this is bbc news. the headlines... senior health officials say they are ‘frustrated' by a lack of progress in expanding uk coronavirus testing. it comes after mounting criticism of the government's response. the prime minister agrees testing needs to be increased massively. this is the way through. this is how we will unlock the coronavirus puzzle. this is how we will defeat it in the end. the prime minister is showing mild symptoms of the virus and may not come out of south isolation tomorrow as planned. 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. the comedian eddie large, best known for the double act "little and large", has died at the age of 78. the scotland first minister nicola sturgeon is giving an update on coronavirus shortly — we'll take you to that live. and saying thank you — celebrities urge people across the country to show support for nhs and key workers, with another round of applause at 8 o'clock tonight. thank you so much all of you nhs fog

and key workers. when this is all over and done with, i am coming to kiss all of you on the lips. good afternoon. 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. he's still suffering from mild symptoms, putting in doubt his return from self isolation tomorrow. (ani)so far,

only 2,000 out of half a million frontline 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 thousand. in the united states, more than 6.6 million people applied for unemployment benefits last week — doubling a record high setjust one week earlier. we'll have more on all of those developments later, our first report this afternoon is from our correspondent richard galpin. a desolate north london car park. not a place you'd imagine to play a critical part in the battle against coronavirus. but this and other similar drive—through locations around the country are 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's very significant. i think it's a very good idea. quite efficient. and it allows us to go back to work as soon as we could, really. that is the very best thing you could do for our nhs staff, to be honest. still in isolation himself after contracting the virus, the prime minister is yet again stressing the importance of strip testing. i want to say a special word about testing because it is so important. as i've said for weeks, this is the way through. this is how we will unlock the coronavirus puzzle. this is how we will defeat it in the end.

and yet he and his government faced sharp criticism. 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 pair date next week, so that's 3000 per week. and we hope soon after that to go up to around 2000 per day. which, as you know, is the total number of nhs workers who have been tested up until now. and the staff here is evoking memories of the second world war.

it's a bit like dunkirk. we are one of the small boats. the government is putting in the bigger ships and we hope those will get it running as quickly as possible. in the meantime, were just doing all the best we can with a small, or a fairly small, boat. getting all of these laboratories to take part in this concerted effort could lead to 100,000 people being tested per day. wherever there is capacity, we need to be able to get that onstream and use it. 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. it is actually worse to have wrong tests than to have no tests at all. in another development, the world health organization is now considering whether to change the guidance about using face masks to help limit the spread of coronavirus. 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 is not enough supply. we have to prioritise that. that's got to be the number one priority.

if we can get more than we need forjust health care workers, i think it will 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 now 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 already being called up. 3000 of them. richard galpin, bbc news. new figures have just come through from the department of health in terms of the death toll in the uk as a result of coronavirus. the department telling us that the uk wide total as of five o'clock yesterday evening now stands at 2521. that's 2921 are dying in

hospital after testing positive for the virus. the increase in the day before its 569. it is up by 569. those figures as of yesterday early evening. we are going to head to edinburgh. nicola sturgeon has just arrived for her daily brief thing. i would like to talk today about the figures of death we are sadly reporting. before ido so, death we are sadly reporting. before i do so, let me stress that every single death from this virus is a tragedy and my thoughts are with the families of those who have lost their lives. we know one of the most difficult parts of having a friend 01’ difficult parts of having a friend orfamily difficult parts of having a friend or family member die from difficult parts of having a friend orfamily member die from it coronavirus is the very nature of

this virus means the family cannot be there at the time of death. as we have talked about previously, only limited numbers of friends and family are able to attend funerals right now. if i could turn out to the numbers of people who have sadly died from coronavirus since our last update. i want to spend a little bit of time on this today. the figure from today, it comes from the health board notifications of deaths with a laboratory confirmation, it would be ten, taking the total to 86. we have also been advised of an additional 40 also been advised of an additional a0 deaths which had not been notified due to delays. that means the total number of deaths in scotla nd the total number of deaths in scotland is now 126. however, it

wouldn't be accurate to add all of the additional a0 deaths to today's total, they will require to be distributed over a number of days and we will seek to provide that further details later today. to reiterate, does mean total number of people with a confirmed covid—19 diagnosis who died in scotland is 110w diagnosis who died in scotland is now 126. i can also confirm today that because of the numbers of deaths are unfortunately rising as the virus continues to spread, it is necessary to make some changes to the reporting system to make sure as we go forward it is as robust and up—to—date as possible and also as comprehensive as possible. these two changes are as follows, firstly, from now on, the daily figure of confirmed deaths, reported by health protection scotland, will no longer rely simply on notifications by individual health boards, instead

they will use validated national records of scotland figures. in short what that means is the daily figure reported will represent the number of laboratory confirmed covid—19 cases confirmed through the death registration process for the preceding 2a hours, ending at midnight the night before. and the second change is as of next week, they will also start to report on deaths of covid—19 when mentioned on the death certificate. this will include not just the death certificate. this will include notjust confirmed cases, but also presumed cases, and it will cover a ll but also presumed cases, and it will cover all settings, including hospital and community deaths. as the number of cases and deaths rise, the number of cases and deaths rise, theissues the number of cases and deaths rise, the issues of patient confidentiality associated with smaller numbers become less releva nt. smaller numbers become less relevant. from next week, they will also be seeking to publish much more detailed breakdowns of these

numbers. we will give more detail of what that will entail over the weekend. i appreciate this is quite technical information, but as this situation develops, we are determined the information continues to be as accurate, up—to—date and comprehensive as possible and we are being as transparent as we possibly can. we tend to do a briefing for journalists over the next couple of days focused on death reporting, to ensure any questions can be addressed and the basis of reporting as we move forward is fully understood. the two other issues we wa nt to understood. the two other issues we want to address today are also subjects both of which, rightly, have attracted a good deal of attention. the cabinet secretary for health will speak more about personal protective equipment for those working in health and social care. we have taken significant action to improve both the supply and distribution of ppe to front

line staff. we are publishing revised guidance of when and how that equipment should be used. it is intended to build confidence in the workforce that they are being properly protected. the revised guidance had been produced on uk wide basis and expert scientific groups and it reflects more advanced stage in the spread of covid—19. second issue i want to talk about in just a little bit of detail is testing. i want to briefly summarise the situation here in scotland and cover the ways in which we are working to enhance testing capacity. as pa rt of working to enhance testing capacity. as part of that, it might be helpful to briefly give more context on what testing can and cannot achieve at the moment, all covid—19 testing is what is cold pcr testing. these

tests are identifying people who have the infection at the time they have the infection at the time they have symptoms. however, these tests cannot reliably test the virus in the incubation period, before the person has symptoms, and they cannot confirm whether a person has had the infection once they have recovered from the illness. in future, we also hope to be able to offer a different type of testing, what is called antibody testing, which would indicate if the person has had the infection. these tests are not yet available any reliable form. the scottish government is working with the uk on this and we hope that validated tests will become available soon. that means as of now, we have three priorities for the diagnostic pcr testing that we do have available. as you would expect, we need to test those who are more seriously ill to support the care that they get. secondly, we need to undertake testing so that

