this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. spain tightens its coronavirus lockdown even further, as the death tolljumps to 7,340 — a rise of 812 in 2a hours. in the uk, a breathing aid that can help keep coronavirus patients out of intensive care has been created in less than seven days — and if trials are sucessful, is expected to go into production next week. the british prime minister boris johnson announces 20,000 former nhs workers have returned to the health service to help with the crisis. thank you, by the way, to everyone who is now coming back to the nhs in such huge numbers.

doctors and nurses, it's a most amazing thing. meanwhile, the british prime ministers chief adviser dominic cummings self isolates after developing coronavirus symptoms. president trump extends federal coronavirus restrictions to the end of april as a leading government expert predicts 200,000 americans could die. australia tightens its grip in a bid to reduce the spread of the virus — the government limits social gatherings to just two people, down from 10. and in other news, president trump says the us will not foot the bill for prince harry and meghan's security amid reports the couple have moved to california.

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 number of people who have died from the virus in spain has risen by more than eight hundred in the past 2a hours and now stands at more than 7000. spain now has more than 85 thousand cases of the virus — which means it has now surpassed china. today, spain's two—week lockdown has been extended to cope with the spread of the virus — all nonessential workers must stay at home for a further 11 days. elsewhere in the world, australia has unveiled an 80 billion us dollar package to help boost the economy. it includes a subsidy to help businesses retain six millionjobs over the next six months. the number of cases in australia has risen by a quarter over

the past two days. in the us, president trump has extended virus restrictions until the end of april. he'd previously said he hoped america could re—open for business at easter. 143 thousand people in the us have now been infected. and japan has reported a surge in confirmed coronavirus cases, amid fears that a lack of widespread testing has allowed the virus to spread undetected. tokyo has recorded its highest number of new daily cases, with 68. our first report, following that big increase in the number of deaths in spain, is from our reporter there tanya dendrinos. a lifeline in the midst of chaos — a military plane full of medical supplies arriving in madrid from the czech republic.

and with a bump of elbows, a small glimmer the nation has not yet lost hope. the contents couldn't be more precious. 10,000 items of protective equipment for health workers after the government's request for medical aid from nato allies. and time is of the essence. more than 80,000 people have now been infected with covid—19 in spain, forcing a further tightening of the country's lockdown restrictions. non—essential workers — these are, for instance, construction workers, postal workers, people working on production lines which 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. the streets are empty, but it's a stark contrast to the hospitals and morgues struggling to cope under the weight of the crisis. 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's a shortage of testing kits. and that's an issue being raised the world over. tanya dendrinos, bbc news. we can talk now to dr elisabetta groppelli, who's a virologist and lecturer in global health at st george's university in st george's hopsital, london. we are grateful for your time, welcome to bbc news. i know you have been looking at how the virus is progressing. what have you been finding? selecting at the data for some of the countries, and i am italian, so i do pay particular attention to italy, there has been

some quite welcome relief in a number of cases, and also in the number of cases, and also in the number of cases, and also in the number of patients decreasing, the patients that require intensive care units. however, the situation is still critical and we still need at least two or three weeks to confirm that the situation is getting better. we been hearing about these figures from spain, but it needs just into the bbc that the spanish foreign minister has told us that the latest figures in the country show that the virus's upward curve seems to be flattening out. could that be a cause for optimism?” think every time that there is a decrease in the number of cases, it's a welcome relief, not necessarily let the situation is over but that we are going into the right direction. however we need to be cautious. again, go back to italy, where the situation has been

evolving rapidly, there have been days when the number of cases have gone down but then to come up. so we are still in for weeks and months, long term. so get the positives where we can but also, keep your eyes on the ball. absolutely, let's get the positives where we can. you've talked about italy, we have talked about spain, what about the uk? whatare talked about spain, what about the uk? what are your figures telling you about when the peak might come there? so when it comes to modelling, we need to understand that they do have a positive and also they have their comes, so when it comes to predicting, it becomes a little bit tricky. i think what we can say based on the numbers that we haveis can say based on the numbers that we have is that they're going to be fed into the models, so we can really see what's going to happen and try anticipate what is going to happen in the next two, three weeks' time. however, scenarios that are modelled, even by the best modellers

and mathematicians, we need to take them into consideration that we can change the course, the trajectory, by our own behaviour. and what is the evidence, to pick you up on that point, that getting people to stay at home, and social distance from each other, in other words, our own behaviour, what evidence is there that that's a difference? as a virologist, i'll start by saying that this is basically exactly how the virus transmits. so the virus comes into us, it replicates and there needs to go on to another person. and if we maintain distancing, including the two metres, properly, by self isolating, we provide the barrier, impede the virus to transmit. but when it comes to bigger populations and societies, we can see that isolating and increasing social distances has been particularly successful in countries

like china. and it is one of the absolute weapons that we use in public health to stop human—to—human transmission. and can you give us any on—site into how long we might have to live like this? —— any insightful stops and countries are suggesting a matter of weeks while others are talking about monks and indeed beyond that. —— talking about a months. it's difficult to anticipate but we need to look at different time frames and i think the deputy chief medical officer has done a fantasticjob at pointing us towards an immediate time, which is the timeframe of two, three weeks, where we need to be extremely careful in applying the restrictions. it also understanding that this is a massive situation at the planet's level, and also, this affects every single part of our society. so it's a big problem and it's a big problem that is not going to go away in two or three weeks, so

thinking in terms of months, especially three months and longer than that, it's certainly very realistic. 0k, than that, it's certainly very realistic. ok, so gratefulfor than that, it's certainly very realistic. ok, so grateful for your time, good to talk to you, thanks. thank you. in the uk, a breathing aid that can help keep coronavirus patients out of intensive care has been created in just a few days. the device, which has been developed in collaboration with the mercedes formula one team, delivers oxygen to the lungs without the need for a ventilator. here's our medical correspondent fergus walsh. it's a small device that could make a big difference. known as continuous positive airway pressure, or cpap, it pushes oxygen into the lungs, keeping them open, making it easier to breathe. they're already used in the nhs, but are in short supply, so a team modified and improved an existing design in less than a week which has now been approved for use by health regulators.

normally medical device development would take years and in this instance we've been able to do it in days because we've cleverly thought about how we can go back to existing devices and models, reverse engineer them and then engage with our industry partners to manufacture them at scale. this demonstration was done at university college london hospital, which is now using the device to treat covid—i9 patients. i sincerely think it may actually save many lives by preventing patients from needing to go onto a ventilator and again saving that vital resource for the very, very severely ill. every second counts in motor racing. here, mercedes formula i partnered with doctors and healthca re engineers on a medical device that could be mass produced. this is a great example of how the nhs, universities and industry are working together at extraordinary pace to meet the challenge posed by coronavirus. if the trials of this device go

well, then mercedes formula i says it can produce up to 1,000 of these a day. in italy, around half of covid—19 patients given cpap have avoided the need for intensive care, and unlike mechanical ventilators, there's no need for them to be sedated. fergus walsh, bbc news. earlier my colleague victoria derbyshire spoke to mervyn singer, professor of intensive care at university college london hospital, and professor rebecca shipley, whose team developed the mask. we've essentially managed to reverse engineer a breathing aid which has shown to be really effective at helping patients in china and italy, and to do that, we started by putting together the right team, so we partnered with ec lh and also a crack squad of mechanical engineers based at ucl, and also our industry

partners, both mercedes, hpp and 0xford electronics, and having that expertise together, has allowed us to go from a first prototype was in the first hundred hours of our first meeting to regulatory approval within ten days and we have now started to patient trials at ucl h and can move to producing 1000 per day of these within a week's notice. what does reverse engineer mean? basically, going back to a previous device that has been used in the nhs very widely but is of patents and we've basically taken it apart and redesigned it, rebuild it and we developed the prototype. so it's not a ventilator but it does the job of a ventilator but it does the job of a ventilator? it targets a different pa rt a ventilator? it targets a different part of the care pathway to invasive mechanical ventilation, but it's a very important respiratory aid and respiratory device that has shown to be very effective for patients who need critical care for covid in italy and china, for example. how

does it work? essentially, it provides a positive airway pressure, which essentially kind of opens the lungs and enables you to supply oxygen lungs and enables you to supply oxyg e n to lungs and enables you to supply oxygen to the lungs which obviously is needed for patients who are in respiratory failure. but how are you getting that air into the lungs? is it through the throat? basically through a masquerade which is attached to the device. professor singer, hal badly are these devices needed? there's a huge demand, i think in london we are overladen with patients requiring ventilation, thatis with patients requiring ventilation, that is a limited resource and clearly there is a shortage of staff who can cope with the surge, so if we can keep people off invasive ventilation and hopefully get them well, there's this halfway house between an oxygen mask and invasive

ventilation, so if we can prevent them deteriorating and get them better quickly, that will be a great boon. and from what you know of this device so far, does it sound safe to you? we've actually started trialling it on patients at uch, and we intend to do more in the next day or two at a few sister hospitals in london he will also help to trials, and if they all go well, we hope they will, then the green light can go on to roll them out across the nhs and beyond, we are already getting enquiries from colleagues in france, germany, australia and so forth. a key point there is that we've already got regulator approval, the national regulator who divine with a device is safe —— define with a device is safe, and we got approvalfrom define with a device is safe, and we got approval from them at the end of last week. in england, front line hospital staff are starting

