welcome to bbc news, i'm simon pusey. our top stories: hard times ahead, president trump tells americans to brace themselves as the country's death toll surpasses that of china. this is going to be a very painful — very, very painful two weeks. the british government admits it has to increase coronavirus testing, with only a fraction of its daily target of 25,000 currently being carried out. when even a handshake makes news. why russia's president finds himself at the center of coronavirus concerns.

we begin with the latest coronavirus developments from around the world. deaths have accelerated in the us and uk while italy and spain continue to record high fatality rates. the united states has now declared 3,415 coronavirus deaths meaning it has overtaken china. 0nly italy and spain have a higher death toll. in the uk, the figures are also sobering. the number of deaths has more than doubled in 2a hours, coming to a record daily total of 381. in the epicentre of the european outbreak, italy, high numbers of patients continue to die. but there's been a relatively small rise in new infections, giving hope that the situation might be stabilising. and fears president putin may have been exposed to the virus as russia's parliament approves new laws bringing in seven year prison terms for serious violations of quarantine. 900 people have died in new york city. doctors and nurses say they're desperately short of critical equipment. nada tawfik reports.

a powerful symbol of the nation's effort to combat the coronavirus, the spire of one world trade center lit red, white, and blue. covid—i9 has claimed the lives of more than 3,000 americans, surpassing the number of people killed in the 9/11 attacks. healthcare workers and emergency responders on the front lines continue to work overtime to meet the unprecedented challenge. they do so at great personal risk, knowing the toughest weeks lay ahead. at his daily press briefing, new york's governor, andrew cuomo, said the virus has proved even more dangerous than expected. only two out of new york's 62 counties have not reported infections. it is the great equaliser. i don't care how smart, how rich, how powerful you think you are, i don't care how young, how old, this virus is a great equaliser. that reality has lawmakers already debating more government aid, just days after president trump signed

a record $2 trillion bill. in a tweet, he said the next phase of recovery should focus on infrastructure. in the meantime, governors and mayors across the country are learning from new york, testing is ramping up. in maryland, this sports field was converted into a drive—through testing site with the help of the national guard. three out of four americans are now or soon will be under stay—at—home orders. social distancing guidelines, according to officials, appear to be working. you're starting to see that the daily increases are not in that steep incline, they are starting to be able to possibly flatten out. i mean, again, you look at it carefully, hope it's going on the right direction, but that's what we're really trying to attain, that multiphase component where it ultimately starts to come down. good evening, everybody! and that's not

the only good news. actor and directorjohn krasinski launched a newscast to share uplifting stories. called, appropriately, some good news. steve carell, his co—star from the hit american show the office even joined in. i guarantee you that the bottom half of what you have on does not much the top! i am definitely wearing jams, if anybody remembers. a nice distraction for those eager to reminisce about simpler times. nada tawfik, bbc news. president trump has warned of the hardship america will face as they deal with the surge of new cases. i want every american to be prepared for the hard days that lie ahead. we're going to go through a very two weeks. and then, hopefully, as the experts are predicting, as, i think, a lot of us are predicting, after having studied it so hard, we're going to start seeing some real

light at the end of the tunnel. but this is going to be a very painful — very, very painful two weeks. when you look and see at night the kind of death that's been caused by this invisible enemy it's incredible. in addition to testing, personal protective equipment or ppe is a necessity for critical care workers on the frontline. social distancing is also seen as a vital measure to restrict the spread of the virus. professor lydia bourouiba is the director of the fluid dynamics of disease transmission laboratory at mit. she explained how the virus might travel further than some might think. the work we have been doing has focused really on exhalations, that would be for symptomatic subjects, from coughs, sneezes. we also looked at the mechanics of exhalations, just of breathing out, and the major finding of our work that has been ongoing prior to the covid

outbreak, by the way, is that when we exhale it is not isolated droplets that are just in two bins of large versus aerosol sizes, but in fact it is a continuum of droplet sizes trapped in a gas cloud and that is really the important thing our work revealed, that can basically trap them and carry them forward. now, in terms of the distances that have been discussed for the ability to be exposed and, basically, transmit. what the findings shows is that the distances that exhaled droplets can reach is definitely higher than the one metre or two metre guidelines that have been based on physical models that do not account for the presence of this gaseous cloud that is typical of these exhalations, coughs and sneezes. in terms of other evidence that have been basically coming up and sciences, basically a number of evidence, pieces of a puzzle that i put

together to see a full picture, there is a lot that is still ongoing for this new pathogen to understand its full picture and capability of transmission, but another piece of the puzzle is that the virus could be found, for example, in venting systems which would be compatible with the idea that you would have droplets that are trapped in the gaseous cloud which we exhale and breathe out when we cough, when we sneeze, and basically in the environment. another piece of the puzzle that came out also recently is that potentially you could have persistence when experiments are done in the environment, in the lab of persistence of the ability of the virus to in fact remain live for up to three hours. these experiments we are doing in the lab, there are all sorts of differences in what can be done in the field of exhalations, but these are all pieces of the puzzle that when put together, suggest that in terms of potential routes

