this is bbc news, with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. i'm sally bundock. virus deaths in the united states pass 3,000 and the country now has more cases than any other. this is our shared patriotic duty. challenging times are ahead for the next 30 days, and this is a very vital 30 days. in the uk, there are signs that social distancing is working, but also calls for the police to be more consistent. syria reports its first virus deaths. aid workers fear a disaster is about to unfold. the pandemic has brought out selfishness, but also kindness, around the world. we'll talk to a psychologist about why.

hello and welcome to audiences in the uk and around the world. we start in the us, where the death toll has passed 3,000 and there's over 163,000 confirmed cases — the highest in the world. the grim news emerged after new york governor andrew cuomo warned the rest of america could face what new york is currently experiencing. meanwhile, president trump said the next 30 days could be crucial and praised the efforts of american companies to produce more much needed equipment, like masks and ventilators. peter bowes reports. a symbol of wartime and a morale booster for a symbol of wartime and a morale boosterfor new a symbol of wartime and a morale booster for new york, this military medical ship

docked in the manhattan will provide relief to the city's hospitals overwhelmed by covid—19. the us navy ship, comfort, it will be used by non— coronavirus patients, while shorebased hospitals focus on the pandemic. health workers in the city say they're still desperate for outside help, rubbing this appeal by the state's governor. i am asking healthcare officials across the country, if you don't have a healthcare crisis in your community, please come help us in new york now. we need relief. we need relief for nurses who are working 12 hour shifts one after the other after the other, we need relief for doctors, we need relief for attendance. so if you are not busy, come help us, please. and we will return the favour. with

more and more states ordering people to stay at home, americans are buckling down for at least another month of the economic shutdown and social distancing. 30 days that president trump says will be vital. by very vigorously following these guidelines we could save more than i following these guidelines we could save more thani million american lives. think of that. 1 american lives. think of that. i million american lives. our future is in our own hands and the choices and sacrifices we make will determine the fate of this virus and, really, the fate of our victory. we will have a great victory. we have no other choice. mr trump said progress was being made with the number of americans tested for the coronavirus. today we reached an historic milestone on our war reached an historic milestone on ourwaragainst reached an historic milestone on our war against the coronavirus. 0ver i on our war against the coronavirus. 0veri million americans have now been tested. more than any other country, by far. not even close. but

president trump's numbers have been widely questioned, with the us well behind italy and south korea in the number of people tested. peter bowes, bbc news. here in the uk, the government's chief scientific advisor says people are heeding advice to stay at home to keep pressure off the national health service and that there are early signs that it is working. police officers have been told to take a consistent approach in enforcing measures to restrict people's travel and activities outside the home. it comes after criticism some police forces were being too "heavy handed". 0ur reporter keith doyle has more. you shouldn't be driving ella. in weston—super—mare, police are reminding people of the rules about only undertaking essential travel. just come out walking the dog? right, 0k. the only thing we will say is please read the government guide is on essential travel. the guidelines so you should ta ke the guidelines so you should take exercise near your home.

have you driven here? derbyshire police were criticised for heavy—handed tactics after using drones to show people driving to remote areas for exercise. leaving notes on part cars were other tactics that police used to discourage people travelling. now the national police chiefs council has reminded forces of the guidelines and that enforcement should be a last resort. we're not going to enforce our way out of this problem. we will get out of this problem because people wa nt to this problem because people want to solve the problem and we will get out of it because we've got the public at our size they will lead us through it. people queueing outside this pharmacy are keeping two metres apart. the uk's chief scientific advisor said that social distancing measures are making a difference, with cases not rising as fast as feared. the latest figures from public health england are 22,141 cases in the uk, with 1408 deaths and

180 of them in the last 24 hours. the numbers being admitted to hospital are expected to rise over the coming weeks, with more and more cases the british medical association, which represents doctors, says they're still facing a fatal shortage of personal protection equipment, despite government assurances. the bma is urging the government to make it clear what start —— frontline staff should do if they don't have the necessary protection. we have been hearing reports from doctors across many parts of the nation telling us that they don't have those supplies, they're worried about how they can look after patients when they're not protected. and, so, clearly, these supplies have not found themselves to be on the front line. these are some of the hundreds of britons who have been flown home from peru after the government chartered flights. the foreign secretary, dominic raab, has announced a

75 million pound plan to bring home tens of thousands of british nationals. the government advises get home on a commercial flight if there government advises get home on a commercialflight if there is one, if there isn't, then embassies will advertise government charters to help bring those stranded back to the uk. now let's take a look at the latest on how the coronavirus outbreak is affecting parts of europe. there's been a sharp fall in new cases in italy, the country worst affected by the pandemic. officials say it's evidence the country is heading in the right direction. but the death rate remains high. and there's been a sharp increase in the number of patients dying in france. rich preston has this report. it's been three weeks since italy's government shut the country down, ordering everyone to stay at home. on monday, officials said the virus had killed another 812 people in a single day stop italy's total number of modalities is over