to be tested to see whether they have coronavirus. previously, only seriously ill patients were being screened, leading to criticism from nhs staff that they were being left unprotected. from today, critical care doctors and nurses in england will be checked — if they show symptoms or live with people who do. tests for a&e staff, paramedics, gps and social care staff are expected to follow. frontline staff in scotland and wales are already being screened, while in northern ireland testing also begins today. dr chaand nagpaul, the chair of the council of the british medical association, told us that lack of testing meant that some healthcare staff who might be not be ill were not able to come into work. 0n the 16th of march, over two weeks ago, we heard that the government was ramping up testing and prioritising health care workers, the prime minister announced that. two weeks on, we're just

now starting testing. in those two weeks, we have recognised just how much the nhs has suffered in terms of staff shortages. i haven't got an explanation for government but what i would say is it's really important not to delay this any further, and make sure that this testing is available to all health care staff, certainly, as i said earlier, whilst it is being focused at the moment, i understand while why we are focused on critical care staff, we need this extended to all staff. in general practice at the moment we are still waiting for testing. lots of doctors contact me every day saying they want to get back to work. it is affecting the service because their gp practices are small units, and if you have two doctors, say, self isolating and two nurses, you cannot really effectively run a gp practice. we have some examples where practices have to buddy with others,

patients need to be managed by other practices. it's having a huge impact and it is important that we see this testing widespread as of this moment now. a downing street source has confirmed that boris johnson's chief adviser, dominic cummings, is self—isolating at home after developing symptoms of covid—19. let's talk to norman smith. london, i suppose this is further evidence that this virus is hitting at the very heart of government?m really is, because we've seen the sort of top echelon of number ten, in effect, taken up by the virus. we saw borisjohnson in effect, taken up by the virus. we saw boris johnson on in effect, taken up by the virus. we saw borisjohnson on friday confirming he'd been tested positive for the virus, then matt hancock, the health secretary, then the chief medical officer chris whitty saying

he'd develop symptoms and were self isolating, and now dominic cummings, mrjohnson's key adviser, showing symptoms and suffice waiting at home, so really, the top echelon of people who are mentally coordinating and taking action against coronavirus one way 01’ and taking action against coronavirus one way or another, and taking action against coronavirus one way 01’ another, are coronavirus one way or another, are having to other self—isolate or take a backward step. it's not the end of the road, they can still communicate with each other, they can still video conference, the business of government goes on. but it does suggest how vulnerable they are in number ten, when you're in an old victorian building, small rooms, narrow staircases, walking past each other the whole time, passing documents, you can easily see how if you do not enforce a proper twin like me to distancing rule, then of course the virus is going to spread. —— proper two metre distancing rule. and i suspect in the early days perhaps people in number ten were not as vigilant as they should have beenin not as vigilant as they should have been in ensuring distancing, and as a result we have all these

infections and i guess the theory must be, others in number ten may now also come down with coronavirus. we are talking to you from home, your practising self distancing, but there has been talk of this lockdown, forward of a better phrase, carrying on for longer than was first suggested. what do we know? we know the sort of consensus of medical opinion is that the lockdown will probably last for three months, 12—13 weeks is what the experts are saying. however the deputy chief medical officer has now mooted the idea that actually, some sort of restrictions may have to be in place for longer, potentially for six months, though she did actually say it was possible it could be even longer than six months. and the reason is, frankly, we don't have a clear exit strategy from this virus. we don't know what happens when we started to lift the restrictions, and the thing is, as soon as you

start to list them, then the virus spreads again. so we are in unknown territory. —— as soon as you start to lift them. i think they're just being cautious about the possibility we might not be able to lift these restrictions very quickly. either way, the signs that this is going to bea way, the signs that this is going to be a long, long haul. absolutely, there also seems to be confusion about testing and how many people are being tested. how is that confusion come about? bluntly, because we had different figures emerging from different ministries this morning. so this morning, when health minster said only 7000 were tested at the weekend, which of course contrasted with what the health secretary a michael gove said at the weekend when they said well, 10,000 were tested. —— a health ministry said. there has been some confusion because only 7000 people we re confusion because only 7000 people were tested but 10,000 tests were carried out, because some people had

more than one test, i suppose if the swa b more than one test, i suppose if the swab isn't done properly and so on. so that seems to be the source of the confusion. at the end of the day it doesn't take away from the fact that we are still a long way off where we need to be in terms of testing, because i think there is a growing view expressed by the former health secretaryjeremy hunt over the weekend, that the best route out of this is extensive testing over the population, as carried out for example by south korea or taiwan, which has enabled authorities there to identify and isolate clusters of the virus and to allow normal life to pretty much carry on elsewhere. but as i say, we are testing maximum 10,000 at the moment, a country like germany is doing half a million in a week, and we really need to get that sort of level. 0k, we'll talk to you later, but good to see you. thanks for that. the uk's biggest regional airline, loganair, is planning to ask the

government for financial help. it says it will need to be bailed out. meanwhile easyjet has grounded its entire fleet because of the crisis. the company said in a statement that at this stage it couldn't be certain when it would re—sta rt commercial flights. meanwhile some cruise lines still seem meanwhile some cruise lines still seem to be operating and selling packages. let's talk to travel expert simon calder. let's start with the aviation industry, we know the aviation sector has been hard hit by this virus, easyjet has grounded its entire fleet. what has it that, exactly? basically, theyjust say that with nobody flying anywhere, with government restrictions making most flights impossible, they are simply grounding the fleet in order to save money. they crucially haven't said how long it is going to last but they have said that uk

cabinetry will be on the government'sjob retention cabinetry will be on the government's job retention scheme, getting 80% of their wages in april and may. —— uk cabin crew. crucially, hundreds of people have booked on easyjet in the last days and weeks have been in touch, there is no mechanism yet for them cancelling more than a week or two in advance, and anybody who decides that they are going to cancel their flight that they are going to cancel their flight will find that they get may be their taxes back and a letter for the travel insurer. you should do nothing at the moment if you're booked on ryanair until your flight is officially cancelled, at which point you can ask for a refund. having said that, your problems are only just having said that, your problems are onlyjust beginning because easyjet, along with british airways, have removed the easy online refund selection. it directs you to choosing a flight voucher instead. you can get through on the phone, i just been hanging on for 50 minutes,

and finally got through. but it's a difficult, difficult time, of course, for the airlines and we have just heard, for instance, the boss of aero new zealand saying that even when flights do start again, there's going to be an awful lot of difficulties from governments not wanting to have flights starting up too quickly, they say in a year from now, they'll be one third are smaller at the very best, and the same goes for other airlines. you mentioned loganair, chief executive basically says, any airline which says that doesn't need government support is fibbing, we all need cash in orderfor there to support is fibbing, we all need cash in order for there to be an airline industry when this awful crisis is finally over. and yet, and yet, simon, flights still seem to be operating on most of the main air routes. sites still arriving at heathrow from new york, for example, why is that? —— flights still arriving. a lot of people are confused about that, let's start

with what the who says, they say international flight bans are com pletely international flight bans are completely pointless once you have local transmission within a country. and so therefore, the fact that government say you're not flying in or out is not, they say, it's frankly futile and possibly damaging both socially and economically. clearly, aviation does present threats. aviation was the reason that this awful virus spread into europe in the first place, of course. but the main problems are at airports and in terms of social distancing there, it can be very difficult. but they have to be flights continuing, according to the main government, because you're going to need, first of all, people who desperately need to get home, lots of people coming into america, for instance, from various points in latin america or on cruise ships, they want to get back to the uk, there are still flights going across there are still flights going across the atlantic, and very simple

things. british airways operating four flights to and from belfast to london heathrow today because there will still be people who absolutely need to travel, which is why of course trains are running, buses are running on the london tube is running. so flights will continue, they won't be on easyjet, ryanair, they won't be on easyjet, ryanair, the other massive airlines have in the other massive airlines have in the uk, is running a skeleton service this week and it looks like 1995, with a few links across the irish sea and a few continental services, but that's all at the moment. but yes, flights definitely continuing. british airways still going to australia, they are stopping at singapore, nobody allowed on or off, theyjust refuel and carry on to sydney. meanwhile, simon, cruises are still being sold, certainly despite british foreign 0ffice advice against nonessential travel abroad, so how can that be?” can't see anything actually wrong with what one of the big uk cruise

lines is doing, however, i have bought for a departure on the 10th of april, flying to sydney, and then boarding the queen elizabeth, sailing round australia for 27 days. what could be nicer? well, that's irrelevant, because there is exactly no chance that that trip will be delivered. however, they are still selling it and the reason is, well, but all depends. in a statement they say, we are working around current restrictions airports around the world and also with guidelines from releva nt world and also with guidelines from relevant authorities and restrictions on travel by air, clearly there are restrictions on itineraries and we will be in touch shortly with guests booked on this voyage, that's from cunard. some gas in australia booked on it so that actually, the cruise lines are not cancelling voyages until the very last moment because they're hoping people will accept a future cruise credit which effectively keeps the

money locked up with the cruise line rather than getting a full refund which is what i'm very much hoping to get in the next couple of weeks. —— some guests in australia are saying. good to talk to you, thanks for your time. australia has unveiled an 80 billion dollar financial package to help the economy, which is undergoing its worst hit for three decades. it includes a job keeper subsidy to try and help businesses retain at least six millionjobs over the next six months of uncertainty. the new package is the latest in a series of huge announcements over the past week that will see the government invest heavily to support the unemployed and small business owners during the crisis. the number of coronavirus cases in the country have risen to four thousand and earlier on monday, prime minister scott morrison increased restrictions, banning public gatherings of more than two people. donald trump has announced that the restrictions imposed

in the united states to limit the spread of coronavirus will be extended until the end of april. the president had previously said he hoped america could re—open for business at easter. now mr trump says the country will be well on the way to recovering byjune the first. 0ur north america correspondent peter bowes reports. this is how america's normally bustling city centres look today. chicago, empty. philadelphia, deserted. and new york city, unusually quiet. everyone ordered to stay at home except essential workers like nurses. and this is how it's going to stay. no more talk of getting back to work by easter. now president trump says social distancing guidelines will be extended to the end of april to slow the spread of covid—19. the peak, the highest point, of death rates, remember this, is likely to hit in two weeks.