front line health care staff who have symptoms but not the virus can return to work, if that is appropriate. however, when health ca re appropriate. however, when health care worker is self isolating because a family member has symptoms, but they do not have symptoms, but they do not have symptoms, then testing the health ca re symptoms, then testing the health care worker would not be effective. so on occasion, the strand of testing will involve testing family members of health care workers who have symptoms. if they do not have the virus, the health care worker can then go back to work. i can confirm today we have tested a total of 3a00 nhs workers or family members and we expect that figure to rise considerably in the days to come. thirdly, we need to use testing to assess, monitor and report on the spread of the virus across the country. surveillance testing. that is, anyway, similar to what we do for the flu during the flu season. to enable us to test in

these priority areas, rapid testing capacity are taking place. initially, when this outbreak first started, we were able in scotland to test around 390 samples per day. that capacity has already increased to up to 1900 tests per day. we are building towards being able to carry out three and half thousand tests per day by the end of april, at the latest. from next week, we will seek to publish daily information on what tests have been carried out. there are two issues i want to briefly address. firstly, testing key workers and their families is important. we have so far tested 3a00. in many cases, testing will confirm an individual does have coronavirus. well we will continue to expand testing and to expand key worker testing, that does not mean staff will be able to return to the

workforce if faint to have the virus. a point to stress is this, as the virus continues to develop in the virus continues to develop in the coming weeks, it will become more likely a person with a symptoms has covid—19 than that they do not have the virus. second issue i want to address is the procurement of tests a nd to address is the procurement of tests and capacity. the capacity i have described that we are building up have described that we are building up is within the scottish national health service. we continue to look at ways to expand that capacity ourselves and with other organisations, and we are also taking part in four country initiatives with the rest of the uk which will further add to that capacity. these are in addition to, not instead of building our own capacity in nhs scotland. we are very grateful to every organisation that has offered laboratory space. however, we need to be sure that testing is done in a way that is both safe and meets high quality standard so we can be confident in the results. that is why there are

important due diligence issues that needs to be addressed before any laboratory can be used. it is why national services scotland has prioritised the expansion of nhs capacity, but engaging as a priority with external laboratories which are better placed to meet these criteria more quickly. we are also considering how we will use more extensive testing, including antibody testing, is part of the strategy to take the country out of lockdown. i must remind people that this may not be imminent. i want to close by once again acknowledging the extraordinary contribution of oui’ the extraordinary contribution of our health and social care workforce. this evening, i along with people across the country, will ta ke with people across the country, will take time to applaud the fantastic work they are doing. this building will light up in blue, that will happen this evening and every subsequent thursday in the weeks ahead. it is one small way of expressing our respect and our deep

gratitude for those on the front line. as i have said before, the single most important we can show support for health and social care workers is by staying at home. limiting contact with other people as much as possible, we can all do oui’ as much as possible, we can all do our bit to stop the spread of the disease, protect our nhs and saves lives. this unfortunately is not a quick fix. we want this phase of our lives to be over as quick as possible. as much as i would like to stand here and see other ways, it is unlikely this will be in just a few weeks. we are in this for the long haul. hopefully, as we gather more ha rd haul. hopefully, as we gather more hard data is how the virus is spreading in scotland and what impact these lockdown measures is having, we will be able to be more precise about when and how we can start to get back to normal. we will share as much of that analysis as soon as we can. i want, at every stage, to be giving you our most

informed analysis, rather than telling people what we all want to hear and then having to downgrade that later. so please, everyone, i know how tough this is. but please, please stick with it. you are helping us to save lives. let me thank everyone across the country who are playing their parts. your effo rts who are playing their parts. your efforts will continue to be vital in the weeks ahead as we fight this battle against coronavirus. thank you very much indeed. i will hand over an hour to the chief medical 0fficer over an hour to the chief medical officer and into the health secretary. thank you, first—minister. just to emphasise that transmission of the virus is still continuing in scotland. we have sadly seen more deaths each day goes past we are seeing more people who are seriously unwell and in intensive care. what we do know from the scientific evidence is is that if people are stringently being these new rules, very difficult rules that stop us seeing our

friends, stop us from seeing our family, these reels that are designed to protect the most vulnerable people in our society, those with compromised immune systems, the elderly, we are then able to slow the spread of this transmission. the fewer people that get the virus, the fewer people that will become seriously unwell and undoubtedly will be able to save many, undoubtedly will be able to save any undoubtedly will be able to save many, many lives in scotland. but we must obey these rules, these new measures, the strict impact on our own lives and livelihoods, and there was across society behaving differently than we have ever had to before, the more we comply, the better those measures are going to reduce the transmission of the virus and that length of time that we have talked about of at least two weeks, we would be able to lift some of the

measures, potentially after that three month period, if people are complying and if we are able to see that that viral spread is slowing and the number of people seriously u nwell and the number of people seriously unwell and the number of people dying will reduce. thank you, catherine. i will hand over to the health secretary to say more about ppe. as the first minister has said, urgent work has been under way with input from a range of royal colleges and control experts to rapidly review the existing ppe guidance for health and social care staff. to reflect where we are in the transmission of this virus, that view is now completed. 0ur chief medical officer and the chief nursing officer in scotland wrote to health and social care workers yesterday to make them aware the guidance was being published and will be writing again today to

outline the key changes, which i will briefly outline now. the guidance recommends the safest number of ppe to protect workers and specifies the type of ppe that should be worn in various health and social care settings, where patients are residents are being cared for. importantly, are residents are being cared for. importa ntly, new tables are residents are being cared for. importantly, new tables have been added to the guidance which clearly explain the ppe required for those different clinical and care scenarios. 0ne different clinical and care scenarios. one of the tables relates to acute hospitals, second to primary care, outpatient and community care, ambulance staff, paramedics, first responders and pharmacy. there it is an additional table which describes when to use ppe when caring for any patient or resident, regardless of whether the individual is suspected or confirmed

as having covid—19. this last table is important at a time when we are aware there is sustained community transmission of the virus and the likelihood that any patient or resident having covid—19 without the recognised symptoms is increased. given the recognised sustained community transmission of covid—19, the guidance importantly contains detailed advice around the risk assessment and use of ppe, including the use of aprons, gowns, fluid resista nce the use of aprons, gowns, fluid resistance surgical masks and eye protection, in the range of different clinical care scenarios, including community setting such as ca re including community setting such as care homes and caring for individuals in their own homes. the guidance also asks that organisations themselves risk assess to ensure they provide the correct ppe for the safety of their staff. the guidance is is also clear that

in line with certain circumstances, some ppe, including masks and eye protection, can be worn for a full session and doesn't need to be changed between patients. this ensures that health and care workers can ensures that health and care workers ca n safely ensures that health and care workers can safely carry out their work, particularly when the working in areas where there is a high risk of covid—19 transmission, such as emergency departments or intensive ca re emergency departments or intensive care units. the health and safety executive has the guidance and agreed the appropriate use of some ppe. importantly, in terms of shielding the extremely vulnerable in our society, the guidance asks that secondary, primary and community care workers should wear a surgical mask when providing care to any individuals in this extremely vulnerable group. we appreciate that this is an incredibly busy time for