11,500 people, the highest in the world. but potential light at the end of the tunnel stop while many are still dying, officials say the rate of infection is down bit by bit, day by day. the hope, that italy is over the peak. spain says it is also seeing a slowing of infection rates stop there were around 6500 confirmed cases on monday, but that's the lowest number of new cases for a week. spain is the second most affected country in the world, with more than 7000 deaths. the number of fatalities in france is creeping up. it is now past 3000, with 418 deaths in 124—hour period. the highest number of deaths in one day since the virus first hit the country, but there's a catch, france's official figures only includes those who die in hospital, not at home or in ca re hospital, not at home or in care facilities. germany has taken a rigourous approach to testing, aiming to test half a million people a week,

including chancellor angela merkel, who has now been checked three times after coming into contact with a doctor who had coronavirus. the czech republic is also seeing a rise in the number of cases, with at least 25 deaths so far. a state of emergency is in place after the country passed 45 deaths. parliament are due to vote in the coming days to extending the state of emergency until may. and in hungary, the right—wing government of prime minister viktor 0rban has gained sweeping new emergency powers, allowing the government to rule by decree. the government says it needs the powers to be able to put measures in place to tackle the virus. critics say it threatens democracy. rich preston, bbc news. let's look at the impact of the pandemic in some other parts of the world. two new cases of coronavirus have been reported in the volatile south kivu region of the democratic republic of congo. an advisor to the nation's president has tested positive. there'll be a total lockdown beginning today across the country.

mexico has issued stricter rules aimed at containing coronavirus after its number of cases surged past 1,000 and the death toll rose sharply. the new measures include a reduction of the number of people who can gather to 50 and an extension of a previously announced suspension of non—essential activities. new zealand is extending the state of national emergency for a further seven days to try and stop the spread of the coronavirus. the initial declaration took place last week and it can be extended as many times as necessary. the country is also in a four—week lockdown. south korea's new school year will begin online next week after a series of delays due to the pandemic. the school year was postponed by five weeks and an aggressive testing procedure appears to have managed the outbreak within the country.

the world health organization has now confirmed two deaths in syria. earlier the health ministry confirmed a woman died from the coronavirus disease on sunday after being taken to hospital, but didn't specify the location. several other people have tested positive but medics suspect there are many more. zaher sahloul is a critical care specialist at christ advocate medical center in chicago, and also the president of the humanitarian organisation medglobal. he has recently returned from idlib and gave us a sense of the situation there. two months ago there was a huge displacement of population in idlib, about 950,000 people, civilians, who were displaced because of the bombing by the assad regime and the russians, which also targeted 67 hospitals that were bombed and went out of service. so in idlib province you have 3.5 million people, half of them are displaced, 1.2 million of them live in tents, in camps, and only 40

hospitals remain in service. there's only 95 ventilators for the whole province of idlib. actually, my hospital here in chicago has double than number of ventilators than the whole province of idlib that is serving 3.5 million. the situation could be catastrophic. that's really stark, isn't it, the way you put that —— it's impossible for people who live in camps to have access to even soap and water to wash their hands. social distancing is impossible when you are living in a tent and you have 15 members of your family in the same tent. if you got sick, if, god forbid, and we have coronavirus in idlib, so far there are no reported cases, although there are rumours that there are some, if the coronavirus is spreading to idlib it would be beyond catastrophe. as i mentioned, there's enough icus. most people do not have access to healthca re and many of the hospitals have been bombed and destroyed. you already have a shortage of physicians and nurses

to start with in that area of the world, which is completely locked from the rest of the world. there is no testing in idlib, so all of these patients who are suspected, the samples are sent to turkey. luckily, so far, there's no confirmed cases, but that doesn't mean there's no cases. in the rest of syria we have ten confirmed cases and two deaths. the problem in syria is the government, the syrian regime, was too late in doing any meaningful guidelines or enforcement of social distancing and disinfection and so forth, they allowed many people from the rest of the world, especially from iran, to come to syria, there are many iranian fighters in syria and there are also religious terrorists who came from iran who came to syria in the few weeks before this crisis, which makes me think, and many people think, that there are thousands of cases in syria that are not declared. and this is also not unique to the syrian regime. they have always had this

policy of lack of transparency and hiding things. healthcare workers across the world are becoming overwhelmed as they continue battling covid—19. there was already a global shortage of around 6 million nurses before this pandemic started. now the international council of nurses, which represents 20 million of them around the world, has told the bbc their members are facing unprecedented physical and psychological challenges. 0ur global health correspondent tulip mazumdar reports. the women and the men on the frontline of this global battle. all over the world they are putting their lives at risk to protect owls. china was the first country to face the full force of covid—19 —— ours.

