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

really hits the economy. a record 6.6 million americans filed for benefits in the last week. the comedian eddie large, best known for the double act "little and large", has died at the age of 78 has died at the age of 76. and saying thank you — celebrities urge people across the country to show support for nhs and key workers with another round of applause tonight at eight o'clock. thank you so much, all of you nhs staff and key workers. when this is all over and done with, i am coming to kiss all of you on the lips. so pucker up. good afternoon. senior health officials say they're frustrated by a lack of progress in expanding uk coronavirus testing. it comes as a further 569 people

have died in the uk. the overrall total is now 2,921, with 33,718 confirmed cases. you can see here the upward trend of the last few weeks. 0n testing, the government is facing continuing criticism. so far, only 2,000 out of half a million front line 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 is now more than 10,000. in the united states, more than 6.6 million people have applied for unemployment benefits in the last week, doubling a record high set just last week. we'll have more on all of those developments but our first report is from 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 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. 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 3,500 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 3,000 per week. and we hope soon after that to go up to around 2,000 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're 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're 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 also being called up. 3,000 of them. richard galpin, bbc news. the shadow attorney general, baroness chakra barti, has called the government's efforts to expand coronavirus testing "a failure". she's accused ministers and officials of a "insufficient clarity of strategy". and officials of a "insufficient

with regard to testing and generally, we as a constructive opposition at a time of international emergency are seeking two things from the government. the first is clarity, greater clarity in government strategy, policy and communication with the public because everybody has to be taken along with this and reassured. and then the second thing we are asking for is more effective delivery of protection for people. whether that is kit, like testing kit, vital testing kits, or the ppe protective equipment at the front line, or whether it's economic protection for everyone currently in lockdown. in relation to testing, there seems to have been a failure on both fronts. insufficient clarity of strategy, and communications, and insufficient delivery of the protection. so the government, really, i think, today we'll be looking to the press conference, but beyond the press conference, we'll be looking to the government for the publication of detailed policy and strategy, for delivering testing.

not just for the nhs front line, that's clearly the top priority, but beyond that we're going to need a strategy for community based testing, for, really, the majority of the population over time. because that is the route out of lockdown. if you look at the countries that have flattened the curve, that have the fewest proportion of fatalities, you're looking at places like south korea, where they've really, really got organised with testing and contact tracing. and that is what we are looking to the government to deliver. with me now is our health correspondent nick triggle. looking at those graphs, there is still an upward trend in terms of deaths and cases. yes, we have the new number of cases, 112114 newly diagnosed cases in the 2a hours up

till 9am this morning, that brings the total to nearly 311,000. that rise is similar to yesterday but it came after five days of cases hovering around the 2500 to 3000 mark which is what prompted health officials to talk about a plateau. the rise yesterday and today are perhaps disappointing although at least they haven't risen again so thatis least they haven't risen again so that is perhaps good news. on deaths there were 569 deaths announced in there were 569 deaths announced in the 24 there were 569 deaths announced in the 2a hours to 5pm last night, the total is now over 2900. it is a similar rise today to what it was yesterday. again, the fact it has not gone up again is perhaps another plus point. we have been seeing the numbers of deaths each day rising by about 25%, but what is key is not the trend over a single day, it is looking back over recent days to see what is happening. at the moment cases have started just tailing off

slightly. we would hope that perhaps continues in the next week as the social distancing measures kick in and perhaps we can start to see a plateau that they have already talked about. that is the key, the possibility that it is the social distancing measures, attempts to key people separated that are beginning to have an effect on the numbers? yes, ever so slightly. as we get into next week and beyond easter, i think the government would hope to see that the lockdown essentially will be having an impact. also crucially, and i think we will hear about this at the press briefing later, is testing. the government had been heavily criticised. i think we will get a five—point plan about testing. they've talked about wanting to test thousands of people each day. today it was announced they passed the 10,000 mark for the first time. this was the target at

the start of the week so they are already behind schedule, but testing will be crucial and notjust for the health staff. if we do manage to suppress the virus, get the numbers down, the idea then will be to lift the restrictions and to start testing in the local community to contain the virus, to stop local outbreaks popping up so that we can then get back to normal life or something near normal life. nick, thanks. nick triggle, our health correspondent. the daily press conference from number ten should be just over an hour or so away. there are calls for the government to expand the universal credit benefits system to support more households. the think tank the resolution foundation has warned that under the current system some of those in need and eligible will miss out. torsten bell is chief executive of the resolution foundation, hejoins me now. thanks for being with us. firstly why could there be a problem? good afternoon. what we are learning at

very fast speed is the nature of this crisis, which is it is a jobs heavy crisis, those are where the pain has been felt first. we have seen 950,000 people applying for universal credit over the last two weeks and that is unprecedented. this is much faster flows on to benefits than we saw during the financial crisis, and it means this crisis is very different. policy needs to see its core job money to people who need it fast. are you saying that perhaps there should just be some kind of blanket payment without going through the formal processes that you would normally get in order to get universal credit? no, i think get in order to get universal credit? no, ithink we get in order to get universal credit? no, i think we should say that given the huge strain the system is under, unprecedented numbers coming on in such short order, i think the system is doing well in those circumstances. the fa ct well in those circumstances. the

fact it is a digital first system and has benefits into one as proving useful, because it isn't requiring people to go into offices to com plete people to go into offices to complete a form, and that should be welcomed and we should thank the dwp staff that have been working over the weekend and late nights to process claims. we also need to make sure the system is as good as it can be because we will be relying on it so be because we will be relying on it so heavily over the coming months. that means firstly making sure we are encouraging people to apply, not having scare stories of people just talking about the retention scheme. in the real world lots of people will be relying on universal credit in the next few months. secondly it means getting claims into the system and processed as fast as possible, making sure whatever resources are needed to do that happen. thirdly we needed to do that happen. thirdly we need to get cash to people, so people who are entitled to benefits to ove rco m e people who are entitled to benefits to overcome the five—week wait to challenge. advances and loans are

available to get cash into your pockets within one week. they should be up front, the default option in lots of cases, and actually shouldn't be repaid for the first six months of the claim, just like we are seeing with mortgage holidays. that's what i mean in terms of those loans, do you see the government moving in that direction given that the problems clearly exist? yes, i think the government has moved significantly even before this crisis to make advance loans more readily available if people need money quickly, but that needs to be ramped up and to encourage people to make them feel like they can take the loans, we shouldn't be clawing back money for the first six months. potentially how many people are we talking about here, who could well be in need of this kind of support? that is very hard to tell. we have seen 950,000 people come on over the last two weeks, about nine times the normal rate. it is about five times faster than we saw even in the peak of the financial crisis,

but we don't know how many of those people are claiming because they are worried about their job people are claiming because they are worried about theirjob actually might end up on the retention scheme. that is the good news, that some of these people in the end don't lose theirjobs. i hope that is the case but being realistic we are seeing an economic shutdown which is particularly targeting the low—paying parts of the economy. think about hospitality, hotels and restau ra nts, think about hospitality, hotels and restaurants, and the outflows of people into the out of work is significant. we should be assuming thisjobs recession is a serious significant. we should be assuming this jobs recession is a serious one and universal credit will have to ta ke and universal credit will have to take a huge amount of the burden in the months ahead. thanks forjoining us. in scotland, 126 patients have died after testing positive for coronavirus. official figures show more than 2,600 people have tested positive for the virus there. the first minister, nicola sturgeon said in her daily news briefing that a new reporting system will be put in place. we can cross now to glasgow and speak to our