nothing would be worse than declaring victory before the victory is won, that would be the greatest loss of all. but many more americans are expected to die in the weeks ahead. dr anthony fauci, the head of the president's medical task force, says the disease could kill more than 100,000 people in the us. the idea we may have as many cases played a role in our decision to make sure we don't do something prematurely, and pull back when we should be pushing. the president's advisors say it could have been much worse, with up to two million americans at risk of dying if drastic measures hadn't been taken. if we could hold that down, as we're saying, to 100,000, it's a horrible number, maybe even less, but to 100,000, so we have between 100,000 and 200,000, we altogether have done a very good job.

new york is still the epicentre of the outbreak in the us where some health workers are saying there is a desperate shortage of medical supplies. president trump has accused hospitals of hoarding vital equipment such as ventilators, which he said should be released for wider use. peter bowes, bbc news. now a look at our headlines atjust after 11:30. a minute's silence is held in madrid for victims of coronavirus, as the country's death tolljumps to 7,340 — a rise of 812 in 2a hours. in the uk a breathing aid that can help keep coronavirus patients out of intensive care has been created in less than seven days, and if trials are sucessful, is expected to go into production next week. the british prime minister boris johnson announces 20,000 former nhs workers have returned to the health service to help with the crisis.

meanwhile, the british prime minister's chief adviser dominic cummings self isolates after developing coronavirus symptoms. president trump extends federal coronavirus restrictions to the end of april, as a leading government expert predicts 200,000 americans could die. more than 110 countries and territories around the world have now put in place widespread restrictions on the movement of their citizens. schools have closed and businesses have been forced to stop working. there are, though, still large differences in the approach that some countries have been taking. as jim reed reports. so, it's vital to slow the spread of the disease. stay at home. it will break the chain

of transmission, and it will save lives. a quarter of the world is now living under some form of lockdown. 3 billion people have been told to stay at home. in most of europe, day—to—day life has stopped. in the north of italy, hospitals are still struggling to cope. it's three weeks now since the start of the world's full national lockdown. the street is completely deserted. on a sunday afternoon, usually there would be certainly lots of people. translation: it's a special emergency situation. everyone of us has a responsibility to do our bit so we mustn't approach each other. in northern europe, similar measures are now in force. in the united kingdom, any social gathering is now banned. the public has been ordered to stay at home with only a few exceptions. so this is what a lockdown looks like in the south of london.

you are allowed to go out for essential needs, so i have been in the house for a couple of days now, about to go out to the big supermarket. they now restrict the number of people in the building at any one time so the queue to get in goes round there. and finishes there. there are differences, though. in sweden, schools, cafes and bars have stayed open, at least for the moment. in the united states, meanwhile, some individual states are moving faster than others. the sooner we get back to normal, the better, but obviously that's up to the experts. even the president has to listen to those people and hopefully he'll do that. new york state still makes up around half of all cases nationally. broadway theatres and schools have been shut, residents have been ordered to stay at home. in asia, 1.3 billion indians have been told to stay indoors for 21 days. the government is desperate to stop the virus spreading in its huge cities. translation: no one is helping us. people are scared to give us a ride

because of the virus. the police are also asking for our identity cards. in other countries, though, rigorous infection tracking has allowed life to go on. in singapore, the streets are busy and the shops open. it's closed its borders but there is no lockdown. here, a heat sensitive camera takes your temperature before you are allowed to enter an apartment building or restaurant. i have been very fortunate, we're living in a place like this. in this moment. because most of my friends and family members, they don't have the luxury to contemplate the idea of going out for a drink. in china, meanwhile, the number of new hospital infections in the city where the outbreak began has slowed to a trickle. and the residents of wuhan are now being allowed to walk the streets again. translation: for us, the news about lifting the lockdown is like the biggest recognition for us staying at home for more than two months. it's a positive sign,

a relaxation of restrictions in a world that elsewhere has been shutting itself down. there is a crisis emerging in french retirement homes, with double figure deaths reported in some homes, and more than 80 residents testing positive in one building alone. no nationalfigures for such fatalities are being made public, and they're not included in the daily briefing figures. relatives of those in care homes, who have been forbidden from visiting for more than a week now, say they aren't being told when a family member tests positive. lucy williamson reports. even when deaths are invisible, you can count the coffins. signs of a hidden crisis inside care homes across france. this home in paris has lost 16 residents to coronavirus — more than 80 more are infected. those delivering the coffins here told a waiting

journalist it was non—stop. 21 people have died at this home, but while hospital deaths are recorded in the daily toll of coronavirus, deaths in care homes are not. translation: there was a cluster of about 50 people with fever over five days, followed by symptoms of severe pneumonia, so we had to use oxygen. at the height of the pandemic, there must have been 25 or 30 patients on oxygen. so far, more than one third of care homes in the paris region are thought to have been affected by coronavirus. the government is launching an app to monitor these cases, and add them to the national totals, but france's most senior health official has said that numbers could spiral out of control. at the beginning of march, president macron visited a care home to talk about protection — no mask, no social distancing. a few days later, all visits to france's retirement homes were banned, and last week,

the government said all residents should be individually isolated in their rooms. but care workers say they are now the biggest risk to residents, and some homes were keeping masks in reserve for an outbreak and not giving them to staff. translation: as soon as the coronavirus enters a care home, it is all over, there is nothing we can do. since we do not have enough staff, it will be dramatic. there will be a huge number of deaths once it enters. space in in the paris region is now critically low, and there are shortages of some drugs. the health minister minister has said france will begin mass testing of its population and has ordered 1 billion facemasks to protect healthcare staff. but polls suggest that trust in the government has plummeted, even before the wave of this epidemic has peaked.

we've all seen the images of empty supermarket shelves and queues snaking outside supermarkets. demand for food has skyrocketed, and farmers are warning they're facing huge pressure to keep up. so how are producers coping behind the scenes? 0ur correspondent sian lloyd has been to meet those working hard to keep food in the shops. keeping livestock moving. markets like this play their part in the food supply chain, but it's not business as usual. restrictions have been introduced in line with government advice and have been further tightened since we filmed here. hello. access is controlled and farmers are being told to do things differently. they're very dyed in the wool traditionalists but we are asking them to drop the animals, leave them to us and go,

so that we are restricting the amount of people even more. we don't want to be locked down, that is the last thing. it's got to be kept going to keep the public basically fed. those working on the land are facing unprecedented demand. lambing has just begun on this farm with more newborns arriving every day. but the family business is also trying to keep up with a huge increase in demand for potatoes grown here. one of bill's concerns is how future crops will be harvested, and across the agricultural sector there are calls for british people to fill the gaps that will be left by seasonal workers from abroad to keep farming moving. those opportunities are evermore here. it's a bit like the war. the war, farming was kept going by young women, the land girls, and old men. and they kept producing food to keep our boys fed on the front. this site in hereford supplies poultry from its farms to large supermarket chains. the company produces 11.5 million chickens, turkeys and ducks a week.

