this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world: expect it to be like italy — the trump administration issues a stark warning about the spread of coronavirus. to gather, we have the power to save cou ntless to gather, we have the power to save countless lives. we are taking the virus from every front, with social distancing and economic support. —— together. a grim story in the uk as well — the daily death toll passes 500 for the first time. how the virus does its damage — we have a special report from our medical correspondent. and david hockney, in lockdown in france, shares with us some of the ipad drawings that have kept him busy.

hello, and welcome to audiences here in the uk and internationally as well. the us vice president has warned americans to expect a coronavirus scenario comparable to italy. that comes as america now has 200,000 infections, and over 4,500 deaths. in new york alone, nearly 400 people died in the past 2a hours. florida and texas are now telling people to stay—at—home. all this after president trump warned of a rough few weeks ahead, as our north america editorjon sopel reports. at this time of year, central park in new york would normally be getting ready for concerts and festivals. instead, a massive field hospital is being built there to help alleviate an overburdened health system.

in this state alone, there have been 2000 deaths. america is shifting onto a war footing, and it brought a dramatic change in tone from the president, now urgent and sombre. i want every american to be prepared for the hard days that lie ahead. we are going to go through a very tough 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 that is going to be a very painful, very, very painful two weeks. and if that didn't frighten the american people, this message today from the vice president, visiting essential workers, surely would have done. he said that the us was on a path to follow the worst—hit country in europe. we think italy may be the most comparable area to the united states at this point. for the first time in this crisis, donald trump and his senior medical advisers seem

to be marching in lockstep. but one area where washington seems at odds with the rest of the country is on testing, on vital equipment. here, the president says that everything is under control. that's not what you're hearing on the front line. cheering chant: what do we need? ppe! today, exhausted health workers across the us have been protesting outside hospitals at the lack of protective equipment, and those working inside say supplies are running low. we're running out of medications, we're running out of equipment, and we're even running out of oxygen, which is something that patients that have covid—i9 need. and we're running out of equipment in the hospital, nearly everybody coming to the emergency department has this, and we are getting completely overwhelmed. if new york is the foretaste of what's coming to america, this is what's ahead. in the money capital of the richest country in the world, a forklift truck outside a hospital lifting corpses into the back of a refrigerated lorry. jon sopel, bbc news, washington.

well, gary 0'donoghuejoins us now live from washington. what is today's message from the white house? interestingly, they have started the briefing today by talking about some of the opportunities they believe drug cartels are seeing in the current crisis. they are substantially beefing up patrols in the caribbean and the eastern pacific because they believe cartels from central and south america are trying to take advantage of the situation as michael moore cocaine and methamphetamines into the southern parts. —— and smuggle more cocaine. it is the first time that i have seen a briefing deploying saying

they playing a lot of personnel ownerships because they believe it isa ownerships because they believe it is a real threat. —— personnel and ships. we had thought about this. you think about some of the cities around this country where police forces have been reporting a deep in crime because there are no people out on the street but this is the other side of that kind. —— dip. but they are saying this is an opportunity for drug cartel. they are saying this is an opportunity for drug cartelli they are saying this is an opportunity for drug cartel. i did not expect to be talking about drug cartels. there is still a lot of pressure from individual governors, individual states about the amount of materials they are getting from the federal government. there is

some innovative solutions taking place. companies in california fixing old ventilator machines but people who do not deal with those sort of machines being used for engineering expertise to fix those. a lot of pressure from governors fighting over the availability of ventilators. we heard that from the governor of new york and i can tell you, the pressure to stay at home is intense. about five minutes before coming on and, my telephone rang and the mayor of washington, dc, was effectively yelling down the telephone telling me to stay at home. well, i do not know where you are speaking from counts as home. we might not reveal that. we mostly make you watch and listen to

politicians, rightly, but if you ever get the chance to talk to ordinary people in washington, who do they tell you they are listening to in authority? it is very difficult because, as you know, the guidelines really do discourage any kind of interaction like that people are turning in large part to what you would expect, trusted news sources, you know that from the bbc figures and the american network, their figures have risen figures and the american network, theirfigures have risen and figures and the american network, their figures have risen and there isa their figures have risen and there is a lot of material on line that people turn to as well. i think there has been quite a lot of pressure on, if you like, trying to debunk the urban myths and the snake oil salesman. they have gone after people like that who have been peddling false hopes and falls cure

is. there have been some prosecution for those sort of things. in an information age with this trust around information, people seem to be gravitating to more traditional sources. we will let you telephone invermay! —— mayor. there has been another significant rise in the number of people in the uk dying with coronavirus as the government said this invisible killer is the biggest threat our country has faced in decades. 563 patients have died in the uk in the past 2a hours,most of the cases are in london but nhs england says the threat is everywhere. here's our political editor laura kuenssberg.