correspondent james shaw. explain exactly what nicola sturgeon was talking about? probably the first english talk about is the total number of deaths, because it was a very big increase, 76 yesterday, now 126. an increase of 50. on the face of it that looks very significant but nicola sturgeon explained that the information for some of those deaths, a0 of them, had been delayed to the daily increase was not as dramatic as it first looked. nevertheless, a0 deaths from coronavirus in scotland that we didn't know about yesterday. in terms of announcing those deaths, the figures and how they will be revealed, they said there will be a more, system in the nearfuture taking into account deaths happening in hospitals and also in communities, which will give us a much clearer picture of what is happening in scotland. the other key issue she is talking about today is

testing, and she said that there have been 3a00 tests for coronavirus on nhs workers and members of their families, and that appear to contrast quite starkly with a number of tests for front line workers in england. we have been told the number in england was 2800. i have been trying to get an explanation from the scottish government as to why that is, they haven't come back to me. clearly the scottish figures are taken into account workers and theirfamilies, which are taken into account workers and their families, which might are taken into account workers and theirfamilies, which might be where theirfamilies, which might be where the discrepancy lies, but nicola sturgeon was keen to emphasise the importance of testing. we're 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 standards so that we can be confident in the results. that's why there are important due diligence issues that need to be addressed before any new laboratory can be used and it is why national services scotland has so far prioritised the expansion of nhs capacity, but we are

engaging, as a priority, with external laboratories that are better placed to meet these criteria more quickly. we are also considering how we will use more extensive testing, including antibody testing, as part of the strategy to take the country out of lockdown, though i must remind people that that may not be imminent. nicola sturgeon did promise yesterday that by the end of this month, there would be 3500 coronavirus month, there would be 3500 coro navi rus tests month, there would be 3500 coronavirus tests taking place every day, and that promise, and whether it is fulfilled, is something which i think people will be watching very closely in scotland. thank you, james, in glasgow. in wales, there are plans to provide more than 6,000 additional beds through the creation of field hospitals at leisure centres and stadiums. dr andrew goodall, the chief executive of nhs wales, told a press conference in cardiff that he expected "significant"

pressure on the health system from coronavirus. the nhs in wales has confirmed plans to bring more than 6000 additional beds online by using stadiums and leisure centres, including up to 2000 beds at the principality stadium in cardiff, more than 1300 in the swansea bay area at the academy of sport, more than 350 bed in llanelli, 350 in llandudno, and 350 in the university hospital site at new grange. we need to share that we expect the pressure on the health and social care system to be significant. we have never taken such actions before and they are a necessary response to ensure that we ca re necessary response to ensure that we care for our patients and communities. you're watching a bbc news special on the latest developments in the coronavirus pandemic. we'll bring you today's downing street conference live

and in full with matt hancock. let's cross to our political correspondent leila nathoo. this will be his first appearance since self isolation? yes, he has been working from home for the last seven days after developing mild symptoms, keen to stress he was still involved in the government's strategy. we will also hearfrom still involved in the government's strategy. we will also hear from the nhs england national medical director professor stephen powis, and expecting to hearfrom doctor john newton, the director of health improvement at public health england. another briefing from the government clearly expected to talk a lot about this issue of testing. we have had borisjohnson yesterday in his self filmed a video talking about massively wanting to increase testing, it's something the government are under a significant amount of pressure on. i think this issue speaks to many things, it goes back to what the government strategy has been from the beginning, why it wasn't testing prioritised right at

the start, they have talked about a bottleneck in the global supply chains for the kit associated with testing to see whether you are infectious, why didn't the government, for example, get ahead of the bottleneck right from the start? it also speaks to what's going on now, 10,000 odd tests being carried out a day, the priority for now is to test nhs staff who are self isolating because they all family numbers have symptoms. if they can test those staff, many of those people who are self isolating would be able to get back into hospital to be able to treat other people suffering from the virus, clearly boosting nhs capacity. the other issue about testing as it speaks to future strategy, we are in these restrictions now and what will be the way out of the restrictions? 0ne be the way out of the restrictions? one of the things that borisjohnson has talked about is testing, as a way out, and the answer to the coronavirus puzzle. it's a very intense, and live issue for the government, and we are hoping to hear a lot more from matt hancock

later to explain the government's strategy and explain why the government has been so slow to up its pace. testing will be a very important part of the conference. and potentially it could be the case that some mention will be made of the cases, numbers of cases of people confirmed with coronavirus and the numbers of deaths, because while the graphs show that the figures are still going up, they are beginning to level off ever so slightly. yes, we heard from nick trickle earlier saying it was about the trend over a few days, and that is relevant, but many people will remember talk of green shoots a couple of days ago, feeling optimistic. and there will be a certain interpretation of the latest figures, whether we are seeing a plateau and what that will mean for the length of restrictions coming in. ithink the length of restrictions coming in. i think the message from government is still that these restrictions have to be adhered to, thatis restrictions have to be adhered to, that is the way to slow the spread of this virus and stop transmission within the community. monitoring

very much the number of cases rising every day, sadly, the number of deaths as well also rising on a day today basis. i think in terms of what this means on policy going forward , what this means on policy going forward, they will be looking at that trend going forward. fingers crossed, matt hancock will be at that briefing, but the prime minister still showing mild symptoms? yes, we saw him recording his own video from self isolation from the flat above number 11 downing st where he has been with mild symptoms, we understand he still has mild symptoms so no sign of the prime minister in public, very much adhering to the rules. we have seen various cabinet ministers coming out on these press briefings, some depending on policy areas, but many people will be hoping to see the prime minister out there soon answering questions himself. 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. 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. as coronavirus spreads, so too does misleading information. from fake health advice, to speculation about government actions.

well, here to dispell some of those myths and to help stop the spread of misinformation, i'm joined now by nhs gp, dr gero baiarda who has set up a daily coronavirus clinic for his patients. he joins me from windsor now. thank you so much for being with us. hello there. have you been shocked by some of what you have seen? yes, a lot of what is on the media is com pletely a lot of what is on the media is completely untrue. not just a lot of what is on the media is completely untrue. notjust untrue but dangerous. it seems that the a lot of people are adhering to advice which has no clinical basis whatsoever. that concern is notjust me but all of my colleague. is some of this may leading the commission actually coming from the —— misleading information coming from the medical service itself?|j misleading information coming from the medical service itself? i would hope not, but of it some purports to come from the medical profession, even fine upstanding institutions like stanford university and oxford university. but anybody can label it as such and we don't know its

provenance, quite frequently, and when it's on the internet, it seems to lend it some level of authority which is also very concerning. 0k, let's try some of these myths. the virus is a living organism which we can kill. it's not living at all, it's like a pro team genetic programme, sheathed in a sheet of lipid orfat, programme, sheathed in a sheet of lipid or fat, —— programme, sheathed in a sheet of lipid orfat, —— protein genetic programme. it's completely inactive u nless programme. it's completely inactive unless it comes into the human animal cell, then it activates, inserting itself into the genetic information and churning out copies of itself. you cannot kill it, but if you leave it long enough, it will decay on its own. as in any other kind of protein matter, it willjust decay given enough time. that one is busted. people are most contagious before they even know they have the virus. that is a very common one, you see that on the internet at lot, on social media. people are infectious from the time that they

pick up the virus, but we know that they are most infectious when they are producing droplets, and droplets are producing droplets, and droplets are produced by coughing and sneezing. so it's true that patients would mostly be symptomatic when they are manifesting these symptoms, costs etc. so there is some —— coughing etc. there is some truth, you are infectious anytime and you can be infectious after symptoms are gone but you are most infectious when you are symptomatic. delivery drivers with gloves will not spread it. we don't know what they do with their gloves! they could be coughing into them, we don't know if they change their gloves, that could be a big line of infection into an uncompromised house. people are getting very good at isolating and deliveries and puzzles are one form