they've been working with their customers to ensure supplies are held up. it was necessary for everybody to get together and say, how do we really be as efficient as we can, so we've worked very closely with our customers to say what we do we need to do quickly? we started making those changes three weeks ago, we're seeing those changes come through the system, and although clearly it's been difficult with the level of demand that retailers in particular have seen, there is plenty of supply coming through, the system is not any less supplied than it was. the current pressure on the supply of food is unparalleled, but the sector recognises there will be further challenges to come. sian lloyd, bbc news, hereford. across africa the coronavirus outbreak has brought many businesses to a halt, and affected communities. but not all industries are suffering. in kenya, sales of fresh fish in some areas have risen significantly over the past few

weeks — a much needed boost to an industry that had been struggling. ferdinand 0mondi reports on the situation in one community in western kenya. for local fishermen for localfishermen on for local fishermen on the shocks —— on the shores of lake pretoria, business is booming. sales of face have gone up by 40% injust business is booming. sales of face have gone up by 40% in just two weeks because of coronavirus. less faces being imported from china, the source of the outbreak, and people are nervous about buying chinese produce that it does arrive. both these factors have increased customer demand for fresh fish. the fishermen are really now smiling at the lake victoria region. we are receiving more visitors. we are really crowded with a lot of the residents coming to buy the fresh fish because people fear the chinese

face. before the coronavirus outbreak of the local fishermen were struggling to sell their catch. fish sold from the leg cost about twice as much as the fish from china. the much lower price because of the imported fish meant in most cases the local fishermen would end imported fish meant in most cases the localfishermen would end up eating their catch themselves, or sometimes give half of it away. now customers are willing to buy the face at any cost. with coronavirus, those people were selling china face at some disadvantage. but at the moment they are unable to do that. and i, as the person selling the la ke and i, as the person selling the lake fish, now i have the advantage to selfish at the price i want. can you imported more than $23 million of fish from china in 2018. those in the industry have long complained the industry have long complained

the cheap imports were harming local trade. chinese fish usually made up about 80% of the local market but this has now fallen. but the high local prices are making it difficult for some business people to make a decent profit. translation: we see when the chinese boxed fish arrives here. we don't get it cheaply. and when it is not there we get fish from the lake only. but it is very expensive. that is why we want the chinese fish as well as that from our own leg. so we don't feel the burden. well as that from our own leg. so we don't feelthe burden. chinese well as that from our own leg. so we don't feel the burden. chinese face hasn't been imported since november. there are fears the local fishermen will be able to keep up with the demand forfresh will be able to keep up with the demand for fresh fish. but for the moment they are making the most of the resurgent trade. the headlines on bbc news: a minute's silence is held in madrid for the victims of coronavirus, as the country's death tolljumps to 7,340 —

a rise of 812 in 2a hours. in the uk, a breathing aid that can help keep patients out of intensive care has been created in just a few days by engineers, clinicians and mercedes formula one. president trump extends federal coronavirus restrictions to the end of april, as a leading government expert predicts 200 thousand americans could die. president trump has said the united states will not foot the bill for prince harry and meghan's security, amid reports the pair have moved to the us from canada. mr trump tweeted he was "a great friend and admirer of the queen and the united kingdom", but added: "they must pay!" the couple responded saying they had no plans to ask for publicly funded security in the us.

it is of course a worrying and challenging time for people around the world as coronavirus continues to spread. but there have been reasons to find hope. today, bbc news is sharing stories of how people are helping and looking out for each other. meanwhile, bbc local radio continues it's make a difference campaign, highlighting how local communities are pulling together. if you head to the bbc news website, you can follow some of those stories on a special live page. jennifer meierhans is a journalist for the bbc website who's reporting for that live page. shejoins me now from shrewsbury. good to talk to you. i wonder what kind of response have you been having? we have been having a really great response. it has been really heartening to see the lovely things people are doing for one another on across the country, across the world

really. we have got the make a difference campaign on radio, so people are phoning all of our local radio stations to highlight some of the great things that people are doing to pull together. and on the live stream today we have got all sorts, lots of acts of kindness, just reminding us of the things we have to smile about really. so tell us have to smile about really. so tell us about some of them? tell us some of the stories or things to make us smile? we have had a lovely story from stevenage, a couple who were due to get married on saturday but u nfortu nately due to get married on saturday but unfortunately they have had to postpone their wedding. however, they decided to donate their wedding ca ke to they decided to donate their wedding cake to the local hospital and the staff have been enjoying a beautiful three tier cake to help them through the tough days they are facing. that isa the tough days they are facing. that is a lovely story. i'm not sure if i am lowering the tone or not, but people have been singing in

lavatories as well. tell us about that? yes, they have. this is a story from one of the stars of this country, encouraging people to send in videos of themselves singing in the loo to cheer each other up and raise spirits. and there is someone else who viral dj remix video has gone viral? what is that about? yes, you have may have seen this across social media, and tick—tock, on instagram, there is a young lady who has done a bit of a viral remix of the bbc news theme tune. pop that on the bbc news theme tune. pop that on the livestream and you can have a look. we have spoken to the man who composed the theme tune in the first place to see what he thinks. that is quite a place to see what he thinks. that is quiteafun place to see what he thinks. that is quite a fun video to check out. and what did he say? he said he was really pleasantly surprised. that when he was composing it he had no idea that this would be happening. 0k. head to the website if you want

to see that. it's great fun. what about local landmarks? are they running challenges? are they posting stories as well? well, some of the local landmarks have actually turned blue to support our nhs front line workers. there is a lovely picture gallery of how they have turned blue. also, the london landmarks race, which has been postponed, some people have been running about on their own because they have raised money for charity and they want to get out there. they want to do it anyway. 0k, jennifer. this might be anyway. 0k, jennifer. this might be a good time to pause our conversation because you indeed are opposed. thank you so much for joining us. it was good to talk to you. thank you.

you can listen to make a difference at quarter past ten quarter to the air every day. much more online. and the address online is bbc dot co dot uk. it is worth checking out. with everyone over 70 advised to stay indoors, coronavirus has meant a huge change in lifestyle for older people. among them is 94—year—old d—day veteran and fundraiser extraordinaire harry billinge. earlier this month he received an mbe for the tens of thousands of pounds he's raised for a memorial to the british veterans who died in normandy. tim muffett's been in touch to see how he's getting on. d—day veteran harry billinge, mbe, has faced formidable enemies before. at 94 years old he's at home in cornwall, keeping coronavirus at bay. hey, harry, how are you doing? i'm feeling very, very well indeed. and i don't take any chances,

i've been sitting in my armchair, i got the fire on and some light reading, i got a lovely hot bed with a blanket to get into, so i'm very comfortable and very grateful to everybody that's been very kind to me. normally, you are out fundraising. how hard are you finding it having to stay indoors? it's been very difficult because i felt a bit guilty. i ought to be out and about. that's about £35 there, harry. the other day i was very good at giving orders, when i was in the army i was also very good at obeying orders. idon't mind. my mind is free, i can be anywhere. you've faced many enemies in your time. how do you rate coronavirus as an enemy? when there's evil, it's a very good thing to draw people together to realise we don't live just for ourselves, but for other people, and that's what i've

tried to do all my life. kids 8—years—old, 12—years—old, going out... if you're in isolation and want help, we'll fetch them. shopping or do anything for you. so everybody‘s marvellous, really, people are rallying around. it's like the war years, everybody mucked in, which is great. i know everyone on breakfast and all our viewers want to wish you all the very best. have you got a message for them? don't get dragged down, just keep going. remember the good days. remember, you've got a lot to be thankful for. you know, you won't get worried about living with yourself in your own home. if you can't live with yourself, you can't live with anybody. harry, thanks so much for talking to us. from all of us on breakfast, and i know, from all our viewers as well, the very best wishes and stay well. all the people from the bbc have been very kind to me personally, and i'd like to say a big thank you.

thank you very much indeed. thank you. and thank you now to harry billinge, talking to tim muffett. now time for something uplifting? and it involves lifting weights and lifting spirits. in germany the lockdown measures have been extended to at least april 20 but one young man is making the most out of the glum situation. freya cole explains. he lunges and stretches on the street below. even when it's snowing. you don't need any special

equipment for this gym class. the main idea is to keep active and happy while living in self isolation. translation: i saw a one party on a balcony and i thought, why wouldn't they do sport? if you start the day with music, exercise and a good mood, changes the atmosphere in the whole street. the message simple, 30 minutes a day will help keep spirits high ata minutes a day will help keep spirits high at a time when it is easy to feel down. movie together as a community to help pass the time. ijust want i just want to bring you ijust want to bring you an extra line about the figures in spain. we know that the country's death toll rose by 812 in 24 hours. well, more than 12,000 health workers have tested positive for coronavirus in

spain. now that was announced today by the deputy health emergency chief ata by the deputy health emergency chief at a news conference. and that is equivalent to around 40% of the country's confirmed cases. you are watching bbc news. hello again. this week is looking fairly cloudy for many. some exceptions as we go through the week. and today, compared to yesterday, certainly is not as windy. there still is a wind around and if you are exposed to it it will feel cold. we have also got scattered showers. you can see in the scatter light —— satellite picture, the wind has subtly changed direction because the high pressure has moved. instead of coming straight down from the arctic as it did at the weekend, it is coming from the atlantic. a lot of cloud. some holes in the cloud. a little bit of brightness, some sunshine. we do have a fair few showers. they will continue through the afternoon. something getting to the west. these

early temperatures. eight to ten, maybe 11 degrees. temporary touch by the wind. as we had on through the evening and overnight the wind continues to ease. there still will bea continues to ease. there still will be a lot of cloud. still some showers as well. we have got the brea ks we showers as well. we have got the breaks we are not anticipating any issues with frost. if you find some pockets in sheltered areas, but for most too much cloud or too breezy. tomorrow it is spot the difference. 0nce tomorrow it is spot the difference. once again we are looking at a fair bit of cloud. still some showers. perhaps some brighter breaks. a bit more sunshine. the best of which will be across the southeast upington. you will hang onto it for the longest. temperature wise, because it is not as windy, it will not feel as cold. we are looking at eight to 11 degrees. still below par for the last day in march. as we move from tuesday into wednesday, we still have high pressure in charge. then we start to see a difference in the sense that we have got a weather front coming our way. on wednesday that will introduce some rain to the

far north of scotland. we start on a cloudy note. some breaks. we will see some sunshine. here comes the weather front introducing the rain in the far north. it will turn that bit windier. across the northern isles, for example. temperatures up to 11 degrees. 11 degrees along the east coast. we have not seen that for a wee while. 0n east coast. we have not seen that for a wee while. on thursday the weather front sinks south. behind it, cold air. the showers on the tops of the hills and mountains increasingly turning wintry. it will be windy. i have that weather front, some brighter breaks. a lot of cloud.

