senior health officials say they are frustrated by a lack of progress in expanding uk coronavirus testing. it comes after it was revealed only 2,000 front line nhs workers in england have been tested. the prime minister says there does need to be an increase. this is the way through. this is how we will unlock the coronavirus, and this is how we will defeat it in the end. with growing criticism of the government's response, we'll have the latest from our health editor and from westminster. also this lunchtime: we see the new machine developed in cambridge which can give a diagnosis injust 90 minutes. in spain, the death toll from coronavirus passes 10,000. another 950 people died in the past 2a hours. new global guidance is being

considered about face masks after research suggests coughs may project further than previously thought. and, saying thank you — celebrities urge people across the country to show support for nhs and key workers with another round of applause at eight o'clock tonight. thank at eight o'clock tonight. you so much, all you nhs and thank you so much, all you nhs folk and key workers. when this is all over and done with i'm coming to kiss you on the lips so corrupt. and in sport, eddiejones agrees a new deal through to the 2023 rugby world cup, which will make him england's longest—serving head coach ever, surpassing even sir clive woodward.

good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. one of the country's top health officials has admitted that everyone is frustrated by the low number of tests being carried out to detect the coronavirus. professor paul cosford of public health england says measures are in place to increase testing for nhs workers, after continued criticism of the government's strategy. the prime minister, borisjohnson, used a video message to stress that that is the key to defeating the pandemic. so far, only 2,000 out of half a million front line nhs workers in england have been tested, with ministers blaming a shortage of chemicals. addenbrooke‘s hospital in cambridge has become the first in the uk to use a new machine to diagnose the virus which can give a result within 90 minutes. and in spain the number of people who've died after testing positive for coronavirus is now more than 10,000. we'll have more on all of those developments.

0urfirst report this lunchtime is from our correspondent richard galpin. a desolate north london car park. not a place you would imagine to play a critical part in the battle against coronavirus. but this and other similar drive—through locations around the country now pa rt locations around the country now part of the push to ramp up testing of front line nhs staff, which is finally getting under way. the test these health workers are being given is to see if they have the virus. if they are in the clear, it is very significant. i think it is a very good idea. it was quite efficient, and it allows us to go back to work as soon as we could so that's the best thing we could possibly do for nhs staff, to be honest. still in isolation himself after contracting the virus, the prime minister is yet again stressing the importance of testing.

and yet he and his government faced sharp criticism that testing nhs staff and others should have been prioritised and ramped up much earlier. so far, only 3500 front line nhs staff out of half a million have been tested. and there is now a global shortage of the chemicals needed to make the test. and this has forced the government to change tack. it is now calling for many other laboratories around the country like this one to carry out as many tests as possible. we should be able to roll out 500 per day next week, so 3000 per week, and we hope soon after that to go up to around 2000 per day, which as you know is

in fact the total number of nhs workers who have been tested up until now. and the work staff are doing here is evoking memories of the second world war. it's a bit like dunkirk. we are one of the small boat. the government is putting in bigger ships and we hope they will get running as quickly as possible but in the meantime we are doing the best we can with a fairly small boat. getting all these laboratories around the country to ta ke laboratories around the country to take part in this concerted effort could lead to 100,000 people being tested every day. wherever there is capacity, we need to be able to get that onstream and use it, but it has to be capacity that works, the quality is as good as it needs to be so we get good test results, accurate test results, because it is worse to have wrong tests then to have no tests at all. in another

development, the world health organization is considering whether to change the guidance about using face masks to help limit the spread of coronavirus, but there are concerns it could cause more of a shortage for key health workers. the surgical masks are really needed in health care settings and often there's not enough supply, that has got to be the number one priority, but if we can get more than we need for health care workers i think it would be a good idea to start using them in the community. and as we get closer to the peak of this deadly outbreak, more signs today of the scale of the challenge the country faces in the next few weeks. already 20,000 regular troops like these have been drafted in to provide logistical help for the nhs, but now the reservists are also being called up... 3000 of them. richard galpin, bbc news. let's speak to our assistant political editor norman smith.