south korea followed soon after, health workers have been sending us videos from their clinics from all over the world. translation: when caring for patients we must wear full body protection, two layers of overshoes, gloves, masks, and goggles. in five minutes the whole body is arranged in sweat. it becomes hard to care for patients. the us is the latest country to be hit hard by this pandemic, with more cases now than anywhere else in the world. europe has been at the world. europe has been at the epicentre of this outbreak for more than two weeks now. here in eastern france at the military have set up makeshift critical care facilities. the italian health system is overwhelmed. patients now being admitted into massive tents. translation: we are at war with a totally invisible enemy. we are fighting for everyone and trying not to get hurt ourselves. we feel like we are the spearhead in this battle.

0ur the spearhead in this battle. our efforts are not awarded with a positive outcome sometimes. another issue is the connection with the family member. the contact is made by phone and often we receive a call asking for updates. they never can see their relatives and we can hear the voices on the other side of the phone. all this is the world faces a chronic shortage of crucial personal protective equipment for health workers. the world health organization estimates that globally the response requires around 89 million medical masks and 76 million gloves each month. as always, nurses are stepping up, they are saving lives, but they are putting themselves, often sacrificing themselves, ahead of other people. that is not possible to continue in the long—term. and if we don't properly look after our health

workforce, our if we exhaust them ifear is workforce, our if we exhaust them i fear is that this will make the virus worse. there is no global tally of the number of infected healthcare workers stopping china, the government says more than 3000 have been infected and at least 22 medics have died. spanish officials say around 13% of those infected are healthcare workers, which would mean more than 10,000 have caught the virus there. in italy, the infection rate is at around 9%. the death toll among doctors stands at around 61. no—one can predict how long this pandemic will last. but it's the efforts of healthcare workers all around the world that all of us are relying on. it's really painstaking and energy consuming work, but every day we are hoping for people's recovery stop following in the footsteps of florence nightingale, we will fulfil our mission.

tulip mazumdar, bbc news. now, amidst the fear and anxiety, closing borders, and lines at the supermarket, the covid—19 pandemic has also seen some of the best of humanity on show. whether it's the tireless effort of frontline medical staff, volunteers trying to support the isolated, orjust people on social media trying to bring a bit ofjoy into the rest of our days, countless people have used the current crisis as an opportunity to show some kindness. to take a closer look at this phenomenon, we can get the thoughts of jamil zaki, associate professor of psychology at stanford university. thank you for being on the programme. so, why are we seeing an epidemic of kindness do you think at this time? well, first of all, we are seeing that epidemic and if you are depressed, scrolling through twitter, you can look at#

through twitter, you can look at # covert kindness, to see callous examples of this epidemic of kindness all around the world. while we seeing it? well, i think it is not unique to this tragedy. after disasters throughout history, turns out people poor out of their homes to help another. they see what they have in common at a deeper level than they typically do. so, boundaries between people seem to disappear at these times. he is what we're seeing in terms of efforts to help want but why don't we see this, you know, sticking around as it were, after these massive events that cause destruction and trauma for people? disasters tends to be really short. earthquakes lasts just a few minutes, hurricane ‘s, several hours. some terrorist attacks, just a few seconds. so we have this moment of deep mutual aid and to givenness and that moment fades along with the memory of

the disaster. 0ne fades along with the memory of the disaster. one interesting thing about the coronavirus crisis is that it is a slow disaster that we are all dealing with and will continue to deal with for quite a long time. and that of course is tragic but also provides an opportunity to turn some of the moments of kindness we are experiencing to longer—term habits. i do believe that after this huge event, there is going to be so much analysis on the impact it has had on all of us in terms of our mental health, physical, et cetera, and society. do you think one of the last outcomes might be more community because we are having to connect with want another in a way that we haven't done before? i hope it would be. i think there is an analogy here to the personal experience of trauma. when people experience trauma, as you might know, they often have symptoms of post—traumatic stress disorder or ptsd, for years afterwards. there is a lesser—known but very common phenomenon on there is a lesser—known but very common phenomenon on own as post—traumatic growth. after near death experiences, people

seem to be more connected to each other, they seem to be, more spiritual. they have a greater sense of purpose. i think what we're going through now is a global, collective trauma. and again, discuss of it will be on us for a long time but i do think there are opportunities for us to also grow through it especially if we are intentional about what we are intentional about what we learn. and also examples of good events that cause us to be closer and more aware of what another? i'm thinking here in london, the 2012 olympics. thousands and thousands volunteer to many talked about how it brought us all together asa how it brought us all together as a nation. there was a very positive vibe. i mean, that was a very big event, a positive event, that seemed to change a nation for a period of time. yes, actually wrote book about events and experiences that make us grow kinder and wonder class of events that i like that of those that make us more