this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. a minute's silence is held in madrid for the victims of coronavirus as spain's death tolljumps to 7,340 — a rise of 812 in 24 hours. the uk government insists it's stepping up the testing of nhs workers in england, after calls from doctors' leaders for it to be increased. we do need this extended to all staff and certainly in a general practice at the moment, we are still waiting for testing. so i have lots of doctors contacting the everyday saying that they want to get back to work. a breathing aid that can help keep coronavirus patients out

of intensive care has been created in less than seven days by a team in the uk — if trials are sucessful it's expected to go into production next week. meanwhile, the british prime minister's chief adviser dominic cummings self isolates after developing coronavirus symptoms. president trump extends federal coronavirus restrictions, to the end of april as a leading government expert predicts 200 thousand americans could die. australia tightens its grip in a bid to reduce the spread of the virus — the government limits social gatherings to just two people, down from 10 and in other news, president trump says the us will not foot the bill for prince harry and meghan's security amid reports the couple have moved to california. 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 number of coronavirus cases in spain has surpassed that recorded in china since the start of the pandemic. more than 85,000 cases have now been detected there. in the past 24 hours, the number of people who have died from the virus has risen by more than eight hundred — and it now stands at over 7000 people. in the past hour, a minutes silence has been held for the victims in madrid. today, spain's two—week lockdown has been extended to cope with the spread of the virus — all nonessential workers must stay at home for a further 11 days. elsewhere in the world, australia has unveiled an 80 billion

us dollar package to help boost the economy. it includes a subsidy to help businesses retain six millionjobs over the next six months. the number of cases in australia has risen by a quarter over the past two days. in the us, president trump has extended virus restrictions until the end of april. he'd previously said he hoped america could re—open for business at easter. 143,000 people in the us have now been infected. and japan has reported a surge in confirmed coronavirus cases, amid fears that a lack of widespread testing has allowed the virus to spread undetected. tokyo has recorded its highest number of new daily cases, with 68. our first report, following that big increase in the number of deaths in spain, is from our reporter there tanya dendrinos. a lifeline in the midst

of chaos — a military plane full of medical supplies arriving in madrid from the czech republic. and with a bump of elbows, a small glimmer the nation has not yet lost hope. the contents couldn't be more precious. 10,000 items of protective equipment for health workers after the government's request for medical aid from nato allies. and time is of the essence. more than 80,000 people have now been infected with covid—19 in spain, forcing a further tightening of the country's lockdown restrictions. non—essential workers — these are, for instance, construction workers, postal workers, people working on production lines which 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. the streets are empty, but it's a stark contrast to the hospitals and morgues struggling to cope under the weight of the crisis. 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's a shortage of testing kits. and that's an issue being raised the world over. tanya dendrinos, bbc news. and as the confirmed cases and death toll countinue to rise rapidly, spain has entered a period of mourning. across the country, people paused for a minute silence at midday on monday and will continue to do so daily to remember the now more than 7,000 people that have died

in the outbreak. flags are also flying at half mast as a sign of respect. in the uk, a breathing aid that can help keep coronavirus patients out of intensive care has been created in just a few days. the device, which has been developed in collaboration with the mercedes formula one team, delivers oxygen to the lungs without the need for a ventilator. here's our medical correspondent fergus walsh. it's a small device that could make a big difference. known as continuous positive airway pressure, or cpap, it pushes oxygen into the lungs, keeping them open, making it easier to breathe. they're already used in the nhs, but are in short supply, so a team modified and improved an existing design in less than a week which has now been approved for use by health regulators.

normally medical device development would take years and in this instance we've been able to do it in days because we've cleverly thought about how we can go back to existing devices and models, reverse engineer them and then engage with our industry partners to manufacture them at scale. this demonstration was done at university college london hospital, which is now using the device to treat covid—19 patients. i sincerely think it may actually save many lives by preventing patients from needing to go onto a ventilator and again saving that vital resource for the very, very severely ill. every second counts in motor racing. here, mercedes formula 1 partnered with doctors and healthca re engineers on a medical device that could be mass produced. this is a great example of how the nhs, universities and industry are working together at extraordinary pace to meet the challenge posed by coronavirus.

if the trials of this device go well, then mercedes formula 1 says it can produce up to 1,000 of these a day. in italy, around half of covid—19 patients given cpap have avoided the need for intensive care, and unlike mechanical ventilators, there's no need for them to be sedated. fergus walsh, bbc news. in england, frontline hospital staff are starting to be tested to see whether they have coronavirus. previously, only seriously ill patients were being screened, leading to criticism from nhs staff that they were being left unprotected. from today, critical care doctors and nurses in england will be checked if they show symptoms or live with people who do. tests for a&e staff, paramedics, gps and social care staff are expected to follow. frontline staff in scotland

and wales are already being screened, while in northern ireland testing also begins today. dr chaand nagpaul is the chair of the council of the british medical association and he said testing should be extended to all health care staff. he told us that lack of testing meant that some health care staff who might be not be ill were not able to come into work. 0n the 16th of march, over two weeks ago, we heard that the government was ramping up testing and prioritising health care workers, the prime minister announced that. two weeks on, we're just now starting testing. in those two weeks, we have recognised just how much the nhs has suffered in terms of staff shortages. i haven't got an explanation for government but what i would say is it's really important not to delay this any further, and make sure that this testing is available to all health care staff, certainly, as i said earlier, whilst it is being focused at the moment, i understand

while why we are focused on critical care staff, we need this extended to all staff. in general practice at the moment we are still waiting for testing. lots of doctors contact me every day saying they want to get back to work. it is affecting the service because their gp practices are small units, and if you have two doctors, say, self isolating and two nurses, you cannot really effectively run a gp practice. we have some examples where practices have to buddy with others, patients need to be managed by other practices. it's having a huge impact and it is important that we see this testing widespread as of this moment now. the price of crude oil has fallen very sharply once again as traders continue to adjust to a large decline in demand for transport fuel due to the new coronavirus. 0ur economics correspondent,

andy verity is following the story for us. why such a plunge exactly no, andy? it's the old—fashioned law of supply and demand, really. demand has dropped off a cliff. when a quarter of the world'spopulation are on a global economic shutdown, obviously fewer people are driving, fewer planes are going off, much less demand for oil. we already had at the beginning of this month, in march, before the shutdown really hit, a price war going on between the 0pec countries and russia. now, saudi arabia, for example, did try to agree with russia that they would have a cut in production, the idea is that if demand is for loan, you cut production, too, so that the two matchup and price doesn't follow too much. —— if demand is falling. we have seen a drop, to an incredibly

low level, the lowest since 2002, an 18 year low. and that means oil production is now an economic, it's not worthwhile, the cost of getting the oil out of the ground, if no one is going to buy the oil and turning it into petrol. at the moment they don't have to, the petrol is there, so refiners are slowing down. a lot of oil production sites are becoming noneconomic, particularly shale. what will be the wider impact, and how long do you think it will continue? on one level, it's one small bonus, if you're doing one of those essential trips, you may find inafew those essential trips, you may find in a few days or weeks that it's much cheaper to fill up at the pumps, though do be careful, i would recommend wearing surgical gloves when you feel about those pumps. it's the sort of thing where you don't wipe them down properly. that could be one silver lining in all this getting economic gloom. the other thing that may happen is that oil companies may start to pay

people to take the barrels of oil of them, in other words, the price could for them effectively go negative. i'll explain why that happens. the price of shutting down a certain production sites, particularly onshore production sites, shale oil etc, is bigger than the cost comedy hits to your bottom line you would take from giving away the oil. —— the cost comedy hit. so they may actually pay people to take away the oil so they don't have to immediately shut down their oil production. we are in the biggest economic shop of our lifetimes and above all that means a massively reduced demand for oil and petrol, with by the way, some benefit for the environment. absolutely. it's to talk to you. and a helpful reminder there to wipe down pumps at petrol stations. thanks for that, it's good to talk to you. dozens of easyj et dozens of easyjet and virgin

atla ntic staff dozens of easyjet and virgin atlantic staff have been invited to volunteer at the new nightingale staff set up —— nightingale hospital in london. they would be changing beds, and other nonclinical tasks and helping doctors and nurses working on the words. eric corresponded is that the nhs nightingale hospital. when is it going to open? they have been busy all weekend getting the set up, they are building a hospital in a matter of days, it's a big job, it's going to be opened possibly as soon as wednesday. initially it will open with 500 beds equipped with ventilators and oxygen, that could expand potentially to 4000. just a few days ago, there wasn't much infrastructure here. we've been pushed back over the past few days, you can see the ambulances and whatnot behind me, we've got the army inside helping out, but we

think as soon as wednesday. that's interesting. and tell us a little bit more about volunteers who are being encouraged to offer their services to help there? we've got the news today that easyjet was grounding all of its planes, many of its staff, of course, not working already. easyjet has written to 9000 of its staff including 4000 cabin crew, asking for people with first aid training, cpr training, to come forward to volunteer to help out in the centre behind me. we've also got similar facilities the centre behind me. we've also got similarfacilities being the centre behind me. we've also got similar facilities being set up the centre behind me. we've also got similarfacilities being set up in manchester, birmingham, in wales, in scotland, and also virgin atlantic, whose staff are facing similar problems, not working at the moment, they, too, have been asked to volunteer. and we understand that if they do, the airlines will continue to pay their salaries. but to talk

