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. deserted roads and empty parks — a top official says the uk could face up to six months of restrictions. over time, probably over the next six months, we will have a three week review and see where we are going. we need to keep that lead on and then gradually we will be able to hopefully adjust some of the social distancing measures. as italy grapples with the world's highest death toll from coronavirus, there's a severe shortage of medical staff in the north. and 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 covid 19 in spain — the country's highest daily number of deaths. hello and welcome to audiences in the uk and around the world. we're covering all the latest coronavirus developments in britain and globally. the british government has said all parts of the country are now on an "emergency footing" and it could be six months before life in the uk returns to "normal". at the latest downing street briefing, it was announced that millions of items of personal protective equipment were being delivered to nhs staff. 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. 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. in south korea, everyone arriving from overseas will have to undergo two weeks of quarantine. the country has nearly 10,000 confirmed cases. more on the global picture in a moment but first this report on the uk's response by our science editor david shukman. the stark reality of fighting coronavirus... from roundhay park in leeds, one of the biggest in europe, now almost deserted, to trafalgar square in london, usually crowded. evidence of social distancing in action. but we won't know how well it's working for two to three weeks. in this critically important time, the prime minister, borisjohnson, himself infected, has been chairing meetings whilst in self—isolation. he's written a letter to be sent

to 30 million homes across the uk, in which there's a stark message: "it's important for me to level with you", he says. "we know things will get worse before they get better. but we are making the right preparations", he says, "and the more we all follow the rules, the fewer lives will be lost and the sooner life can return to normal." but the signs are that won't come soon. the daily briefing at number 10 made that very clear. over time, probably over the next six months, we will have a three week review, we will see where we're going. we need to keep that lid on and then gradually we will be able to, hopefully, adjust some of the social distancing measures and gradually get us all back to normal. so, i think three weeks for review, two or three months to see if we have really squashed it, but about 3—6 months, ideally, and lots of uncertainty in that, but then to see at which point we can actually get back to normal.

that idea of a long haul was echoed by scotland's first minister, nicola sturgeon. 13 weeks is likely to be the kind of period that we have to be prepared to have measures in place. of course, we will continue to keep under review the type of measures and we will not keep measures in place for any longer than we have to do. all this on a painful day, made worse by the loss of an ent surgeon, amged el—hawrani. confirmed to have died of covid—i9, he passed away at glenfield hospital in leicester. he'd been volunteering in a&e. in a statement, his son ashraf said... "most of my dad's time was dedicated towards his family and the rest of that time is dedicated towards his profession. he taught me the significance of respect and equality." we've had confirmation of the very sad death of an ent surgeon, amged el—hawrani, what do you think

that says, what message does that send to nhs staff on the front line? i'm very saddened by the fact one of our professional colleagues has passed away. it clearly is a worrying event. it's worrying for the nation because it's another death in our statistics, it's another loss to a family and it will be a loss to an nhs family, as well. once again, a reminder of the incredible importance of everyone making an effort to stop the spread of the virus. a slow and difficult process. david shukman, bbc news. our political corrrespondent chris mason is in westminster and explained a little earlier what the uk can expect over the coming weeks. as far as the uk is concerned we got a real sense today, perhaps more explicitly than we've had before about the likely potential timeline in terms of the impact of the virus on our day—to—day lives and those measures that will put in place by

borisjohnson almost measures that will put in place by boris johnson almost a measures that will put in place by borisjohnson almost a week ago now. doctorjenny harries, the chief medical officer for england, talking about a timeline of around six months which takes us to october. she acknowledged that the government, the experts, can't be specific. they can't be explicit because they are dealing with what they described as a moving target, but, clearly, they say, they cannot allow these measures that were imposed a week ago to be removed suddenly because the fear would be, a couple of weeks after, there could be another spike in cases. they are not saying that there is going to be what has been described as some by the lockdown continuing unchanged for six months, but the measures put in place will have to be removed very, very gradually, and that means we won't be back to normal any time soon stop and so there is huge implications for all parts of our lives, whether it's our income, our jobs, our businesses, the education