all of our health and social care workers. we also note that those on the front line need absolute clarity on what these changes mean for them. the health protection scotland have produced visual posters and online video resources, specifying what kind of ppe should be worn in which setting. these are available on the website and later on today, we will be undertaking an exercise to make sure that this guidance and that visual representation of it reaches the hands of as many of our health and social care workforce as we can manage. i want to briefly turn now to the supply and availability of as i know they have been many questions of how the guidance changes supply. we continue to work with nhs national services scotland, our health and social care partnerships, the social care sector and with

collea g u es the social care sector and with colleagues elsewhere in the uk to procure and distribute necessary supplies of the type and level is required. in march, a0 million items we re required. in march, a0 million items were distributed to our acute settings, 8.8 million to community and primary care, and a.2 million to social care. these new measures have been introduced in terms of the ordering and distribution of resupply in order to streamline that and allow us to get the right ppe to the right people as as possible. i wa nt to the right people as as possible. i want to say a word about the many unpaid carers who are providing care and support to family and friends in the vulnerable groups, and may therefore need to ppe. we are working with nhs to put in place a system that supports unpaid carers to access ppe if they need it and when we have worked that out, we will make sure that through a number

of third sector and other organisations, and local authorities, as unpaid carers know how to access the ppe that they need. we have a new dedicated e—mail address for staff and members of the public to raise specific supply issues, if necessary. that is monitored continuously and allows us to act quickly to resolve any specific supply issues more quickly. finally, i want to take this opportunity to say that this area is of the utmost importance to me, as he health secretary, to the first minister and the chief medical 0fficer, minister and the chief medical officer, to all of us in government to make sure as those health and social care workers work to keep us safe, we do everything we can to ensure that they have the personal protective equipment they need to keep them safe. thank you very much. iam now keep them safe. thank you very much. i am now going to take a number of

questions. we have a large number of questions. we have a large number of questions from journalists joining us online. again, if your question has already been asked by somebody before you, please do not ask you have to repeat it and we will get through as many as possible. i will go firstly to kieranjenkins through as many as possible. i will go firstly to kieran jenkins from channel a news. first-minister, contact tracing appears to have been stopped in scotland, contrary to what the who recommends. what exactly is the trigger for starting contact tracing again? do you know how many contact tracers are trained to do this vital role? i am not sure it is correct about the who. i do not want to speak for them, that would not be appropriate to do. we set out a month ago in the four nation strategy that was published, the different phases of dealing with

this epidemic. the first phase we we re this epidemic. the first phase we were in at the time was the contain phase. what happens in the contain phase. what happens in the contain phaseis phase. what happens in the contain phase is that when a case is confirmed, all of the contacts, and remember that there was a definition of what a contact was, not somebody the past in the street, were traced and given appropriate advice, and where necessary testing as well. that happened throughout the contain phase. we then moved into the delay phase, which happens when transmission of the virus has reached a certain stage. that contact tracing does not continue to happen at that stage. we go to a situation of presuming that people with certain symptoms have the illness and ask them proactively to isolate. we are not having to contact people who have been close to somebody with a confirmed case of the virus to say you should be isolating, we are asking everybody with symptoms to isolate and, of

course, everybody with symptoms is being asked to isolate for seven days. if you are in a household with somebody with symptoms, 1a days. that is the appropriate approach we ta ke that is the appropriate approach we take in the delay phase. as we start to come out of the current phase with locked out measures, and we do not know when that will be, and i don't want to give people a false expectation about the timescales we are talking about here. when we come out of that, and we are already starting to think about the tactics that will be deployed there, the use of testing and going back to a situation where we are effectively trying to contain again and testing and contact tracing becomes much more relevant again, it is likely to be the case. we will go into more detail about that as and when we get to that stage. so that is the situation that was set out in terms of the different phases of tackling this epidemic in the actual

as they move to questions at the briefing from first minister nicola sturgeon, we will leave that for now and we hope to talk to scotland correspondent in the next little while. the first minister saying there have been 292 cases in scotla nd there have been 292 cases in scotland the last 2a hours, that is cases, of course, not deaths. and interesting that nicola sturgeon mentioned testing as well, because thatis mentioned testing as well, because that is the enormous political topic at the moment. so much focus on that. nicola sturgeon saying the aim, as faras that. nicola sturgeon saying the aim, as far as she is concerned, is to have 3500 tests every day carried out by the end of april at the latest. that is what she said. and very interesting, all of that, just in terms of tone, because we had from nicola sturgeon and we had from scotland's chief medical officer, very interesting that people want to talk about the lockdown, the self—isolation measures, how long it is going to be in place. but the

tone, nicola sturgeon saying, we are in this for the long haul. no politician, really, no medic wanting to be drawn, it is just too early to be drawn on how long this might last. nobody really wants to give specifics. interesting that doctor catherine calderwood put a lot of caveats on what she was saying in that regard, so we could lift restrictions if we can see that the viral load is reducing it, there is a lot of caveats. not surprising that people want answers on that, but just to allah, that people want answers on that, butjust to allah, i suppose, we are only in the second week. but the focus is very much on testing, and the focus is very much on testing, and sadly around this time each day we get the numbers of people diagnosed with coronavirus. and updates now from catherine burns. 0f course, we have had the figure from the department of health, which are uk wide. so talk us through the latest daily update they have given us. this is really split into two

different things. deaths, andjust us. this is really split into two different things. deaths, and just a number of new cases. in both of them, you could say we are holding steady. in terms of deaths, by 5.00 last night there had been a total of 2921 deaths across the uk, it an increase of 561 from the day before. which is actually relatively good, because the day before, the rate was about the same. of those people, in england, aa people had no underlying health conditions. the youngest was 25, the oldest was 100. it is difficult at this stage to talk about trends, because just because we are holding steady on the day before, we cannot extrapolate too much from that. on where we are going. but still, this is news that could have been worse, we would have expected may be deaths to be 20 to 2596 expected may be deaths to be 20 to 25% higher, and they haven't been. so when we talk about green shoots of hope, this is the kind of thing we are talking about. then we go to

the cases. again, something quite positive here. for the first time yesterday, we got to more than 10,000 tests happening in one day. so even though there is an increase in the number of tests being carried out, there were slightly fewer positive results. again, these are just a tiny little glimmers, it is far too soon to see what this means in the long term, but where we have a little bit of positive news, relatively speaking, let's focus on that. absolutely, there is a degree of consistency there. it is horrible to have to talk in those terms. talking about 500 deaths being slightly positive terms. absolutely, but if you are a medic and a statistician, you need to look at these figures, that is what we are trying to do. probably worth reiterating perhaps in terms of ages, because so much focus, wasn't there, in the early days of all of this, we talked about it so much, this, we talked about it so much, this is something that affects elderly people much worse. i mean, it is so striking when you look at people who have tested positive for

