welcome to bbc news. i'm rich preston. our top stories: there are now more than a million confirmed cases of coronavirus around the world — 50,000 people have died. ten million americans have lost theirjobs in two weeks, as the economy shuts down to slow the spread of coronavirus. as the death toll reaches almost 3000 in the uk and after days of criticism, the government announces plans to significantly increase coronavirus testing. and days after saying staff on board his aircraft carrier needed quarantining, the us navy sacks its captaiin.

the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the world now stands at over 1 million people. experts say over 50,000 people have died, with the number of reported cases doubling in the last week. italy's death toll has reached almost 14,000, and spain's reported over 1,000 deaths in a single day, taking its total to 10,000. the united states is the world's third worst hit country with over 5,500 fatalities. there are nearly a 250,000 confirmed infections in the us. half of the country's deaths have been in new york. here in the uk, the health secretary has announced plans to carry out 100,000 tests every day in england by the end of the month. it was also announced that 569 more people have died in the uk in the past 2a hours, bringing the total number of deaths to 2,921. our global health correspondent, tulip mazumdar,

reports on the events that lead to more than 1 million infections. a milestone that nobody wanted to reach. it is believed the outbreak started here, at a wholesale seafood market in wuhan, in china, at the end of last year. by early january, the country confirmed it had identified a new coronavirus and cases there started to soar. it didn't take long for covid—19, as it was later named, to then spread all around the world. it took more than two months from the first reported case in china for the number of infections to reach 100,000. then, just two weeks later, cases double to 200,000. now, in the last week alone, the number of infections have jumped from 500,000 last friday

to more than1 million now. and if this is how it unfolded. by and if this is how it unfolded. by the middle of march the global picture change. italy was hit hard. then all these countries ramping up testing. so a million is obviously a huge number, and presents an important milestone. but i think what we need to remember is that these are the numbers of diagnosed cases. and in fact the unknown, the amount of people who haven't had a test to know that they're infected, is obviously likely to be much greater than that. so my worry, really, is what this means globally. and we're keeping an eye on many other countries around the world, especially for example africa, where some of the case numbers are really beginning to creep up. we have seen what happens when this virus hits countries

with relatively strong health systems. in europe and the us, medics have been overwhelmed. there are grave concerns about what will happen in countries with far weaker healthcare facilities. south africa currently has the largest outbreak on the continent, with more than 1,400 known cases. smaller outbreaks are also under way in countries including burkina faso, cameroon and senegal. elsewhere, there is some very early, very cautious optimism. china says it has largely stopped the spread of the disease there, with parts of wuhan now reopening. south korea has also seen cases fall in the last couple of weeks. but it is still extremely unclear how this pandemic will play out, as cases globally continue to rise. tulip mazumdar, bbc news. the virus is striking at the heart of the us economy. a record 6.6 million americans filed for unemployment benefits

in the last week. the scale of the economic disaster is stunning, as the us shuts down to contain the virus. here's our north america editor, jon sopel. it's a perfect spring day in washington, and this is one of the cities busiest shopping streets — except it's not. the stores are closed, the streets empty, nobody is buying. and this is what that looks like in graph form — years of unemployment going up a couple of hundred thousand here and there, but 10 millionjobs have gone in the last two weeks. these workers in california are among the many who've suddenly found themselves out of a job, victims of coronavirus. we still have to pay rent, we still have to pay bills, that's a lot of stuff that we still have to pay, and with nojob, what are we going to do? the us is closed for business, more or less literally. the old saying goes that when america sneezes

the rest of the world catches cold — maybe not the right phrase to use in the midst of a global pandemic — but this is going to hit the global economy. but the president is confident the rebound will be swift. nobody‘s ever seen anything like this. the entire world has shut down. you go from having the most powerful economy in the world, and from other countries that are doing well, to being everything is shut down. it's very sad but, we're going to get it going and we're going to be stronger than ever. that is tomorrow's battle. the fight against covid—19 is the immediate concern and in new york, the governor says they will run out of ventilators soon. right now we have a burn rate that would suggest we have about six days in the stockpile, but we have extraordinary measures in place that can make a difference if we run into a real ventilator shortage. america is adjusting to a new reality — queueing forfood, unemployment soaring.

the most powerful country in the world somewhat powerless in the face of this invisible enemy. jon sopel, bbc news, washington. earlier our north america correspondent, peter bowes, told me about the confusion in the united states at the moment about face masks. americans have been getting some mixed messages about facemasks. people in los angeles and new york city have been advised that they should wear one, not ordered to wear one, but local officials saying they should, whereas donald trump, asked about this in the daily briefing, and again he said that people wouldn't be ordered to, some people didn't want to, and he said one of his chief scientific adviser, doctor deborah birx, said that she was worried some people might get a false sense of protection if they were wearing a facemask because they'd been ordered to.

