the first nightingale hospital opens to help deal with coronavirus — built in just ten days. the site can hold 4,000 patients — the first are due to arrive early next week. the site in east london was opened remotely by the prince of wales, himself recovering from the virus. this hospital, therefore, offers us an intensely practical message of hope for those who will need it most at this time of national suffering. similar hospitals are planned in many other cities. also on today's programme. the health secretary admits that meeting a target to test 100,000

people for the virus in england by the end of this month is a "huge undertaking". in the last few minutes the prime minister has posted a video on twitter saying that he is to remain in herself isolation because of his health. a move to get help to struggling businesses — the scheme offering government—backed loans will be expanded so more firms will qualify. the exams regulator rules that this year's gcse and a—level grades will be based on teachers‘ assessments of pupils‘ work. google is to publicly track people's movements to show how visits to public places are changing during the pandemic, here and abroad. and in sport — premier league clubs meet again to discuss the season's future, with any restart likely to be pushed back even further now.

good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. the first of the nhs's nightingale hospitals has been opened. it was set up to expand capacity during the coronavirus outbreak. it's been built in less than a fortnight, inside the excel conference centre in east london, and the first patients are due to arrive early next week. prince charles took part in the opening ceremony by videolink from his home in scotland. work is already under way to create similar hospitals in birmingham, manchester, glasgow and cardiff, and others are planned for bristol and harrogate. 0ur correspondent angus crawford reports from east london. ladies and gentlemen, as the wonders of modern technology can only do so much and i can't

quite reach, perhaps i can invite nightingale‘s head of nursing natalie gray, on my behalf, to unveil the plaque to declare nhs nightingale hospital open. applause a royal opening from lockdown. at his home in scotland prince charles still recovering from the virus paid tribute to staff here and around the country. everyone can now have the reassurance that they will receive all the necessary technical care they may need and every chance to return to a normal life. this hospital, therefore, offers us an intensely practical message of hope for those who will need it most at this time of national suffering. an empty shell just days ago, look, an army of civilian contractors and the military have built

nightingale from scratch — wards stretching the length of the building. 500 beds to start with, increasing to a total of 4,000 if needed. at that point, 16,000 staff would be needed to run it. 0nly patients already on ventilators will be admitted. the first should arrive in the coming days. the idea was dreamt not long ago of having a new hospital. and this london nhs nightingale hospital, which was put together, its core, in nine days, is a testament to the leadership of the people who stand behind me. this may eventually become the biggest hospital in britain. it's an extraordinary achievement to have created it in less than two weeks. but now it's open, medical staff have to ready themselves for the harsh reality. the waves of patients that may come in the weeks ahead.

it's now become the model for other nightingale units being set up across the country, including in birmingham, bristol, cardiff and glasgow. such is the concern about the potential spread of the virus. there are questions, though. will the unit to get enough equipment and staff? and how will they cope if and when the wards start to fill? for now, though, nightingale stands open and ready. angus crawford, bbc news. in the last few minutes the prime minister borisjohnson in the last few minutes the prime minister boris johnson has in the last few minutes the prime minister borisjohnson has been speaking and has released a video which he has put on twitter, or downing street has put on twitter. the prime minister himself of course tested positive for coronavirus. let's hear some of what he has been saying. a quick update from the on the campaign against coronavirus. in my own case, although i feel better, in

my seven days of coronavirus isolation i still have a minor symptom, i still have a temperature so symptom, i still have a temperature so in accordance with government advice i must continue my self—isolation until that symptom itself goes. but we are working clearly the whole time on our programme to defeat the virus. you will have seen the big announcement yesterday about 100,000 tests per day by the end of the month. and i just want to say one crucial thing, one quick thing to everybody thinking about this weekend and what may be some fine weather. because i reckon a lot of people will be starting to think that this is going on for quite a long time and they'd rather be getting out there, particularly if they have kids in the household, everybody may be getting a bit stir crazy and there may be just the temptation to get out there, hang out and start to break the regulations. and ijust