covid—19, it is the 22 years old to 100 years old. you are right that thatis 100 years old. you are right that that is the age range, but i imagine if you brought that down into statistics, that a 22—year—old was an outlier, that most of the deaths by far will be those older, more vulnerable, frail people. and also what we might find is we do not... we know for example that the 25 eels did not have any underlying health conditions, but that unknown, a lot of these conditions may be unknown and the co—op and postmortem. —— the 25—year—old. we should not panic when we hear about young people dying and thinking that is the way this is going. that is not necessarily the case. because we have to remember, as long as you know you have an underlying health condition, and regrettably some people might have a heart condition and be unaware of it. exactly. not uncommon for some this is why stats

are useful, but also difficult! we have to remember that for most people who get this, it is not to end badly. for most, it will be a short illness. thank you very much, we will try to keep you up—to—date with all of that. good afternoon, you are watching bbc news. we continue with our coverage, but let's just pause for a few moments to catch up on some sports news. we start with rugby, and england head coach eddiejones has agreed a new contract that could see him eclipse world cup winner sir clive woodward as the country's longest—serving boss. jones is set to stay on through to the 2023 world cup in france. his current deal was due

to end next august. jones took over in december 2015, won the grand slam in 2016, the six nations 12 months later and led england to the world cup final last year. we had a chat after the world cup, and they were keen for me to continue. i had an interest, but i wa nted continue. i had an interest, but i wanted to make sure that i could still improve the team, and the six nations for me was an important tournament. so i went into that tournament. so i went into that tournament wanting to know i could still add something to the team. because like anything in life, the longer you are at a place, the more difficult it is, so i wanted to make sure i could add something, and i think i can. eddie jones speaking earlier to the bbc. one other significant story in rugby union — newcastle falcons are set to be promoted to the premiership after the championship season was concluded early because of coronavirus. 0ur rugby correspondent chrisjones has the details. all the leagues below the

premiership have been abandoned, called off, finished early, because of the coronavirus, so it like the championship in something of a limbo, so it was confirmed today that newcastle are being promoted back to the premiership, they have a whopping 18 point lead at the top of the jumping whopping 18 point lead at the top of thejumping ship, whopping 18 point lead at the top of the jumping ship, having whopping 18 point lead at the top of thejumping ship, having won all their matches. they have implied a formula to ensure that newcastle finished top of the table, and they will pass the minimum standard criteria required to play premiership rugby. seniorfigures at brighton football club, including the manager, have decided to take significant pay cuts to ensure that non—playing staff aren't affected financially by the coronavirus. chief executive paul barber, the director of football dan ashworth, and manager graham potter will have reduced wages over the next three months. barber said it was appropriate to support chairman tony bloom's "significant efforts to protect alljobs at the club and charity." talks between the premier league

and the players‘ union have been ongoing today over possible salary sacrifices. it follows condemnation for clubs which have used the government's taxpayerfunded job retention scheme, including bournemouth, newcastle, tottenham and norwich. match of the day's gary lineker had this to say. the way tottenham have handled it i don't think has been very good, and what tottenham are doing to their staff, i don't agree with whatsoever. but that is a separate issue to what the players do, and it issue to what the players do, and it is the club that have said the players are going to carry on with their wages, but let's see what the players and how the players react to it. the belgian pro league has become the first major european league to be cancelled due to the coronavirus crisis. the final match of the regular season and the play—offs have been scrapped, the current league table stands and club brugge will be declared champions. the decision was made after a meeting of their council, which has

made the recommendation to the general assembly. golf, and organisers of the 1a9th open at royal st george have denied reports that july's major will be cancelled. postponing the event is just one of the options being considered, according to r&a chief executive martin slumbers. he says external factors mean it's taking longer to reach a decision, but that they will aim to provide an update as soon as possible. now, it might be cancelled for this year, but next year's grand national will have 10,000 nhs workers attending for free. thejockey club has announced they'll donate the tickets for the first day of the 2021 race meeting at aintree. that day will also be re—named liverpool's nhs day in honour of the dedicated nhs staff and volunteers across merseyside, working to care for covid—19 patients. this that's all the sport for now.

in spain more than 10,000 people are now reported to have died after testing positive for coronavirus. earlier our correspondent in madrid, guy hedgecoe gave us an update on the latest figures. 950 people are registered as having died in the last 2a hours. that is the highest figure yet. spain has seen more than 600 days each day, which is a great concern, the mix of 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 the last week. so the government is saying that the peak 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 ca re relieve the burden on the health care services, in particular the intensive care units, which are under enormous pressure at the moment. in many parts of spain, particularly here in madrid. the world health organisation 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. 0ur 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. nicola sturgeon was giving her breathing allah. let's just talk a little bit more about what she and the chief medical officer for scotla nd the chief medical officer for scotland had to say. —— was giving her briefing earlier. there has been a very big jump in figures from 76

to 126, saw an increase of 50. a p pa re ntly to 126, saw an increase of 50. apparently injust one to 126, saw an increase of 50. apparently in just one day. what first minister nicola sturgeon was very keen to point out is that a0 of the of those deaths announced today we re the of those deaths announced today were delayed as a result of family liaison, so they should be spread over a number of days, which means the increase in the number of deaths she was talking about today in reality is nowhere near as stark as it looks when you look at the figures. nevertheless, there has been a significant increase, and there have been a0 deaths in scotla nd there have been a0 deaths in scotland that we didn't know about until today. perhaps the other key thing that she mentioned was the number of tests that have been done on workers in the nhs and their families. and she said the total there was 3a00. that sounds like a relatively large figure compared to the figure for england we have been

talking about for the last day or so. so whether the testing regime is more efficient in scotland or not is difficult to know at this stage, but she has certainly promised that there will be 3500 tests per day taking place in scotland by the end of this month. yes, that is quite interesting, isn't it? you are right, we need to drill down and try to get to the bottom of that discrepancy. and testing, as you say, absolutely the topic of the last few days in particular. she made that pledge, very firm, that by the end of april at the latest, she emphasised. do we know about the practicalities of that, how she is confident that that can indeed happen? i think it mustjust be the case that she knows that the facilities are there. she knows the capacity is there. there has been an issue about the amount of capacity that there is for tests, and the amount of tests actually having been done, and! amount of tests actually having been done, and i think it is the case that sometimes capacity has not been

reached, there is the potentialfor more tests to be done each day, that has not happened. so that'll be a key factor. if you have the ability to do it, you have to make sure you actually do it. you fulfil the capacity. she sounds as she is confident, she has lived on that markerfor confident, she has lived on that marker for the confident, she has lived on that markerfor the end of confident, she has lived on that marker for the end of the confident, she has lived on that markerfor the end of the month, and of course everyone will be watching to see whether that expectation, that ambition, is achieved by the end of april. james shaw, for now, thank you very much. president trump says the us "has to help" two coronavirus—stricken cruise ships approaching florida. on one of them, the ms zaandam, four people who'd caught covid—19 have died. the ships are awaiting clearance to dock in the southeastern state after several countries refused permission. we've been talking to madga glazik, whose father is stranded on the zaandam, as are the parents of anderw rae. their understanding at the moment is they should be able to port and... i have been on twitter speaking to the commissioners over

there and gradually they have all been softening their position about this. with trump coming out and speaking, i am very confident they will be able to land and get home very soon. they are in good health, but they are very stressed and upset that they were assured that all measurements were taken to make sure everything would be fine. they have the health correspondents saying that the company has taken care of everything. so, you know, i'm sure you can understand they are extremely stressed now, extremely tired as well being confined to their cabins for so many days. my dad and his wife were e—mailed this morning by the consul in miami, saying that they were working very hard to get them off the ships. and they will be probably tested by medical staff, and put through customs and apparently put on a coach and taken straight to the airport but, you know, that is all theory at the moment. there is no guarantee of anything.