she said you can still get the virus and still be infected even if you're wearing a facemask. you might touch something then touch your eyes, for example, which are not protected by a facemask so you wouldn't be 100% protected. she said the main purpose of the mask is to protect people from you if you've got the virus, but not necessarily to protect you from others. and in his press conference there was also discussion from president trump about increasing the numbers of respirators and ventilators available from the federal government? yes, we've been hearing so much from hospital workers and from governors around the country still about the shortage of supplies,. the president said 100,000 ventilators, respirators or protective clothing have been ordered to be made, and they will be distributed to the states. there's been a stand—off between the federal government and local authorities in terms of who perhaps ultimately is responsible for any

stockpiles of ventilators, but the clear message from president donald trump is these pieces of equipment are on the way and those patients who required them will be getting them soon. the worrying message from new york city is there's only a six—day supply of ventilators left. the captain of the american aircraft carrier stricken with coronavirus has been sacked, apparently for going public with his concerns about the health of his crew. captain brett crozier wrote a scathing letter to his bosses asking for stronger measures to help control the virus onboard the uss theodore roosevelt. but the letter was leaked to the press, as bill hayton reports. the uss theodore roosevelt, one of the world's most powerful war machine. the community of 5000 people jammed in a very

confined space. in the driving seat with the power of life and death was captain brett crozier, until thursday. death was captain brett crozier, until thursdaylj death was captain brett crozier, untilthursday. i am here to inform you that today at my direction captain brett crozier was relieved of command by royal admiral stuart baker. the problem may have started during the most recent visit in vietnam at the beginning of march. two weeks later the first crewmembers fell ill. within days of the numbers were in the dozen and the situation was potentially catastrophic. captain brett crozier headed to guam to help the sick. an asked for decisive action to protect the rest of the group. it copied the e—mail to at least 20 other people. that is not a cce pta ble 20 other people. that is not acceptable and what that did is create a little bit of a panic

on the ship because it was not prepared, the chief petty officers were not prepared to a nswer officers were not prepared to answer questions from the crew about how bad the situation was and this misrepresented the fa cts and this misrepresented the facts of what was going on on the ship as well and at the same time the family is the end of the us were panicked. conditions on board prompted plenty of criticism of the pentagon and the trump administration. supporters captain brett crozier went on social media but it looks as though his career is over. many of the crew are now in isolation. so far, says the pentagon, none has required hospital treatment. bill hayton, bbc news. let's take a look at the impact of the pandemic elsewhere in the world: president putin has extended the paid time russians have off work because of the coronavirus pandemic until the end of april. mr putin acknowledged the outbreak still hadn't reached its peak, but he didn't announce any new measures,

such as a lockdown. in the last 2a hours, russia announced its highest number of deaths caused by covid—19. as lockdown measures continue in egypt, thousands of people there have taken to twitter to call for palaces belonging to the country's president to be turned into quarantine centres. it follows social media outrage after expats locked down at a five star hotel were told they would have to foot the bill themselves. president sisi reversed the decision on wednesday. global oil prices have surged after president trump said he expected saudi arabia and russia to end a feud that has driven the price of crude to 18—year lows. mr trump said he thought the two countries would agree to cut supply by at least ten million barrels. the british government has announced plans to significantly increase coronavirus testing in the uk. the health secretary, who has just returned from self—isolation after contracting the virus, said he hoped that 100,000 tests could be carried out

every day, in england, by the end of the month. after days of intense criticism, he admitted there had been big challenges with testing from the beginning. here's our political editor, laura kuennsberg. will there be enough? not a pleasant process, but a vital one. this is horrible, and i can only apologise for it. because health workers are desperate to know if they have the virus, so they can be, if they can, where they belong, treating patients on the front line. i just can't see that this is right. we're both keen to work, we're both desperate to work, and as with most gps, we would work through a minor illness. we don't take time off lightly. after days of accusations of missing targets and mishandling, the health secretary, just back at work after the virus himself, is trying to show the government is getting a grip. i understand why nhs staff want tests, 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 between life and death. privately, the government admits they have been too slow, so now, with help from business, and a huge new push, they are setting a vast new target. i am 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. can you give us a firm date by when any nhs staff that needs a test will get a test? because in a fast—moving crisis like this, the end of the month is still a long time away. i will, over the coming weeks, seek to ensure that every nhs front line staff member who needs a test gets one. would you put a date on that?