aware of our common identity. and events that make us more aware of our common identity can be positive and an achievement that you as a group ora achievement that you as a group or a nation get through together. but they can also be negative. trauma is that you go through together, common enemies that you fight. all these experiences, positive and negative have an opportunity to bring us together if we pay attention. just quickly, why does kindness make you feel better? what is the biology or psychology of it? just briefly, i know that is a answer but if you could do it quickly. yes, when we do for others, we aptly benefit ourselves in ways that makes our happiness increase andi makes our happiness increase and i stress decrease. we find control in an otherwise helpless world and i think that is what a lot of us need right now. you did that so briefly and quickly for us. thank you so much and good to talk to you. and you've been in touch on this subject as i did a tweet about this earlier and

was of you have been adding. what if you say is, it has been a short lived fad and people will soon be back to their selfish and squandering ways. we have another viewer, angela thompson, who is in touch regularly. she talks about how her and her neighbour are helping a later two lady suffering from mental health issues at the moment which have escalated with the self isolation situation. good to hear from you and look forward to more comments. in recent weeks, travel restrictions and border closures have in europe have led to queues of lorries and many people stuck at border crossings. 0ur europe correspondent gavin lee has travelled through four eu countries to get a sense of the impact lockdown has had across the continent. is this the end of schengen? most of europe is in lockdown and we been driving for two

hours and the roads are almost empty. what we want to know is, can you still get across from one european country to another? this is the belgian border with luxembourg and that over there is an old border post that hasn't been used for 25 years because now we have the schengen zone which is a passport, borderless area between 26 countries. suddenly, because of the coronavirus, it's put a strain on all about. -- all it's put a strain on all about. —— all of that.

so crossing from luxembourg into germany now and were about to cross a border checkpoints stop no, no, no. they don't like us filming. every second. thank you. we've just passed from germany into france, no sexier. ——no checks here. we can see, from a close, coronavirus has ended border crossing for the time. eu says this is temporary and exception are lorries because they allow the fast travel of food and essentials around the continent. i'll be backin around the continent. i'll be back ina around the continent. i'll be back in a moment with all the latest business stories, including, yes, some good news.

economic news out of china. more details injust a moment. hello. in more ways than one, a lot has changed over the last week, none more so than in the weather, where we saw on tuesday last week the feel of late spring in the north coast of wales — 19 celsius, 63 fahrenheit achieved. a week later, well, we're lucky if we reach nine celsius in the same spot, even with some sunshine continuing. that colder theme continues through this coming 24 hours, but a little less chilly. high pressure's moved further west so the winds more westerly than northern, and notice the gaps in the isobars, starting to widen, indicating it won't be as windy as it has been. that said, a noticeable north—westerly breeze in parts of northern scotland bringing a few rain showers through the day. one or two rain showers in northern ireland and northern england but many will stay dry. a bit of sunshine coming and going through the day, the best of which will be in southern counties of england, east anglia and the channel islands. sunnier than in recent days,

and the breeze won't be as strong as it has been, it will probably feel that little bit less chilly. elsewhere, light winds, and that will continue through tuesday night into wednesday away from the far north of scotland. cloud amounts often large through the night. a few showers in the north and west again. where you see any cloud breaks, a bit of frost around, the greatest chance in clear skies in southern counties of england. this is where it'll be frostiest to begin wednesday morning. so, a chilly start here. that ridge of high pressure just in, but changes through the day in the north. the isobars tightening up again, coming closer, breeze picking up and that weather front set to bring some more significant rain — 0rkney and shetland in the morning, and then through the day, the northern half of scotland. away from that, a few showers, plenty of cloud around for the vast majority, and the sunshine will come out later in the north of scotland. while we could see temperatures peaking at ten, it will drop because cold air is on its way. this quite significant area of low pressure pushes from iceland towards norway, introducing gales quite widely across the northern half of scotland, if not severe gales, and a shot of cold air to see the week out,

pushing its way southwards. so, for thursday, cloudy to begin with in the south. a few more showers pushing through the day. brightening up in the north but showers turn wintry, sleet and snow quite abundantly, and temperatures in lower single figures. whereas we've still got temperatures potentially around 12 or 13 in the south—east corner. but the cold snap, thursday into friday, is short—lived. just notice by saturday and the weekend, milder air returns from the south.

this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. china catches investors off guard, after official data shows the country's economy expanded in march. a stark warning from the fed, which estimates as many as 47 million americanjobs could be lost due to the coronavirus pandemic. and oil prices continue to slide — falling to their lowest level in almost two decades.