hilda churchill, who lived through a pandemic a century ago — the oldest victim at 108. dr adil el taya, the first medic to pass away. doreen hunt, a grandmother, who died on mothering sunday. as coronavirus has taken hold, just some of the faces of its hourly victims, but as the numbers grow, more families lose mothers, daughters, fathers and sons. and one of the latest, the fourth medic to lose his life, dr alfa saadu, who had returned to work to help. this is his son. we said our goodbyes and we just told him to fight for us. and then, the next 2a hours, 48 hours, his bodyjust deteriorated, from what they told us his body shut down, he had organ failure. he just couldn't fight any more. i massively admire the people in the nhs and the job that they're doing because it's nojoke. this is a serious virus and people are risking their lives to save people out there.

a message repeated by the government today... 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 counted on the sixth of march, 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 recorded to have passed away in 2a hours. the overall count 2352. 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 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 are now at 10,000 tests per day, we're rolling out additional networks at labs and testing sites and in terms of phe, 390 million products have been distributed in the last two weeks and, of course, we will continue to do more. there is evidence, too, that people are taking to the roads again, flouting the stay—at—home advice. there are frantic efforts under way to make space for those falling ill. the army moving in to help in cumbria tonight. in belfast, in glasgow, in cardiff and around the country, hospitals are being created out of conference centres in just a matter of weeks. but the broad political consensus that's backed the government's approach is starting to fray. what we're calling for now is a national testing strategy, to ramp up community testing and contact tracing, like we're seeing in other countries. that's how other countries have been able to beat this virus or get it under control. we're not doing it yet

so we need that national plan. a former minister and practising gp says the government just hasn't moved fast enough. we'd anticipated this is a risk, a tier one national security risk, that's in the public domain. it beggars belief that we didn't act quicker because we knew, we'd done an exercise and we 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. but a time of anxiety for our health and the country's wealth is a growing time of political pressure, too. laura kuenssberg, bbc news.

spain has once more seen its worst day yet in the coronavirus pandemic, with 86k patients dying. more than 9000 people have now died since its outbreak began nearly three times the number registered in china. but spain's case rate does show signs of slowing. france has also reported its highest daily number of deaths since the coronavirus epidemic began. 509 more people have died in hospital to bringing the toll tojust over 4000. officials have issued more than 350,000 fines to people who have been breaking the lockdown without good reason. italy's stringent lockdown measures have been extended, although families are now allowed to 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 — that's slightly down on yesterday's increase. it takes the country's total number of deaths to more than 13,000. of those, at least 66 are front line medical staff. 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's a breath of liberty but no more. welcomed, albeit with apprehension. translation: we're 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're not used to staying inside the whole day. we need some natural light, and 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're very shocked, he was much loved. and we're very angry, because we're lacking protection equipment for doctors. we feel vulnerable. wars must be organised during peacetime, not battle. we're 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. shouting. 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's 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. stay with us on bbc news — still to come: the coronavirus ghost towns of new hampshire. how the outbreak has ravaged the economy there. 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: the world health organisation says the number of coronavirus cases around the world is set to hit a million within the next few days. in the united states, big cities have been worst hit by the virus. but rural areas are affected as well — particularly by the economic fallout. new hampshire has told people to stay at home until may. and that has crippled the state's tourism industry, as jane 0'brien reports. off—season in the mount washington valley is generally quiet, but not this quiet. 0nly valley is generally quiet, but not this quiet. only a few infections have been confirmed in this region but rather than wait for the pandemic to hit hard, eateries, hotels and other small businesses have closed their doors. this restau ra nt have closed their doors. this

restaurant owner tried offering takeout meals but gave up after two days. it's coming, so if you don't stop, if you don't stop to flatten the curve as they say, you know, it's just the curve as they say, you know, it'sjust going to the curve as they say, you know, it's just going to be that much worse as a business owner who is for multiple people, how do i feel? conscience wise, i just multiple people, how do i feel? conscience wise, ijust can't multiple people, how do i feel? conscience wise, i just can't do multiple people, how do i feel? conscience wise, ijust can't do it. it makes it hard but i think at the end of the day, if we all do it, all going to be in the same boat economically, so... the white mountain hotel has been a local landmark the decades. even the slow season, its 80 rooms are fully booked at the weekends but now it's empty and most of the staff,