so the government still very much talking about more testing, the need to do more testing. how is it going to do more testing. how is it going to achieve this, norman? the hope is that it's more small independent laboratories come on board, they can help but it is a pretty dire situation with one leading medical research centre this morning comparing the situation to dunkirk. the hope of the government however seems to be less about the current test, which we are all having a great big row about, and more about the new tests coming on stream, which would test people who had coronavirus to see if they had built up coronavirus to see if they had built up antibodies to the disease and we re up antibodies to the disease and were therefore immune from the virus. the thinking is this test would enable them to know whether they could release people back into they could release people back into the community and therefore potentially could lead to millions of people being freed from the

lockdown. the government has ordered some 3.5 million of those tests, although they are not yet currently available. and there is part of the problem. that may be an exit strategy in the months ahead but it is no answer to the current crisis where doctors want to know if they are safe to operate, patients want to know if they have been infected with coronavirus, medical staff self isolating at home want to know whether they can return to the ward. so this new test could be an exit strategy down the line. it is no a nswer to strategy down the line. it is no answer to the coronavirus crisis we are facing now. norman, for now, thank you. our health editor hugh pym is here. norman nodding to the future but what about here and now? nhs workers across all different professions in the health service want to get back to work if they are at home self

isolating, if they can be tested and told they are negative they can get back onto the front line. that is the immediate challenge. it is a complicated system, that has been one of the problems with this. you have public health laboratories who have public health laboratories who have traditionally done testing. in the last month or so you have hospital laboratories who have been brought on stream and they are trying hard to expand their capacity, but hospitals in england only got the word this week that they should start testing their staff. all the tests until then had been just staff. all the tests until then had beenjust for staff. all the tests until then had been just for patients, which staff. all the tests until then had beenjust for patients, which is very important as well. then you have this new strand which only came onstrea m have this new strand which only came onstream at the weekend, these drive in test set up by the department of health, the government, for a fast—track system for nhs workers. they have got to a few thousand already. it's unfair to say it was only a few thousand because it only started at the weekend but some might say why didn't this happen a long time before. matt hancock is

calling for the private sector to come in and take part in this effort, that may boost capacity, but again the question might be asked why has it taken until now. hugh pym, thank you. addenbrooke's hospital in cambridge has become the first in the uk to use a new machine to diagnose covid—19, which can give a result within 90 minutes rather than 2a hours. a small technology firm in the city has adapted an hiv test, as our science correspondent richard westcott explains. it seems to be the kind of test the nhs is crying out for — a quicker, easier way to see if you've got coronavirus. a simple swab, then into this machine. other tests take a day or more to give a result. this samba ii machine takes just 90 minutes. so, the results are very easy to read. one line is negative and three lines is positive. it's quite similar to taking a pregnancy test. addenbrooke's hospital in cambridge is the first to try it out on patients and staff. the nurses took these photos

of their 20 machines arriving. they are around £20,000 each, but you can use them repeatedly. we are expecting a large number of cases in the next few weeks and rapidly diagnosing patients with or without covid—19 will enable us to triage much more effectively at the front door and that's going to be critical to maintaining safe and effective care for these individuals. in fact, it's already having an impact. one worker with mild symptoms was shown to have the virus, two who were self isolating were negative and can return to work. the machine was originally designed to test for hiv in africa. developed by a biotech company spun out of cambridge university, they've been working flat out to adapt it to find the virus. it's the first time we've worked in such a crisis situation but it does make it feel worthwhile. me personally, i was on maternity leave when i got the call that we were going to develop this test at the beginning of february, so i came back early and i've been

working with the team to develop the test and it's taken about six weeks to get this stage. this is not the answer to mass testing of everybody across the country but it could make a huge difference in our hospitals. they've got 200 machines here and they say if the supply chain holds up and they get the money they could make thousands over the next few months. crucially, it doesn't use the chemical used by other tests that's currently in short supply. it's simple to use. neha has been training staff at addenbrooke's. we were able to diagnose a health worker so who is actually positive, so it's just been a week but the impact is so evident. all the nurses who have been trained are extremely excited about what's going on. they have seen how much of an impact it can have in just a matter of a week. a quarter of the doctors and a fifth of nurses are off work with covid—19 symptoms but don't know for sure if they've got it. because it can test 15 to 18 people a day, this machine could help hospitals keep infected patients