urge you not to do that. 0ur political correspondent jonathan blake is at westminster. the prime minister himself staying in isolation a bit longer. yes, as you saw and heard there, jane, the prime minister not looking or sounding too well at all and after the recommended seven days in isolation, he says he still has a temperature, which is one of the key symptoms of coronavirus, and so is following the virus done like advice to stay in isolation for a while longer. downing street keen to point out he is still working and leading the government's efforts against coronavirus, he chaired the daily meeting this morning via video link but it is undoubtedly difficult to have the prime minister remaining in isolation at such a critical time for the government. and for all the talk of testing we have had in the last couple of days, the prime minister trying to take it back there to the key message to people to stay inside, especially with the

good weather forecast over the next few days and perhaps people getting fed up with those restrictions. 0n testing, bit more clarity from the health secretary matt hancock this morning, saying that 100,000 target per day is going to be reached, largely, or solely in fact, by swab tests for people that have coronavirus with the results given there and then. so the antibody test which is key which could tell us if we have already had the virus and we will now be immune from it, is not yet ready for public use. that target of 100,000 remains a significant challenge by the government's own admission. jonathan blake, thank you. the health secretary, matt hancock, has admitted that meeting a target to test 100,000 people for coronavirus in england by the end of this month is a huge undertaking. it was announced yesterday after criticism that not enough front—line nhs staff were being tested. labour has been calling for more details about how the goal will be achieved.

richard galpin reports. the country is potentially facing the biggest challenge of this outbreak so far. the peak is expected in just over a week's time on easter day, and already infections are surging, doubling every few days, leaving thousands of people in hospital. testing people for the virus is vital. key workers, including nhs staff, can find out if they are clear to go to work without the fear of spreading the infection. but the government is facing sharp criticism for failing government is facing sharp criticism forfailing to scale government is facing sharp criticism for failing to scale up the testing programme quickly enough. and yet suddenly it has now announced it is aiming to increase testing from around 10,000 people a day to 100,000 by the end of the month, raising yet more questions. but the health secretary is determined to make it happen. well, we have got to. it is a goal and i've set it for

the whole system. the 10,000 a day that we reached on target was from the public health england and the nhs working together incredibly hard, nhs working together incredibly ha rd, firstly nhs working together incredibly hard, firstly to develop the test, we we re hard, firstly to develop the test, we were one of the first countries in the world to do that, and then to increase the number. for those on the front line in the battle to save lives and defeat the coronavirus, maximising testing could make a big difference. it can't come quickly enough. you know, we are talking to hospital and other health service chief executives every day, and the issue of staff absence is huge for them. staff themselves really want to get back to the front line and hospital leaders really need those staff on the front line. to reach 100,000 tests a day will require a massive effort involving industry and laboratories from all around the country, including these recently built mega laboratories.

those in charge of this ramp up claim there will soon be an exponential increase in the number of people being tested. the test currently in use is a swab test, checking if the person has the virus. there is also a blood test which can prove if someone has previously had the virus and, therefore, may have some immunity, but it has not yet been approved for use. the most extravagant claims of some of the manufacturers are for about 90% specificity, which means that we would still have about one in ten positives that would be a false positive, which means somebody could and should be given a certificate of immunity when they we re certificate of immunity when they were not really immune, but because of that being the nature of those kind of tests we may need to learn to live with that degree of risk in the future. with the peak of the epidemic nowjust days away, it has been announced that more conference halls and other buildings like this one here in bristol are to be converted into a field hospitals.