entry into the house that we could not —— parcels are one form of entry into the house so we could take precautions, leaving packages for 2a—hour is is a good bit of advice, it only lives on cupboard for 2a hours, it seems. i would suggest using plastic rubber gloves to handle any shopping that comes in and disposing of packaging in a safe way that will not compromise you and wash your hands. rubber gloves with plastic bags and shopping. but if all those people out there getting products sent online, through cardboard boxes, even for 2a hours, you should leave them.|j cardboard boxes, even for 2a hours, you should leave them. i cannot see how it could be wrong to be overcautious, basically. it's worthwhile trying to come into the virus any way. come into contact with it in anyway even on a package. if you get the virus, it doesn't ca re if you get the virus, it doesn't care how you got it, you have got it. what about this one, the virus

cannot be on by food? —— be passed on by food? it can be passed on on any surface including food. it is a goodidea any surface including food. it is a good idea to clean fruit and vegeta bles good idea to clean fruit and vegetables with smooth surfaces, or even rough surfaces, to try and reduce any kind of virus on it. no soap and water is very effective, it brea ks soap and water is very effective, it breaks down the fatty layer on the outside of the virus very effectively. if it is just a naked protein molecule, it's of no risk whatsoever. equally heat, if you cook food at 65 degrees or above for a minimum of four minutes, that will kill most viruses. so thorough cooking and washing other ways to ensure our food remains safe. as cooking and washing other ways to ensure ourfood remains safe. as in any other surface, it can bring the virus into contact with us and impact us. what do you think about the way the mainstream media have been covering

this pandemic? some suggestions it has been over—the—top, it's been scaremongering. but we are looking at the figures now, and it's a horrific story. do you think we potentially have been contributing to some of the myths out there?|j to some of the myths out there?” think it is difficult to know what information to give. it has been difficult even for doctors, basically, but there is a basic core message and it comes down to social distancing and washing. there really isn't much about that. some things i've heard, drinking a lot to wash the virus down your throat into your stomach is complete nonsense and that continues to be spread around on various that continues to be spread around on various groups, that continues to be spread around on various groups, basically. there area on various groups, basically. there are a lot of proponents to it who think it is very much true. it is not, and it's putting people at risk. i think that there hasn't been

scaremongering as such, that the naysayers who have been saying there isa naysayers who have been saying there is a huge risk have been correct. it is a huge risk have been correct. it is infecting every corner of the earth so i don't think there is enough we can do now to ensure we don't spread it any further. i think if 90% of us isolated at home, this i have heard would be over within a matter of weeks but we are not doing that. it is closer to 50%, is my understanding. we will leave it there. it is good to get your perspective and busting some of those ridiculous myths out there. take care. 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 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. in the united states there's been a huge increase in the number of unemployment claims because of the impact of the coronavirus outbreak. the latest figure is 6.6 million more than double last week's. before the pandemic began to hit the american labour market, the highest figure for weekly new unemployment insurance claims was below 700,000. michelle fleury explained how significant the sharp rise is. there had been expectations that it might track what we saw last week and that was when there were 3.3 million americans filing for weekly unemployment benefits. it was a record at the time — a staggering jump from where we were just a week before that. instead, what we got with today's number, with today's data was double that. and i think that is what is so terrifying to many economists out there — it is the speed with which american businesses are shedding their workers and forcing them to, essentially, turn to employment benefits to get by.

and i think that is the concern as you look at what damage the coronavirus is doing to the economy, you start to get a sense of it that, in two weeks, america has lost roughly 10 millionjobs. now you compare that to the whole of the great recession, the 2008 financial crisis, and during that time, about 9 million or 8.8 million american jobs were lost. here we're talking about 10 million — again, in just two weeks. this is unprecedented and i think that's why you're seeing the government trying to respond. last week, we saw a relief package signed into law. that does a number of things — it puts out small business loans, makes that available. that's supposed to be getting under way soon. there are cheques being given to individualfamilies and individuals to try and help them get through things like paying the rent. unemployment benefits have been expanded. that might be one of the reasons why you saw such a sharp increase is that more people now qualify to claim for an employment benefits. to claim for unemployment benefits.

all of this is uncharted waters and, certainly, what the government has done so far, what the federal reserve has done so far, no one thinks is by any means the end. president trump says the us has to help two coronavirus—stricken cruise ships which are 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 andrew rae. their understanding is they should be able to port. i have been on twitter speaking to the commissioners and gradually they have all been softening their position about this. with trump coming out and speaking, i'm confident they will be able to get home very soon. they are in good health but very stressed and upset that they were assured that all

measures were taken to make sure everything would be fine. they had the correspondence saying the company has taken care of everything. so i'm sure you can understand they are extremely stressed, extremely tired as well. they have been confined to their cabins for so many days. my dad received an e—mail from the consul in miami saying they are working very ha rd in miami saying they are working very hard to get them off the ships and they will probably be tested by medical staff, and put through customs. and apparently put on a coach and taken straight to the airport, but that is all theory at the moment. there is no guarantee of anything. all we want is for them to basically be able to dock first. we are waiting for this news the florida authorities have let them doc so that is the most important thing at the minute. madga glazik,

whose father is stranded on the ms zaandam. 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. 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 19705 and the pair went on to have their own hit television show in the 1980s. let's speak to our entertainment correspondent colin paterson. i'm old enough to remember when they we re i'm old enough to remember when they were getting 15 million viewers for their shows each night. they were prime—time saturday entertainment, and 15 million people were tuning in to see their old school, honest brand of humour. never a favourite

with the television critics, they we re with the television critics, they were once described as britain's least complicated comic duo but that's also why they were one of the nation's most popular. it was 1978 when morecambe and wise had left the bbc for itv, and little and large is who they went for. it revolved around syd little being the butt of thejokes. around syd little being the butt of the jokes. that's how around syd little being the butt of thejokes. that's how it around syd little being the butt of the jokes. that's how it worked. there were some fairly dodgy impressions thrown in, but they knew it. that was part of their charm. indeed, it was pretty straight forward but it worked. the fact is alternative comedy knocked them off the purge and a lot of people will be sad about what has happened today. absolutely. it was 1991 when the show was taken off bbc one because of alternative comedy, but it's interesting to days of the

comedians and entertainers who followed them have paid tribute. the likes of matt lucas today has said just how much he was encouraged and how lovely and kind eddie large was to him at the start of his career when he was on shooting stars. and also ant and dec have said that they we re also ant and dec have said that they were delighted and honoured to have eddie and syd on their show, and that they loved making people laugh which is how a lot of people will remember them today. thank you. 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 a00 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. let's turn to your questions now and we're going to focus on the employment and jobs crisis caused by coronavirus. we've had thousands of questions coming into the bbc. let's answer some of them with lindsey cook,

a personal finance expert and money mentor columnist at the financial times. good to see you, thank you very much for joining good to see you, thank you very much forjoining us. let's start with andrea stevenson in bradford. i have paid a deposit for a package holiday to roads injune, they are now asking for the balance to be paid, should i pay it —— 23 rhodes. asking for the balance to be paid, should i pay it -- 23 rhodes. i'm afraid you should, even though it's probably unlikely your holiday should go ahead, because we don't know when this will be over, until the company cancels the holiday, you have to pay because otherwise you breaching contract. and that's an issue. also holiday companies have got so many people, literally millions of people making claims against holidays that they haven't been able to take already, so they arejust been able to take already, so they are just too swamped to answer your questions. if you pay by credit card, you have protection under the