would you give it a deadline? because people are very worried about this right now. well, they are, and i'm glad that we're able to speed it up. it will absolutely be before the end of the month. but we are — and i'm saying, over the coming weeks. remember, there are two kinds of test, one to show if you've had the virus after recovering, but the one these nhs staff are queueing up for at a superstore car park turned testing drive—through, records if you have the virus right now. if the drivers of these cars are negative, they could get back onto the desperately—stretched wards as doctors and nurses. that's why it is so urgent now. it is so frustrating. we should be the first so that we can look after our patients. i'm very sad. it is quite efficient and it allows us to go back to work as soon as we could, really, so that is the best thing we could possibly do for nhs staff, to be honest. testing has become the most acute political problem in this crisis, with senior labour mp dawn butler, who lost her uncle

to the disease, in grief and anger, insisting the government needs to test everyone who works in hospitals without delay. 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. but a former cabinet secretary, no stranger to managing crises, suggests there might be deeper roots to the problem. does it seem to you, though, that the government was too slow? i think when we look back on it, and i think all of us should take a share of the blame here, pandemics, even in my time, was top of the risk register. did we do enough to build spare capacity? did we do enough to think that through and actually get materials in hand? have enough ventilators, have enough protective equipment, probably not. but let's not worry too much about the mistakes of the past. even if testing centres become a familiar sight, with no cure, no government can

make coronavirus go away. but the actions they take can make a difference to how it affects us all. laura kuenssberg, bbc news. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: getting the message across. police in mexico promote hand—washing and social distancing, amid anger over the government's handling of the crisis. the accident that happened here was of the sort that can, at worst, produce a meltdown. in this case, the precautions worked, but they didn't work quite well enough to prevent some old fears about the safety features of these stations from resurfacing. the republic of ireland has become the first country

in the world to ban smoking in the workplace. from today, anyone lighting up in offices, businesses, pubs and restaurants will face a heavy fine. the president was on his way out of the washington hilton hotel, where he had been addressing a trade union conference. the small crowd outside included his assailant. it has become a symbol of paris. 100 years ago, many parisians wished it had never been built. the eiffel tower's birthday is being marked by a re—enactment of the first ascent by gustave eiffel. this is bbc news, the latest headlines: the number of people around the world who have been diagnosed with coronavirus has passed 1 million — over 50,000 of them have died. more than ten million american workers have lost theirjobs in the last two weeks alone, as the economy shuts down to slow the spread of coronavirus.

authorities around the world are reporting a huge spike in domestic violence cases as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. some countries are providing hotels for victims, while others have set up hotlines or created special code words for women to get help. the australian prime minister scott morrison says his country's seen a 75% increase in online searches for domestic violence help. i spoke to deb parkinson, a researcher with the monash university's disaster resilience initiative in melbourne, about the rise in the cases. so people living with financial uncertainty, they're unemployed, they have perhaps lost money on the stock market or the property market. and you add to that things like a 24—hour lockdown, so people are living together in a really unusual circumstance. the children are mostly there as well. there's a sense of grief and loss. all the supports that people had, social infrastructure, extended family, they aren't there because people aren't able to go and talk

to theirfriends. what is australia doing about this problem? the prime minister, scott morrison, announced a $150 million package, which is a really great start. initially, that has gone to crisis lines for women and for men. in addition to that, there's an enormous recognition that this is happening, which is new, and very welcome. and what do we know about how this might be playing out in other countries the world? it's definitely happening right across the world. so we've seen increases in france and italy. china reported a threefold increase. spain, very sadly, reported the first domestic violence murder in the covid context. that was by a man murdering his wife in front of the children on 19 march.

france is providing hotel rooms for women who feel they are in danger, and men, of course, and it's setting up a codeword system for pharmacies, that women can in and use this codeword to get help if they feel they need it. what are some of the practical measures that countries can put in place as support mechanisms for victims of domestic violence? yes, i think it's a really great use of empty hotels, to repurpose them. in this country, in some states, we have a situation where the perpetrator is removed from the home and the women and children can stay. that is what i would recommend. where that is not possible, it's great to have hotels available, and to make sure that they're safe not just from dv, but also from covid—19 infection. in addition to that, we clearly need a good and effective legal response and longer—term housing options for people. for family, family members who are worried about someone in their family or friends, they can keep in regular contact with people, and often that's going to be methods of texting or e—mail, because women don't want to talk about the violent situation in front of the man, or even in front

of the children. deb parkinson from monash university in melbourne speaking to me earlier. mexico seems to be faring better than its northern neighbour, the united states, when it comes to coronavirus cases. so far, only about 1,400 infections have been reported there, compared to more than 230,000 in the us. but those numbers are on the rise, and there's been growing anger over the mexican government's handling of the crisis. the bbc‘s will grant has this report: a uniquely mexican way to tell people to wash their hands. amid accusations the message wasn't getting through, state police in quintana roo performed a mariachi song to remind the public to practise social distancing

