tonight at ten — the government admits it needs to go "further, faster" to ramp up coronavirus testing. around 8,000 tests are being carried out a day — well short of the 25,000 target. doctors say more tests are desperately needed. testing, even with the imperfect nature of those tests has got to become readily available for health care professionals. britain's death toll rose by 381 today — the biggest daily increase so far — a 13—year—old boy has become the youngest victim. checking why people are travelling — police across the uk are urged to be consistent in the use of new powers to curb the spread of coronavirus. a field hospital is set up in new york's central park as the number of deaths in the united states

surpasses china's. as more and more fundraising events are postponed or cancelled — many charities warn they are facing collapse and a £4 billion shortfall. and george alagiah — who's being treated for cancer — reveals he tested positive for coronavirus but is now well on the way to recovery. we, those of us living with cancer, are stronger because we kind of know what it is like to go into something where the outcomes are uncertain. and coming up in sport on bbc news... we have all we have good evening. the government has admitted it has to go further and faster with its testing programme for coronavirus.

it had set a target of 25,000 tests a day, but so far only around 8,000 are being carried out. the cabinet office minister michael gove blamed a global shortage of chemicals needed for the test. tonight it emerged that a 13—year—old boy from brixton in south london has died from the virus — britain's youngest victim so far. today's figures show that a total of 1,789 people have died in the uk with coronavirus. that's an increase of 381 since yesterday and the biggest rise so far. almost all of them had underlying health conditions. 0ur health editor hugh pym reports. drive—through coronavirus testing for some nhs staff has begun in england. but this is a very limited trial, it's not clear how quickly it can be expanded. elsewhere, tests on patients are analysed in hospital and public health laboratories like this. they're based on swab samples. nhs staff are frustrated they can't be tested,

which means they can't find out whether it's safe to return to work. hospitals in england have now been told to test key workers if they can. doctors like chinedu, who's a consultant, say a lack of testing keeps staff away from work just when they're most needed. in a week or two's time, as we've seen in italy and in spain, it's going to be all hands on deck. and if we're losing people because they have the kind of things that we experience all year round being public facing, because they've got a cold or something else, then really testing, even with the imperfect nature of those tests, has got to become readily available for health care professionals. i raised the issue at today's downing street press conference. many nhs staff are saying that testing for them is not obviously available in their places of work now or somewhere accessible, even after pledges made by officials and ministers in recent weeks that it was a priority. what do you say to them?

hugh, we want to increase the number of tests, we are increasing the number of tests. i mentioned earlier that one of the constraints on our capacity to increase testing overall is supply of the specific reagents, the specific chemicals that are needed in order to make sure that tests are reliable. it's also the case, as i am sure you're aware, we have been working with the private sector and with academics, and boots, for example, have increased the number of drive—in centres for nhs and front line workers to be tested. the first acknowledgement there of problems getting raw materials for more testing. the welsh government started testing nhs staff earlier this month. scotland and northern ireland have now followed. the number of people tested in the uk rose rapidly after lab capacity was expanded. it was above 8,000 a couple of days ago, but has slipped back a little. so, how does that compare with other countries? this graph shows the number of tests per 100,000 people since the first

coronavirus death in each country. south korea, with an extensive testing regime, is well ahead of the uk and the us. a 13—year—old boy who tested positive for the virus has died at king's college hospital in london. the trust said thoughts and condolences were with his family. it's not known if he had an underlying health condition. i am 39 years old... karen, who's pregnant, was in hospital with covid—i9 and pneumonia. she was very ill and said she was fighting for her baby. she is now recovering. i'm very lucky. i'm so grateful to be home and to see my family. now, it's just a case of waiting and seeing how my baby is. no one knows, no one's going to know how he is or if he's ok for sure. not until he's here. stewart is also recovering now.