of our children, our capacity to move around the country, to go on holiday, to see our relatives. profound consequences lasting for quite some time. the fact is the nhs will be under strain for a protracted period of time and we have to remember, as a country, that we have a lot of vulnerable and older people who are necessarily in isolation and will need support all that time. yes. the absolute explicit aim here as we heard from doctor harris is to flatten the curve, the phrase we have got used to hearing. in other words, reduce the number of people at the peak who get the virus all at the same time, because that is the point at which the most strain will be placed on the most strain will be placed on the nhs. crucially, she said today in the news briefing in downing street this afternoon that the nhs is still operating within capacity, despite the death toll we had been reporting. but, as you say, over

time, the challenge for people, particularly those who are the most extremely vulnerable to the virus and are shielding themselves for at least a period of 12 weeks will need support, and robertjen rick was setting out how that would happen, these food parcels that are being sent out, 50,000 of them will have been dispatched by the end of this week. and the infrastructure that is necessary to make that happen. he talked about setting up a system across england that has not been seen since the second world war involving the emergency services, local authorities under military command as well to try and ensure that the most vulnerable who may not have relatives who can help them out nearby, or friends that are willing to collect medical supplies or deliver food, get the to collect medical supplies or deliverfood, get the necessities they require in order to ensure that they require in order to ensure that they don't have to leave the house for many, many weeks to come.

the head of italy's coronavirus response team has told the bbc there is now a severe shortage of medical staff in the north of the country — the area worst hit by the pandemic. doctors and nurses from across the country are being asked to volunteer to work there. there have now been almost 11,000 deaths from covid 19 in italy, with over 97,000 confirmed infections. jean mackenzie reports. they have come from around the world to serve on the front line of this crisis. doctors from russia, cuba and now albania and from every corner of italy too. ijust finished from the hospital after 12 hours. i'm so tired! giuseppe has never worked in an emergency room, he only qualified last year, but he's left his home in sicily for a field hospital at the epicentre. why did you decide to travel to work up here? the emergency was here and it's still here and so i'm

here to get my contribution, my little contribution, and help my colleagues. the force at which this virus struck the north of italy has left it exposed. 300 doctors were flown in from different parts of the country last week, but this wasn't nearly enough. the situation in the north is so acute, so many doctors and nurses have fallen sick now, that the government is appealing to people from all over the country to travel up there and help. the north is still in a deep crisis. we have a shortage of specialised people in the health sector because they have been contaminated. so, of course, more of them now are observing a quarantine period. with 4,000 nurses now infected, hundreds more are being drafted in over the next two days. simone is one of them. translation: i'm expecting to find a lot of people suffering and in dire need of professional

and moral support, both patients and medical staff who are under so much pressure. the hospital, it's full. and so crowded. all the people were hit by that virus like a train, like a tornado. it's terrible. tonight, there's been an improvement. the rate of new infections and deaths are slightly down but make no mistake, this country is still in crisis, with a long, hard fight ahead. jean mackenzie, bbc news, rome. in spain, the number of coronavirus fatalities rose by 838 overnight — marking the country's highest daily rise in deaths. much of the country remains in lockdown. 6,500 people have now died from the virus there, 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. graham keeley works for the independent newspaper, and told us more about what's happening in 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. 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. syria has confirmed its first death from coronavirus. the united nations has said all parties in the warn torn country must stop fighting ‘to avoid further catastrophe' — calling coronavirus a ‘deadly threat‘. the world health organization says syria's health system has been acutely weakened by years of conflict in the country. us president donald trump has decided not to impose 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, but 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, new jersey 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 trucking, 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 us government's leading infectious disease expert, dr anthony fauci, says at least 100,000 americans will be killed by the virus, and possibly up to twice that number. some cities, including new york, have warned that they may soon run out of medical supplies. the latest figures show there've been 237 more deaths in new york state over the past 2a hours. some care workers in the uk — supporting the most vulnerable people — say they are running out of protective equipment for frontline staff dealing with patients during