section 75 of the consumer credit act, and that means that should the holiday and that being cancelled or the company go out of business, you will be able to get your money back eventually. but what if you have paid your deposit in cash? you can still, as long as you pay £1 towards a holiday on a credit card, the whole of the holiday is covered. right, 0k. let's be clear, because i suspect there are a lot of people out there who have done this, put down a deposit for their holiday, now the company is coming back to them and saying, even though the holiday is in june, july them and saying, even though the holiday is injune, july or august, coming back for the balance. your advice is everyone has to pay it, even though it's highly likely planes may not be flying? it is, but the company hasn't cancelled the holiday at. so you're —— it hasn't cancelled the holiday yet. so your travel insurance won't pay out, it would be you making a guess on

whether things get better. we hope that we get a holiday injune, we could all do with it. let's keep fingers crossed that this is all over by then and the borders are open and flights are going. but failing that, she will have paid for the holiday anyway, she should have the holiday anyway, she should have the money for it, she can pay on her credit card, and she is covered. all right, 0k, there you go. i hope that is some help you, andrea. let's go to jake freeman in york, what financial help will there be available for parents of a financially struggling with children of school? parents of children with free school meals will be able to get £15 vouchers they can spend at a supermarket to cover food, they get these from the schools, this scheme has just been announced, so some schools might not even know about it now. apply to the schools for that. secondly, if parents cannot work because of the virus because they

have to look after children, they should be eligible to claim for a mortgage holiday, help with their energy bills possibly, help with their rent, help to their credit cards, so there are all different things that might be able to help them. that is good to know. this is from philip on e—mail. he says, when will the government publish more details on how the self—employed scheme will actually be implemented? i only became self—employed in 2017 and it took until last year for me to make any significant income from being self—employed, based on the guidelines released so far, i don't know what, if anything, i will get from the scheme. will i have to wait untiljune for an answer, and will there then be a complaints procedure in the meantime? i'm still waiting to hear if i am eligible for universal credit, what else is there to do? first things first, the absolute details are not available yet, but the income taken into

account for this taxable grant is the average of the last three years profits, net profit, that is. if you only started as a freelancer in 2017, if you filled in a tax return for last year, that is that had to be in by january for last year, that is that had to be in byjanuary this year, that year will be taken into account. hmrc, who are manning this, are allowing people who have not put in allowing people who have not put in a tax return to do so over the next two to three weeks, and still be considered for the benefits. if you aren't going to get anything because your profits are so low, you can apply for universal credit, and tens of thousands of self—employed have done so already. last week, there we re done so already. last week, there were long, long queues, people were queueing for ten hours on the department for work and pensions telephones and online, to get

through. they have transferred i think 10,000 staff so people are getting through, and they have dealt with i think 900,000 claims in the last two weeks. so people are getting help. if you don't know whether you are going to get anything, turned to us —— turn to us, which is a charity which can be reached on the internet, has a benefits calculator which you can look at to see whether you would qualify for universal credit and that will help you. universal credit is more generous than i expected. the basic allowance is £500 a week, for a couple. no, the basic allowance is £500 a week, fora couple. no, £500 the basic allowance is £500 a week, for a couple. no, £500 a the basic allowance is £500 a week, fora couple. no, £500 a month, the basic allowance is £500 a week, for a couple. no, £500 a month, for a couple, sorry about that. but it goes up to £1900 per month for people living in london. really good advice, turn to us, the benefits calculator, pop that in your search

engine. let's go onto to this, what can be done to help protect the financials sustainability of people's finances in this time? six sick pay is not enough. no. ministers have said they could not live on it, i couldn't and i'm sure you couldn't. probably not! if you haven't got savings and resources, you can claim universal credit, again, go to the benefits calculator. it should help you. it is there to top up sick pay. and you can get sick pay if you have got savings, but a lot of people don't have savings. so it's the same real a nswer have savings. so it's the same real answer as it was for philip. all right, thank you for that one. this is from mark taylor in sanford, he says, can students and tenancies? my

son is paying £700 per month and is at home with us. he is in the final year at university, can they unilaterally do that? well, unite, which is the biggest private provider of halls of residence, they announced last week as long as stu d e nts announced last week as long as students get a notice in by april the 10th, they can just not play next term's money. 0ther halls of residence, the ones run by universities and other companies are following similarly. but there are still some students staying invested because they are from countries they cannot get home too, so halls are still open for those who need them, we need to think about that. the biggest problem is going to be for people who have got a private rental agreement. their private rental agreement. their private rental agreement will not have considered coronavirus when they took it out last september or whenever they did.

so they may have to negotiate with their landlord and they could have less luck than people who are te na nts of less luck than people who are tenants of companies.” less luck than people who are tenants of companies. i hope that a nswe rs tenants of companies. i hope that answers your question, mark in sa lfo rd. answers your question, mark in salford. let's go to freddie in newport. will i still receive student finance in april if universities are closed until the summer? yes, you will. the student loa ns com pa ny summer? yes, you will. the student loans company has said they are going to pay maintenance loans on the normal dates. they will also pay universities and their tuition fees on the normal date. so even though you are home with mum and dad or whatever, you will get the living allowa nce whatever, you will get the living allowance that he would have got, say, at a london university so you will be quids in, probably the only people benefiting from coronavirus. those who want to get a refund on their tuition fees, i'm sure there

will be lots of them, there has been action in the past when lecturers have, lecturers have gone on strike, etc, and some universities have given a refund. i'm sure this will be considered in time to come. but in the meantime, you will have enough to buy your food, which in the meantime, you will have enough to buy yourfood, which he would be buying anyway at home. so it should just about even out. but tuition fees are going to be a stumbling block. the government will probably advise on it eventually, but it's not a priority at the moment. let's go on to martin bond. will the government to do anything about utility bills? all energy suppliers have agreed to emergency measures. that means, if somebody is vulnerable, cannot pay their bills, etc, they should contact the energy company. i know some energy companies have a lousy record of dealing with consumer issues, if you

can't get through to them, go through to off gem, which is the regulator. they are much better at answering the phones —— go through to 0fgem. if you are paying extra heating because you are at home and you wouldn't normally have the heating on, talk to your energy company, they would be able to sort something out. there will be able to do it, and it shouldn't be a problem. fingers crossed on that. let's go to james, he says, my wife andi let's go to james, he says, my wife and i are retired british citizens investing in retail shops and living only with that rental income, noting —— no other income, pension credit or universal credit. tenants are not paying rent due to coronavirus lockdown. we have no mortgage but as the rental income is stopped, we have no income to live on. according to the benefits system, we are not eligible for support because we own a second property, how will the

government to support us? i'm not sure that the government will support you. it's worth asking. but essentially, i'm not sure whether... how old james is for a start. he says retired, lindsay. does that mean over 67, why hasn't he got a pension if he is over 67? he lives on the income of his buy to let, i suppose. but he might have a pension pot, a pension fund that he saved into, if he is over 55, he might be able to claim some money from it. he may, and a lot of people would not wa nt to may, and a lot of people would not want to do it, if he is over 55, he may be able to get a loan by using his main property and releasing some of the equity. you can release very small amounts so he could do that to keep himself going, and then when

things get back to normal, pay that back so he doesn't build up a lot of interest. it is a difficult one. because, i don't know who his tenant is, whether it's somebody who is going to be coming back to life after this crisis is over and paying rent normally, or whether it will be one of the companies that once a rental holiday going further. so thatis rental holiday going further. so that is difficult. again, i would say it is possible that turn to us could help them, they started out as the distressed gentlefolk situation, so they can help you get grants. this could be because you are a member of a particular profession, there is a charity that helps people who have been bankers. they could give you help because of the income being particularly low, they could