he says being hit by the virus was terrifying. my lungs were losing function and they were really struggling with the disease in them. i really had to call upon a lot of my reserves and prayers at that moment in time. it was really a question, i think fundamentally, do you want to live? the prime minister chaired a cabinet meeting by video link. he and two colleagues are self isolating because of symptoms. he told them the situation is going to get worse before it gets better but it will get better. our health editor hugh pym joins me. why is it so difficult to ramp up the testing? it does seem a bit strange, the target for testing, 25,000, won't happen until late april, and at the moment it is 8000 so april, and at the moment it is 8000 so there is time to make up on that,

but the capacity we are also told to carry out these tests is around 12,000 now, and will reach 15,000 by the end of the week, so there is a gap and there is frustration amongst ministers, michael gove said there needs to be more done to make it go faster. tomorrow we will hear of a new drive to get more nhs staff tested using the extra capacity. we heard more about how the virus is spreading in the uk. in the downing street press conference they showed some charts and this is one of them on the number of new cases reported each day across the uk. you can see the daily number going up quite sharply in the middle of march and thenit sharply in the middle of march and then it reaches a plateau in the last few days. although the latest number has gone up a little bit further, and that is the green shoot that was being referred to by nhs england today although the medical director said we were not out of the woods by any means. another chart

showed hospital admission is rising rapidly in england above 9000 now, london rising faster than other regions although the north—west and south—east of england had also seen a pick—up. whether or not they are green shoots, they will be a lot of pressure on the nhs and hospitals in the next few weeks. thanks for joining us. one of britain's most senior police officers has admitted that mistakes have been made by officers in their enforcement of the new emergency powers. critics say some tactics have been "heavy handed". last week — derbyshire police came in for criticism after using drones to film people walking in the peak district — they then posted the footage on social media. our home affairs correspondent daniel sandford reports. at what is normally a busy station in east london... you shouldn't be travelling, that's the advice from the government. ..british transport police asking passengers why they are travelling. you shouldn't be going to your girlfriend's. so, my advice is, go back home.

using three of the four e's — engaging, explaining the new laws, encouraging... trying to avoid the fourth e — enforcement through fines. and all the time, allowing essential workers through. but with such drastic laws having come in so quickly, it has inevitably led to different police forces interpreting them differently and that has led to tensions behind the scenes, as chief constables try to work out a common approach. lancashire police has already issued more than 100 fines. the uk's largest force, the metropolitan police, has issued none. the head of the national police chiefs council agreed there needs to be more consistency. we're bringing in new rules that have never been in existence before, and we're having to learn as we go along. i think people ought to accept that mistakes will be made as we work our way through that.

the law says that people can only leave home for basic necessities, for medical needs, for essential work or to exercise once per day, and police can issue on the spot fines if people have no reasonable excuse to be away from home or for any social gathering of more than two people not from the same household. but derbyshire police's decision to use drones and social media videos to shame people exercising in the peak district has worried others in policing. when i saw it on the television and i saw the footage, i have to say it was a bit of a facepalm moment for me because i feared the kind of criticism that then ensued. but today, the chief constable of derbyshire defended the decision. the purpose of putting the video up was, the weekend after we'd had the nice weather where frankly the peak district was inundated with visitors from across the whole country, putting some very vulnerable communities at risk

and stretching the emergency services. but in this upside—down world, where park benches are taped off for public safety and people are asked to exercise away from each other, the growing consensus among police chiefs and police and crime commissioners is that some of the strongest laws ever introduced in this country need to be used wisely and not over zealously. daniel sandford, bbc news, east london. scotland's first minister has set out sweeping emergency powers — ranging from protecting tenants to changes to the justice system — as part of the response to the outbreak. nicola sturgeon said she couldn't put a time scale on how long the measures would last — but said they wouldn't be kept unnecessarily. 60 people have died in scotland with coronavirus — 13 in the past 2a hours — the biggest rise so far. 0ur scotland editor sarah smith is in glasgow

the scottish government is preparing for a crisis they know could last for a crisis they know could last for many months and those emergency powers include some really significant measures, like the early release of prisoners and the ending ofjury release of prisoners and the ending of jury trials release of prisoners and the ending ofjury trials in scottish courts. they are due to go through the holyrood parliament in just one day tomorrow, and the coronavirus arrived in scotland about two weeks later than it did in other parts of the uk. 0ne later than it did in other parts of the uk. one of the reasons why there isa the uk. one of the reasons why there is a slightly lower number of cases here at the moment. but the scottish government are aware that might not remain the case. one of the special covid wards treating patients with the virus — this is the front line for nhs staff. and more space is being prepared in borders general hospital. they know there will be more cases. over 1,000 coronavirus patients are being treated in scottish hospitals. beds are ready for 2,000 more. the lockdown measures are being pretty well observed in scotland,