separated off, and with a simple result help more staff get back on the wards. richard westcott, bbc news, cambridge. in spain more than 10,000 people are now reported to have died after testing positive for coronavirus. our correspondent guy hedgcoe is in madrid. a grim tally for the country. yes, once again, i mean these latest figures make for disheartening reading, especially over the last 2a hours when 950 people are registered as having died because of the coronavirus. that is the highest figure yet. for the last six days, spain has seen more than 800 deaths each day, so that obviously is a great concern and makes for rather dramatic reading. but the authorities are insisting that if you look at the bigger picture, then it does appear that the impact of

the coronavirus is starting to come under control. it compares for example the number of new infections we are seeing this week, which seems to be growing at a slower rate than last week. the government is saying the peak of the impact of the virus is being reached in most parts of the country. the big challenge now is to try and relieve the burden on the health services, in particular the health services, in particular the intensive care units which are under enormous pressure at the moment in many parts of spain, particularly here in madrid. thank you. the world health organization is considering whether to update its guidance about the routine wearing of face masks to prevent the spread of the virus. new research has suggested that coughs and sneezes may be projected much further than previously thought. our science editor david shukman has more details. how far can a sneeze travel? and would a mask help stop the spread of coronavirus? new research suggests that the infection could be reaching further than previously thought.

and now advisers to the world health organization are weighing up the evidence. masks are suddenly becoming a common sight all round the globe, from supermarkets in california to police officers patrolling the streets of france. until now, the advice has been that healthy people don't need them unless caring for someone who may have the disease, but that guidance may change. it might be that wearing a mask is equally as effective or more effective than distancing, provided that mask is worn properly and provided that people don't infect themselves when they are taking the mask off and touch another surface which may be contaminated. in germany, several regions want it to be compulsory for people to wear masks in public. for many, it makes a lot of common sense, but experts say it's vital to realise that the masks don't offer total protection.

in austria, the supermarkets are going to insist that everyone wears a mask, but health professionals say they must be worn properly and that the most important thing remains hygiene. above all, keeping your hands as clean as possible. a clothing factory in rome turns to making masks. demand is growing, but one concern is that if the public snap up masks all over the world, that may make it harder for health workers to get hold of them. david shukman, bbc news. the comedian eddie large, who's best known for the double act "little and large", has died at the age of 78. his son posted on facebook to say his father had been in hospital with heart failure, and had not been strong enough to fight coronavirus. eddie large — along with syd little — won opportunity knocks in the 1970s — and the pair went on to have their own hit television show in the ‘80s.

our top story this lunchtime... senior health officials say they are frustrated by a lack of progress in expanding uk coronavirus testing, after only 2,000 front line nhs workers in england are tested. coming up — inside the factories helping to supply more protective equipment to the nhs. and in sport — talks are continuing on how football can battle the coronavirus, as the premier league's top players are urged to resist wage cuts until they spoken to their union. more than 200,000 people are now known to have the virus in the united states. about 11,500 have died. vice president mike pence has said the country appears to be following a similar trajectory to italy, which has seen the largest number of deaths globally.

speaking at a white house news briefing, president trump said the us is "waging war" on the virus. peter bowes sent this report. the new reality — drive—through testing for the coronavirus in miami. florida is the latest state where people have been ordered to stay at home, as the number of cases rises steeply. new york city is still the epicentre of the outbreak in the us. here, the restrictions on movement have been tightened further, with playgrounds shut down. health workers in the city say they are completely overwhelmed as they fight the rapid spread of the virus. hospitals are running out of medications. some hospitals don't have protective gear for staff or family members of patients who come to the hospital. we are running out of medication and equipment and even oxygen, which is something that cases of covid—19 need. stockpiles of emergency equipment and protective clothing are running low. there are reports that federal