the coronavirus outbreak. they have called on the british government to provide more supplies — including face masks, gloves, and hand sanitiser. with many orders diverted to the nhs, some care providers have had to ask for donations from local businesses, as our home editor mark easton reports. these are our masks that we're desperate for and hoping for a supply very soon. as i say, our mask order has been delayed. they are down to one or two days of protective masks at this extra care home in northampton. supplies of hand gel are running low too. desperate staff fear they won't be able to protect vulnerable residents from a virus that might well kill them. the masks that we are using, we're not sure how to prioritise who has a mask first or which service user we go to that has a mask. so, we are managing at the moment but we don't know where our next supply would come from. the company that runs this centre has repeatedly ordered new masks for their 2000 carers across the uk,

but supplies have told them the protection equipment has been diverted to the nhs. we're really down to the bare bones now of masks and gel, in terms of supplies. and we are desperate, really, to try and get some more equipment through quickly so our care staff can be fully protected and deliver the important service that they do. the government says it's working around the clock to give the social care sector the equipment and support it needs but english local authorities have written to the health secretary to say supplies are not reaching the front line. councils across england are so worried about the shortage of masks for carers that they are appealing to a closed nail bars, construction firms — anyone who has got supplies to consider donating them to social services. mr ali died a few days ago after he tested positive for the virus in a london care home. only a handful were able to attend his burial. the family say more should have been done to protect him.

any family who has someone in a care setting really should make the effort of talking to the care home. really should find out what measures are in place so that they loved ones are being cared for. this man, who has parkinson's and advanced dementia, need carers four times a day at his home in north london. his wife says they arrive on public transport without masks to protect him or themselves. they have to go within two metres of him and there's no protection. they could be asymptomatic but contagious and give it to him. if he gets it... i doubt he'd survive, to be honest. the government says every social care provider will get their supplies they need and denies the health service is being prioritised but this is a sector that has long felt it has played second fiddle to the nhs. mark easton, bbc news.

sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, tottenham striker harry kane has revealed that he could leave spurs, if the club does not progress in the right direction, as he wants to win trophies "sooner rather than later." the england captain is yet to win a trophy at tottenham, who have slipped to eigth in the suspended premier league table. kane also believes that the current season should be scrapped, if it can't be completed by the end ofjune. adding that "we need to try to finish the season, but there needs to be a point where enough is enough." italy's sports minister is planning to extend the country's ban on all matches and competitions until the end of april. the lockdown currently taking place is due to expire on friday. but italian health experts say, they still need to continue to reduce the spread of the virus, which will probably last weeks beyond that. vinchenzo spadafora said that talks about restarting serie a on 3rd may were unrealistic, with some clubs like lazio and napoli pushing to restart

training as soon as this week. the sports minister says that he's hoping serie a officials will show "a serious desire to change." juventus' players, including cristiano ronaldo and manager, maurizio sarri have agreed for their pay to be stopped for four months to save the club over £80m during this coronavirus pandemic. onto formula one, as they are now considering cutting down a race weekend to two days instead of three, and letting the season run through until january next year. that's according to ferrari boss, mattea binotto. already this year f1 has seen the first eight races cancelled or postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. with all the details, here's the bbc‘sjennie gow. the f1 championship could go into january 2021 with eight races already called off in the british grand prix due to take place injuly which is one of the next to be under

threat. but that cheaper said the teams were in constant dialogue with formula 1 and could have at least three races injanuary and change the format of a race weekend as well. currently the season is due to end on the 29th of november in abu dhabi. many athletes around the world are coming to terms with there not being a olympic games in tokyo this summer. instead, they'll have to wait until next year to perform on the global stage. at the 2016 olympics, rugby 7s made it's debut at the tournament, with team gb winning silver. earlier i spoke to england rugby 7s player, alex davis, who admits, that he was gutted to hear that the games had been postponed, especially after just returning from injury after 1a months out. for us it felt quite inevitable, but idid for us it felt quite inevitable, but i did guess it was going to be postponed at one time but we just weren't really sure to what extent, would it be postponed by a year? cancelled? would it be postponed by a year? cancelled ? a lot would it be postponed by a year? cancelled? a lot of uncertainty around that but i guess it's really saddening to not be able to look