so let's now focus on some big stories. some big economic news coming out of china, which appears to show the world's second biggest economy is getting back on track. official data from the chinese government showed the country's manufacturing sector surprisingly expanded last month. the official reading for march was 52 — anything above 50 is expansion — and was much higher than the 45 analysts were expecting. let's not forget in february, china's manufacturing sector recorded its lowest level in history. that reading was only 35. i'm nowjoined by aneeka gupta, who's the director of research at wisdomtree. good to see you, aneeka. just

tell us about this data out of china today. why do you think they saw a jump in march with yellow a very good morning to you. you are right, the numbers have really exceeded expectations. in one of the reasons is we have been tracking a data. the high—frequency data is suggesting gradual recovery within the economy, we have started to see the opening up ofa number of started to see the opening up of a number of schools, a number of, you know, the key economic area. factories are reopening, we are seeing core consumption at 80% of normal level. all of this suggests the numbers would be quite strong, given we did dip to the lowest level on record in the january and february date. so while i was really surprised, the fact that we have seen such a strong jump, we have been expecting levels at around 45. just how

reliable is this information? that is the best we ask when news comes out of china, economic data such as this, what can we see this is the real picture? i think for us the important thing, and we have all —— have always looked at the numbers with a sceptical eye, the important thing is, despite the fact we have got a big, what we look at now going forward. the important thing forward. the important thing for china is internal demand will start to catch up. what are they going to do about the lost external demand for the next 2— three months? and to plug that and to address that concern we will have to see more monetary and fiscal stimulus coming by the people's bank of china. all right, aneeka, thank you so much. aneeka, thank you so much. aneeka gupta, director of research at wisdomtree. that is the latest news from china in terms of how the manufacturing sector has bounced back in march. staying with china, the world bank has just

released some economic forecasts for the world's second biggest economy. let's hear what they've got to say. i think ithink in i think in china ourforecast suggests that the growth from around 6.1% last year might decline to 2.3% in the baseline scenario, and there might be actually no growth at all, marginal growth. i should say that just as there was marginal growth. i should say thatjust as there was a precipitous decline in economic ebony in china in the aftermath of when the pandemic struck, it has seen recovery. large enterprises, 70% of them have started production again. but we are optimistic that if china can we are optimistic that if china ca n fully we are optimistic that if china can fully contain the virus that china might be able to revive growth later this year and that could be good for the region. a gloomy outlook there from the

world bank, with growth in china going from more than 6% last year to possibly just over 296 last year to possibly just over 2% this year. this is how markets are faring. markets in asia were lifted by the news from china we havejust discussed. you can see japan down by nearly 0.5%. partly boosted by the night before on wall street, monday we saw a 3% rise in the us. this on the back of the unprecedented government spending coming from the white house and all the central bank action globally. let's look at the next board. the price of oil is falling dramatically. we haven't got another board, i havejust dramatically. we haven't got another board, i have just been told. so we won't. we will talk about the price of oil in more detail later in this programme. let's now turn to the us, where the country's central bank has issued a stark warning for the american economy. they estimate as many as 47 million jobs could be lost due to the coronavirus outbreak over the next three months.

0ur north american business correspondent samira hussain has the details. economists at the federal reserve have set up to 47 million americans may lose theirjobs. that would catapult theirjobs. that would catapult the country's unemployment rate to 32% stop a staggering figure, especially when you consider that just last figure, especially when you consider thatjust last month the unemployment rate in this country was 3.5%. now, that house prediction, though, was not reflected on us financial markets on monday, which ended the day about 3% higher. it was likely reacting to the 2—$.2 trillion stimulus package that was passed on friday that gave wall street some confidence, but the rally may not last —— 2-$.2 but the rally may not last —— 2—$.2 trillion. last week more than 3 million americans filed

for unemployment insurance. 0n friday we will get the latest jobs report. this is backwards looking. we will look at the job losses for the month of march, where only just job losses for the month of march, where onlyjust a bit of the economic impact of the coronavirus was showing. a lot of what is going on is fuelled by energy, the energy markets. there has been a massively volatile rise for the price of oil in just the past 24 hours alone. —— ride. after they fell sharply on monday to their lowest level in 18 years. crude prices have fallen by 50% over the past month — a bitter dispute over production levels between russia and saudi arabia is one of the key reasons why. 0ur middle east business correspondent — sameer hashmi has more from dubai. 0il oil prices remain under pressure and analysts say the situation will not change much in the coming days. there are two reasons for this, the

