this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the uk has recorded its worst daily figure for deaths relating to coronavirus. 563 people have died — a rise of nearly a third on the previous day. amid growing criticism, the uk government promises to increase the number of co—vid tests to the hundreds of thousands "within weeks". increasing testing capacity is absolutely the government's top priority. we are now at 10,000 tests a day. we are rolling out additional networks and testing sites. the number of coronavirus cases aroud the world are set to hit a million within the next few days, according to the world health organization. as almost 2,000 people die in new york state alone,

donald trump tells america to follow the guidelines "as a matter of life and death". also in the programme: wimbledon is cancelled for the first time since world war two due to the coronavirus pandemic. hello, and welcome to audiences in the uk and around the world. we're covering all the latest coronavirus developments here in britain and globally. the uk has recorded the highest number of deaths in a single day, since the coronavirus outbreak began. the government says it is the biggest threat the country has faced in decades. 563 patients died in the past 2a hours, which takes the total number of deaths in hospitals to 2,352 in less than four weeks. that increase is in line

with the scientific modelling, and slightly less than the rate they have seen in italy. meanwhile it has emerged that a doctor, who had come out of retirement to help out in a hospital, has become the fourth front line medic to die in the uk. the world health organization have warned this evening that the number of cases of infection around the world will hit a million in the next few days. in the states, donald trump says they are in for a "painful and difficult few weeks". more on all those developments shortly, but first our political editor laura kuenssberg with the latest from the uk. hilda churchill, who lived through a pandemic a century ago — the oldest victim at 108. this is the first medic to pass away. as coronavirus has taken hold, just some of the faces of its elderly victims. but as the numbers grow, more families lose mothers, daughters, fathers, and sons.

all our thoughts and prayers are with the families and loved ones of those who have lost their lives. this is more tragic evidence that this virus does not discriminate. look at how the numbers have grown. from the first case counted by the authorities on 6 march, then eight days later — the daily toll reaching double figures. 20 days from the start, it reached over 100, and now less than a week later, more than 500 people reported to have passed away in 2a hours. the overall count now — 2352. along with the rise in cases, a slight increase in the number of people on the roads, flouting advice to stay at home. the peak of the disease seems to be coming earlier than the government expected. but you're missing testing targets, there is a lot of evidence of staff not having the equipment they need and not on ventilators. —— not enough ventilators. do you now accept that the approach and response from government

has been too slow? increasing testing capacity is absolutely the top priority for the government, and we're now at 10,000 tests per day, we're rolling out additional networks at labs and testing sites and in terms of phd, 390 million products have been distributed in the last weeks. -- phd. and of course, we will continue to do more. there are frantic efforts under way to make space for those falling ill. in belfast, glasgow, cardiff, the country hospitals are being created from conference centres in just a matter of weeks. but the broad political consensus that has backed the government approach is to fray. what we are calling for is a national testing strategy to ramp up community testing and contact tracing as we see in other countries. that is how they've been able to beat this virus get it under control and suppressed. we are not doing it yet so we need that national push for the former tory mp and minister and practising doctor says the government has

not moved fast enough. we had anticipated this is a risk, and it beggars belief that we did not act quicker because we knew, we've done an exercise and knew we had these challenges. no ordinary recovering patient, prince charles urges us all to stick together. as a nation we are faced by a profoundly challenging situation. which we are only too aware threatens the livelihoods, businesses, and welfare of millions of our fellow citizens. none of us can say when this will end, but end it will. a time of anxiety for health and wealth is a current time of political pressure. laura kuenssberg, bbc news. the uk health secretary matt hancock has ordered any spare coronavirus tests to be used for nhs staff. up until now, staff only were allowed to account for 15% of all testing, despite some hospitals reporting

as many as a quarter of all doctors and nurses being off work in self isolation. the uk can currently carry out more than 12,000 tests a day. yesterday, just under 10,000 were conducted. the government is aiming to test 25,000 per day by the end of april. with more, here's our health editor hugh pym. nhs staff getting tested for coronavirus. it's a new pilot scheme in england run by the government, designed to speed up the process and get them back to work quickly if they've been self—isolating and need an all—clear. but it's limited at this stage. i work for the general hospital. i've have been off work forfour days because i have been self—isolating. my wife has been symptomatic, as well. two weeks ago i had bad symptoms, and i'm due to come back to work on friday. so i thought before i come, i want to get checked. almost all testing is analysed in hospital and public health laboratories, and there's a problem — they're struggling to keep up

with the workload and until this week, had been told to concentrate on patients and not staff. the representative of trusts in england told me about the difficulties that they were experiencing. everyone will be working as hard as they can to increase the number of staff tests, but we just need to remember there are some severe shortages of both swabs and reagents. 0ne trust said to me today they've only got three swabs per day to test staff. the first coronavirus cases in the uk were announced on 31 january, and testing of all recent contacts of cases was adopted. on 11 march, the government announced an aim of 10,000 tests per day. a week later, the prime minister said that this would be more than doubled. we'll massively scale up our testing capacity in the weeks ahead so we hit 25,000 tests per day. but this time, testing was focused on nhs patients not in the community. and on 19 march, i asked the government chief medical adviser why nhs staff were not been tested.