there will be at least six around the country providing thousands of extra beds. a measure of what this country could soon face. richard galpin, bbc news. 126 people in scotland have now died after being diagnosed with coronavirus, and the number of people in hospital and intensive care continues to rise. 0ur correspondent lisa summers has been given exclusive access to ninewells hospital in dundee to find out how staff there are managing. he's a young man. the seriously ill are cared for here. staff work round—the—clock as numbers of covid—19 patients in high dependency rise. there have been deaths in this hospital, but many are on the mend, like 73—year—old thomas maxfield. how have you been treated? very well, very well. the staff can't do enough for you. so, this is where we've been assessing patients,

and i will take you through to show you what we do. 0ur doctors and nurses put on ppe, and that's a surgical facemask, one of the plastic pinnies, and wear gloves, and they go in to do all the assessments, including the swabs. they take off all their ppe inside the rooms and clean and wash hands and they come back out into this area, which is kept clean. in this corridor, although covid—positive patients have been through, it's a safe area. we're more than two metres away from anyone so we can walk around without any ppe on very safely. staff on the covid wards are busy but not overwhelmed. i actually think that most of my family and friends are much more nervous for me than what i am for myself. i feel like we're quite safe here, we're wearing the ppe, we are not in with patients very long. it's a minimum amount of time. in terms of my day—to—day working life here, i don't really have any anxieties about my safety, and the way that the senior team have been running things. it all seems very under control to me. once they get to this point, the risk of covid increases,

because we have covid—positive patients through here, and we will go through there now to show you what kind of precautions we're taking. just a few weeks ago, this was an orthopaedic ward. now, it belongs to covid patients. you have to remember that this is a brand—new virus, that we as humans have not come across before, so we have no immunity to it. another thing we do know is that there is regionality to the infection rates. we're hoping that in areas of scotland, particularly, where social distancing has been taken up much more readily than in some areas, bigger areas, in england, that we'll be able to flatten the curve, and that, yes, infection is going to happen but we will be able to spread that out. everything has been scaled up. this hospital had eight intensive care beds — now, they have 19, and contingency beds for 50. now, they have 19, and contingency plans for 50. people here believe they can cope, but testing staff and keeping them fit and healthy will be key? it's really important that we test staff.

three weeks ago, we started a comprehensive programme of testing members of staff so that we could get them to return to the workforce. and as of today, over 700 members of staff from nhs tayside have been able to return to work, back to the workforce. the tea trolley continues to come on the covid ward. routines carry on for now. no—one can predict when the peak of this crisis will come or how bad it will be, but they do what they can to be ready. lisa summers, bbc news. the exams regulator has announced how gcses and a levels will be awarded in england. students will receive grades based on teachers' assessment of their work. let's get all the details from our education editor, branwen jeffreys. what has been decided in england? there is a process, the first involves teachers and schools, so teachers will be asked to think about what grades they would have expected students to get by the time

of the exams, taking everything into account. so that could be coursework, previous mock results, but also things like participation. if you are doing a subject like pe ordrama if you are doing a subject like pe or drama where there is a practical element. and then on top of that, schools and teachers are going to be asked to rank their students in each subject from top to bottom, so that they get some idea of roughly what proportion they are putting into each kind of area. after that, that goesin each kind of area. after that, that goes in strict confidence, so pupils and families will not be told what teachers are deciding, to the exam board. they will then add in in a second stage more information, things like how do they expect their pupils to do on the basis of what they know about them already, and they know about them already, and they will also look at schools and colleges' previous records in recent yea rs, colleges' previous records in recent years, what kind of results they have been getting, to make sure there is no over estimating those potential results. we expect the grades to finally be awarded around

the same time or even a bit earlier than they would be in summer. a quick thought about the students themselves — very, very difficult for them? it is a very stressful and difficult time for students in england, who are studying bee text, nothing yet today on that, although it is promised soon. i asked the head of the regulator in england what she had to say to parents and stu d e nts what she had to say to parents and students who were worried they were going to get a qualification that would be a coronavirus gcse or a—level? their student certificates this year with their grades will be like any other certificates. they will use those grades to progress. grades in their lives just like any other set of students, and that is hugely important. branwen jeffreys, bra nwen jeffreys, thank branwen jeffreys, thank you. our top story this lunchtime... the first nightingale hospital opens

to help deal with coronavirus, built in just ten days. the site can hold 4,000 patients. the first are due to arrive early next week. coming up — a charity fund to help communities hit by coronavirus has started distributing millions of pounds in donations across the uk. and in sport — the edgbaston cricket ground car park is the latest venue to become a drive—through coronavirus testing site for nhs staff. more than a million people around the world have now been infected with coronavirus, according to data being recorded by the johns hopkins university in the us. this morning, spain has overtaken italy as the european country with the most coronavirus cases. around the world more than 50,000 people have died since the outbreak began in december, in china.