obvious reason is the coronavirus outbreak, but the bigger problem right now is this oil price war between saudi arabia and russia, with both sides refusing to back off. the united states has been trying to convince saudi arabia to cut production, but so far they have failed. in fact, on monday saudi arabia announced it would be exporting 10.6 million barrels of oil per day, which means more oil supply in the market putting more pressure on oil prices. in fa ct, a nalysts pressure on oil prices. in fact, analysts are saying oil prices could touch $10, which was unimaginable until a few weeks ago. this is also having a significant impact on oil producers across the globe, especially african oil producers like algeria, nigeria, ecuador in south america, andy iraq over here. gulf countries like saudi arabia and qatar are in a better position to absorb the pressure because of their strong balance sheets, but smaller reducers like 0man strong balance sheets, but smaller reducers like oman and bahrain will have to look at ways to manage their budget

targets. russia is also showing signs of resisting this pressure, at least in the coming months. at the united states is really feeling the heat, because the shale gas industry over there is the price to be between $48 and $54 to break even. and that's why the united states is trying to convince the saudis to make these production cuts so that oil prices stabilise, but so far there are no signs of them achieving that. let's get some of the day's other news. american airlines has confirmed it will apply for $12 billion of financial support from the us government because of the coronavirus. the carrier hopes to use the funds to ensure no involuntary layoffs or pay cuts take place over next six months. however, the airline did say early retirement options would be offered to staff. amazon's workers in the us are threatening strike action unless they receive more protection from the virus. they received support from us senators, who have written to amazon bossjeff bezos to express concerns. the online retail giant responded by saying it had made some changes, including increased cleaning

of its buildings. ford says it will produce 50,000 ventilators over the next 100 days. the car giant will produce the units at a plant in michigan in conjunction with general electric‘s healthcare unit. the design has already been cleared by us regulator the food and drug administration. ford hopes to ramp up production to 30,000 per month to help patients suffering from coronavirus. millions of plants, shrubs, trees, and bedding plants are likely to be binned in the coming days and weeks meaning ruin for uk growers. while producers of agricultural food are working at full tilt to provide supplies of fresh produce, the closure of 2,000 garden centres and nurseries mean makers of what's termed "ornamental horticulture" have no outlet for their perishable plants. more from our business editor simonjack.

across the uk there is a growing crisis in the horticultural industry. with garden centres close, growth of trees, shrubs, and bedding pla nts trees, shrubs, and bedding plants are facing financial ruin. this year, our best crop ever has got nowhere to go. neil runs a nursery in north wales, one of thousands of nurseries which are bursting with spring stock. we have order cancellations coming from everywhere. basically the whole retail supply chain has stopped for us. this week alone we have had a downturn in the region of £100,000 of orders. gardening industry body say the situation is critical. we're about anything between £500 and £1 billion worth of stock being wasted and that has the capability, in terms of balance sheet and asset value, wiping out a huge chunk of the sector. so we need immediate government insistence —— systems in the order of 250 million if the sector is to survive. this crisis comes at a time when the

industry ‘s most vulnerable, the beginning of the peak of the beginning of the peak of the march— july gardening season. for those people lucky enough to have their own garden, is a boon at a time like this, it is good for their physical and mental well—being. those people who hope britain will be back in bloom come to like me bigas ofjointed. it is not just many trees like me bigas ofjointed. it is notjust many trees and plants and shrubs that will weather a day, it may take you sections of the gardening economy with them. one of britain's best gardeners as added his voice to industry please for help. those plants, millions of them, will have to be allowed to die u nless have to be allowed to die unless a rescue has —— packages division magnitude is put in place to save our growers, the british garden is going to suffer for many years ahead. this is also the time of year when the industry is most financially extended, leaving most unwilling or unable to ta ke most unwilling or unable to take on new loans, with government guarantees extended to the lender, but not to the

borrower. the uk's plant grows and is 23 million gardening customers are facing a potentially very cruel spring. simonjack, bbc potentially very cruel spring. simon jack, bbc news. there is a lot more information on that online, as are many other business stories they have not managed to squeeze in this programme. if you look at the website you can see them here. another set of companies very much at risk are those that run ground operations at uk airports, so thousands of jobs could be at risk. 0ne uk airports, so thousands of jobs could be at risk. one of my colleagues has written about this. they may not be able to continue operating for more than a few weeks, they say, u nless than a few weeks, they say, unless they get government help. lots their online. this is bbc world news. a reminder of the headlines: the total number of coronavirus related deaths in the us has now passed 3,000. president trump has called on the population to observe social distancing — saying it could save a million lives over the next 30 days. some police forces in the uk have been accused of being

heavy handed, when ensuring people comply with the current emergency measures. guidance to officers, seen by bbc news, calls on forces to co—ordinate their efforts. the us state department and the european union have accused russia of putting lives at risk by spreading fake news over coronavirus. they say the kremlin is putting out mixed messages and internet myths in a country where conspiracy theories abound. from moscow, here's steve rosenberg. moscow — they call it the city that never sleeps. but it is quite now. another capital where time has stopped. coronavirus has put moscow into lockdown, people ordered to stay home, but some are out. they seem confused and