the ability to test their staff, our staff, particularly if they have mild symptoms that mean they could normally go back to work is absolutely critical. on sunday this week, nhs england told hospitals, 15% should be for staff. by yesterday, just under 10,000 people were being tested. private sector technology companies with labs say that they want to help — they need the government to tell them what is required. we need exact clarity on what it is that are pinch points within the system. we may be able to help with some of them, we cannot promise to help on all of them. but there is a large community out here will be keen to help. ministers say they're open to suggestions from the private sector, and they're hoping to ramp up initiatives like this, and getting a lot more doctors and nurses and other nhs staff tested. hugh pym, bbc news. our health editor hugh pym is here.

do you think we got any more clarity from the government on testing? there was talk about how they wanted to wrap that up, we've heard that for a few weeks now. they are working to emphasise that now, 2000 nhs staff had been tested at these specialist drive—by facilities that use saw there in the piece. but 2000 when you have a workforce of more than a million — it is a very tiny stead. they say they will ramp it up in the weeks ahead but they will be sceptical until we see it. the basic problem remains is, if you look at main mainstream testing of patients, particularly nhs staff across the country, in laboratories and hospitals and public health facilities, there is a gap between the facility and what they can actually do. there are various supply chain issues, problems getting chemicals and so on. and we heard from one of the nhs providers representing these hospitals that

they don't have the wherewithal to pushit they don't have the wherewithal to push it any further. so until that is resolved, nhs staff have been calling for this for a long time so they can be tested and get back to work. if they are not infected, they will remain sceptical. you talk about this network of laboratories, will that help? is that the model we need to be moving towards? one of the things that has become clear todayis the things that has become clear today is that there are lots of laboratories around the uk in universities which are locked up at the moment, or in the hands of the private sector. they are very keen to help, but the message they are coming up with, what does the government need and require? and there is a mismatch between what is potentially available and what ministers and officials are able to actually negotiate. robert jenrick, the community secretary said with any offers, come to them. but they are asking for them to tell them what they want. a lot of people have talked about germany, because they

have this very developed biotech industry which is federal, and it got half a million tests a week. they are way in front of us, where we so they are way in front of us, where we so far behind? a very well—established biotech industry, as you say, the industrial base in germany is very well developed. there've been —— there has been lots of development over the years. it is much more devolved than in the uk, where there's been central control in england of how the test is carried out, there's more autonomy for hospitals just to get there staff... for hospitals just to get there staff. . . are for hospitals just to get there staff... are you referring to public health england? that, in the cabinet 0ffice. there's more disagreement at the national level on how this should be carried out, whereas germany has a well—established tradition and there's more autonomy for cliniciansjust to tradition and there's more autonomy for clinicians just to get on with it. probably all for the inquiry.

hugh, thanks very much. the united states has surpassed all other countries in the number of confirmed cases of coronavirus. 509 more coronavirus deaths in the last me for hours, less than the daily tally here in the uk. they also slightly ahead of us, we're starting to see some of the benefits of the lock down in france. i've seen earlier they will not lift the isolation across the country, it will be having on it on a piecemeal basis depending on where the epics are across the country. so 509 reported deaths in france in the last 2a hours. the united states has surpassed all other countries in the number of confirmed cases of coronavirus. it has now reached more than 199,000 with the number of deaths now exceeding 4,000. gary 0'donoghue is in. —— in washington. there's been lots of criticism of donald trump's style ? of criticism of donald trump's style? he's been tweeting that his

daily briefings have been good for ratings, a month ago he said this would all blow over. but i detected yesterday a very different tone in that press conference? yes, i think it had been coming over the weekend, you could see the signs of it over the weekend. but yesterday, i think it was fully in place. and i think thatis it was fully in place. and i think that is because — i don't think there is any coincidence in the fact that they suddenly took the big numbers to him. they took the data, the increasing amounts of data they are getting, the coronavirus task force, in conjunction with academics across the country, particularly those working in the university of washington, seattle and said if we don't press on with this, the worst case scenario would have been if we hadn't put these measures in place and kept it going, you are looking at potential deaths of over1 million. even with these measures in place, they're still talking about a