give you help because you live in a particular part of the country and somebody who has died in that part of the country has left a benefit for people who are hard up in that particular region. so they are a place to look at, but if you aren't eligible for universal credit, he owns two properties, i think his main home could give him equity release. i know a lot of people don't like these. but the rates on them are fixed at the outset, they are quite low, and it is a way of paying his way in the meantime. and i'm sorry i'm not more helpful on that one, but it is a very tricky area. because he hasn't been earning, and because he has not been self—employed, unless, of course, i'm thinking as i'm speaking, unless thinking about it, his rental income might have provided, if he's done a tax return for that so that would

give him net profit. it's possible he could get money under the self implement scheme. i was thinking that myself. i hope that's helpful, james. thank you, lindsay, for your advice. sarahjones sarah jones says i sarahjones says i applied for universal credit from the 29th of february, got paid the following week and now universal credit has been refused me for the month because funds went into my account. i have never applied for benefits in my life, iam i have never applied for benefits in my life, i am a7. i i have never applied for benefits in my life, iam a7. i have i have never applied for benefits in my life, i am a7. i have tried to appeal but they have refused to pay me. i have no income for the foreseeable future. i live alone and have a mortgage. what can i do to get the money i am owed?” have a mortgage. what can i do to get the money i am owed? i feel so sorry for sarah. her timing was absolutely lousy and really difficult. the way universal credit works is normally people wait five

weeks to be paid. it sounds like sarah has had an advance payment, i don't know how much it was but they regard that as covering her for the following month. what i would say, she has got a mortgage so she should be able to get the mortgage holiday. if she has an overdraft arrangement, her bank should be able to give her £500 interest free over the next three months. she should be able to get... there are some new rules coming in next thursday, so i'm being very vague, they are only a proposal from the financial conduct authority today, but she should be able to get a freeze on any credit ca rd interest able to get a freeze on any credit card interest she has got, she may be able to get help with her overdraft, she should be able to get help with her mortgage, freeze for three months, but it doesn't give

her cash if she has nothing to pay forfood her cash if she has nothing to pay for food so her cash if she has nothing to pay forfood so i'm hoping she has an overdraft facility she can use and pay no interest on until the universal credit comes through. failing that, for someone who has had to apply for benefit for the first time in her working life i really feel for her, but it may be that she has to look to a food bank. she can get to one through citizens advice, and they may be able to help her with other things. she may be able to get help with her energy bills as well. the food banks are run by great people, there's no shame in going in there, and she would be able to get food usually once a week, so she would have to go three orfour times, but i'm hoping that would help her. the overdraft facility is probably her best home

until universal credit comes through. indeed. one more for you, lindsay. "my work and advised us we are to be on the government furlough scheme. my question is, when will the scheme start and when will the first payment be due? it will be months... if it will be months should we apply for universal credit?" sorry, i mangled that. don't worry, i mangled a bit already! the furlough system is backdated to the beginning of march but no money will be paid probably for the next few weeks because it has got to get started. it is a brand—new scheme, it's affecting millions of people. employers and the government have got to get the system in place but it will be paid in full backdated to march the 1st. some employers have enough cash flow to pay wages as normal, some of them

are topping up to the full wage, some arejust paying are topping up to the full wage, some are just paying the 80% already. if they can't afford this, and it's a big ask if your biggest costis and it's a big ask if your biggest cost is your workforce, then it is a big ask to do its —— it. in that case you can apply for universal credit because their payments are not due until the end ofjune. they will get a lump sum of up to 7500 at the end ofjune. employees will get less because they will get it earlier but they will be able to get universal credit and if you have had that and then you get your wages, you will have to do a squaring up because you cannot have both in the long term. you will have to pay some back. it is to help you, and universal credit is there to help you in the meantime. it is a very difficult situation. none of us

expected the government to come up with all of these schemes, secondly to get them up and running quickly, and what i have seen with universal credit, you know, a week ago i was despairing because i was hearing of people online and on the phones for ten hours and then it not recognising them and not verifying them. they have transferred lots of people over to deal with this so there should be help, and failing that there is the step change charity, the turn2us charity and cab. they can all deal with things more easily online and we can be more easily online and we can be more coherent online, and we are when we are asking questions. lindsay, you have been brilliant. nothing is thank you very much

indeed. personalfinance nothing is thank you very much indeed. personal finance expert answering some of your questions. and later on, if you missed your chance now, we'll be answering more of your questions specifically on universal credit in about two hours' time at 6.30pm, so do send them in by emailing yourquestions@bbc.co.uk or tweet to the hashtag bbc your questions. some breaking news just some breaking newsjust coming in. british airways has reached an agreement to furlough 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. no redundancies will happen. just to confirm british airways has announced there will be a deal with

the unite union to furlough staff on 80% of pay without any cap on earnings and without anyone being made redundant. that is from unite in the last few minutes. the isle of islay in the inner hebrides is famous for its single malt distilleries. now whisky enthusiasts from around the world are supporting volunteer efforts on the island to help vulnerable people during the coronavirus outbreak. over 100 people have already signed up to distribute shopping and welfare boxes to those in need. andreas wolff reports. the isle of islay is known for its single malts, and every year thousands of enthusiasts visit the nine distilleries on the island. as the ferries are now exclusively carrying local residents, visitor numbers have plummeted. like elsewhere, many people on islay are staying at home to protect themselves. now a network of over 100 volunteers has been set up to help them. she rings me regularly to see if we are fine and that sort of thing.

and she will phone up for a list of shopping, and then she has to then ring to tell me how much it is so i can put the proper money in the bag for the delivery driver. to avoid anyone going hungry for whatever reason, they are now developing what they call welfare packs. if it's a family, then nappies can go in. if somebody has a cat, cat food can go in. it can be specific and it will be centralised so police, social work, carers and the co—op delivery driver can go and get them. and you have also set up a donations page and my understanding is that there has been monies coming in from around the world? i was approached by the bruichladdich distillery about a fortnight ago who said they'd had a lot of whiskey people who like visiting the island who wanted to donate but they had nowhere to put it. i set up a gofundme and it has come as farasjapan, america, germany, but also,

which is very pleasing, a lot of local people as well. they have raised over £3500 already. this also helps with the local production of sanitiser from spirits donated by the distilleries. we have been amassing supplies and getting it out across the island to all those in isolation, to the home carers who are looking after the vulnerable folk who cannot get out, to those who are being cared for by the home carers, they all have hand sanitiser now, everybody in isolation. before long, they hope to be able to bring distillery powered sanitiser to every household on the island. andreas wolff, bbc news. the premier league and the football players‘ union have been holding talks today about the possibility of salary sacrifices. there's been criticism of clubs which have used the government's tax payer—funded job retention scheme. those clubs include bournemouth,

newcastle, norwich and tottenham. well, match of the day's gary linekerjoins us. the actions of some of these clubs will stick in the craw of people at this time. yes... economically difficult times. sorry, we are having a bit of trouble with the line there. let's try again. eddie howe for instance i understand is taking a pay cut at bournemouth, isn't he? is there a sense that that isn't he? is there a sense that that is what the number of clubs should be doing with their highly paid staff? i think it will come. be doing with their highly paid staff? ithink it will come. ithink players are probably weighing up their position at the moment. all right, 0k. gary, we will try to re—establish this line later on. many apologies for that, the line

not quite good enough so we will try to talk to gary later on, but talking about the discussions going on with the premier league and football players union about the possibility of salary sacrifices. well, we are all being encouraged to join another coordinated round of applause tonight at eight o'clock. this week people are being encouraged to clap for other key workers. 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 eight o'clock 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.