sceptical. translation: they seem confused and sceptical. translationzlj they seem confused and sceptical. translation: i don't get it, she says. the authorities say the number of six people here is low but they tell us all to self—isolate. we just want the truth. he says, i don't believe them, ijust don't. all the authorities do is wake their tongues. lockdown in another part of russia, cheshire. the message is clear here, keep off the streets but in moscow, officials hope the public will accept that quarantine is vital to fight the virus. to defeat a pandemic, the government needs the trust of the people. and if the trust of the people. and if the public to believe the official information it is putting out. the problem here is that over the years, many russians have grown sceptical about what they are being told by those in power. this kind of thing doesn't help. police

outside moscow announced a cu rfew outside moscow announced a curfew this week when there wasn't one. misinformation. to add to all the disinformation about covid—19, flooding russian tv screens. among the conspiracy theories, that coronavirus is a us dialogical weapon. biologist igor, has made a string of claims in the russian media which we've checked and found to be false. including, that america patented the virus before the outbreak.

but conspiracy theories cannot change the reality, that a deadly virus is spreading here and that russia is shutting down. the world's largest country now in quarantine. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. staying with that theme, let's now focus on how general fake news about the virus has spread at almost the same pace as the disease itself. my colleague yalda hakim spoke to the bbc‘s specialist disinformation reporter marianna spring, as well as daniel funke, who covers misinformation for the fact—checking website politifact, about its real—life impact. the fact remains that with

something like this, when has to do with your health, when we are given false information, it really has life—threatening implications. it does and this is exactly like a situation like hurricane ‘s or natural disasters in which misinformation and disinformation can affect far than just disinformation can affect far thanjust a disinformation can affect far than just a political outcome. if people try the false skewers, some of those you mentioned, like drinking bleach or going out in the sun for long periods of time, that can actually pump fully affect that person. not only is it is not going to tube the virus but you're probably going to have serious health problems. at a time when people are glued to the news, listening to what global leaders are saying. it's also then incredibly important that they get their facts right. when have leaders like we just pointed out, right. when have leaders like wejust pointed out, matteo, just waiting that it had been created in 2015 in china. that really leads people astray. exactly, it does. and it

actually delegitimise is what those politicians are trying to do. it is time like these when people turn to their elected leaders for leadership and guidance about what to do in a global pandemic. when leaders retweet or promote conspiracy theories like the bayou weapon conspiracy theory, that really undermines what are trying to do. peoplejust undermines what are trying to do. people just want edible information about this whole pandemic, they want to know how to protect their loved ones and theirfamilies so to protect their loved ones and their families so they are really not looking for conspiracy theories. but sometimes politicians give them. let's bring in marion spring, the bbc specialist reporter covering disinformation and social media. marion, thank you for joining us. and you're saying that people just want facts, is not the real information social media plays a huge role in this in an age where we are very much living this pandemic in real—time, globally together. exactly anything is a really important point that we are wanting to help on another so therefore we are turning to

whatsapp, facebook, other social media sites in order to share information we think might be helpful for people. but actually, sharing misleading information on social media is less helpful than sharing are not at all. you shouldn't really fold on a message it unless you are hundred % sure about where it has come from and what it is telling you. it is crucial that social media companies play a crucial role here. facebook has told us for instance, and they runa told us for instance, and they run a lot of the other big social media platforms, that they are trying really hard to combat fake news and disinformation and are working with the uk government at the moment to do that. but it's a difficult thing because there is so much stuff and the sheer volume of posts make it incredibly difficult and so to the ways it spreads. copy and pasting, for instance, a lot of people will copy and paste a message that is misleading which includes medical advice or perhaps, details about government plans which are untrue and unfounded. and they will copy and paste it onto their whatsapp or e—mail or

their whatsapp or e—mail or their facebook and often with any introduction which says, my friend, his sister as a nurse, or my cousin's neighbour, or even attributing it to institutions that are well— known like universities and hospitals. they were zero really widely like that and it's really hard to track those posts because unlike a single facebook post that goes viral, they're actually being shared by all sorts of different profiles on all sorts of different platforms. and to correct it even. daniel, this is complex because, you know, it's one thing to say there is misinformation or disinformation where people are deliberately led astray but when there is differing opinions on the science of this as well. some sciences for example they wear a mask and others they don't wear a mask. thatin others they don't wear a mask. that in itself confuse people. yes and we created seven ways to avoid spreading misinformation about the coronavirus pandemic and what of them was to just recognise what we don't know yet. it is one of the uncomfortable facts about global pandemics with new