government and individual states are competing for supplies in a marketplace rife with profiteering and price gouging. america is also, unusually, on the receiving end of humanitarian aid from russia. after a phone call between mr trump and president putin, medicalsupplies, including ventilators, were dispatched to new york. the us is braced for a wave of coronavirus cases on a scale similar to italy, with up to a quarter of a million deaths. we're going to have a couple of weeks, starting pretty much now, but especially a few days from now, that are going to be horrific, but even in the most challenging of times americans do not despair, we do not give in to fear. we pull together, we persevere and we overcome and we win. facing some of its darkest days, america hunkers down for the long haul. peter bowes, bbc news.

japan is one country that has, until now, appeared to buck the global trend on coronavirus transmission. there has been no lockdown, and japan isn't carrying out large scale testing. but in the last week, cases in tokyo have begun to rise rapidly. from there, rupert wingfield—hayes reports. this was central tokyo just a few days ago. no social distancing, certainly no lockdown. and the same street today — something has started to change here. it began last weekend with the city's parks. so this behind me is the gates to yoyogi park in central tokyo. this is one of the city's biggest and most popular parks. normally on a saturday afternoon, it would be at this time of year jammed with people holding sakura parties — that is cherry blossom parties because the cherry blossom is coming into full bloom. you can see now, though, that the gate is closed. there's a sign on it

saying that it is closed because of the coronavirus. this has just happened in the last 2a hours or so. tokyo is finally enforcing these sorts of measures to keep people out of public spaces. this was the same park a week earlier. it was pictures like these posted on the internet that prompted the government to act. the prime minister's chief medical adviser told me without a major change in behaviour tokyo could now be on the verge of a major outbreak. you know, very fortunately, until after today, we have been able to avoid the worst case scenario. i think we are really at the crossroads unless japanese people or society as a whole behave very responsibly to avoid places or events that put them at high risk of infection. we may end up with a very

serious situation. but tokyo is still going to work in very crowded subways. shops and restaurants are still open, and on the streets knowledge of the danger from covid—19 still seems sketchy at best. translation: i do feel like it's other people's problem, so it's hard to imagine myself being infected with it. i'm going out to eat lunch. i have a meeting, so i will be out until night—time. japan is not doing large—scale testing. many injapan many in japan continue many injapan continue to claim that it's different. it's culture of cleanliness is keeping it safe from the virus. like these two—year—olds at kindergarten. after playtime its daily hand washing class. such habits may have helped to slow the

spread of the virus but they will not make japan spread of the virus but they will not makejapan immune. spread of the virus but they will not make japan immune. rupert wingfield—hayes, bbc news, in tokyo. british airways is expected to announce later that it's temporarily laying off 36,000 staff. the decision will affect 80 percent of cabin crew, ground staff, engineers and head office staff, who will see part of their salaries paid by the government. the shortage of protective equipment for health and social care staff has been a key issue as coronavirus has spread. the government says there were some initial distribution problems, but insists it's now delivering millions of items a day. but hospitals, care homes and gps are still contacting factories directly, asking for fresh supplies. here's our business reporter, simon browning. off the truck and straight to the factory floor. the demand for ppe is urgent, and uk factories who've been besieged by request for help, are getting to work. we can stop any production that we're doing at the moment.

they've encouraged us to stop their production in favour of the nhs. jenny got a call from an nhs supplier, who can't get its normal stock from overseas. her first order is for 5,000 sets of scrubs for monday. the race is on. i think it could have happened a couple of weeks earlier, if i'm honest. we're looking at 20,000 a week. we've also got other ladies as well that didn't have enough work, so they're going to come back too. so we're really going to go for it. within 30 minutes the first bottoms have been cut and overlocked. well done, christina. this is why you have to make in the uk. factories like this received a survey from the government a fortnight ago, asking them if they could make ppe. two weeks later, and the majority still haven't received a response. now manufacturers are taking orders from third—party suppliers, who'd usually get ppe made overseas. because the supply‘s become restricted, and the world fights the virus, uk factories are desperate to help. chapman bags in cumbria is silent. the factory empty, machines idle.