all we want at the moment is to basically be able to dock first and that is what we are waiting for, this news, that the florida authorities have let them dock, so that is the most important thing at the minute. british airways is expected to announce later that it's temporarily laying off 36,000 staff. the decision will affect 80% 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 have been besieged by requests for help, getting to work. companies have encouraged us to stop the production in favour of the nhs. jenny got a call from an nhs supplier can get their normal stock from overseas. the first orders for 5000 sets of scrubs by monday. the race is on. the first orders for 5000 sets of scrubs by monday. the race is onm could have happened a couple of weeks earlier, if i'm honest. we are looking at at least 20,000 a week. we have ladies who did not have enough work who are going to come back as well, so we are really going to go for it. within 30 minutes, the first bottoms have been cut and overlooked. well done, christina. this is why you have to make them in

the uk. two weeks on from a survey, and the majority of companies who are consulted have still not received a response. supply from overseas has been restricted, so uk factories are desperate to help. this company in sunderland is silent, the factory empty. the boss told the government he could make ppe a fortnight ago. we have 25 staff. at the moment, they are all at home not doing anything, and they are desperate to help. here in chesterfield, this company was looking at closure, its order book crushed. people do not want teepees, so now they are making face shields. we were contacted by people who had a problem with supplies, people like nurses during home visits, care homes. we are now making isolation gowns, and we have also developed a

face visor product very rapidly as well full stop we shipped 200 units on monday, a00 yesterday, and we hope for more than that to the trade body representing the textile industry suspending a solution has not been easy. there have been delays, but we are working out with the uk government, with the uk textile industry, bringing everyone together to make it happen as quickly as possible. the government admits there were limited to begin with, but says it is shipping millions of units each day. but with ca re millions of units each day. but with care workers, gps and hospital managers: factories desperate for help, it seems there is still a very long way to go. —— hospital managers: factories. the comedian eddie large, best known for the double act little and large, has died at the age of 78. his son posted on social media 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 1980s. we're all being encouraged to join another co—ordinated round of applause this evening, at 8.00, 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. 0ur 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 da. 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. now we are clapping and saying thank you for staying at home. applause and cheering john maguire with that report. and at 8.00 this evening on bbc one, we'll be live

across the country as people applaud health service staff and all those dealing with the pandemic. now it's time for a look at the weather. hello. well, for most of us, it's cool and cloudy out there, but we've got some very big changes going on in the air over the next few days. here's a summary of friday and saturday. i think it's going to be relatively chilly, certainly some morning frosts on the way, but a very big change on the way come sunday — it's going to turn much, much warmer. temperatures could hit 20 celsius. anyway, this is what is happening right now. this motion in the cloud you can see coming in from the north, that is actually a cool front. it is introducing colder air to northern parts of the uk. and that means that, later on this afternoon and into this evening, the skies are going to clear here. and the temperatures are going to tumble. in fact, at 5.00pm already, temperatures only 6 celsius

in aberdeen. and the cold front is just about here, you can see almost like a saddle here in the cloud, with a few pockets of rain. the skies clearing here, but occasional showers, too. maybe even some wintry ones there across the scottish hills. you can see where the air frost is, that blue colour there, but to the south, not quite so cold, we are talking around 6 or 7 celsius in cardiff and in plymouth. so here is friday's weather. the best of the sunshine in the morning probably across these eastern areas, but in the west, quite cloudy at times. there will be some showers, too, and i think generally through the course of the day, we will see clouds actually building up. so if you have had a sunny morning, you will have a cloudier afternoon. temperatures will be around 9 or 10 celsius. so friday night into saturday, that's when we start to see some changes. see these isobars? they are pointing from south due north. that is also where the wind is coming from, you can see those arrows following those isobars that ijust showed you. that's a warmer source, so that means temperatures will start to pick up already on saturday.

there will be some sunshine around, too. 1a celsius expected in london, but come sunday, that is when that really warm air will start to arrive, a plume of warm air from the southern climes, and some sunshine around, too. obviously, we live in times when we cannot really make the most of the weather, but at least knowing that the weather is fine out there is quite a cheerful thing to talk about. so 20 celsius there in london, 17 expected in newcastle on sunday. and also the pollen levels will be turning quite high in the south, particularly in the south—east.

this is bbc news. the headlines... a further 569 people have died from the coronavirus in the uk — the largest daily rise since the crisis began. senior health officials say they are ‘frustrated' by a lack of progress in expanding uk coronavirus testing as the prime minister says he's doing all he can to increase testing. the prime minister is still showing mild symptoms of the virus — and may not come out of us unemployment soars as the effects of the pandemic bites — a record 6.6 million americans filed for benefits in the last week.

in spain, the death toll from coronavirus passes 10,000. another 950 people died in the past 2a hours. we'll speak to to the british ambassador to spain in the next hour. the comedian eddie large, best known for the double act "little and large", has died at the age of 78 after contracting coronavirus. and, saying thank you — celebrities urge people across the country to show support for nhs and key workers, with another round of applause at 8 o'clock tonight. thank you so much, all of you nhs staff and key workers. when this is all over and done with, i am coming to so pucker up.

good afternoon. a further 569 people have died from coronavirus in the uk — according to the latest figures from the department of health. a total of 2,921 people have now died from coronavirus in the uk. there have been 33,718 confirmed cases. you can see here the upward trend in the number of deaths and cases over the past few weeks. meanwhile, the government is facing mounting criticism over a lack of testing — so far, only 2,000 out of half a million frontline nhs workers in england have been tested. 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. in other developments — in spain, the number of people who've died after testing positive for coronavirus is now more than10,000. in the united states, more than 6.6 million people applied for unemployment benefits last week — doubling a record high setjust one week earlier. we'll have more on all of those developments later. our first report this afternoon is from our correspondent richard galpin. a desolate north london car park. not a place you'd imagine to play a critical part in the battle against coronavirus. but this and other similar drive—through locations around the country are 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's very significant. i think it's a very good idea.

it was quite efficient. and it allows us to go back to work as soon as we could, really. that is the very best thing you could do for our nhs staff, to be honest. still in isolation himself after contracting the virus, the prime minister is yet again stressing the importance of testing. i want to say a special word about testing because it is so important. as i've said for weeks and weeks, this is the way through. this is how we will unlock the coronavirus puzzle. this is how we will defeat it in the end. and yet he and his government face 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 tests.