to pay their salaries. but to talk to you —— it's good to talk to you. the headlines on bbc news... a minute's silence is held in madrid for the victims of coronavirus — as spain's death tolljumps to 7,340 — a rise of 812 in 24 hours. the uk government insists it's stepping up the testing of nhs workers in england, after calls from doctors' leaders for it to be increased. president trump extends federal coronavirus restrictions, to the end of april as a leading government expert predicts 200,000 americans could die. let's stay with the us. donald trump has announced that the restrictions imposed there to limit the spread of coronavirus will be extended until the end of april. the president had previously said he hoped america could re—open for business at easter. now mr trump says the country will be well on the way

to recovering byjune the first. 0ur north america correspondent peter bowes reports. this is how america's normally bustling city centres look today. chicago, empty. philadelphia, deserted. and new york city, unusually quiet. everyone ordered to stay at home except essential workers like nurses. and this is how it's going to stay. no more talk of getting back to work by easter. now president trump says social distancing guidelines will be extended to the end of april to slow the spread of covid—19. the peak, the highest point, of death rates, remember this, is likely to hit in two weeks. nothing would be worse than declaring victory before the victory is won, that would be the greatest loss of all. but many more americans are expected to die in the weeks ahead. dr anthony fauci, the head

of the president's medical task force, says the disease could kill more than 100,000 people in the us. the idea we may have as many cases played a role in our decision to make sure we don't do something prematurely, and pull back when we should be pushing. the president's advisors say it could have been much worse, with up to two million americans at risk of dying if drastic measures hadn't been taken. if we could hold that down, as we're saying, to 100,000, it's a horrible number, maybe even less, but to 100,000, so we have between 100,000 and 200,000, we altogether have done a very good job. new york is still the epicentre of the outbreak in the us where some health workers are saying there is a desperate shortage of medical supplies. president trump has accused hospitals of hoarding vital equipment such as ventilators, which he said should be released for wider use.

peter bowes, bbc news. a downing street source has confirmed that borisjohnson's chief advisor, dominic cummings, is self—isolating at home after developing symptoms of covid—19. last week, the prime minister confirmed he had tested positive. 0ur assistant political editor, norman smith, described what impact this will have on the government response. we've seen the sort of top echelon of number ten, in effect, taken out by the virus. we saw borisjohnson on friday confirming he'd been tested positive for coronavirus, then matt hancock, the health secretary, then the chief medical officer chris whitty saying he'd developed symptoms and was self isolating, and now dominic cummings, mrjohnson's key adviser, showing symptoms and self—isolating at home, so really, the sort of top echelon of people who are mentally coordinating and taking action against coronavirus,

one way or another, are having to either self—isolate or take a backward step. it's not the end of the road, because they can still communicate with each other, they can still video conference, the business of government goes on. but it does suggest how vulnerable they are in number ten, when you're in an old victorian building, small rooms, narrow staircases, walking past each other the whole time, passing documents, you can easily see how if you do not enforce a proper two metre distancing rule, then of course the virus is going to spread. and i suspect in the early days, perhaps people in number ten were not as vigilant as they should have been in ensuring self—distancing, and as a result we have all these infections and i guess the fear must be, others in number ten may now also come down with coronavirus. we are talking to you from home, you're practising self distancing, but there has been talk of this lockdown, as we know it, for want of a better phrase,

carrying on perhaps for longer than was first suggested. what do we know? we know the sort of consensus of medical opinion is that the lockdown will probably last for three months, 12—13 weeks is what the experts are saying. however, drjenny harries, the deputy chief medical officer has now mooted the idea that actually, some sort of restrictions may have to be in place for longer, potentially for six months, though she did actually say it was plausible it could be even longer than six months. and the reason is, frankly, we don't have a clear exit strategy from this virus. we don't know what happens when we start to lift the restrictions, and the fear is, as soon as you start to lift them, then the virus spreads again. so we are in unknown territory here. i think dr harries isjust being cautious about the possibility we might not be able to lift these restrictions very quickly. either way, all the signs are this

is going to be a long, long haul. absolutely. there also seems to be confusion about testing and how many people are being tested. how has that confusion come about? bluntly, because we had different figures emerging from different ministers this morning. so this morning, one health minister said only 7000 were tested at the weekend, which of course contrasted with what the health secretary and michael gove said at the weekend when they said well, 10,000 were tested. it seems the confusion has been caused because, yes, only 7000 people were tested but 10,000 tests were carried out, because some people had more than one test, i suppose if the swab isn't done properly and so on. so that seems to be the source of the confusion. at the end of the day, it doesn't take away from the fact that we are still a long way off where we need to be in terms of testing, because i think there is a growing view,

expressed by the former health secretaryjeremy hunt over the weekend, that the best route out of this is extensive testing of the population, as carried out for example in south korea or taiwan, which has enabled authorities there to identify and isolate clusters of the virus and to allow normal life to pretty much carry on elsewhere. but as i say, we are testing maximum 10,000 at the moment, a country like germany is doing half a million in a week, and we really need to get that sort of level. in the uk, the national union of students is calling on the government to protect students trapped in contracts where they're spending thousands on accommodation which they are no longer using. the nus say some students are even being financially penalised for breaking their contracts, while others who can't return home face eviction. let's talk now to eva crossanjory, the vice—president for welfare

in the national union of students. we are grateful for your time, thanks forjoining us. tell us a little bit more about the problem, first of all. hi, thanks for having me. so some of the issues that we are facing at the moment is obviously at universities, the majority of them have gone online, soa majority of them have gone online, so a lot of students are no longer in the student accommodation and are still being charged rent for it. so we know there has been a couple of insta nces we know there has been a couple of instances where kind of student holes have let people out of their contracts without having to pay a fine but we know that's not the majority of students at the moment, especially students renting in the private sector are currently having to pay rent on houses they can't even go to it and can't stay in because university is closed and we are obviously on lockdown. presumably there is, especially in private accommodation, had paid for a year's rental private accommodation, had paid for a yea r‘s rental accommodation private accommodation, had paid for a year's rental accommodation in advance? i think we've seen a lot of

stu d e nts advance? i think we've seen a lot of students paying rent in advance but also students have put down deposits on houses for next year and currently we don't know, if come june, students will be able to move into their houses for a second or third year or anything like that. how widespread is this problem? about 20% of students live in the student holes and there are millions of stu d e nts student holes and there are millions of students across the country who are unsure of whether or not they will be going back to university. —— 20% live in student halls. many may be living at home are unable to get back to halls. it also it is important to point out not all stu d e nts important to point out not all students have alternative accommodation to go to come so we are calling on universities to make sure that students can stay beyond their contracts if they need to at no extra cost. so that they help you wa nt no extra cost. so that they help you want from universities and private landlords, presumably. but you're also calling on help from the government, am i right? yes, so obviously we know that not all

providers have cancelled halls fees yet, so we would be calling on all providers to ban evictions, to hold rents for anybody who has been affected by the coronavirus, including students, because obviously the current student loan system doesn't really cover rent for most students and with jobs in the greek economy not existing at the moment, students haven't got much money. —— in the gig economy. we would be calling on things like universal basic income to ensure that students aren't hard to hit, because it is important to recognise university hasn't just stopped, because it is important to recognise university hasn'tjust stopped, we got students who are handing in deadlines, working on dissertations right now, amidst all of this, and it's really important they get the support they need. thanks for talking to us. thank you. we've all seen the images from many countries of gaps on supermarket shelves and queues. farmers in the uk are facing huge

pressure to keep up with demand. let's talk to a pig farmer in lincolnshire. we can see you, i hope you can hear me. we've all seen the empty supermarket shelves, what kind of extra pressure are you facing? the pressure on us is more about deliveries of crucial things like diesel, where delivery firms have less staff and so the lead time is a lot longer. we are very busy at the moment, planting spring crops, so the question is, will be run out of diesel before our next supply? so it's more a problem about that than actually producing enough food to feed the population? producing the fit is no problem, it's a very long game in arable farming. for instance we have nearly half of our 2019 harvest now in the sheds behind me. so there is no danger of us running

out of that type of food. 0n the pig front, yes, we do have to hurry some up front, yes, we do have to hurry some upfor front, yes, we do have to hurry some up for morrisons last week, but they managed to fill that gap that they had. so things are on their normal schedule again now. if we continue in this lockdown for want of a better phrase for many more months to come, have you got any slack in your system to produce more food if it was needed? i do take your point about delivering it, but in terms of producing it? in terms of producing, we always try and produce the maximum that we can, and there isn't really a way of improving that, it's more about helping out our neighbours if they have any staff shortages, that kind of thing, just to make sure all the land is in use. james, has the government restrictions and rules on social distancing had any impact on the way

in which you work, or are you rather solitary in your farming? we are... we are quite a solitary community. we are quite a solitary community. we are quite a solitary community. we arejust being we are quite a solitary community. we are just being sensible about keeping our distance from the sea visitors we get, and amongst the staff. —— the few visitors we get. we are also disinfecting tractor steering wheels, etc, just to make sure we are safe. just a final thought, effort it was interesting what you said about diesel the difficulties of getting food to people, how much are farmers liaising, perhaps, to help each other? i wonder if there are combined efforts that could help the problem? we might be inclined to lend each other diesel. the farming community always looks after its neighbours in good times and bad, so yes, we will do whatever we can. james, good luck and good to talk to you, thanks for your time. thank you very much.