here's our global health correspondent tulip mazumdar. a milestone that nobody wanted to reach. it's 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 doubled to 200,000. now, in the last week alone, the number of infections havejumped from half a million last friday to more than1 million now. and here's how it all unfolded. cases in china were rising

rapidly in the first couple of months of this year. south korea was next to see a sharp rise. but by the middle of march the global picture changed. italy was hit hard, along with iran and then spain, and then a huge rise in cases in the us. all these countries were ramping up their testing at these times, too. these are the numbers of diagnosed cases, and in fact the unknown of the amount of people that haven't had a test to know they've been 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 similar case numbers are really beginning to creep up. we've 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

health care 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 scheme which offers government—backed loans to businesses which are struggling to survive is to be expanded. the chancellor, rishi sunak, says more small firms will be eligible, and those with a turnover of up to £500 million will also qualify. so far, more than 130,000 enquiries have been received,

but fewer than 1,000 have been approved. 0ur economics correspondent andy verity reports. the government has been listening to criticism that its government back to business interruption loans weren't getting through to many firms because the rules had to said banks had to check first to see if they could get a normal loan. now it has lifted that role and made it easier to lend the government backed loa ns faster. easier to lend the government backed loans faster. we are also acutely aware that there is an urgent need foran aware that there is an urgent need for an additional product with businesses with a turnover of over £45 million, so we are working at pace with banks, with the treasury, to try and offer a better solution for those businesses up to a turnover of £500 million. the promise three weeks ago was an unprecedented £330 billion package of loa ns unprecedented £330 billion package of loans and other support, but so

far, only £145 million has been lent. 130,000 firms applied for loa ns lent. 130,000 firms applied for loans ina lent. 130,000 firms applied for loans in a rush for help last week but only 1000 have had loans approved, which doesn't get mean they have got the money. however, some grant money is now getting through from local authorities to shops, hotels and pubs who have seen their incomes plummet. more businesses will now be able to apply for emergency loans and most won't have to sign personal guarantees that could jeopardise their savings and other wealth. the treasury has clearly listened to what business communities around the country have been saying. the changes that have been saying. the changes that have been made over the last 24 hours make it easier for businesses to get access to business interruption loa ns access to business interruption loans and will also give businesses more confidence to try to use the scheme. the banks say they're operating under the same constraints as any workplace. if their staff are staying at home, they can't open branches like this one. but they say they are really trying to get

businesses the help they need. and the government's redesign of its scheme is partly an admission that it was flawed and needed changing. now there is a worrying development — the staff who do get into their branches are getting abuse from customers, frustrated that they can't get help. there are still significant holes in the safety net, and some people feel like they're falling through it. this photography studio near newbury employs seven people. because the owner gets most of her pay as dividends, she is not covered by help either for companies orfor the covered by help either for companies or for the self—employed. covered by help either for companies or for the self-employed. in this time, small business owners are being faced with no income coming in through their business, bills still going out and then, when we reopen, you're being faced with taking potential losses while you're rebuilding your business back. these are huge welfare reforms, done at pace, in an emergency. but business owners and banks have at least been able to come and talk to a listening

government. andy verity, bbc news. a charity fund to help communities hit by coronavirus has started distributing millions of pounds in donations. the national emergencies trust, set up after the grenfell tower fire, has so far raised £20 million to go towards projects including food banks. and it's hoping to raise millions more. here's our home editor, mark easton. social distancing means we cannot place a comforting arm around a troubled shoulder. but people still want to help others during the crisis. whenever and wherever adversity strikes, the people of the united kingdom have a unique ability to pull together. the public‘s desire to help in the wake of tragedy needs to be managed and channel the best possible way. this has led to the creation of the national emergencies trust. with royal blessing, the national emergencies trust has launched its first appeal, raising £20 million injust two weeks. support survivors at the time of a domestic disaster. money being passed on to community projects, helping those struggling to cope in the lockdown. that packet of pasta that