range of 100,000 — 2a0,000. built into that number is the assumption that there is a countrywide, 50 state stay—at—home strategy in place by the end of next week, which of course we don't have at the moment. there is no alternative to what the countries are doing at the moment, with the lockdown. but i suspect tomorrow when thejob with the lockdown. but i suspect tomorrow when the job figures and unemployment figures come out, the debate will shift again to whether the cure is worse than the disease? i think so. and of course, trump keeps saying that people were pushing him to write it out, as he put it, because of the economic reasons. in those numbers tomorrow are likely to be horrendous — probably in excess of the 3.3 million we saw last week for a week's worth of people signing on. soi week's worth of people signing on. so i think that will happen. but

they do seem now to be locked into this whole question of extending the stay—at—home guidelines at least until the end of april, possibly into the beginning ofjune, according to mr trump. meanwhile the pressure will grow on these dozen or more states that haven't implemented those policies to do so, particularly places like florida. lots of questions are being asked about florida, like why haven't they done it? and when you think about the age profile, the demographic age profile in florida, we know who lives there and they tend to be elderly. i had a look before we came on air, the median age in florida is 41. the on air, the median age in florida is a1. the median age in new york, california is 36. very interesting. gary, thank for that. in italy, the stringent lockdown measures have been extended, although families can now take their children for a walk outside if needed.

it comes as the death toll in the country climbs by 727 in the past 2a hours, which is slightly down on yesterday's increase. from rome, mark lowen reports. a glimpse of freedom in italy's new normal. parents are now allowed to take their children out for a brief walk, if urgent. after three weeks of lockdown, it is a breath of liberty, but no more. welcomed, albeit with apprehension. translation: we are scared to be outside and a bit spaced out because this lockdown has been our salvation. the measures are working, i'm happy they are in place, and we want them to go on. translation: this eases the tension. we are not used to staying inside the whole day. we need some natural light. children need some space. the infection rate is slowing and there is perhaps a little bit more movement on the streets. but the fear is that, if the restrictions are lifted too soon, people could get a false sense of security and then the numbers

could start jumping again. because italy is still far from defeating this virus. deaths are still soaring — and, among them, doctors. gynaecologist roberto milletti died this week, one of 66 doctors lost to the outbreak here. his friend said the deaths were preventable if medics had proper masks and supplies. translation: we are very shocked, he was much loved. and we are very angry because we are lacking protection equipment for doctors. we feel vulnerable. wars must be organised during peacetime, not battle. we are being sent in empty—handed, in italy and around europe. so young, inventive italians have stepped in to help, using 3d printing to develop a valve that turns a sports shop snorkelling mask into a ventilator. the blueprint has been downloaded for free a million times by hospitals in need across the world. two days ago, it was my birthday, and i received a message from brazil

in which a doctor said to me that 130 people were breathing thanks to my idea, and i was very, very happy. i cannot receive a better present for my birthday. italians are generally following the rules, but some frustration is starting to show. in the south, anger over a loss of money and closed shops. it is isolated, but patience has its limits. today, the lockdown was extended to mid—april so the emptiness goes on. perhaps never again in our lifetime will we see rome like this. the virus is sucking the life out of italy. mark lowen, bbc news, rome. the eternal city in lockdown. gary 0'donoghue was talking about the age profile in florida. we have word in from the florida governor that he will issue a 30 day stay at home

orderfor 21 million people in the state. i'll be doing an executive order today, he says, state. i'll be doing an executive ordertoday, he says, directing state. i'll be doing an executive order today, he says, directing all floridians to move interactions outside the home to only those necessary , outside the home to only those necessary, and providing essential services. so florida is following the example of other states that have already started to lock things down. one of the world's largest tobacco companies has today announced its developing a potential vaccine for covid—19 that could be ready for humans as early asjune. british american tobacco says it has developed a vaccine from the tobacco plant that it is currently testing on animals, and wants help from the us and uk governments to fast—track its development. let's speak now to british american tobacco's director of scientific research, dr david 0'reilly, who joins us from west sussex. this is exciting. tell us about your break and what you think you have? thanks, kristin. we've been working on alternative uses of tobacco for

ten yea rs on alternative uses of tobacco for ten years —— christian. now they have a track record in the vaccine business, in 201a they created a treatment for ebola, during the ebola crisis. and they showed that they could develop 10 million units of the vaccine per month. and indeed, we currently have a seasonal influenza vaccine and development with the fda. 0bviously influenza vaccine and development with the fda. obviously in influenza vaccine and development with the fda. 0bviously injanuary when the covid—19 crisis broke out, we turned our attention to the coronavirus. so we worked very quickly and developed a tobacco system that is now in preclinical testing, and we are in a stage where we can ramp up production from june to up to3 we can ramp up production from june to up to 3 million doses a week. i must be clear that we would not launch any products unless we had government clearance after the safety testing and efficacy testing. so we are not saying the vaccine will be ready injune, it will be