we are expecting the news conference from downing street, hopefully with the health secretary, matt hancock, that will be in about 15 minutes' time, fingers crossed. some are breaking news, nissan has announced that the suspension of its vehicle coronavirus. the plant, which employs more than 6000 people, makes three models of car. reduction was put on hold two weeks ago. —— production. 80% of their salary of staff will be paid by the government as they are furloughed, nissan will top up the payment. and the other breaking news earlier, british airways and the unite union have

come to an agreement to furlough 36,000 staff in an agreement reached out to the negotiations today, and those staff will be on 80% of pay without any cap on earnings and without any cap on earnings and without anyone being made redundant. so, those pieces of news for you on the employment situation following the employment situation following the coronavirus pandemic. just after 5pm. we are waiting for the news conference from downing street. we will bring that to you in about 15 minutes. the government is expected to respond to senior health officials, who say they're frustrated by a lack of progress in expanding uk coronavirus testing. it comes as a further 569 people have died in the uk. the overall total is now 2,921, with 33,718 confirmed cases. you can see here the upward trend of the last few weeks.

0n testing the government is facing continuing criticism. so far, only 2,800 out of half a million front line 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 is now more than 10,000. in the united states, more than 6.6 million people have applied for unemployment benefits in the last week doubling a record high set just last week. this first report is by our health 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 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. asi testing because it is so important. as i have said for weeks and weeks, this is the way through. 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 3,500 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 3,000 per week. and we hope soon after that to go up to around 2,000 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're 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're 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 also being called up. 3,000 of them. richard galpin, bbc news. we were telling you a little earlier about the premier league and the football players union having talked today about the possibility of salary sacrifices, let's get the view of much of the day's gary lineker, we try to speak to him via video link but that didn't work, hopefully the phone is there. are you there? i'm here, yes. good to hear you. first of all, excuse the

pun but it is an appalling own goal that you have some of these clubs actually dipping into taxpayers money to help out some of their staff. well, it doesn't seem good, certainly for the giant football clu bs, certainly for the giant football clubs, that's for sure. also the way that it was done announcing that it would not affect player salaries has thrown them under the pr bus. i have a degree of sympathy for the players because most of them will probably ta ke because most of them will probably take some kind of voluntary cut, or make some sort of donation to various charities, or whatever. make some sort of donation to various charities, orwhatever. i'm sure they'd like to do that, i'd be very surprised if they don't. 0bviously very surprised if they don't. obviously there has been a lot of criticism of players, footballers are always an easy target, obviously. but i have an inkling that they are waiting for the premier league and the clubs, their meeting today or tomorrow, i expect

we will hear different plans whether it is individually or on a team basis on what the players intend to do. footballers do tend to do an awful lot for the community and also raising awareness for various issues so i'd be surprised if they don't stand up for what is the right thing to do, and hopefully they will do that. yes, when you look at the instagram account and twitter accou nts instagram account and twitter a ccou nts of instagram account and twitter accounts of a lot of top players, they are incredibly socially active and aware in terms of their local communities. so it does feel as if this is such a faux pas on the part of the big clubs. eddie howe at bournemouth, the manager there, he is taking a pay cut. do you see that kind of thing developing across the premier league? i very much do. i hope so. who knows whether it will be down to an individual basis, whether they will get together with the pfa, who should give some good guidance about what the writing is

to do, it's very important for footballers at the moment that they should be —— forfootball to be seen to be looking to do the right thing, for football it is massively difficult at this point economically. i know some of the giant clubs will be all right down the line, but football is way more than that. look at the lower tiers, lots of clubs could go to the wall because of this. hopefully there will be some kind of support, may be from the premier league clubs, who knows. it's very difficult at the moment because football cannot survive without playing football. we don't know how long this will go on for. everyone needs to try and come together and do their bit, notjust in terms of football but in society in general at the moment, it is important. thank you so much for joining us, discussing this issue. pleasure. we are expecting to go to downing street, to get the latest update on the government's battle against the coronavirus pandemic, and we are

expecting matt hancock to make his first public appearance at one of these gatherings since being diagnosed with coronavirus and self isolating. the health and social secretary, health and social care secretary, health and social care secretary, of course. hopefully that will be in the next ten minutes. doctors are being told that, as the coronavirus pandemic spreads, they will face "agonising choices" over who gets potentially life—saving treatments. now mental health professionals are calling on the nhs to make sure plans are in place to help front line health care workers cope during and after the coronavirus outbreak. to get more on this let's speak now to professor neil greenberg who is the lead on military and veterans‘ mental health at the royal college of psychiatrists. hello, thank you so much for being with us. let's just be clear, these decisions that perhaps some health ca re decisions that perhaps some health care professionals are going to have to make, they are going to be very

difficult over the coming days and weeks. and they do need help. it's fairto weeks. and they do need help. it's fair to say that, most medical and nursing staff are easy to making challenging decisions at these times. but the decisions, you are quite right, they will come up over the next few weeks and months will be particularly challenging. because of the number of patience, difficulty working with ppe, and there could be not enough equipment to provide for all the patients. i think the key thing to recognise is even though these difficulties are definitely there, with the right sort of support and preparation, we would hope that most health care professionals would do very well. this is a time that health care trusts really needs to prepare their staff of what's coming ahead and make sure they have the right in place. that isn't there at the moment? i think that is unfair to

say, a few years ago it would be fairto say, a few years ago it would be fair to say that the nhs perhaps didn't have enough support in place but in certainly my experience working with different organisations in this current crisis, there is a recognition that more needs to be done, and nhs england are certainly just about to launch an offering for all staff who are involved in trying to fight this outbreak at the moment. of course, what's important is not just moment. of course, what's important is notjust the services are there, but the people use them. what we know from our research evidence in kings college london is that the most important thing needed is for the supervisors and the teams to really support each other. it's great to have people like me at the royal college of psychiatrists helping out, but the most important bit of protection of people's mental health is making sure the supervisor and their team health is making sure the supervisor and theirteam are health is making sure the supervisor and their team are supportive, and mental health professionals need to be there to support that. we don't wa nt to be there to support that. we don't want to be wading in and providing counselling on the wards, we know that's not a good idea. given that we haven't reached the peak of this

pandemic, certainly in the uk at the moment, although while the figures are still rising, there may be a little bit of a levelling off, critical decisions are going to be fast and furious in the coming days and weeks. absolutely, and there is no doubt that the situation itself is challenging. no one asked the situation. but what is necessary that in orderfor situation. but what is necessary that in order for health care staff to make good decisions in the face of real adversity, is that they need to know that the support is there. asi to know that the support is there. as i said earlier on, mental health support, down the line might be important, but what is important now is that supervisors know how to have a psychologically savvy conversation, and that nhs trusts adopt a nip it in the bud approach. people aren't doing well at the front line, supervisors need to have a word with them and provide whatever practical support they need, backed up by people like me, mental health professionals, to support where needed. thank you very

much indeed. a bit more breaking news for you. this is from italy, the number of new cases has steadily been growing by a668, from a previous a00 782, shrek a782, bringing the total infection to 115,2a2. today has been the fourth consecutive day in which the fourth consecutive day in which the number of new cases remain within a range of a050 to a790. seeming to confirm, the government hopes, that the pandemic may may have had a plateau stage, ahead of declining. good to have good news from italy, the worst hit country in