but the virus continues to spread, there are more positive cases. and that's notjust because more tests are being done. the worrying thing is that the proportion of tests coming back positive is increasing. in response, the scottish government announced sweeping new emergency powers, to stop tenants being evicted as well as major changes to the criminaljustice system. are you concerned about being the first minister who brings in some of these emergency powers, and can you guarantee they will all, every single one of them, be repealed as soon as possible, and when might that be? i don't underestimate the damage to the economy that's being done right now. i don't underestimate the impact of restricting people's liberties in the way that we are doing right now. but all of these things, however difficult, we can repair and get back to normal on. what we can't do is bring people back to life, and that's why the absolute focus here must be on reducing, as far as we possibly can, the numbers of people who die from this virus.

most controversial is a plan for scottish courts to hear serious cases without a jury. welcomed by the country's most seniorjudge, criminal lawyers think it is an attack on the basic principles of justice. we are very concerned at the draconian measures that have been suggested. so are you worried after this crisis is over, the government might not restore all jury trials? we're concerned this bill is something of a trojan horse and is really the thin end of the wedge. because once we're through this virus, what is to stop the government saying, "actually, do you know something?" "while covid—19 was going on, the criminaljustice system operated without a jury." "my goodness, it was quicker, it was certainly cheaper." "why don't we just go back to that?" that is our concern. small signs of optimism in glasgow windows, as people try and adjust to the new normal —

prepared, it seems, for now, to do what's deemed necessary as we concentrate on supporting the nhs. sarah smith, bbc news, glasgow. spain has had its worst daily figure. so far, 8119 people have died in the past 2a hours, bringing the national death toll to over 8,000. hospitals in madrid have started transferring 1,400 patients to its conference centre, which has been turned into a makeshift hospital. across italy, towns marked a minute's silence and lowered flags to half mast today to mourn almost 1,250 people who have died from coronavirus. for the second day in a row, italy registered a comparatively small rise in the number of new infections, which could mean the situation is starting to come under control. an investigation has been launched after a group of migrant workers who'd returned home were filmed being harassed by indian officials and sprayed with disinfectant in the city of bareilly, 300km to the east of delhi. they are among millions who have

returned to their home villages amid a nationwide three—week lockdown due to coronavirus. this the number of people in the united states the nu this mber of people in the united states who have died from coronavirus has now surpassed china. almost 3,500 people have lost their lives — many of them in new york. a field hospital is being set up in central park amid warnings that the virus peak could be up to four weeks away. 0ur north america editor, jon sopel, is at the white house. there was a stark warning today for americans. yes, and i think that if there was any complacency before about the scale of the crisis that america is facing, it's gone now. the latest figures i've seen, it's just over 3600 deaths in the us. as you say, more than china. but the other psychologically important part of this is that it is more than the

number of americans who were killed on 9/11, and it is going to get a lot worse. we heard from the governor of new york today talking about how the number of people being admitted to intensive care is still rising and that they are going to need, at the peak, twice the number of hospital beds than they currently have. that is a massive increase in capacity. now, we are hearing that donald trump, in his briefing, which is due to start in a few moments' time, as may be going to outline some new rules for americans, and one of the things that is being talked about is a recommendation that people should wear face masks when out in public. that will contradict previous advice, so i think that is going to sew a bit of confusion and anger — why didn't you tell us earlier is going to be the response, and where on earth am i meant to buy one from? jon sopel in washington, thank you. in russia, the number of coronavirus cases hasjumped by 500 in 2a hours, according to official government figures. they come as the russian parliament

approved a series laws in an effort to slow the spread of the outbreak, including jail terms for breaking quarantine rules. and as steve rosenberg reports, there now are fears that president putin may have been exposed to coronavirus. it began with a handshake. vladimir putin meeting dr denis protsenko one week ago to inspect the main hospital in russia for coronavirus patients. now the doctor himself has tested positive for covid—19. he and the president spent the whole afternoon together — in close contact. "no—one is safe" was the headline on russian tv tonight. "this virus has come so close to all of us now," she says, "even our president." and russia is locking down. there will be tough penalties here for breaking quarantine — up to seven years in prison.