ready for production in june. will be ready injune, it will be ready for production injune. we are 110w ready for production injune. we are now engaging with governments as to how we go ahead and test the vaccine as quickly as possible. when you say you developed an antigen in a tobacco system, explained that further, what have you done? this is very normal technology. we've taken the antigen from the virus, we've claimed that the sequence and inserted into tobacco plants. these area inserted into tobacco plants. these are a different type of tobacco pla nts are a different type of tobacco plants from australia that are not using commercial products, they very quickly. we plan to raise the antigen and multiply it millions of times. we then take the plants and extra ct times. we then take the plants and extract the antigen and add it to a tobacco plant, then it is ready for testing. there is a race to find the vaccine, we know this, and normally it takes several years to test safely. why do you think the tobacco plant is better suited to fast

tracking the vaccine development? for a number of reasons, but the main reason is that it takes only six weeks from start to finish to produce a batch of vaccines for the tobacco plant. 0thers produce a batch of vaccines for the tobacco plant. others are nine months or longer. so we can produce a very quickly, scale it out very quickly. the efficacy of vaccines we produce tend to be good. safety will be good as well because there's no chance of any human pathogens being grown inside the tobacco plants at the same time. we think we are at a stage, where we are ready to take another step forward. we are calling for help, we need governments to help us with clinical testing. we need manufacturing partners to help us need manufacturing partners to help us with the downstream production of the vaccine, conjugating and dispensing it for use ultimately amongst patients and people. so that is why we are talking about this today. a quick final one for me - it

would be ironic, given that british american tobacco has made so much money out of cigarettes, damage to the lungs, that you find something that can help people with their lungs. are you going to profit from this? how would you run it?|j lungs. are you going to profit from this? how would you run it? i hope the politics of tobacco don't get in the politics of tobacco don't get in the way here. influenza vaccine programme is for profit, but we are very clear today in our press release that the covid—19 vaccine that we are trying to develop will not be for profit. we have this technology, we think it is interesting and breakthrough technology and we are offering it to the world to try to solve this global crisis. and we are looking for partners to help us do that. lets see if they come forward. very good of you spare some time, thank you. let's get some of the day's other news. spain has once more seen its worst day yet in the coronavirus pandemic, with 86a patients dying. more than 9,000 people have now died since its outbreak began, nearly three times the number registered in china. spain's infection rate does show signs of slowing.

officials in france have issued more than 350,000 fines to people who have been breaking the lockdown without good reason. the prime minister has warned that, even when things improve, it's unlikely restrictions will be lifted across the country at the same time. 0fficial media in iran have increased efforts to tell people to stay at home on the last day of the persian new year holiday, nowruz. all parks and public gardens have been closed in the country to prevent people celebrating norwuz with traditional picnics. more than 3000 people have died from coronavirus in iran. in the uk, the wimbledon tennis championships have become the latest sporting event to be cancelled because of the coronavirus. the olympic and paralympic games have already been postponed as has the london marathon. well the two—time wimbledon mixed—doubles champion jamie murray says it's a decision that will take some getting used to.

imean, it i mean, it is a big mindset shift. we are obviously travelling the world from january through to november, and we are used to being in different cities every week. new surroundings, new people every other week. you kind of become institutionalized to that, so for example, even when i'm in tournaments and it is friday or saturday, your mind starts to be ready to move on to the next event. so suddenly to be told that you will be stuck at home for five months in a row is — it yet, it is a big mindset shift for sure. such a shame, it probably inevitable given that it was moved to september in the us open in the midst of it, wimbledon has been cancelled since the second world war. we've got

plenty coming up on the coronavirus pandemic law if you want to keep up—to—date, you can visit bbc news website and app. hello there, good evening. it should be frost free out there this evening. still lots of cloud moving across, bringing with it a few spots of drizzle. we will see more showers coming back to northern ireland, some heavy ones for the north and west of scotland. clear skies developing in eastern scotland and the northeast of england, but when speaking up so we should see temperatures remaining above freezing. frost across southern parts of england because of all that cloud, so the weather will look very different early in the morning tomorrow. some sunshine here and there but we will see more showers coming in with a fresh new breeze, some heavy ones in scotland, those showers tend to ease up later. really strong winds will be in scotland, gills in the north of scotla nd scotland, gills in the north of scotland will be severe, gusts of

over 65 mph for a while. that will really make you feel cold, temperatures about five celsius. mild for each dashed eastern england where it should be dry and bright. 0vernight, that weather front taking showers southwards. this area of high—pressure lurking out into the atla ntic starts high—pressure lurking out into the atlantic starts to build in from the southwest. that will drop the winds overnight and it will be much less when by friday morning. but it could be cold enough for a frost in scotla nd be cold enough for a frost in scotland and the north of england. through the day we will find cloud amounts increasing steadily, and it will be thick enough to give a scattering of showers. the bulk the showers will be across the uk, with snow in the high ground in scotland. not as windy because that area of high pressure is around, 7—8dc in scotland. back to a high of 11—12dc for parts of england and wales. 0ver the weekend, things change significantly, the area of high—pressure heads towards continental europe. we start to see our wins continental europe. we start to see ourwins coming in