the boss told the government he could make ppe a fortnight ago. we have 25 staff. at the moment they're all at home, not doing anything, and they're desperate to help. here in chesterfield, specialised canvas was looking at closure, its order book crushed. people don't want teepees, so now they're making face shields. we were getting contacted by people who had problems with supply outside of the critical care infrastructure. so people like nurses doing home visits, care homes. we're now making isolation gowns and we've also developed a face visor product very rapidly as well. we started off shipping 200 units on monday, we shipped 400 yesterday. we're hoping for more than that today. the trade body representing the textile industry says finding a solution hasn't been easy. there has been delays, but we're working with the uk government now, with the uk textile industry, and bringing everyone together to make it happen as quickly as we possibly can.

the government admits there were limited distribution problems to begin with, but says it's shipping millions of units a day. but with the care workers, gps and hospital managers calling factories desperate for help, it seems there's still a very long way to go. simon browning, bbc news. it's never been more important to separate fact from fiction. our reality check correspondent chris morris has been tackling three myths about coronavirus that are being shared online. we're all going to be in this for the long haul and separating fact from fiction is really important. so, here are some more myths you should be aware of. myth number one, lemon juice protects you from covid—19. there have been plenty of claims about things you should eat or drink to thwart coronavirus, and the lemonjuice myth just won't go away. it started with a viral social media post containing advice

from a fake chinese scientist. to be clear — lemonjuice is obviously not bad for you. in fact, all fruit and vegetables are essential while nearly all of us have to stay at home. they can help keep you healthy, but they don't stop you getting a virus like this. myth number two, mosquito bites can infect you with the virus. we all know you can get other diseases from mosquito bites, but there's no evidence at all that the little brutes can infect you with coronavirus. again, remember, this is a respiratory virus spread mainly when someone who is ill coughs or sneezes. the best way to protect yourself is to avoid close contact with anyone who is sick and keep washing your hands. myth number three, blood donations will get you a free test. some people are hoping they might get a free coronavirus test if they donate blood. that's absolutely not the case.

but there's been a persistent false belief on social media that it might be. to be clear, you don't get tested for covid—19 if you give blood. the last thing staff who run blood banks want is sick people coming in. nor, of course, can you get the virus from a blood donation. so, the best advice for now — try to stay healthy while scientists work towards medical breakthroughs. chris morris. we're all being encouraged to join another coordinated round of applause this evening, at eight o'clock, to show support for nhs staff and other key workers. last thursday, millions of people across the uk stood on doorsteps, balconies, orat theirwindow. this week, people are being asked to clap for other critical workers as well, such as pharmacists and supermarket staff. john maguire reports. applause. when under attack by an invisible foe,

determined to drive us apart, we come together. applause car horns honk we're constantly told that these are unprecedented times but, day after day, nhs staff are prepared to step up. our role, a job for each and every one of us, is to support them. # too many broken hearts in the world. # too many dreams can be broken in two.# bagpipes play when this is all over and done with, i'm coming to kiss each one of you on the lips, so pucker up! for the vast majority of us, coronavirus will mean mild symptoms, feeling out of sorts. for others, it can pose a mortal threat. but some who've recovered are keen to give thanks where thanks are due.

thank you nhs for looking after me. we're really proud of all of you, including the nurses, the doctors, the porters, all those who work in care homes and the ambulance teams. let's get your protective equipment and your tests from the government soon. anything to say, girls? thank you! thank you, nhs. from the young and from the older. mark bowden's dad jack, 99 years young, has beaten it. i'm clapping very, very loudly for the nhs. i'd like to say a huge thank you for all the nurses and the doctors at royal bolton hospital, in particular ward d4. they've been looking after my father jack bowden, who is fast approaching his 99th birthday. he's been in and out of hospital now for the last two weeks, as he tested positive with covid—19. i've heard today that he's doing fantastically well. it looks like he's making a full recovery, and apparently today the nurse said that he was sat up out of bed. we, the staff at lewisham endoscopy theatres, are thanking you for clapping for the nhs.