but for the president, for now, it's business as usual. the kremlin says there is no need to panic, the president is absolutely fine. but in a country where the whole system is built around one man, vladimir putin, any suggestion that his health may be put at risk makes those in power here very nervous. in russia, it's notjust the virus that's spreading — so is fake news about covid—19. biologist igor nikulin has been telling russian media that coronavirus could be a us biological weapon and that the americans took out a patent for it. but the evidence?

but conspiracy theories cannot mask the reality — that to fight a virus, the world's largest country is shutting down. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. some supermarkets are beginning to ease restrictions that were introduced earlier this month on certain products. aldi's now scrapping limits on all but a few items, while morrisons and waitrose have also removed some limits and changed others. it comes as grocery sales in the uk hit record levels in march, reaching £10.8 billion as the country prepared for the coronavirus lockdown. the average household has spent £63 more in the past four weeks, the equivalent of an extra five days of groceries. and sales of alcohol were up by 22% on the same time last year. we spent an extra £200 on wine, spirits and beer. britain's biggest banks have agreed

to scrap dividends for shareholders and have been asked by the bank of england not to pay out any bonuses to senior staff because of the coronavirus crisis. 0ur economics editor, faisal islam, is with me. how much of a surprise is this? theseis how much of a surprise is this? these is a really big deal, the bank of england officials were ringing around the banks, they did not quite banned the dividends, pay—out to shareholders, but they made it very clear that this was to be expected. they have all agreed. these payments we re they have all agreed. these payments were due to start in the coming days, £8 billion with all of these dividends will not now be paid, but left a little bit more open for debate is the notion of their cash bonuses paid to their top traders and bankers, whether or not those should be paid as well. there's a difference between this situation, obviously, and the 2008 crisis, where the fault lay very squarely within the financial sector. now it

is the hope that the financial sector can be part of the solution and providing ongoing finance and not paying those dividends provide some extra space to provide loans for small business, but it also raises pressure on some other companies that, frankly, are getting money from the government that are still paying out dividends in other sectors. faisal, thank you. efforts are continuing to bring back tens of thousands of britons stranded abroad. ba, easyjet and virgin atlantic are among airlines working with the government to fly britons back to the uk. the government has also pledged £75 million to charter special flights to bring home uk nationals from countries where commercial flights are unavailable. caroline hawley has more. i've left three children behind, two children are asthmatic. i should have been home, that's the bottom line. i should have been home. tabassum is one of hundreds of thousands of british people stuck around the world right now. pakistan is in lockdown. there have been no flights out for two weeks, and there are many, many others in this country alone desperate to get back to the uk,

some with pressing medical needs. my mum is a diabetic, so medication is low, it's hard to get hold of. we just need some intervention, to be honest. but how to get people back when the world is closing down? this is 0rly airport in paris. today it's shutting indefinitely to commercial flights, just one illustration of the vast logistical challenge of getting people home. this is tom ram on holiday in morocco. the foreign office says it's helped get more than 8,000 travellers home on commercial flights after travel restrictions came into force. but tom is still stranded. we were only booked here for four days, and now we've been here 17, and now we've got no idea when we are getting home. 0urfamilies have got no idea. i don't know how we are going to pay for it and, yeah, it's extremely stressful times.

thyme samuel's trip to south africa has also turned into a nightmare. she came to volunteer, now she can't get out, and she says the british government has been slow to respond. it's kind of nerve—racking, it's very scary. i live next door to a supermarket, and for two days running we've had riots, and i can see on facebook there are people throwing bricks at the staff that work in the supermarket, so itjust kind of makes me feel unsafe, i don't know, being so close to it as well. safely back in the uk, a planeload of british travellers arrived at gatwick from peru this morning on a special charter. the government is urging people to take commercial flights where they can, and it's promised to organise more charters in the coming days and weeks to bring people home. caroline hawley, bbc news. charities are expecting to lose about £4 billion over the next few months because of coronavirus. with large—scale events like the london marathon,