of transmission, at least in indoor spaces, in healthcare settings, we need to be conscious of the fact that there is not potentially a virtual wall of two metres where healthcare workers are safe in front of a patient, and that potentially that pathogen or virus containing these drops could be infected into the surrounding space and would call, therefore, for protection which is adequate for that. spain has had its worst daily figure so far 819 people have died in the past 2a hours, bringing the national death toll to over 8,000. hospitals in madrid have started transferring fourteen hundred 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 to mourn almost twelve and a half thousand 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. here in the uk 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. our 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 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. if we are losing people because they have the kind of things they experience all year round, being public facing, because they've got a cold or something else, and really testing, even with the imperfect nature of those tests, has got to become readily available for healthcare professionals. 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 around 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 kings 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. 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. and i really had to call upon a lot of my reserves and prayers at that moment in time and 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‘s going to get worse before it gets better. but it will get better. hugh pym, bbc news. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: as russia ups its effort to deal

with its coronavirus outbreak, there are fears the president may have been exposed. the accident that happened here was of the sort that can at worst produce a meltdown. in this case the precautions worked, but they didn't work quite well enough to prevent some old fears about the safety features of these stations from resurfacing. the republic of ireland has become the first country in the world to ban smoking in the workplace. from today, anyone lighting up in offices, businesses, pubs and restaurants will face a heavy fine. the president was on his way out of the washington hilton hotel, where he had been addressing a trade union conference. the small crowd outside included his assailant.

it has become a symbol of paris. 100 years ago, many parisians wished it had never been built. the eiffel tower's birthday is being marked by a re—enactment of the first ascent by gustave eiffel. this is bbc news, the latest headlines: president trump has warned americans to be prepared for a hard fortnight ahead as the country's death toll surpasses china's. the british government admits it has to do more to facilitate testing for covid—i9, with only a fraction if its daily target currently being met. las vegas is usually thought of as the place of neon lights, slot machines, and huge music events. but the nevada city has been hit hard by the affects of the coronavirus. kyle rahn, ceo and president of united way of southern nevada told us about las vegas' response to the crisis.

what's unique is we are a resilient community that comes together in times of crisis and we are working diligently together, however social distancing, to arrive at the best solutions to help our community that has been so severely affected economically by covid—i9. and i would guess it is affected economically because of the area's dependence on tourism? that, yes, very much so and so united ways stands in the centre to help all the nonprofits, sure them up, we're assessing, helping them assess what their assets are, working with the city, state, the county to see how we can assist those who are most vulnerable, and deliver the services that all our not—for—profit partners do, so it is very important. can you give us a bit of detail about what your organisation does and how the virus has affected what you do and the kind of vulnerable people that you're working with? ceratainly.

as a cdc defined vulnerability, i happen to be one of those people — it is not about me — but i have today finally come home to my home office to work but we have many, many people who — you do not have to be old to be vulnerable, right? — you can suffer from a lung disease orjust be... your immune system can be affected. so united way of southern nevada has convened 181 of our nonprofit partners. we're asset mapping what they are doing, where they can be most effective, where they need volunteerism. we convene them every week, on thursday at 2 o'clock, and we give them up—to—date information, for instance, about the new stimulus package that the government is offering. we are also working with the governor's office of nevada with a task force, to help them with volunteers. we match volunteers to non—profits. a lot of our volunteers and most of is now virtual — it can be calling, it can be helping. there are kind, kind, incredibly wonderful people here in the state of nevada, especially southern nevada,

who are actually out still, helping get meals to the most vulnerable and getting items to those organizations that need it. in russia, the number of coronavirus cases has jumped by 500 in 2a hours, according to official government figures. the russian parliament approved a series laws aiming to slow the spread of the outbreak, including jail terms for breaking quarantine rules. and as steve rosenberg reports, there are fears president putin may have been exposed to the virus. it began with a handshake. vladimir putin greeting 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 to the president spent the whole afternoon together in close contact.

"no one's 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'll 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's 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 where's 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. el salvador has registered its first death from coronavirus. the news came via the country's president nayib bukele who made the announcement on social media. hundreds of people formed long queues this week to try and get a government grant during the pandemic. brazil will extend its border closure with venezuela for health reasons, but has

ruled out closing the border to citizens returning from abroad amid the coronavirus pandemic. the country'sjustice minister sergio moro also said he will be looking at what the country's security forces can do in the fight against coronavirus. 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 pounds to charter specialflights 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. tyne samuel's trip to south africa has also turned into a nightmare. she came to volunteer, now she can't get, 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. tokyo is considering keeping

city—operated schools closed until early may, that's according to the public broadcaster nhk and other local media. it comes after the japanese capital recorded 78 new cases of coronavirus on tuesday, it's highest tally in a single day. there are more than 2000 cases in the country. in australia a pop—up coronavirus testing clinic is to be opened up next to sydney's bondi beach. it comes as health workers try to contain clusters of infections across the country which is in lockdown. in march thousands of people ignored social distancing rules by visiting the famous beach. this week, we've seen companies around the world lend their expertise to the fight against the coronavirus. general motors is making ventilators. engineers for the mercedes formula one racing team are producing a breathing aid. so many businesses are changing gears to do what they can, as aleem maqbool reports.