diseases, scientists are still working out some of the fine details. some of those details right now include, at what point does the coronavirus become contagious, how long you can live on different services, that kind of thing. so were not even scientists know how long some of these key facts about covid—19, natalie creates this sort of environment where conspiracy theories thrive. "it conspiracy theories thrive. ——it actually. telling people that we just don't know is not a satisfying answer and i want to know how long are unbiased lives on the kitchen counter. if they don't see that fact in a mainstream or credible source, they going to turn to alternative sources. and that is when they act on that information. he was saying earlier, a lot of this stuff is spreading on messages, private messaging, and sort of thing. it's really ha rd messaging, and sort of thing. it's really hard for us as fact checkers to actually get in there and see what people are talking about. in marion, it really co m es talking about. in marion, it really comes down to desperation, when peoplejust wa nt desperation, when peoplejust want as much information as possible. so then they can easily be mutilated. when you

hear things like, eat lots of garlic or drink lots of water, that does not necessarily impact your health. but when you hear things like, have copious amounts of cocaine, for example. the french government has to issue a warning. that can have a direct health impact. exactly and is a real spectrum of misinformation out there. there is stuff that is a bit nine, not necessarily going to hurt you butjust bit nine, not necessarily going to hurt you but just a bit nine, not necessarily going to hurt you butjust a bit stupid or not really worth doing. and often that stuff is quite believable and it makes complete sense that people think, oh, that could be useful information and may pass it on and follow it. really dangerous stop is ones that for instance, talking about how you can diagnose yourself. there was once facebook post that we tracked back which is a really common copy and paste a bit of the message included in at about advice given by supposedly taiwanese experts and japanese doctors and it gives a self—test where you can cough and see whether have coronavirus. it is false. the only real way of checking if

you have coronavirus is to get a proper test. we could lead to people miss diagnosing themselves and female well and are not well and so forth. it's really important to crackdown on all sorts of misinformation because within tidbits of advice, want bit could be misleading and could be harmful to somebody's health. and even speculating on government plans can cause unnecessary panic which is not something that people need right now. yalda hakim discussing fake news with marianna spring and daniel funk. thank you so much for your company. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @ sally bundock bbc. i hope you have a good day. hello.

in more ways than one, a lot has changed over the last week, none more so than in the weather, where we saw on tuesday last week the feel of late spring in the north coast of wales — 19 celsius, 63 fahrenheit achieved. a week later, well, we're lucky if we reach nine celsius in the same spot, even with some sunshine continuing. that colder theme continues through this coming 24 hours, but a little less chilly. high pressure's moved further west so the winds more westerly than northern, and notice the gaps in the isobars, starting to widen, indicating it won't be as windy as it has been. that said, a noticeable north—westerly breeze in parts of northern scotland bringing a few rain showers through the day. one or two rain showers in northern ireland and northern england but many will stay dry. a bit of sunshine coming and going through the day, the best of which will be in southern counties of england, east anglia and the channel islands. sunnier than in recent days, and the breeze won't be as strong as it has been, it will probably feel that little bit less chilly. elsewhere, light winds, and that will continue through tuesday night into wednesday away from the far north of scotland.

cloud amounts often large through the night. a few showers in the north and west again. where you see any cloud breaks, a bit of frost around, the greatest chance in clear skies in southern counties of england. this is where it'll be frostiest to begin wednesday morning. so, a chilly start here. that ridge of high pressure just in, but changes through the day in the north. the isobars tightening up again, coming closer, breeze picking up and that weather front set to bring some more significant rain — 0rkney and shetland in the morning, and then through the day, the northern half of scotland. away from that, a few showers, plenty of cloud around for the vast majority, and the sunshine will come out later in the north of scotland. while we could see temperatures peaking at ten, it will drop because cold air is on its way. this quite significant area of low pressure pushes from iceland towards norway, introducing gales quite widely across the northern half of scotland, if not severe gales, and a shot of cold air to see the week out, pushing its way southwards. so, for thursday, cloudy to begin with in the south. a few more showers pushing through the day. brightening up in the north but showers turn wintry, sleet and snow quite abundantly, and temperatures in lower single figures.

whereas we've still got temperatures potentially around 12 or 13 in the south—east corner. but the cold snap, thursday into friday, is short—lived. just notice by saturday and the weekend, milder air returns from the south.

good morning. welcome to breakfast, with louise minchin and dan walker. 0ur headlines today: just come out walking the dog? policing the lockdown — forces across the uk are told to be consistent in the way they enforce the coronavirus restrictions. doctors tackling the outbreak call for better guidance on the risks they should to take if they don't have the right protective equipment. tens of thousands of britons stranded abroad in the pandemic wait to hear how they'll be brought home, under the government's £75 million package to help them. britain's farmers call for a "land army" of pickers to help harvest crop. a stark warning that travel restrictions mean we at risk