which raises more than 60 million a year, being postponed, fundraising has been hit hard. and charity shops have also had to close their doors. officials say many charities are now facing imminent collapse, and they're now calling on the government for urgent help, as michael buchanan reports. oh, hello, good afternoon, is that marion? a human voice to break the loneliness of the lockdown. at this age uk centre in north london, they're getting 500 calls a week asking for help — five times the usual demand. but though they've never been busier, they estimate their income will be down by as much as 50% over the coming months. the furlough situation doesn't apply to us. we've got too much work, and people are working long hours, and everyone is working, and in fact i'm having to pay for more hours. so you've got increasing costs and reducing income? yes, exactly, and i think that's a very typical picture across the country. liftoff for the london

marathon 2016... with most majorfundraising events like the london marathon either postponed or cancelled, the pandemic is fast becoming a threat to the very existence of some organisations, while others are scaling back on their core activities. cancer research uk says the fall in donations means they will have to cut back on research, which they say could well delay new breakthrough treatments against the disease. each charity is affected in a different way. but all of them are saying they need government help. during a virtual meeting, mps examined the problems. we're estimating, based on a mix of survey data and data we collect on charity accounts, that you would expect in the next quarter charities to generate income of about £12.5 billion, and we are expecting the loss in the next quarter to be in the region of £4 billion. charities want ministers to either provide emergency grants

or speed up payments from the gift aid scheme. discussions are said to be ongoing. emma cantrell currently runs an emergency food bank, having been forced to virtually mothball her charity first days, founded to help poor families in berkshire. she fears a 50% income drop would close the charity. if we can't access the funding we need to simply pay our bills and our staff, we will not be able to deliver our service, and we will not exist. and i'm faced with this paradox, where there is going to be a huge demand for the service we previously offered and we might not be there to offer it. charities have increasingly picked up the pieces when the state has walked away in recent years. but can that continue as many go under? michael buchanan, bbc news. africa's largest city, lagos in nigeria, with a population of around 21 million people, has entered a two—week lockdown to stop the spread of coronavirus. despite nigeria's relatively small number of cases, less than 150, residents have been ordered to stay indoors and all movement into and out

of lagos state has been banned. lagos is nigeria's commerical capital — the heart of africa's largest economy. but it's also a city with high levels of poverty, where social distancing may be impossible, as chi chi izundu reports. this is life for the next two weeks — quiet streets, traffic—free roads, silence. an estimated population of 21 million people have been told to stay indoors. but unlike the rest of the world, time has allowed nigeria to prepare. it's been nearly four weeks since the first case was confirmed, and so far there's been less than 140. this stadium, now converted into an isolation centre, is waiting for patients. when you are at war, you know, you can have either an offensive or a defensive strategy.

i think, because of our weaknesses, we've opted for an offensive strategy, so that makes lagos a very vulnerable city, and what we've been trying to figure out is how to increase its resilience. so we know that lagos is a sitting duck for an outbreak scenario. whilst there is confidence at the top, there is concern on the front line. two out of three people live in lagos's slums. with basic hygiene and social distancing nearly impossible, the greatest fear is how covid—19 will hit the poorest. i'm worried, because nigeria as a whole doesn't have enough equipment and infrastructures, so of course i should be worried. yesterday, in this popular market, a few wandered around begging for help.

people are dying and suffering! lagos state government says that their strategy is working, people are listening and they're staying indoors, so these next two weeks are crucial when it comes to trying to contain the spread of covid—19. but the big question remains, what happens after 14 days when you allow africa's most populated city back on the streets? here, coronavirus is a virus for the privilege — for those who can afford a home to self—isolate in and have an ability to buy and stockpile food. the worry is that millions who can't afford the basic advice in the lockdown will be the worst off. chi chi izundu, bbc news. and finally some good news for you about someone who has had coronavirus and recovered. george alagiah, as many of you will know, has stage iv cancer. he has undergone more than 60 rounds of chemotherapy and is still having treatment. it puts him, of course, at a much higher risk than most people. two weeks ago he went into hospital and tested positive.