right across the globe, with so much work grinding to a halt, people are doing what they can to adapt. many, like illusionist joe coover, are also trying to help their community fight the virus. i built this 3d printer a couple of years ago and i use it mainly in real life to print out different magic props. this is something i saw that some people were doing on the internet, which is to use some 3d printers to make masks. joe is working around the clock to donate the masks to nurses for free. others are finding ways to help their business survive. with no festivals to provide for, this distillery has been forced to lay off workers but the lights stay on because production has completely switched from beer to hand sanitiser. so we started small, just helping locals in our community, especially just people that couldn't get it anywhere.

the first couple of days we were a tent in the parking lot, with a table and we would have lines of 200, 300 people before 8 o'clock. fashion houses around the country that would otherwise sit idle have become essential suppliers of masks as well. if i could supply these masks to paediatricians' offices, people who clean nursing homes, what it would do is allow the more stringent medical masks to be saved for the more intensive care required, for the people who need them for. and car manufacturers like ford are in production as well. there is anger in many countries, including the us, particularly at the shortages in crucial medical equipment, but where governments may have failed, businesses of all sizes and individuals are doing what they can. aleem maqbool, bbc news.

the empire state building has been lit up with a siren of red and whitw to pay respect to the emergency workers on the front line of the fight against the virus. the tribute has unnerved some in this anxious city, but others see it as a fitting accolade to those who are risking their lives. a reminder of our top story: president trump has warned that americans there in for a "very painful" two weeks as the white house warns the country's coronavirus outbreak could kill as many as 240,000 people. the death toll in the country is now more than 3,400 surpassing that of china. the number of coronavirus cases in russia has jumped by 500 in 2a hours — that's according to official government figures. the russian parliament has approved a series of laws aiming to slow the spread of the outbreak, including jail terms for those who break the quarantine rules. that is just about it for me

for now. you can catch me on twitter. stay watching. hello. tuesday was marked by fairly cloudy skies across much of central and northern britain, and i think that's going to be the way of it for many of us as we get on through wednesday, with some rain to contain with as well, especially so at the start of the day, across the northern and western isles of scotland, areas north of the great glen too. this is the weather front gradually working its way a little bit further south with time. bright enough start in the south, but the cloud shield eventually filling in even here and, come mid—afternoon, i think we'll find the last of the rain associated with the weather front just getting into northern ireland and maybejust hanging on into the south—west of scotland. elsewhere, a lot of cloud around. brighter skies to finish the day perhaps, across the north of scotland, but the wind here will become a real feature overnight, and a raft of blustery showers rattling in, not only to the northern isles, but widely across northern

and western scotland, and it's the combination of the strength of the wind, widely across the british isles, and the cloud which will keep many frost—free as we start the new day on thursday. by thursday, the weather front will have tracked its way just that little bit further south towards the scottish borders, towards northern ireland, so quite a bit of cloud here to start the day. but as you see, there's not an awful lot of rain associated with that feature as it drifts its way a little bit further south during the day. brighter skies following on behind, but that wind really noticeable. these are the gusts widely across the british isles. you see certainly 30mph or40mph mph. across the northern parts of scotland we're looking at around 50mph or so. so it's going to feel pretty raw there. but further south, ahead of the weather front, the temperatures still holding on to double figures but, as that front completes its journey, coming ever further south as we get ourselves on into friday, so i think there will be, generally speaking, a fresher feel across the british isles but perhaps on friday, a better chance of

seeing some sunshine. there'll still be a rattle of showers into the northern and north—western parts of scotland. top temperature on the day to be found at the other end of the country, getting up to a high of around about 11 or 12, with quite a mound of cloud around, but there will be some sunshine as well. from friday on into saturday, a bit of a change — high—pressure drifting towards the continent, allowing a southerly to develop ahead of weather fronts, which will be a bit of a player for western areas on sunday. but ahead of that, the temperatures are set to rise, as we pull in those southerly breezes.

this is bbc news. the headlines: president trump has warned that americans there in for a "very painful" two weeks as the white house warns the country's coronavirus outbreak could kill as many as 240,000 people. the death toll in the country is now more than 3400, surpassing that of china. the british government has admitted it has to go further and faster with its testing programme for coronavirus cases. it has set a target of 25,000 tests a day by the end of april — but so far only around 8,000 tests are being carried out. the number of coronavirus cases in russia hasjumped by 500 in 24 hours — that's according to official government figures. the russian parliament has approved a series of laws aiming to slow the spread of the outbreak, including jail terms for those who break the quarantine rules.

in italy the coronavirus infection rate is slowing but another 837 people died in the past day, taking the total killed to almost 12,500. among them are doctors and more than 60 have now died, with critics saying they lack the necessary equipment to fight the outbreak. mark lowen has the latest. three weeks on italy's lockdown is said to be extended today. they lowered the flag to half—mast across the country to pay tribute. from