europe, concerning the new numbers of coronavirus that had been diagnosed in italy. we are waiting for the daily news conference from number ten. 0ur political correspondent leila nathoo is at westminster. lots of questions, one suspects, on the thorny issue of testing. that's right, i think matt hancock's job will be to restore confidence in the government's testing capacity, the strategy. he has got to set out some serious targets and hopes for what the government wants to achieve, setting out what the government is intending to do differently going forward compared to what it has done so far. lots of questions about why the uk has been so slow in getting its testing rate up, why it has been languishing at tens of thousands a day and a long time getting to that point when the prime minister

himself talked about the ambition of getting to 250,000. we know there is an ambition of 25,000 tests in the coming weeks but this is important now crucially for nhs staff in particular, so they can test staff who are self isolating because they or theirfamily who are self isolating because they or their family members have symptoms. if they prove not to be infectious, they can get back into the health service and help the health service help with an influx of patients with coronavirus, so this is crucial now but it is also crucial going forward. so what is the government doing about testing in the future, for example if they are lifting the restrictions we are currently under they will need to provide tests showing people who have had the virus, so called antibody tests. and they will need to come up with a strategy of how to test people in the community later on should there be localised outbreaks, so a lot for the health secretary to focus on but clearly the priority for him is to set out

the priority for him is to set out the government strategy in the coming weeks. i read out that news earlier about italy, and a sense there that perhaps the numbers of new cases is beginning to plateau out. we are seeing a continuing rise here in deaths, and also the numbers of infections, but slight glimmers of infections, but slight glimmers of hope that perhaps the rate of increase is beginning to slow a little? yes, everyone will be looking for hope in the numbers of day—to—day. clearly more dead is a horrifying thing for anybody to be facing each day, but we heard talk of green shoots in a briefing earlier this week, but clearly it is not wise to draw conclusions from day figures, so clearly there will be some mention of the latest statistics today. in terms of what that means for policies, restrictions, longer term trends will be more important and i think

the government has been clear that what matters now in addition to getting the testing strategy right, testing, restrictions, what matters now is sticking to these restrictions. we are not out of the woods yet. the prime minister is still apparently showing mild symptoms of covid—19. matt hancock it seems has got over it and hopefully in the next few minutes or so we will be hearing from him at this news conference, but the prime minister still unsure as far as his health is concerned. yes, so matt hancock, the health secretary, this will be his first public appearance since he has been self isolating, at home with mild symptoms. as you say, borisjohnson we home with mild symptoms. as you say, boris johnson we understand home with mild symptoms. as you say, borisjohnson we understand still has mild symptoms, is still self isolating in his flat in downing street above number 11. we heard from him yesterday in his video. clearly he's not ready yet to come out of his self isolation but as

soon as he is he will want to be there at the briefings and many people will want to see him at the briefings answering questions and talking about the government strategy himself. leila, thanks for that. we are expecting the government press conference in the next few minutes or so. 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

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. 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 a00 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. we are expecting to go live to downing street for the daily news conference on the latest on the coronavirus pandemic. we will bring that to you as soon as we get it. in the meantime let's get the view from the meantime let's get the view from the front line and talk to an nhs doctor. thank you for being with us, and once we get to the news conference from downing street we may have to cut away from you quickly so i apologise for that in advance. just try to explain for our viewers what it has been like where you are working, dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, and certainly in relation to any shortages perhaps that you may have in equipment and so on. well, myself and speaking on

behalf of my colleagues, it's been a tricky one in the sense that testing for the coronavirus and possible symptoms, we had... what a lot of people don't realise is we have two packs of ppe we can wear, so the standard includes gloves, apron and surgical mask, or enhanced ppe with gloves and gown, a visorfor our eyes... gloves and gown, a visorfor our eyes. . . all gloves and gown, a visorfor our eyes... all right, as i suggested i'm going to have to break away from that. let's hear from i'm going to have to break away from that. let's hearfrom matt hancock at the press briefing. good afternoon and welcome to downing street for today's coronavirus press briefing. i'm joined by our national medical director for the joined by our national medical directorfor the nhs, joined by our national medical director for the nhs, professor steve palace, and professor of public health and epidemiology at manchester, professorjohn public health and epidemiology at manchester, professor john newton.

0ur step—by—step action plan is aiming to slow the spread of the virus so fewer people need hospital treatment at any one time, protecting the nhs's ability to cope. at each point we have been following scientific and medical advice and we have been deliberate in our action is taking the right steps at the right time. we are also taking unprecedented action to increase nhs capacity by dramatically expanding the numbers of beds, of key staff and life—saving equipment to the front line to give people the care they need when they need it most. i have been away for a week now, and i'm delighted to be back. in the past week, we have completed the construction of a whole new hospital, the nhs nightingale hospital in london built in nine days, with a000 beds. it is the

equivalent of ten district hospitals. there is more to come in birmingham, manchester and glasgow where the military have been working wonders in helping to construct. this has been an incredible achievement and i want to thank everybody involved. i also want to thank everyone who has followed the social distancing guidelines and the admirable fortitude and spirit of the british people in following these rules, and steve will update us on the progress being made and how people are following those rules. and i want to pay huge tribute to nbn to all the councils, the primary care, community care, pharmacies and 750,000 volunteers who have signed up for shielding the most vulnerable. this is britain at its best. sadly, the coronavirus continues to grow. i can report that through the government's ongoing

monitoring and testing programme, that according to the latest figures 163,19a people have now been tested for the virus. 33,718 have tested positive, and the best scientific analysis is that the rate of infection has been doubling every three to four days. the number of people admitted to hospital with coronavirus symptoms is now 12,9a9. of those who have contracted the virus, 2921 have sadly died. we express our deepest condolences to the families and friends of the victims. if the past few weeks have shown anything it is that we are steadfast as a country in our resolve to defeat this invisible killer. i am resolve to defeat this invisible killer. iam profoundly resolve to defeat this invisible killer. i am profoundly moved by the compassion and commitment that we are seeing from people right across

the country, and in the health and ca re system the country, and in the health and care system we have lost colleagues too. doctors, nurses, mental health professionals, they have paid the ultimate price for their service, working to care for others. ijust wa nt to working to care for others. ijust want to say this on behalf of all my collea g u es want to say this on behalf of all my colleagues in health and social care. iam colleagues in health and social care. i am awed by the dedication of collea g u es care. i am awed by the dedication of colleagues on the front line every single person who contributes to the running of this diverse and caring institution that our nation holds so dear. many of those who have died, who are from the nhs, where people who came to this country to make a difference and they did, and they have given their lives as a sacrifice. and we salute them. and i tell you this, i come back redoubled, in my determination to fight this virus with everything i have. and we will strain every sin you to defeat it once and for all. and i will —— we

will strain every sinew. and i will make sure that all front line staff have the equipment they need to make sure they are safe and they are confident to do theirjobs. i know people have been asking questions. we have shipped a record quantity of equipment to the front line with the support of the british military. just yesterday, a5 million pieces of protective equipment were delivered across health and social including more than 5 million aprons and 6 million surgical masks. today public health england have announced the upgraded standards of ppe that people should use and expect, develop through intense consultation with stakeholders right across the board and staff on the front line. we have listened, we have put the interests of health and care staff first, and put them at the heart of this. the new guidance recommends the appropriate level of ppe to