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 a day next week, so that's 3000 per week. and we hope soon after that to go up to around 2000 per day. which, as you know, is 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 boats. the government is putting in the bigger ships and we hope those will get running as quickly as possible. in the meantime, we are just doing all the best we can with a small, or a fairly small, boat. getting all of these laboratories to take part in this concerted effort could lead to 100,000

people being tested a day. wherever there is capacity, we need to be able to get that onstream and use it. 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. it is actually worse to have wrong tests than to have no tests at all. in another development, the world health organization is now considering whether to change the guidance about using face masks to help limit the spread of coronavirus. 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 is not enough supply. we have to prioritise that. that's got to be the number one priority. if we can get more than we need forjust health care workers, i think it will 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 now 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 already being called up. 3000 of them. richard galpin, bbc news. let's cross to our political correspondent chris mason. it is still the topic of testing which is dominating all of the rhetoric. where are we, as far as you have assessed this afternoon as what the government says should be happening. it is absolutely the focus, testing. it was the dominated theme at the... it would be the dominating theme at the daily press conference that will begin in a couple of hours' time. what have we learnt today? and from that briefing

from the tickle reporters. matt hancock, the health secretary, is likely to explain how the government can increase the tests for coronavirus. the question is how, rather than the rhetoric. downing street is acknowledging it is an issue. the prime minister pass back spokesperson saying people have been tested at the drive through sites and more have been tested in laboratories. we expect to get an update on that number any couple of hours' time. there are two laboratories, in addition to the one in milton keynes, in cheshire and glasgow, to process in the north of england and in scotland. the other thing the government is emphasising alongside testing is that absolutely caught it strategy is this whole thing about social distancing. whilst it would be useful to do the

test to ensure nhs workers can get back on the front line as quickly as possible, particularly if they have a self isolated with symptoms in the family and it turns out those symptoms are not coronavirus, from the government's perspective it comes back to the core messaging of social distancing. they say that is the key way to drive down the rate of transmission, in other words to drive down how each infected person passes the virus onto. that is about driving down the rate of infection. an nhs worker would perhaps say, i live in a house share with four other people who work at the same hospital. 0ne other people who work at the same hospital. one of them has to south isolate, therefore we all cannot go to work. this is why they would want to work. this is why they would want to test. absolutely right. it is infuriating enough for anyone outside a medical setting when there isa

outside a medical setting when there is a symptom in the house, speak from personal experience, and you are holed up for a fortnight. when you do not that person has had the virus and you suspect they probably have not, it is frustrating. frustrating is one thing for a journalist. it really matter is of course to people on the nhs front line. when it happens across the piece and they diligently follow the advice but find themselves being taken away from a hospital ward or wherever it might be, that has massive societal consequences, doesn't it? there is real concern about to be articulated as soon as i finish leather is not sufficient testing for nhs staff, as the same way we have heard repeated about the lack of personal protective equipment. it has the consequence of potentially meaning that there was on the front line either get the virus, which obviously we want to keep to a minimum, but secondly,

find themselves being taken off the front line because they prove to be symptomatic, showing symptoms which mean they can no longer work. it was really telling in the last 2a hours that in the last couple of weeks with a has—been recognition that, yes, there are questions to be asked with the government by the wrestling was something that is unprecedented and the testing every part of whitehall in ebay that those working there have never been tested before, there have never been tested before, there is a recognition now across there is a recognition now across the piece that on the issue of testing and the issue of personal protective equipment, there are big questions for the government to answer. even set against its own targets of a couple of weeks ago, often those targets are simply not being met. chris, thank you very much for now. let's discuss some of those topics. let's talk to dr chris george who is a nhs doctor. thank you so much for your time.

such a very busy time for you. i would like to start with the issue of testing. what is your experience of testing. what is your experience of it and what are your thoughts about testing, particularly for people in your position?” about testing, particularly for people in your position? i am working in general practice. i am starting to find that having symptoms of a car for a cold and not sure what is going on. 0ut symptoms of a car for a cold and not sure what is going on. out of nine gps, three of them are having to isolate, that has a huge impact on the care we can deliver. saw three of the nine doctors are self isolating and i am assuming that none of those three have been able to ta ke none of those three have been able to take a test which might, in theory, shortly do not have it and they can carry on working? yes, exactly. because we do not have the test at the moment, we do not know if they have coronavirus are not. that means they have to self—isolate and they cannot work with us at the moment. what is your understanding

as to why the simply cannot access the tests? is it availability of the tests, a distribution issue? what have you been told? we have been told it is an availability issue. we know the government are trying to increase tested 25,000 per day. three and half thousand of the tests are for nhs workers, which are not enough. what is your experience as well where you are working of ppe? do all of you have enough protective equipment at the moment?” do all of you have enough protective equipment at the moment? i think ppe has been slow to come through. initially, we did not have enough equipment but it has got better over the last few days. we had a small number of facemasks available and that has now increased as of this week. we now have a few hundred to spare. a lot of the other equipment had been donated by the public as well. my goggles have been donated

by using a 3d printer by a member of the public. a member of the public donated that. thank you so much for your time. thank you very much for everything you are doing. thank you for speaking to us at a very busy time. working there in general practice. we will stay there with that issue. let's talk to the shadow attorney general. there you are. thank you for your time. you, i hope, heard all of that. i did. that young gp we were talking to said his practice were told it was about lack of availability, that is why they cannot be tested. your thoughts on that? clearly, at some stage down the road there will be an enquiry into the handling of all of this, not in the uk, but all over the

world and lessons will have to be learned. but for now, we as a constructive opposition at a time of international emergency are sticking to things from the government. the first is clarity, greater clarity in government strategy, policy and communication with the public. everybody has to be taken along with this and reassured. the second thing we are asking for is more effective delivery of protection for people, whether that is kit, like vital testing kit, or the ppe protective equipment on the front line of whether it is economic protection for everyone currently in lockdown. in relation to testing, there seems to bea in relation to testing, there seems to be a failure on both fronts. insufficient clarity of strategy and communication and insufficient delivery of the protection. the government really will be looking to the press conference. beyond the press co nfe re nce the press conference. beyond the press conference will be looking to the government for publication of

detailed policy and strategy for delivering testing, notjust for the nhs front line, that is clearly the top priority, but beyond that we are going to need a strategy for community based testing for really the majority of the population of the majority of the population of the time. that is the route out of lockdown. if you look at the countries that are flatten the curve, had fewer proportion of fatalities, you are looking at places like south korea where they have really, really got organiser testing and contact tracing. that is what we are looking to the government to deliver. when you talk about the strategy and the planning, do you accept that, by definition, this is uncharted territory for the uk and we are in unprecedented times? of course i do. i hope that thatis times? of course i do. i hope that that is coming across. my colleagues

andi that is coming across. my colleagues and i in recent weeks have bent over backwards to show our solidarity, even with our political opponents, because this is no ordinary situation. it is our duty as a loyal opposition but an opposition no less, to give our constructive suggestions. greater clarity, clarity of purpose, strategy, communications and more effective delivery of the protection that people need on the ground. and in terms of protection, ijust wonder what goes through your mind when you hear the story we just heard from that gp talking about a member of the public who knew a lot about online printing and was therefore able to help out by using that and designing and providing equipment for that gp practice. it should not have to be like that. on the one hand, it's wonderful that that member of the public stepped up in

that way. it is unsettling that the approach has to be so chaotic. we have an nhs that was once world envied, and to some extent still is. it has suffered over ten years of austerity and it is not as resilient as we would like it to be. we will learn lessons for the future. i am not trying to undermine anyone's morale, not even in the conservative party or the government. i am trying to give constructive criticism about how we might be better organised and resourced going forward. thank you very much for your time. thank you. 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.