continental europe. we start to see our wins coming in from a southerly direction. those wins freshening up on saturday, more cloud from the uk, but otherwise many places will have a dry day with sunshine at times, and does temperatures of 13—1adc. but it continues to warm up during the second half of the weekend. that southerly wind will continue to strengthen, a windy day on sunday. this weather front will bring some rain across western areas from time to time. further east, the sunshine with temperatures widely at 7—20dc in the southeast.

hello and welcome to audiences in the uk and around the world. we're covering all the latest coronavirus developments here in britain and globally. first... the uk government says almost a00 million items of personal protection equipment including masks, alcohol wipes and aprons, have been delivered to nhs staff over the last two weeks. but one london nurse looking after coronavirus patients contacted us saying her ward is running out of safety kit two or three times a day and she is having to make heartbreaking choices about whether to help patients in trouble. her dilemma comes as it was confirmed that a member of nursing staff in his 50s who treated patients without protective clothing has died.

0ur health correspondent sophie hutchinson reports. southend hospital in essex where staff are threatening to limit care for patients with covid—19 such is their fear for their own safety. like many nhs staff they say they do not have the correct protective equipment. the hospital says it is fully complying with official guidance on ppe. today london came news of the first member of nursing staff known to have died with covid—19. thomas harvey who worked in mental health and his family are devastated and they blame the government for his death and a lack personal protective equipment. i feel like from the start of it if he had just had the right equipment then maybe he would not have been in this predicament and it would not have escalated the weight did and he would not have deteriorated them he did. unions representing health care workers say the lack of ppe

forfront line workers has become a crisis within a crisis and nurses say that without more ppe there will be more deaths. obviously we know that this virus does not discriminate and we expect to put ourselves at risk to look after our patients but we also expect to be given adequate equipment. here at the royal college of nursing they feel that the role of nurses has been overlooked. that for weeks no one considered just how exposed nurses were to the virus whether working in hospitals, care homes or the community and that unlike some other nhs staff, the work of nurses is almost always up close and personal. the government says it is working around the clock to provide the protective equipment that staff need. it says in the past two weeks with the help of the army it has delivered 390 million pieces of equipment with another a.7 million facemasks today.

but doctors say it is not just about the quantity of equipment they are receiving but also the quality. the packs are inadequate and they are very few items in them and they simply will not be enough to protect staff for more than if few hours at most and we know that this is a virus that potentially is deadly to people that catch it. what we seen from italy and china and elsewhere is if we do not get this right then doctors and nurses will die. tomorrow new official guidelines are expected to be published about which protective items each health care worker it needs in order to stay safe. ensuring that those items are delivered is likely to be an ongoing challenge for the government. sophie hutchinson, bbc news. 0ur political editorjust treated some extraordinary figures. almost a million people apply for universal credit benefits since the

government's stay—at—home policy was enacted on the 16th of march. normally it would be around... 10,000 people have been moved into help that demand and another sign of the real economic stress that shut down is causing here in the uk. in the united states many medical officials on the front line are comparing the conditions that they face to what it is like in war zones. 0ne chicago emergency doctor spoke with to cbs correspondent david begnaud during a few chaotic moments on his shift. this is the most scary i have ever been. it is not because of me but because of my wife and two—year—old and one—year—old at home. i do not wa nt to and one—year—old at home. i do not want to expose them. people say it is ourjob. it is not ourjob, it is our duty and what we signed up for a. that is doctor scott, an emergency room doctor at mount sinai hospital on the west side of

chicago. this is the only thing that scares me. how chicago. this is the only thing that scares me. how many chicago. this is the only thing that scares me. how many patients do you see on a daily basis that are suspected to be covid—19 positive. 0ver suspected to be covid—19 positive. over 60 or 70% every day. we keep hearing that young people are not as affected by this and has not been your experience? a 27-year-old was on incubate it last week, with no medical problems. he says anyone who arrives with respiratory problems are being treated as if they are positive for coveted because doctors cannot afford to wait the 30 days it is taking to get the results back. if there count is normal and there lent up edict which we look at and their x—ray looks like covid—19, and they are in the negative, it is covid—19. we had a and come late do you want to see the set up before we

go and? please. we put on the gown and goggles. as much ppe as we have. respirators, if we have them. but this is becoming all too common. the physician protection box as they call it as something that doctors had made at a local plastic manufacturer to help them deal with the covid—19 crisis. protective gear is scarce here, especially masks. when we use them for a shift... this patient who comes and right now, he is coming by ambulance i am assuming, how critical is the? they are doing cpr on him. yeah.