and self isolation. however, some say the response at the federal level has been less harmonious. the country's president, andres manuel lopez 0brador has come in for widespread criticism. for days, he said people could go outside, attend large events, even kiss and embrace. those at mexico's first drive—through coronavirus test, being run by a private clinic in the capital, were angry at the president's attitude. "if the president really cares about his people, then he must protect them," says this woman, fearing mexico will struggle to do with the crisis. the mexican health authorities insist they have taken the problem seriously from the start. with the number of coronavirus patients rising above 1,000, the government has now declared a health emergency which grants it new powers to enforce distancing and isolation. translation: we don't want to go to the scenario that other countries a re u nfortu nately going through so this

is the moment. the world health organization has also broadly defended mexico's response. translation: mexico is benefiting from the experiences of those countries that have already taken these measures. the steps they have taken are very laudable. they are on the right path. the thing is, mexico faces a number underlying health challenges. its population, for example, has one of the highest rates of diabetes in the world — an astonishing 10% of its adult population suffer from the condition. and it's the second most obese nation on earth. "i'm especially worried for my son," said this customer at a mexico city taco stand. "i try to get him to exercise but now he can't go outside." with far fewer infected in mexico than in the us, it has prompted some mexicans to demand that

americans not be allowed to cross the border. meanwhile, thousands of central american migrants remain in temporary camps under the so—called ‘remain in mexico' policy, waiting for their asylum applications in the us to be processed. stuck in limbo, illness and flu spread among them quickly and a further humanitarian crisis beckons. will grant, bbc news. let's bring you some more upbeat news now: after months of severe droughts, one of the world's has roared back to life. the flow of water for the southern african waterfall is now well above the seasonal average following heavy rainfall further up the zambezi river. but few people will get to enjoy the spectacle because zambia and zimbabwe, the borders the falls sit on, have closed viewing areas as part of a coronavirus lockdown. thank you forjoining us here

in bbc news. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @ rich preston. hello. temperatures topped out at 15 degrees celsius in hampshire on thursday. they'll take a step backwards, those temperatures, on friday, but then into the weekend they're on the up. a frost for some of us, as friday starts, especially across the north and east of the uk. plenty of cloud to follow, but sunnier skies arrive at the weekend. and yes, those temperatures are heading up, but with a strengthening wind. high pressure pretty much in control of things, so still a lot of dry weather around for the next couple of days. low pressure gathering in the atlantic, though, as the weekend goes on will strengthen a southerly flow coming into the uk, and that's why those temperatures are going to be heading up. and we could well see across parts of south—east england by sunday as high as 20 celsius, the first time we've reached that high since last october. but we're not there yet, and there will be a frost

across scotland, parts of eastern england to start friday, maybe —5 in rural aberdeenshire. and a few wintry showers in scotland, to relatively low levels in the north, continuing on and off during the day. a lot of cloud in the west to begin the day. there'll be a few showers around here, and cloud increasing. but where we had that cold start to the east, that cold, bright start to the east, still maybe the odd shower, but most places here will be dry. sunny spells returning later in the afternoon to south wales, south—west england, those temperatures around 8—12 degrees. that's why it's a little bit of a backward step compared with thursday. now, overnight and into saturday morning, an area of rain and hill snow pushes north into scotland, edging further north. the clearer skies will be the further south you are in england and wales, though there could be a few fog patches around. and still a touch of frost in places, though it's rather patchy in nature, that frost, as the day begins. another look at saturday, the flows are starting to come in from the south, then temperatures gradually edging up on saturday. it's a slow process, though, and still a lot of cloud around in scotland. the rain and hill snow clearing from the north.

for northern ireland, rather cloudy, and northern england too. elsewhere in england and wales, there will be sunny spells, and those temperatures are creeping up. more places in double figures on saturday. the breeze, though, starting to pick up. and then for part two of the weekend, on sunday, a lot of sunshine around. but it will be windy, and particularly in the west, and here it'll be clouding over. we could well see some outbreaks of rain moving in. in the best of the sunshine across the eastern side of england, this is where we're going to see those higher temperatures, but higher pollen levels too.

this is bbc news, the headlines: the coronavirus pandemic has continued to spread rapidly, with more than 50,000 people now having died from the outbreak. there are also now more than a million people infected worldwide — that's double the number from this time last week. the united states accounts for about a quarter of all cases. ten million us workers have lost their jobs in the last two weeks, as the country's economy shuts down due to the spread of the virus. the weekly figures are the highest in american history. treasury secretary steven mnuchin says assistance payments should reach individuals within two weeks. in europe spain has seen the biggest daily increase in deaths in europe, but its infection rate is slowing. in the italian city of milan, the main crematorium has closed its doors to deal with a backlog of coronavirus victims.