protect people in all circumstances. these standards are amongst the highest in the world, and in line with the recommendations of the world health organization. i'm delighted they have been welcomed by the medical royal colleges, the bma, the medical royal colleges, the bma, the royal college of nurses and the trade unions. any health or care organisation that needs ppe should call the hotline so that our military operation for delivering ppe can get that protective equipment to them. these are unprecedented times for our health and care system, and i want to make sure that every part, every part of it, is supported. i have therefore made £300 million available for funding for community pharmacies, who do so much to get vital medicines to people and play such an important part in their communities. they themselves are the nhs front line. and today to help nhs trusts to deliver what is needed without worrying about past finances, i can

announce that i am writing of £13.a billion of historic nhs debt. —— i am writing off. this landmark step will not only put the nhs in a strong position to be able to respond to this global coronavirus pandemic, but it will ensure that our nhs has stronger foundations for the future. this is only one part of the future. this is only one part of the picture. i quite understand as well where people are yearning for the certainty that good testing provides. i get it. public health england can be incredibly proud of the world beating work they have done so far on testing. the roll—out of public health england's covid—19 diagnostic test is the fastest deployment of a novel test in recent history, including faster than the swine flu pandemic in 2009. but i'm going to level with you about the

challenges that we face and the plan we have to rise to those challenges. i'm going to go through some of the challenges in very specific detail. and then talk about the plan we have to drive this forward, with a significant increase in testing. first of all, unlike some countries, we did not go into this crisis with a huge diagnostics industry. we have the best scientific labs in the world, but we did not have the scale. my german counterpart, for instance, could call upon 100 test la bs instance, could call upon 100 test labs ready and waiting in the crisis struck. thanks in large part to one of the biggest diagnostic companies in the world. we have had to build from a lower base. next, there is the demand for materials. there has been a shortage of both swabs and reagents. thanks to the ingenuity of my team, we have fixed the swabs

issue, and we are tackling the shortage of reagents. we are resolving this reagent issue but as the head of rosch and the president of the united states have commented, this is a global challenge, i'm sure we will get there. next there is the challenge of prioritisation. i understand why nhs staff want to test so they can get back to the front line, of course i do. but i took the decision that the first priority has to be the patients for whom the result of a test could be the difference in treatment that is the difference in treatment that is the difference in treatment that is the difference between life and death. i believe anybody in my shoes would have taken the same decision. iam would have taken the same decision. i am proud that every single patient who has needed a test for life—saving treatment has had access toa life—saving treatment has had access to a test. but of course, nhs staff

need access to testing as well. i'm delighted that at the weekend we could roll out this access for the first time. and there is a challenge, as well, making sure the public can have confidence in tests. several of the tests we are currently checking have failed. in one case, a test i am being urged to by missed three out of four positive cases of coronavirus. that means in three quarters of cases, that test would have given the false comfort of sending someone with coronavirus back onto the wards. approving tests that do not work is dangerous and i will not do it. now, these are some of the challenges that we have faced. but i want to set out my plan to boost testing. let's first be clear about the goal. always to ensure that testing is available to patients who need it, next, to expand testing to critical nhs staff and their families, and

expand testing to critical nhs staff and theirfamilies, and i can announce today that we are expanding testing for nhs staff further. third, as we ramp up the numbers, we will test critical key workers and over time expand testing to the community. our ultimate goal that anyone who needs a test should have one. let me take time to set out my five pillar testing strategy to achieve these goals. the first pillar is a swab testing in public health england labs and within the hospitals. this is testing to find out if you currently have the virus. we have already reached a target of 10,000 tests per day precisely on time by the end of march as committed. and we are committed to reaching 25,000 tests per day by the end of april at the latest. because it allows the nhs to identify and ca re it allows the nhs to identify and care for those most seriously ill, saving lives by helping clinicians decide the most effective treatment

options, i can reassure you that every single patient who needs a testis every single patient who needs a test is able to have one and this is how we will make sure that people get the right treatment in hospitals. the second pillar is the creation of a brand—new swab testing capacity delivered by commercial partners. again, this is swab testing to tell if people have the virus. the biggest part of the second pillar is partnerships with universities, research institutions, companies like amazon and boots to build from scratch a network of new la bs build from scratch a network of new labs and testing sites across the country. this brand—new service has just launched and is ramping up rapidly. the trials of this have successfully completed rapidly. the trials of this have successfully com pleted a nd rapidly. the trials of this have successfully completed and the number of tests that this facility can do will significantly increase from this weekend. to begin with, this capacity will be used solely for front line this capacity will be used solely forfront line nhs this capacity will be used solely for front line nhs staff and their families, increasing testing capacity for nhs staff will allow more doctors and nurses who do not

have the disease safely to go back to work and to treat those who are most in need of care. these are currently in the final stages of development. as of now, over 5000 nhs workers have been tested across the five new testing sites, and these testing capabilities. currently, there are only 5.7% of doctors absent due to covid—19. but of course we want to get that number down. we are working with other testing companies to expand the second pillar so over time, we have many different commercial partners delivering mass swab testing. the third pillar is blood tests. blood tests are designed to tell whether people have had the virus and are now immune. these take a blood sample and look for the presence of the right covid—19 antibodies. these could potentially be done at home with a finger prick and deliver results in as little as 20 minutes.

we are currently working with nine companies who have offered tests and evaluating effectiveness. these antibody blood tests offer the hope that people who think they have had the disease will know they are immune and can get back to life as much as possible as normal. but they have to work. the fourth pillar is surveillance. we are conducting some of the biggest surveys in the world to find out what proportion of the population have the virus already, this is done using an ultra high a ccu ra cy this is done using an ultra high accuracy antibody test operated by public health england. we have capacity for 3500 of these tests per week, enough for population sampling to begin with. robust population surveillance programmes are essential to understanding the rate of infection and help the virus is spreading across the country. we will use these tests to help us strengthen our scientific understanding, and inform us on the big choices that we have to make

about social distancing and how we exit from this crisis. we didn't start this crisis with a large diagnostics industry. but that doesn't mean that we cannot build one. that is our top end manufacturers have joined up one. that is our top end manufacturers havejoined up a national effort to build ventilators, so the pharmaceutical companies will do the same for testing. 0ur pharmaceutical giants like astrazeneca and gsk, which have no great history and diagnostics, are now working with world leading but small diagnostics companies to build a british diagnostics industry at scale. the new national effort for testing will ensure that we can get tests for everyone who needs them, and i'm delighted that the pharmaceutical industry is rising to this challenge and putting unprecedented resources into testing. taken together, i'm now setting the goal of 100,000 tests per day by the end of this month.

that is the goal and i'm determined that we will get there. and to help drive this work forward, i'm pleased that professorjohn newton from public health england will be taking on the new role to coordinate this national effort for testing, working with my brilliant departmental officials, the nhs, and the life sciences industry. professor newton is widely recognised as a leading voice on public health and epidemiology, and i'm thrilled that we can bring to bear his considerable experience on this vital issue. my five pillars represent a comprehensive plan to put in place the testing that is mission critical as we fight this battle against coronavirus. there will be problems. like many of those that we have already overcome. after all, building a brand—new industry, it's not easy. there will be bumps on the road. and criticisms made, and some of them will be justified.

and i return from illness more determined than ever to fight this disease, we will bring together the best minds, we will bring together the best science that this country has to offer, and we'll work with our friends has to offer, and we'll work with ourfriends and has to offer, and we'll work with our friends and allies from around the world as we do so. because we are in the midst of a war against an invisible enemy, and it is a war in which all of humanity is on the same side. and history has shown, when the world unites against a common foe, then we will prevail. as the prime minister said yesterday, must testing it how we unlock the coronavirus and testing it how we unlock the coronavirus - and defeated in a coronavirus puzzleand'defeatedw' , end