suspected co—fed patients need to be isolated. he is using a respirator heat used from a previous job and a filter who his father who works in construction gave him. how are you doing? frustrated. there are those who use bandannas as a form of protection for it ourselves and it is frustrating. it feels like the government let us down. how are you doing? thank you for asking. i am not well. it is not a joke. i want people to stay home, this is the real deal. are they still performing cpr. now, they are dead. there was no time to even test the patient for covid—19 that precautions were taken. the doctor says besides ppe and a break, this is what they need.

if you have a friend or colleague or anybody you know in the health care industry who is working the front lines, send them a text saying thinking about you and god bless you, love you, thank you for what you, love you, thank you for what you are doing. that is all we need. 0n you are doing. that is all we need. on behalf of a grateful country, thank you. sobering, isn't it? a reality of what all our doctors and nurses are going through at the moment. jonathan karl is abc news chief washington correspondent, he joins us from washington. it is really lovely to have you with us it is really lovely to have you with us and your new book is called front row at the trump show and it feels a little bit like that hasn't it, a two day with the president front and centre. i wonder in a situation like this, whether you can say too much? i wrote this book because i have actually known and covered him for some 26 years and i first met him when i was a young reporter in the

new york post and he was a real estate developer who is more famous for his marital affairs. i saw how he turned every story that he can in any way into a story about himself. as president it is easier to do that because as president and the middle ofa because as president and the middle of a crisis he has done it by being front and centre every day with the task force press conferences we have seen. and it can be too much. you wa nt a ccess seen. and it can be too much. you want access to political leaders and be able to ask questions of the president and of people needing this effort for the federal government and it has been out there front and centre more than the experts and let's face it, the information has not always been shall we say reliable. the eventual death toll he told us yesterday could equal the

death toll of the korean war and vietnam were combined and that is on the optimistic side of the equation. do you think america is ready for that? i think america is experiencing a situation like we have ever seen before. a crisis that affects every single person and now we are getting to the point where just about everyone in this country knows someone who either has coronavirus or suspected of having coronavirus. many of us already know people who have died. most people have already lost a job as a result of this shut down or know someone who has lost a job or has a family member who has lost a job. we are all experiencing this. that death toll is kind of mind—boggling, we have a president who on february 27

predicted the number of coronavirus cases, not that long ago, a little over a month ago, but the number of coronavirus cases in this country might go down to zero. at that point there were 15 known cases and no deaths. so, i do not know that we are ready for it but people were sensing it was a crisis that we have not ever seen at least in our lifetimes. i was saying to our correspondent earlier, we will see some disastrous job figures you would expect tomorrow. america is unlike other countries because it is such a capitalist society do you think the debate will come shortly on whether the cure is worse for the country than the disease? is that debate starting to stir there in the united states? the president tried to go there and you are basically quoting donald trump from a week ago when he was saying we will have to start opening up at least in some

parts of the country and it could be at the cure is worse than the problem but i think that he was jolted from that position at least for now and he can switch back at any given point and he was jolted from that position by two things, when he was hearing from the experts, hearing from the cdc and experts, hearing from the cdc and experts that have looked at this and explain to him that this 100,000 deaths is basically even, if we keep everything locked down, if we down, the numbers could be significantly worse and that toll could be much higher. the other thing is i think he isa higher. the other thing is i think he is a guy who also let's face it and a moment like this looks at the polls and the polls have shown that people think it is more important to get through this health crisis and deal with the aftermath once we know that we have gone through the pandemic. on that point, do you think the way he handles it, the

next few weeks will determine what goes on in november whether he gets reelected? it has to be a central issue. this is again one of those problems, one of the few situations where every human being is affected so every voter will have experienced some part of that. semi—big question on that is where is the pandemic by then? we expect the experts, the experts expect there will be a tearing off this summer but there could well be a re—emergence of this in the fall. if you look at what happened with the influenza outbreak of 1918, the peak death toll really happened in late october because it came back. so what i wonder is what are we doing and i have been asking this question and i do not have a good answer yet, what are we doing

to ensure that even in the midst of a great pandemic even worse and we are seeing now and november, what are seeing now and november, what are we doing to make sure the election can go forward? thank you, really great to get your perspective, thank you. in spain, authorities have reported another record daily death toll. 86a people have died in the past 2a hours. although there have been more than 100,000 confirmed cases in spain, the infection rate is continuing to fall. more than 9,000 people have now died there since its outbreak began, second only to italy and nearly three times more than the number registered in china. professor eva polverino — is a pulmonologist and respiratory infections expert at vall d'hebron hospital in barcelona and officerfor the european respiratory society. shejoins us now live. speak you are joining speak you arejoining us speak you are joining us from speak you arejoining us from home because he had a virus. it is very

