and welcome to a bbc news special about the latest developments in the coronavirus pandemic. we'll be crossing live to downing street for the latest government news conference, which is due in the next hour. the department of health says 209 people have died in the uk after testing positive for the virus in the last 24 hours. this means that 1,228 people have died with the virus since the outbreak began. borisjohnson has sent a letter to every household warning that the crisis will get worse before it gets better. across europe, the number of people killed by the virus has risen to more than 20,000. italy has seen the most deaths from coronavirus and the country's deputy health minister says he believes italy is currently experiencing the peak of the outbreak. elsewhere, australia is reporting a decline in the rate of infections. in south korea, everyone arriving from overseas will have to undergo two weeks of quarantine.

the country has nearly 10,000 confirmed cases. the senior cabinet minister michael gove told the bbc there wasn't "a date in the calendar" for when the measures would be lifted, but the peak of cases would depend on how people behaved. 0ur correspondent angus crawford reports. empty streets, empty parks. what a difference seven days can make. last sunday, social distancing meant little to some. then came the lockdown. an urgent attempt to stop the spread and protect the nhs. despite that, more than 19,000 people have tested positive, including boris johnson — now chairing cabinet meetings from self—isolation. he is also writing a letter to 30 million homes across the uk, in which he says:

i can't make an accurate prediction, but everyone i think does have to prepare for a significant period when these measures are still in place. and the response so far from the british people has been fantastic, as i say. i wish i could predict when this will end, but it is vitally important that, at the moment and for weeks ahead, that people maintain the strict social distancing guidelines that have been laid out. the new nhs nightingale taking shape in east london. a makeshift command centre, created in less than 24 hours. this could soon become the biggest hospital in the uk, with 500 beds initially, but scaling up to 4,000, if necessary, to cope with the wave of cases that may come in the weeks ahead.

a message of hope and solidarity posted online. thousands have watched it already. we are those three letters that set us apart from the rest. the national health service — our nhs. paying tribute to all those professionals on the front line of the crisis and those volunteers backing them up, like the men and women of stjohn ambulance. all of our people are existing, experienced first—aiders. so we normally do event work and some ambulance work. they are having an additional several days' training, specific for this, and then they are going to be very carefully mentored and managed by the nhs nurses in this hospital. warned he may be at the nightingale for at least four weeks, but some medical experts fear the crisis may last three times longer than that. months more of lockdown a real possibility for all of us. angus crawford, bbc news.

political correspondent chris mason is here with a look ahead to what we might expect. we are waiting for the daily downing street news briefing of course but we have heard from michael gove today, apparently preparing us for what might potentially be a long haul? yes, expectation management from the government. notjust these three weeks announced last monday in terms of the restrictions on our life being in force but potentially much longer. the government is not putting a particular figure on much longer. the government is not putting a particularfigure on it but michael gove was hinting it could be significantly longer. the prime minister, in this letter that will drop on all of our doormats in the coming days, talking candidly about it getting worse before it gets better, repeating the desire that people should stay at home u nless that people should stay at home unless they have to leave the house for essential services, getting food m, for essential services, getting food in, going to work if that is

necessary , in, going to work if that is necessary, and talking again about how this is a national emergency. the expectation repeated by scotland's chief medical officer on the bbc this morning is this could last a very long time. how then do you read the different timescales we hear about, the fact ministers are saying this could peak within three weeks, but michael gove suggesting restrictions will go on for much longer, as are scientists?” restrictions will go on for much longer, as are scientists? i think blu ntly longer, as are scientists? i think bluntly because they don't know and they are receiving scientific advice privately, some of which we hear publicly. there is disputes among the scientists as well about the timeline, not least because of the data, the modelling they are doing is based on data that is constantly being refreshed as we get numbers every day in comparison to other countries, but they are imperfect comparisons because different countries have different demographic make—ups. there is not a direct comparison that can be made between

them. the government's perspective, if you like how we deal with this as a society, there is a balancing act between protecting us as individuals but at the same time hoping that we can carry on living with these kind of restrictions for potentially a long time. wanting to show an element of light at the end of the tunnel whilst being realistic about how long the tunnel may turn out to be. so in a sense what we are getting is messaging, putting the idea in our heads this might go on for a long time. exactly. being necessarily vague because they don't know how long it will have to go on. those in government when i speak to them, of course they don't want these restrictions to go on for a moment longer than necessary. it is costing the taxpayer a vast amount of money in terms of piling on the national debt, in terms of liberty, restrictive on all our lives. it has huge impact for people on day to day as far as work and business is

concerned so there is no desire to hang onto this any longer than necessary but to keep it as long as the scientists say that it has to be there. chris, thank you. don't go away. hello and welcome to audiences in the uk and around the world. you're watching a bbc news special. we're covering all the latest coronavirus developments globally and here in britain. we're expecting the uk news briefing by downing street in the next few minutes. chris mason is here. chris, we were talking about some of the messages government is giving out, trying to prepare people for what might be a long haul. what are the statistics saying at the moment? a new set of statistics being published every afternoon, and they are always bleak. a total in the uk of 1228 patients have died after testing positive for coronavirus, that was the figure at 5pm last night. that was up