now a look at our latest headlines: a minute's silence is held in madrid for victims of coronavirus, as spain's death tolljumps to 7,340 — a rise of 812 in 24 hours. the uk government insists it's stepping up the testing of nhs workers in england, after calls from doctors' leaders for it to be increased. we do need this extended to all staff and certainly in general practice at the moment we are still waiting for testing. i've got lots of doctors contacting me every day saying they want to get back to work. a breathing aid that can help keep coronavirus patients out of intensive care has been created in less than seven days by a team in the uk, and if trials are successful is expected to go into production next week. president trump extends federal coronavirus restrictions to the end of april, as a leading government expert predicts 200,000

americans could die. let's take you straight to cardiff now, where the first minister of wales mark drakeford is holding a news conference on the lastest situation there. we are looking at pictures. we are expecting the first minister of wales to hold a news conference on the latest situation. let's listen at the start of a new working week i just wanted to reflect on the enormous challenges which coronavirus has posed to every one of us here in wales. in the space of a very few weeks the lives of all welsh citizens changed dramatically.

schools and businesses have closed, most of us are working at home, or staying at home, and outside, our roads, streets and parks are quiet ina way roads, streets and parks are quiet in a way that we would never normally expect or recognise. i want to begin by thanking everyone here in wales for the help and patience that people have shown as we have all had to get used to the new strict rules that have been introduced, and all of which are designed to slow the spread of the virus and in that way to save lives. these are rules that will help to protect our nhs so that it is there when it is most needed. and will mean that more people at the end of this will be alive than otherwise would have been. and across wales the response has been amazing.

enormous numbers of people coming forward to offer help in getting us through the difficult days ahead. and as well as thanking them i want of course to thank all of those who work in health and social services for the hard work which they do in what are very challenging and difficult circumstances. we ask a lot of those people who work in that pa rt lot of those people who work in that part of the public service and we know that we will be asking even more of them in the days and weeks ahead. he speaks in welsh. the pace at which the coronavirus pandemic is affecting our economy is

extraordinary. and now more than ever government needs to do everything we can to support businesses here in wales. that is why throughout last week my cabinet collea g u es why throughout last week my cabinet colleagues and i worked to re—prioritise the work. we have done that to free up as much funding as possible to make sure welsh public services and welsh businesses have all the support that we can offer them. and the result of that re—privatisation exercise is that we have a £1.1 billion fighting fund to respond to those specific welsh needs. and today i'm able to announce that we have created a £500 million economy crisis fund to provide extra support for businesses, charities and social enterprises in wales. this fund will

help businesses to survive the coronavirus challenge, so that they are ready when we come out of the other side of this, to go on providing jobs and futures here in wales. and this help is over and above the support schemes already announced by the chancellor of the exchequer. the fund will help those firms who are having to go into hibernation or those firms which need cash flow support to adapt to new ways of working during the pandemic. there are two main elements to the fund. first of all, the development bank for wales will have an injection of £100 million. and that will be available to companies experiencing cash flow problems as a result of the pandemic. it will provide loans of

between 5000 and £250,000 at a minimal level of interest. that fund is already up and working through to the development bank avoids and we will be taking applications during this week. then there is a £400 million emergency pot. that will provide £10,000 in grants for micro—businesses, with up to nine employees. these are businesses which would eligible for the business grants we announced on march the 18th, and this will be new money available to that sector of the welsh economy. then that £400 million will support grants of up to £100,000 for a small and medium sized firms of between ten and 250

employees, and thirdly, they will be support from that fund for larger wells headquartered companies which are of critical social xxx economic importance to wales. it is a criteria lead fund. businesses will have to apply for it, they will have to meet a criteria and support, through those three other elements of the fund, will come on stream during april. we will leave the first minister of wales there, mark mark drakeford. announcing 1.1 billion pounds fighting fund to respond to the needs of wales. he said he created a £500 million economy crisis fund to provide extra support for businesses and charities in wales over and above the schemes already announced by the government. ijust

above the schemes already announced by the government. i just want to bring you a couple of lines that are breaking here at the bbc. one is about prince charles. prince charles, we understand, is now out of self isolation. he spent seven days, you may remember, in self isolation. this was following those government guidelines. that was after experiencing symptoms of coronavirus. but now clarence house has said that prince charles is out of isolation. i also want to bring you some other news about the government. just bear with me. my computer has just decided to take a bit of a break. i can repeat that news though that prince charles is out of self isolation and in good health. that is according to his spokesman. 0ther health. that is according to his spokesman. other news i had hoped to bring you about another government

minister who has been experiencing coronavirus symptoms. sorry, my computer has chosen this moment to seize up. let's cross to scotland and nicola sturgeon. i want to provide you with a further update on scotland's response to the covid—19 epidemic. firstly, i can confirm that as of nine o'clock this morning, there have been 1563 positive cases confirmed, which is an increase of 179 from yesterday. as always, we are very clear that these numbers will be an underestimate. a total of 180 people last night were in intensive care in scotland, with confirmed or suspected cases of covid—19, an increase of 13 on yesterday. and it is with sadness that i can report there have been a further six deaths of patients who had tested positive for covid—19. that takes the total number of deaths in scotland to 47.

againi number of deaths in scotland to 47. again i want to extend my condolences to all of those who are bereaved and say once again how grateful i am to everyone working in our health and care sector. your dedication and commitment is appreciated, not just by dedication and commitment is appreciated, notjust by me but by eve ryo ne a cross appreciated, notjust by me but by everyone across the country. this afternoon i want to update you on three steps in particular that we are taking to increase the capacity of the nhs during this emergency period. before i do that, however, it is worth repeating the key central message that helping the national health service is right now a job for each and every one of us by staying at home, by staying apart from each other, we are all doing are bid to slow the spread of the virus, to help the nhs and ultimately to save lives. it is vital that everyone continues to do that. however, the scottish government is also taking steps to prepare the nhs for the incredibly difficult weeks that lie ahead. the cabinet secretary will provide more detail on some of these in a moment, but i want to update you on three

measures in particular. the first relates to hospital capacity, the number of beds that we have available in scotland. and i can confirm today that following exploratory work over last week and the weekend, we have now taken the decision to start work on turning the scottish exhibition centre in glasgow into a temporary nhs hospital. if needed, we expect the hospital. if needed, we expect the hospital could become operational within a fortnight from now. initially it will provide us with 3oo initially it will provide us with 300 additional beds. but ultimately it could have capacity for more than iooo it could have capacity for more than 1000 patients. it is important to be clear that we might not need to use the exhibition centre. there are currently approximately 13,000 beds in nhs hospitals across scotland. using those, nhs boards are working to ensure at least 3000 beds are available for covid—19 patients

within our existing hospital network. the nhs is also working now to quadruple intensive care unit capacity to 700. and we expect those steps, along with the continued public response to our stay—at—home advice, will be enough to ensure we have the beds that we need. but my judgment is that it makes sense for us to act now, to increase hospital capacity further. preparing the scottish exhibition centre as a hospital is the best option for doing that. the cabinet secretary will say if it more about this in a moment. but i want to stress that this will mean nhs hospital staff and operated by the national health service. the second matter i want to highlight relates to how we prioritise nhs services during the emergency period. we have already required to take some extremely difficult decisions. for example, we have had to suspend elective surgeries such as knee and hip

replacements to create more capacity within our hospitals for covid—19. i can inform you today that we have now also taken the very difficult decision to suspend several nhs screening programmes, including our programmes for breast screening, cervical screening and bowel screening. that decision has been made on the basis of clinical advice from the chief medical officer and a recommendation from nhs national services scotland. as you can imagine, this is not a decision that we have taken lightly. however, it is important in order to maximise the ability of the nhs to cope over the ability of the nhs to cope over the coming weeks. the chief medical 0fficer the coming weeks. the chief medical officer will say more about this in a moment and further information will be available from today on the nhs inform website. it is not an easy decision. i want to repeat that. the balance of risk supports the approach that we are taking. it is, however, worth stressing that if you detect any symptoms of the

condition two we would normally scream four, if you notice a lump in your breast, for example, you should contact your gp immediately. we will restart the screening programme is as soon as we can. this is a temporary suspension and it will be reviewed after 12 weeks or earlier if evidence suggests restarting the programme is feasible. however, at this moment posing these programmes is important, allowing the nhs to deal effectively with the impact of covid—19. the final measure i want to talk about today before handing over to the chief medical officer and the cabinet secretary relates to recruitment. as part of our wider campaign to attract volunteers, we are encouraging medical students and retired health and care professionals to apply for posts working on the nhs and the social ca re working on the nhs and the social care sector. we will need more people not simply to cope with the direct consequences of covid—19, but to keep other services going at the same time. we established a new web