likely because i was symptomatic in the last four days so i am waiting for the results of my tasks so it could be. we watch the video just before he came on on how doctors and nurses are dealing with it and chicago and we were struck by the fa ct chicago and we were struck by the fact that i think we take for granted that our medical staff know how to deal with a pandemic of this account, something so highly infectious so i imagine it is a learning process, isn't it? it is a learning process, isn't it? it is a learning process, isn't it? it is a learning process we are learning every day because it is something absolutely new for everyone in the world. the first time we face such pandemic and that is why communication is so important and why we are learning from each other. so as you learn effectively on the job, how are you managing your very precious resources? well, we had to estimate the burden of the situation

day by day, we have to prepare, we have to use our resources the best we can and we have to adapt our protocols to the situation and a way day by day and that is why continues at the date of the situation and about the way we are managing the situation. we had a tragic case here in the uk yesterday, a 13—year—old boy died. they are all tragic cases but what strikes me about it is that people are dying on their own. it is dreadful they have to die on their own without family members with them. yeah, you're right. you are absolutely right. 0n the other side, when a patient is hospitalized we have to reduce the risk of the virus spread otherwise you can have four or five patients with potential implications of that. so we had to

limit social contacts as much as we can to reduce the risk of contagious stomach contagions. so we are trying to work with communication with family members as much as we can so we have a specific team dedicated to this to communicate with patient families but it is our absolute priority to reduce the risk of virus spread everywhere. priority to reduce the risk of virus spread everywherelj priority to reduce the risk of virus spread everywhere. i know it is a process of trial and error and treating the victims but is there anything, any drug you are trying anything, any drug you are trying anything out of the ordinary that you're able to use in your hospital in barcelona that is having some effect? it is difficult to say and dangerous to say because in this tragic situation instead of asking to use a drug, and has not been sufficiently proven and tested, it

could be, you know, he could even create more problems than solutions so you really need to be sure that it is used for that and we are doing a lot of research and those senses and on one side to understand the best treatment for the virus and the other side to understand how the viral infection is leading to more cases and trying to find a solution thatis cases and trying to find a solution that is not necessarily antivirus. we are trying to avoid mistakes that are very important so i would never suggest to do new things, strange things because it could be really dangerous if you do not know how to deal with that. you are doing great work, look after you and your collea g u es work, look after you and your colleagues and thank you very much for coming on the programme. you're

welcome and good luck. speaking to us welcome and good luck. speaking to us from barcelona. tens of thousands of britons stranded abroad by the coronavirus pandemic will be flown home under a new arrangement between the government and airlines. the government has pledged £75 million to charter special flights where commercial flights are unavailable. marie young has been trying to get home from new zealand for two weeks and, with no immediate prospects of a flight to the uk, she's worried she could end up with nowhere to stay. shejoins me now. where have you been staying and how have you been trying to get home? we were very lucky because the first day we arrived in new zealand we we re day we arrived in new zealand we were and he can and we went to a fruit shop and met a lovely new zealand lady we kept in contact with us zealand lady we kept in contact with us during the holiday and when we got into difficulties in christchurch, when emirates cancelled our flight and christchurch, when emirates cancelled ourflight and prohibited us cancelled ourflight and prohibited

us from revoking, she said if you can get yourself to auckland, i have a flat you can have, a self—contained flat that you can stand for free and we were fortunate enough to get from christchurch to auckland on the last day of domestic flights so we have been staying in this flat now since friday. and yesterday we had an e—mail come through from the british high commissioner to say there were flights going with malaysian airlines and we have hopefully managed to book one for the 11th of april, they are very expensive and because we have not had a refund from emirates because they are refusing to and has been difficult but we are hoping we have a flight home now on the 11th of april but there are loads of people stranded and other places. i was going to ask you about that, lots of breaks go to

new zealand as well as other nationalities but is there some organisation, are you able to speak to other people in the same predicament? what happened was when i started making a fuss last week a lot of people came to me to see whether i have information because i was on the radio with my local mp and he promised he would send us direct information because we were getting nothing from the embassy, nothing from the foreign office and people were actually camp out on the embassy steps in wellington and getting nothing. they would not even open the door sedan and the same and auckland so he has been feeding him information and since he came on our side we have been getting direct information which then feeds onto all the numbers of people i have because there are huge numbers of people stranded in christchurch with no flights from the south islands so no flights from the south islands so no domestic or international flights and no more camp and endemic