forward to the summer olympics, representing team gb, but obviously, for the health of everyone around the world it was the right decision for the ioc to make and it gives us all another year to get in the best shape possible to perform on the global stage next year. england rugby sevens players are finding other ways of keeping themselves entertained and showing their support during this crisis. alex davis is now rounding up the rugby and sporting community to help raise money for the nhs. the fundraiser is called shave, donate, nominate on instagram with rugby players from england 7s, bath, saracens and sale sharks, plus members of the public to help raise money for nhs charities during this covid—19 pandemic. that's all of the sport. there's plenty more on the bbc sport website. bye for now. 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 that you will definitely forgive me, as i had to take certain decisions which have 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. in australia, prime minister scott morrison has announced more restrictions to combat the spread of the coronavirus. all gatherings outdoors will now be limited to two people. those over seventy years old have been advised to stay at home. public spaces such as playgrounds and outdoor gyms will shut, and there is already a strict two week quarantine in place for all arrivals. the rate of infection increases has slowed, but mr morris warned there were ‘no guarantees' this trend would continue. last week, the rate of daily increase was up around 25—30%. today's rate of increase has actually fallen to 9%, but there are no guarantees about how that goes forward. we need to continue to do the things that we have committed ourselves to do to save lives and livelihoods and i want to thank australians for their strong support and growing support for the measures that are necessary to do just that.

112th birthday today — though he'll be spending it in isolation. bob weighton, who's a former teacher and engineer from hampshire in the south of england, was born in 1908, the year the wright brothers made their first public flight. he is the same age as inter milan football club, and pre—dates selfridges department store, and the opening of the v&a museum. bob weighton told the bbc the coronavirus crisis mean he wasn't sure how he'd celebrate his birthday this year. who knows what's going to happen? certainly there will be no parties. there will be no special visitors. i don't know. football and live music are two essential parts of life in spain and the coronavirus has put them both on hold.

to lift spirits,the country's football league la liga has held a live virtual music festival to raise money for hospitals. the proceeds from the four hour concert will be used to buy medical supplies, which are running low across spain. now it's time for a look at the weather with ben rich. good evening. over the last week we have had some signs of spring from the weather and temperatures got up to 19 degrees earlier in the week but not so this weekend. it has been turning colder and this afternoon you were lucky to get 29 degrees. feeling much more like winter stop high pressure has been in charge, an unusually strong area of high pressure sitting to the west of the british isles and the winds are blowing in a clockwise direction so it means it has been drawing some really cold air down from the north and talking of the winds, they've

been pretty brisk and that has accentuated the chilly fail. while it stays quite blustery through the night, the winds will ease to some extent with large amounts of cloud and showers in northern and eastern scotla nd and showers in northern and eastern scotland down the eastern side of england. temperatures tending to hover around freezing and some spots might bea hover around freezing and some spots might be a touch below, so a local frost or some into tomorrow morning and through tomorrow, another day of large amounts of cloud, some sunny spells but showers, mostly across northern and eastern parts of the uk but they could get across the midlands and even into parts of wales. still quite windy but not as windy as it has been, so feeling just a little bit less cold. those temperatures still a bit below par for this point in the year, between nine and 11 degrees. from monday into tuesday, the high—pressure slips south and that will allow the airto come slips south and that will allow the air to come from somewhere slightly different. the air is starting to come in off the atlantic. it doesn't mean any kind of heatwave or anything like that, but it willjust feel a little bit less cold and you

can see the temperatures of nine or 10 degrees. large amounts of cloud, some sunny 10 degrees. large amounts of cloud, some sunny spells and the odd shower. for many of us, wednesday are similar, particularly across england, wales and northern ireland. a changeless column with a weak weather front bringing showery rain from the north —— a change for scotland. as we head towards the end of the week, the high—pressure retreats and low—pressure dives close to the north of the uk in the frontal system will push south bringing rain until snow across scotla nd bringing rain until snow across scotland and some colder air trying to dig back in from the north by the end of the week, it looks like mild airwillwin end of the week, it looks like mild air will win out. so after a chilly start to the week, we will see rain and snow in the north, turning milderfrom the and snow in the north, turning milder from the south later on.

hello — this is bbc news, with martine croxall. the headlines: 1,228 people have now died from coronavirus in the uk — a rise of 209. deserted roads and empty parks — a top official says the uk could face up to six months of restrictions over time, probably over the next six months, we will have a three week review, we will see where we're going.