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.

0ne 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—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. 21 minutes past three. let's turn our attention to the us. we have had those extraordinary unemployment figures through from the united states. a huge increase in the

number of people applying for jobless benefits, all because of covid—19. the recent figure 6.6 million people have applied for benefits. this is a staggering figure, gary. yes, i mean, we were pretty speechless this time last week when that 3.3 million came out and here we are double that this time around. almost 10 million people signing on in the space of two weeks. we know why it is, because the retail sector has effectively closed down, as has the hospitality sector, the tourism sector, and this does not even really cou nt sector, and this does not even really count all of the jobs that are being lost in the moment, in the gig economy, they will not show up at the moment. there is help on the way in terms of that rescue package that congress passed, that $2

trillion. some of that is aimed at lengthening the amount of time you can claim unemployment benefit for, and increasing the amount you get whilst. a and increasing the amount you get a lot of that money has not gone out yet. direct payments that are going to get, $1200 for an adult, $500 for a child, depending on your income, those checks are not out yet. people are losing theirjobs and diving into whatever savings they have, waiting for the federal government to send them some action. this is not a stimulus, this isjust chucking kindling on the fire to keep people warm and fed and heated at home. and what sort of questions are going to be asked politically about all of this, given that the economic impact is not surprising, thatis economic impact is not surprising, that is affecting lots of countries, but given president trump's rhetoric

that we were reflecting on just a few weeks ago? yes, i mean, at this stage there is very little partisan talk in that regard, as you would expect. i think and when he tried that at this moment in time politically would be fallen upon by most of the country. i think in terms of whether or not it could have been easier, they would have still been a huge number ofjob losses, whether it would have been this size, wejust losses, whether it would have been this size, we just do not know. it is beyond the bounds of knowing, really. the question i think economists will be looking at is whether or not when the virus is dealt with, when things begin to get back to normal, will the recovery be au back to normal, will the recovery be a u shape, will it take a long time to get back to what it was, i will go down and straight up again. with

this amount of job go down and straight up again. with this amount ofjob loss happening and the loss of the infrastructure that goes along with it, i think the fear is that it will not be a straight bounce back. yes, absolutely. very interesting. thank you very much. 0ur correspondent following those figures in washington. the comedian eddie large, best known for the double act "little and large", has died at the age of 78. his son posted on social media 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 1980s. let's speak to our entertainments correspondent colin paterson. yes, back in the day, colin, little

and large pulled in big viewing figures, didn't they? very huge. it was estimated it would get rd and audiences around the 15 million mark. why were they so popular? it was good old —fashioned mark. why were they so popular? it was good old—fashioned comedy. they came from the working men's clubs in manchester and the one opportunity knocks. in 1978, markham and wise defected from the bbc to itv and bbc that the ideal deal to replace them where little and large. there routine went like this, said little would come on and play an instrument and play some jokes and then eddie large would heckle him and make jokes at his expense. did not change over the years but it was hugely popular. it started to look in the eyes of bbc commissioners in the

19805, eyes of bbc commissioners in the 1980s, dated. it was axed in 1981. they performed around the country for another decade, retiring because eddie large had a heart transplant, something that has long plagued him. he spoke about how little had to pf°p he spoke about how little had to prop him up over the last few years while they were performing live. colin paterson, thank you very much for now. remembering eddie large who has died at the age of 78. let's ta ke has died at the age of 78. let's take a look at the weather prospects just now. we will get all the details. across most of the uk the weather is relatively quiet at the moment. quite windy in northern parts of scotland. the winds are blowing out of the north or the north—west. skies are clearing across parts of north of england

over the night. a frost over way. temperatures below freezing there. cloudy across parts of the south. temperature is around six or seven celsius on friday. some showers carrying on a north—westerly breeze. the best of any brightness around eastern or southern areas. cloud around during the day. a cool day, particularly in the north. it celsius in the south. up to 12 celsius. saturday, a cool day. sunday, those temperatures will sky rocket across the country, possibly hitting 20 celsius. good afternoon. you are watching bbc news. let's have a look at the latest headlines. a further 569 people have died

from the coronavirus in the uk, the largest daily rise since the crisis began. senior health officials say they are "frustrated" by a lack of progress in expanding uk coronavirus testing. it comes after mountng criticism of the government's response. the prime minister says he's doing all he can, and agrees testing needs to be increased massively. the prime minister is still showing mild symptoms of the virus, and may not come out of self—isolation tomorrow as planned. us unemployment soars as the effects of the pandemic bites. a record 6.6 million americans filed for benefits in the last week. we see the new machine developed in cambridge which can give a diagnosis injust 90 minutes. in spain, more than 10,000 people are now reported

to have died after testing positive for coronavirus. earlier our correspondent in madrid, guy hedgecoe, gave us an update on the latest figures. these latest figures do make for rather disheartening reading, especially over the last 2a hours, when 950 people are registered as having died because of the coronavirus. that's 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, it does appear that the impact of the coronavirus is starting to come under control. it compares, for example, the number of the new infections that we are seeing this week, which seems to be growing at a slower rate than, for example, 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 care services, in particular the intensive care units, which are under enormous pressure at the moment in many parts of spain, particularly here in madrid. we can talk now to the british ambassador to spain, hugh elliott. thank you very much for your time. it isa thank you very much for your time. it is a difficult time for so many countries, but spain really suffering here. yes, spain is a little bit ahead of some other countries, and it is a terrible human tragedy that we are seeing u nfold human tragedy that we are seeing unfold here. but against that backdrop, as your correspondent was just saying, and despite all the difficulties we are hearing, there area difficulties we are hearing, there are a couple of things which give us some encouragement. the first is that that rate of infection is actually dropping a little bit, it

seems, which is a positive early indicator that perhaps we are getting to the peak of this in some ways. and secondly, living here is quite extraordinary, the amazing resilience in spain around the whole country, we are seeing at eight o'clock every evening, applause echoing across balconies, all the health professionals who are doing an extraordinaryjob. health professionals who are doing an extraordinary job. and health professionals who are doing an extraordinaryjob. and quite difficult circumstances, it has to be said. an interesting, you make the point that spain is two weeks ahead. are there lessons that you are learning, that can be learned, that we sitting here can learn from countries like spain having to deal with this? as we know, this is an unprecedented situation. if there is one indication we have got, it is that there is a road out of this, and that road means staying at home.