campsites with facilities, no showers or toilets and their self paying full price. we are almost out of science to very quickly do you think that the fco could have done more? i think it was dried. he i think i would not be in the position iam and think i would not be in the position i am and now if i had not created a fuss on facebook and a lot of people came to my aid. that is only reason now that has been brought up because they did nothing. they did not respond to us at all and there are hundreds of us over here. i did not know what we pay them for. very grateful for your time and we wish you a safe trip home. they have cancelled about everything that they did not cancel spring. one of britain's most celebrated artists, david hockney is in lockdown in northern france. he's been busy drawing the arrival of spring on his ipad in the garden

of his house in normandy. he has shared ten of them with our arts editor will gompertz — drawings which have never been seen before — and he wrote a letter to will about his thoughts on the role of art in life. dearwill, in 2018,jp, my assistant and i came to normandy after the window was put up in westminster abbey. we loved it here, and i suggested tojp this would be a great place to draw and paint the arrival of spring. there are apple, pear, cherry and plum blossom, with hawthorn and blackthorn. east yorkshire only had blackthorn and hawthorn. we found this house with a large garden that was cheaper than anything in sussex. we bought it. i began straight away, drawing on a japanese foldout book. i drew all around the house and then i drew the house itself. these were exhibited in new york in september 2019. being a smoker, i do not care for new york, so i never went. we came back here to normandy on march the 2nd. i began drawing the winter trees on my new ipad. then the virus started.

i went on drawing the winter trees that eventually burst into blossom. this is the stage we're at right now. meanwhile, the virus is going mad and many people said my drawings were a great respite from what was going on. why are my ipad drawings seen as a respite from the news? well, they are obviously made by the hand, depicting the renewal that is the spring. i intend to carry on with my work, which i now see is very important. we have lost touch with nature rather foolishly, as we are part of it, not outside it. this will in time be over, and then what? what have we learned? i'm 83 years old. i will die. the cause of death is birth. the only real things in life are food and love, in that order, just like our little dog, ruby. i really believe this, and the source of art is love. i love life. all my love, david h.

up. we all need a little bit of that at the moment, but for a really, i need to update you on the vagaries that we can update from who. that number of cases is about to go over a million worldwide and we heard from health workers tonight in chicago and we have heard from a professor in barcelona so let me show you the pictures in paris of people in their tower blocks and plotting today the medical staff there and paris who are working very ha rd there and paris who are working very hard but just had there and paris who are working very hard butjust had some figures from france. similar to the figure is here in the uk, 506 people died in the past 2a hours but of course and france they are slightly ahead on the curve and we are here in the uk. emmanuel macron saying that if you look at the pictures, he is not going to be lifting the lockdown across the country all at once, it

will be on a case—by—case basis as regents start to come out of the epidemic and then restrictions will be lifted. you are watching bbc news. hello there and good evening, frost free out there tonight and still a lot of clad moving down across the uk living with it a few spots of rain and drizzle and even that will have more showers coming and. some clear skies developing in eastern scotla nd clear skies developing in eastern scotland and later in the northeast of england and wind is picking up and said temperature should remain above freezing and southern parts of england and it will look very different early tomorrow. there will be some more showers coming and and some heavier ones in scotland and snow quite low levels before the ease up snow quite low levels before the ease up a snow quite low levels before the ease up a bit later on. it will be a windier day across the board. stronger winds will be in scotland

and dells of north of scotland and severe gales vested over 65 mph and that will really make you feel old and temperatures at 5 degrees. mile there for east of england where it should be generally dry and bright and cold air overnight tonight and taking the shower southwards and in this area of high pressure and is working out in the atlantic and sta rts working out in the atlantic and starts to build and from the southwest. this will drop the winds overnight and much less windy. cold enough for frost in scotland and north of england. probably will find cloud announce and increasing steadily, scattering of showers and bulk of showers will be across northern bulk of the uk. it will not be as windy because we have that area of high pressure around and printer is seven or 8 degrees in scotla nd printer is seven or 8 degrees in scotland and back to a high of love then or 12 and southern parts of england and wales. —— 11 or 12. area of high pressure does not hang around and heads over to continental

europe and we start to see winds, and from a southerly direction and does winds freshening up on saturday but more cloud on the western side and maybe some showers as well. wetter shower for the northern isles and some sunshine at times and there are temperature is at 13 or maybe even 1a degrees. it continues to warm up during the second half of the weekend. do southerly when continuing to strengthen and the weather front will bring some rain on western areas from time to time and had further east for sunshine and had further east for sunshine and the temperature is why the 17 or 18 and possibly 19 or 20 in the southeast.

this is 0utside source on bbc news for viewers in the uk and around the world. we're covering all the latest coronavirus developments here in britain and globally. the world health organization says the number of coronavirus cases around the world is set to hit a million within the next few days. europe remains the continent most badly hit, with a record number of deaths in spain. and while there are signs of improvement in italy, we have a special report on the toll on health care workers there. a telly is still