portalfor same time. we established a new web portal for recruitment on saturday evening. in total, and this includes earlier expressions of interest, i can tell you that around 5000 stu d e nts can tell you that around 5000 students orformer can tell you that around 5000 students or former health care workers have expressed an interest in filling posts. they were considered according to their experience. and the sort of work they were able to do. our expectation is that many of them will be offered fixed term employment. i want to thank sincerely everyone who has already replied. it will make an important difference to the capacity of our health care services at this time. we will continue to welcome further applications. anybody who is interested can find further information through the ready scotla nd information through the ready scotland website. the response we have had to that call for applications is indicative, i think ofa applications is indicative, i think of a wider point. many people across scotla nd of a wider point. many people across scotland are responding to this difficult period by showing a sense of community and solidarity. i've already mentioned of the scotland

ca res already mentioned of the scotland cares campaign, as well as enabling medical students and former nhs staff to help, it encourages people also to help their communities. i can confirm that in just four hours this morning, since we formally launched the scotland cares campaign, we have had 10,000 people registering their interest in volunteering through one of the key strands. former nhs workers, the community reserve network coordinated by the red cross, and expressions of interest for volunteering through existing organisations through volunteering scotland. i want to thank each and every person who has registered an interest. if there are those out there who wish to do so, the ready scotla nd there who wish to do so, the ready scotland website is the way to go. i can also confirm that at the end of the first weekend of the lockdown measures being in operation, police scotla nd measures being in operation, police scotland have indicated that they have served just 25 fixed penalty notices for breaching regulations. i

think those figures do say something quite important and profound. they give us an indication, as i always expect it would be the case, that the vast majority of people are doing the right thing to protect themselves and to protect the wider community. people are staying at home except for the very specific purposes such as exercise or buying essential supplies. that needs to continue for a good while longer. and i know that will be easy for people. but it is vital. by staying at home we can all help to slow the spread of this virus. we will all help the national health service to cope and we will ultimately save lives. so thank you to everyone across the country who is helping us with those objectives. i am now going to hand over to the chief medical officer to say a few words, including a few more words about the pause in our screening programmes. then i will pass to the health secretary. thank you, first

minister. once again the figures for people affected by coronavirus have risen in scotland. this is a significant underestimate of the numbers of people who have coronavirus. again, to emphasise those social distancing measures, and only leaving the house for essential food shopping or perhaps to attend a hospital appointment. exercising once a day and only doing that within your own household. —— household group. the first minister has said that from this morning we are pausing the screening programmes in scotland. i'm afraid this was another very difficult decision that we have had to take. it was taken with very careful thought and deliberation. it is a balance of risks that we believe is worth taking. our main concern was that people would miss their screening appointments, perhaps

because they were not able to attend the appointment, they might have been self isolating, or because they we re been self isolating, or because they were choosing not to attend in order not to come into contact with people. imposing the appointments people. imposing the appointments people will be able to re—contact those people who were due to be screened during this three month period, and then invite them to attend, so they will not have missed an important part of their health care. we were also concerned that because of staff absences we would because of staff absences we would be offering a slightly reduced service, and that again posed some risks for people who were wanting to attend but we couldn't provide the service. the mobile breast screening vans around scotland were also not going to be available to be used, is of course this carries a risk with it of transmitting the coronavirus. and it goes against our own advice about staying close to home. we will

be able to re—purpose the staff currently running these screening programmes, in particular to the staff in our laboratories, who can be repurposed to working in our laboratories with coronavirus. and helping that a vital increase in the capacity for testing for coronavirus that we need. we also are very aware that we need. we also are very aware that there are some risks. we would be asking people to travel to attend screening. they will be coming into close contact with others. and on this balance of risk, a pose to the screening programme this balance of risk, a pose to the screening programme we this balance of risk, a pose to the screening programme we feel is the best for the health of the scottish population. we recognise people will have many detailed questions. the nhs inform website has a large range of answers for people. we have also set upa of answers for people. we have also set up a dedicated helpline for people to call specifically with screening queries. the staff there

have been trained already and are available on that helpline number for people to phone them and get the spoken advice —— bespoke advice about their own situation. finally, i would like to emphasise that people should really watch out for these symptoms that we would be screening for. if people have symptoms, again, there is a detailed list on our website. please attend yourgp. or list on our website. please attend your gp. or phone the nhs. you can discuss whether these symptoms are significant. and of course we will see covid—19 symptoms within the nhs as soon as see covid—19 symptoms within the nhs as soon as possible. i would just read the different screening programmes that are posed. breast screening, mammograms. cervical screening, mammograms. cervical screening, smear screening, mammograms. cervical screening, smear tests, bowel screening, smear tests, bowel screening, the whole testing kits. abdominal aortic screening, which is

an ultrasound of the abdomen in men. and a diabetic screening, the images that are taken of the eye with people who have diabetes. it is important to say that pregnancy and newborn screening will continue as is planned at the moment. those programmes are unchanged. pregnant women and newborn babies will continue to be screened going into the future. there is no change to that. thank you. cabinet secretary. thank you very much, first minister. we all know the steps that we need to take to ensure that our nhs in scotland can't cope with the additional demands that will be placed on it as a result of covid—19. the first of thoseis a result of covid—19. the first of those is what we all can do. and thatis those is what we all can do. and that is abiding by those measures of staying at home, social distancing that the first minister and cmo have

outlined. secondly, by maximising the capacity of our existing nhs estate to cope with additional demand. that is ensuring we have those 3000 beds set aside for covid—19 patients, doubling our icu capacity, both of which have now been achieved. we have quadrupled our icu capacity. the third step is to maximise the capacity we have to treat patients beyond our existing nhs estate. that is why we have taken the decision to establish that temporary hospital at the sec in glasgow. it has been assessed as the best option given its accessibility, its close proximity to hospitals in the west of scotland. its security and its established infrastructure and its established infrastructure and transport links. it is important to emphasise this will be a hospital staffed by the nhs with full

clinical and medical infection control standards. joe young, the former chief executive of the golden due hospital at clydebank, has been appointed chief executive of this temporary hospital. and as the first ministersaid, temporary hospital. and as the first minister said, the first tranche of around 300 beds will be in place in the next fortnight. we have the potential to raise that beyond 1000. we have engaged with the army in planning this project and in the support work that they can offer us to get the facility up and running. lam very to get the facility up and running. i am very grateful to them for all the help they have given us so far. and will continue to give us. army staff are also working with us. we are going to leave that very comprehensive news conference there in scotland, in which the first minister of scotland, nicola sturgeon, announced there have been six more deaths they are, bringing the total number of deaths in the

wa ke the total number of deaths in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak in scotla nd wake of the coronavirus outbreak in scotland to 47. she also announced the scottish exhibition centre in glasgow is going to be turned into a temporary nhs hospital, which could eventually have a capacity for a thousand patients. she also announced the decision to temporarily suspend breast screening, cervical screening and bowel screening, to maximise the ability of the nhs to cope. some other news coming into us here at the bbc. the afp news agency is reporting that the post—bound olympics in tokyo will now open on july the 3rd, 2021. we are also hearing that the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu is self isolating after a parliamentary aide tested positive for coronavirus. in the uk we understand that the foreign office minister nigel adams

developed coronavirus symptoms while answering questions in the house of commons alongside the foreign secretary, dominic rab. those are the latest lines. you are watching bbc news. hello there. with apriljust around the corner it is a month often characterised by many april showers. we have got that actually today. you can see they —— by this picture sent in, the view captures this rainbow quite beautifully. most of the showers have been in northern scotla nd showers have been in northern scotland and spilling on off north sea coast. affecting most of eastern england. they are filtering for the west. still under the influence of high pressure we had at the weekend. the winds not quite as strong as the weekend. they are still coming from a ghoulish source. they are driving those showers in off the north sea coasts. for the remainder of the afternoon plenty of clout. sunny spells will be fairly limited. and

will continue to see some showers filtering further westwards. the winds are not as strong as yesterday, but still coming from a north to north westerly direction. not a particularly warm feeling. maximum temperature is nine to 11 degrees. overnight the winds will fall lighter still. the showers will ease. we will get clearer skies. particularly in the south—east of england. temperatures likely to fall away to low single figures for a time. cloud in the far north of scotland. a few isolated showers. high pressure continues to drift its way slowly west. the isobars will open up. lighter winds perhaps for tuesday. although temperatures will not alter that much, it may feel better. for many it is still a case of lot of cloud around through the day. early morning sunshine will

massed over. temperatures similar values, nine to 11 degrees. as we move out of tuesday into wednesday we will start to see a subtle change with this weather front putting into the far north—west. the winds will strengthen. gale force gusts in scotland. that will introduce colder airto the scotland. that will introduce colder air to the north. the wind direction turning to more of a northerly. relatively mild across southern england for a time. as we go through the week it is a subtle change. some showers at times and often quite cloudy. that's it. take care.

the government insists it's ramping up testing for nhs workers — amid confusion on the number carried out so far. doctors' leaders continue to warn the shortage of tests has caused serious problems for the health service. we do need this extended to all staff, and certainly, in general practice at the moment, we're still waiting for testing. so i've got lots of doctors in contact with me every day, saying that they want to get back to work. and some of the other developments in the coronavirus crisis this lunchtime... formula one developers join scientists to develop new breathing equipment which can help keep patients out of intensive care. i sincerely think it may actually save many lives by preventing patients from needing to go on to a ventilator, and, again, saving that vital resource for the very,