the spanish government is saying exactly the same as the uk government. stay at home, and that way, you save lives, you take pressure of the health service, and you like the health professionals do their jobs, you like the health professionals do theirjobs, because as we were hearing, they are under tremendous pressure, so stay at home, and that is how to save lives and help the health service. and i thought about your particular role in all of this, because that is a sizeable british population in spain, of course. yes, over 350,000 british citizens live in spain, and in a normal march, we would see well over 1 in spain, and in a normal march, we would see well over1 million people visit. so when the soul broke, of course, a month or so ago, our effort as an embassy and a consular network moved immediately. 0ur effort as an embassy and a consular network moved immediately. our main effort was in helping british citizens here. we had at least 150,000, maybe as many as 200,000 who we were advising them to go home as soon as possible. and all our

effo rts as soon as possible. and all our efforts were in helping to make that possible. another is that it has been very disruptive for people hoping to have a nice holiday in the sun, and instead finding themselves having to get flights back in difficult situations, much sooner than they had hoped. we put our team is on to helping them, stephen went through it, and i'm very glad to say we we re through it, and i'm very glad to say we were able to help the vast majority of people. most people are back on now. and those are still here, we are talking to, we have opened every channel communication we can possibly think of to help a nswer we can possibly think of to help answer their questions. i'm talking to people and a pretty regular basis myself, who have contacted me directly through social media, and bit by bit, think about helping people back home. and we will carry on doing that until the job is done. hugh elliott, prison's ambassador to spain, thank you very much for your time. —— britain's ambassador. now, something now about the human cost

of this pandemic, because every day in the afternoon, we reflect on the death toll, we get the latest figures from the department of health, and let's take a few minutes to talk about that situation. the end of life charity, marie curie, is urging hospitals to let families visit dying coronavirus patients in theirfinal moments where possible. they say many hospitals are operating a no visit policy to restrict the spread of infection. matthew reed is the chief executive of marie curie, and joins me now. i think we all know and understand why such strict restrictions are in place. you obviously take a different view in these circumstances. explain what you're really looking for here. this is clearly a n really looking for here. this is clearly an extraordinarily difficult situation for everybody, very difficult forfamilies

situation for everybody, very difficult for families and people who are dying, but also for doctors and nurses and clinicians, our own doctors and nurses who are caring for covid—19 patients and our collea g u es for covid—19 patients and our colleagues in the nhs, having to make extraordinary difficult decisions all the time, and i think asa decisions all the time, and i think as a society we recognise how difficult that is. we also know that when a loved one is dying, the chance to say goodbye such an human thing. it is important for how we say goodbye, important for our grief and our long—term improvement. so i think what we are saying is that this is very difficult, but where possible and where it can be made to happen, it is ideal if possible for people to be there when a loved one is dying. and all as of precautions have to be taken around care of other colleagues in the care of patients, and care of families, keeping them safe. but in an ideal world, we will find a way for people to have a chance to say goodbye and be there at that moment.

to have a chance to say goodbye and be there at that momentlj to have a chance to say goodbye and be there at that moment. i wonder whether you have spoken to medics, to hospital administrators, about this, because, on a human level, absolutely everything you say makes sense, the thought of not being there for anyone is unbelievably painful. equally, we don't know when someone is going to pass away, so a relative could go in thinking that their relative is very unwell, they could end up being there for hours or days. we don't know. and then you are breaking that chain, aren't you? and you're back to the question of risking spreading infection. you are absolutely right, this is why it is so difficult. we are having exactly the same challenge in marie curie hospices all around the united kingdom and in that community nursing service as well, so it is a privilege for us to be able to care for people at this most delicate time of life, and at the end of life. so you're absolutely right, this is very difficult. but where it

is possible, and it can be made possible using protective equipment, or if it cannot be made possible in person, people will have some degree of emotional intimacy at this delicate time of life. i think we are thinking about this, notjust in the here and now, but also the effect of grief and bereavement on individuals and on the whole of society in the longer run as well. and we know many families are finding other ways to come out they cannot be there in person, to mark the moment, perhaps listening to a song together are finding some way in which they can interact through social media, and perhaps at some stage having way in which they can have an event to mark the person's death. so what we're trying to draw to is the need, as clinicians are doing all day every day in hospitals throughout the uk at the moment, that deep compassion of how we can mark the end of someone they life in

the most profound way we possibly can, even in the midst of the crisis at the moment, the individual nature of getting that compassion right is clearly so important for everybody. matthew reed, the chief executive of marie curie, we will discuss this again, iam marie curie, we will discuss this again, i am sure. a very difficult error. thank you very much for your time. —— a very difficult area. i will see you again tomorrow. in a moment, we'll bejoined by viewers on bbc one for a special programme on the coronavirus epidemic where we'll get all the latest developments, including a downing street news conference, but first, a full round—up from the bbc sport centre. good afternoon. we start with rugby, and england head coach eddiejones has agreed a new contract that could see him eclipse world cup winner sir clive woodward as the country's longest—serving boss. jones is set to stay on through to the 2023 world cup in france. his current deal was due

to end next august. jones took over in december 2015, won the grand slam in 2016, the six nations 12 months later, and led england to the world cup final last year. however, he says hisjob is farfrom finished. having done the four years, i felt the project has not been finished yet. i hope there is still a lot of growth in the team. at the last six nations, as i discussed previously, i wanted to make sure i could still improve the team, and i think i can do that, therefore i think it is a good fit for me to continue, because we have got a lot of growth left, we are still a relatively young side, andi are still a relatively young side, and i think i can still add to the growth of the team. seniorfigures at brighton football club, including the manager, will take significant pay cuts so that non—playing staff aren't affected financially

by the coronavirus. manager graham potter, chief executive paul barber, and director of football dan ashworth will take reduced wages over the next three months. barber said it was appropriate to support chairman tony bloom's "significant efforts to protect alljobs at the club and charity". talks between the premier league and the players‘ union have been ongoing today over possible salary sacrifices. it follows condemnation for clubs which have used the government's taxpayer funded job retention scheme, including bournemouth, newcastle, norwich, and tottenham. former spurs player and match of the day presente, gary lineker was asked if he felt players should have their wages cut. my my inkling will be that footballers will take pay cuts, they will help out in the communities, they will make donations in whatever way they can help, and i think wejust need to bea can help, and i think wejust need to be a little bit patient with them. the club play might have only

announced these things a few days ago. hopefully sense will prevail, and footballers do their bit, because if they don't, i don't think they will come out of it very well. the way tottenham have handled it, i don't think has been very good, and what tottenham are doing to their staff, i don't agree with whatsoever. but that is a separate issue to what the players do, and it is the club that have said the players are going to carry on with their wages, but let's see what the players say and how the players react to it. the belgian pro league has become the first major european league to be cancelled due to the coronavirus crisis. the final match of the regular season and the play—offs have been scrapped, the current league table stands, and club brugge will be declared champions. the decision was made after a meeting of their council which has made the recommendation to their general assembly. that's all the sport for now. i'll have more for you in the next hour.

the headlines... senior uk health officials say they're frustrated by a lack of progress in expanding coronavirus testing. after widespread criticism, the prime minister promises to ramp up testing, to defeat the virus. it comes as new figures show a further 569 people have died from the coronavirus, the highest daily uk increase since the crisis began. borisjohnson is still showing mild symptoms of the virus, according to downing street. it's unclear when he'll emerge from self—isolation. in spain, the number of dead passes 10,000. another 950 people died in the last 2a hours. in the us, unemployment soars as the effect of the pandemic