you donated is going to go to a real person and a real family who are genuinely grateful and genuinely need it. the horncastle food bank in lincolnshire is one of the charities already benefiting from the trust. it has seen a trebling in demand for parcels. if i could wave a magic wand, i would encourage people to look at the appeal, to donate, look to see if they can help locally. there are local action groups that have popped up, bringing the fabric of society back where it should be. the voluntary sector is the glue that keeps our society together. the national emergencies trust was set up after the grenfell tragedy, when it was realised that without coordination, the huge wave of generosity was not reaching the people who needed it most. that is what it wants to achieve now. in many ways, we would like the spirit of british helpfulness to become a virus, if you like, more contagious than coronavirus itself. i think it's a great way for the country to come together.

most charities welcome the trust, but the sector itself is facing the toughest time in living memory, with predictions of a £4 billion loss in the next 12 weeks. there is, of course, a question as to how much the funding of support to the most vulnerable during this crisis should fall to community volunteers, and how much to the welfare state, especially at a time when so many charities themselves are struggling to survive. the big charities need big money, they need support from the government. the government is thinking about that at the present moment. but actually, the money that we are raising can make a real difference in local areas on the ground. it's not the answer to everything, but the national emergencies trust is trying to harness the tide of goodwill that this crisis has inspired to help those who can to help others who can't. mark easton, bbc news. google is to publicly track people's movements over the course of the coronavirus pandemic. the tech firm is launching a website which uses data to show how visits

to public places are changing, here and abroad. let's speak to our technology correspondent rory cellan—jones. rory, some people watching will have concerns about this? yeah, what we should realise is that google has a lwa ys should realise is that google has always had this data, this is not new, they are just making it public. if you use a phone with google maps on it, it knows where you are, google has that data, it knows, for instance, this phone, i am at home right now, it knows when i go to the office, when i go to the shop. that data has always been there. what they are doing now is being far more public with this, and it's producing fascinating results, with reports out this morning on 131 different countries, and how activity has gone down. i am looking at one of the pages now, in the uk, 85% fall in retail and recreation, 52% fall in visits to parks, 42% fall in grocery

and pharmacy visits, since february. i've also been contrasting it with france, which has actually had a much tighter lockdown, much stricter, for a bit longer, and the figures there are much higher than they are in the uk. farfewer people going to grocery stores, far fewer people going to parks, and on public transport. and this information is going to be pretty useful to the government, that is the theory. for instance, next weekend, we know there is going to be lots of sunny weather, we've heard the prime minister worried about whether we will all be going to the park or not, the data from google would tell him exactly what has happened. rory cellan—jones, thank you very much indeed. well with much of the uk expecting dry and fine weather over the weekend, there's concern about people ignoring the call to stay at home. in wales, some popularfootpaths have already been closed, to try to deter visitors. 0ur correspondent hywel griffith is in the vale of glamorgan for us.

yes, normally, for many, this would be the start of the easter holidays, the start of the tourist season. usually that is when people want to get out and explore some of this glorious countryside. this year, thatis glorious countryside. this year, that is absolutely not the message — stay at home, stay safe to protect others. but there is some concern among key workers in the countryside. the farm behind me has a footpath going directly through it, the farmer is very worried, what happens if someone comes onto her land carrying the infection with them? what land carrying the infection with them ? what if land carrying the infection with them? what if some of the key workers get infected and they can't milk the cows? the food chain is under threat. 0ne farmers union in wales is calling for people to stay away from farms and calling for some kind of enforcement. some police forces in wales have talked about ramping up their enforcement over this weekend, with temperatures well over 20 degrees expected in some parts of the uk. so, the message is clear. however, there is some room for interpretation. yesterday the

english health secretary, matt hancock,