hello and welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in the uk and around the world. i'm simon pusey. let's begin in china, where people are observing a three—minute silence all over the country to mourn patients and medical staff killed by the coronavirus. the by the coronavirus. pictures you are sitting here the pictures you are sitting here are from wuhan, the city where the virus originated. this is a train station. let's ta ke this is a train station. let's take a listen to the three minutes of silence.

(sirens) (birds chirping) what you can hear there, the horns of cars, buses, trains and ships. there on the hour, the government has organised this to remember the more than 3000 people who have officially been recorded to have died of the virus. the government says the virus. the government says the event is also a chance to honour 1a workers who died trying to contain the virus in wuhan. and this is another location in china where a minute's cylance has been held, beijing, officials honouring those who died.

foghorn horns in the distance there from ships, honouring the more than 3000 people who died in china of the coronavirus. the world health organization says the pandemic is developing into more than a health crisis and has called for all lockdown restrictions to be kept in place to attack the spread of the virus. here, the uk's health secretary has urged people to stay at home over fears that sunny weather could tempt people to go outside. we cannot relax our discipline now. if we do, people will die. so, i end with the advice that we all know. this advice is not a request, it is an instruction. stay at home, protect lives, and then you will be doing your part.

that was matt hancock there, the uk's health secretary. well, new figures released in the past hour show the us has set a new global record with 1,480 virus deaths in 2a hours. earlier, president trump announced new recommendations for americans to wear masks when they go outside to slow the spread of the virus — but he added that he wouldn't be following the advice. from recent studies, we know that the transmission from individuals without symptoms does play a more significant role in the spread of the virus than previously understood. so you don't seem to have symptoms but it still gets transferred. in light of these studies, the cdc is advising the use of non—medical cloth face coverings as an additional voluntary public health measure. so, it is voluntary, you don't have to do it. now they're suggesting it for a period of time. but, this is voluntary.

that was president trump speaking there a little earlier. the hardest hit state in the us remains new york. here's the bbc‘s north america correspondent, david willis. very much so and it's been estimated that a quarter of the 266,000 coronavirus cases here in the united states are there in new york where there is a shortage of hospital beds, a shortage of respirators and a shortage of masks, amongst other things. on the subject of masks, and you mentioned this in your introduction, president trump saying today that based on the advice of the centres for disease control here in the us, he was urging the public to wear a face mask of some kind when they are out in public. but it's pretty much a case of do as i say and not as i do because the president saying, as you heard there, that he doesn't intend to do that himself. when he is, for example, at the oval

office at the resolute desk greeting world leaders. nonetheless, he has conceded that the numbers could be very high, as far as steps are concerned. a couple of days ago, we heard medical officials here saying that 240,000 people in the united states could be killed by the coronavirus. the president saying today that he hoped those projections did not turn out to be true but he was worried they might. that was david willis speaking to mea that was david willis speaking to me a little earlier. key workers in all sectors are facing enormous difficulties in dealing with the coronavirus outbreak, none more so of course, than frontline nhs staff. our health correspondent, catherine burns, is keeping in touch with some of the men and women battling the pandemic, and asked one intensive care consultant to keep a video diary. this comes from the front line in the fight against coronavirus. joy halliday is an intensive care consultant, looking after some of the very sickest patients. she started her video before a night shift. i've got three children and they're all bathed, fed and watered.

i'm just waiting for my husband to arrive home, who's a gp and obviously busy, very busy at work as well at the moment. so, we're a bit like ships in the night. good evening again, it's now nine o'clock and we finished our intensive care handover. my trainee is with me, so we've gotjohnny who's our sho for the night. and steven, registrar. hello. and then another steven, who's restocking our intubation trolley as we speak. so, we are now going to go and don our ppe so we can start a ward round and we'll take you with us for that. so, here we are ready to start our ward round. we're outside of itu at the moment. johnny and myself are ready to go in, in our ppe. steven is about to don his. joy and her team have to wear ppe, personal protective equipment, that offers the fullest possible cover. all the patients they see on this night have coronavirus and are unconscious, on breathing machines. they have to get very close to them.

and that it is us done, so we're going to start our ward round for this evening. i will leave you outside, so that we do not bring it in with us and we will touch base with you again later. so, it's now 5:20am and we've had a really busy night here in intensive care. the nursing staff and doctors have worked non—stop and it's really important that we look after ourselves as well as our patients. sadly, there's some battles that we're not going to win. the team try not to phone families overnight, but they have to call if they think a patient is about to die. but even then, relatives can't come here for their own safety. at these times, normally families would be present in intensive care all the time by their loved ones‘ sides and with visiting rules being changed and the risk to relatives coming in and catching coronavirus themselves, we don't have visitors any more. and we're therefore providing relatives with daily updates about their loved one. we all know in the nhs

as health care workers that these are unprecedented times. we also know that there may come a time when we start looking after people we know, colleagues we work with, and we need to be prepared to manage this. a video diary from an nhs worker there. the british government has set itself the target of a hundred thousand tests per day for the coronavirus by the end of the month. our science editor david shukman looks at the two different types of test, and what they may tell us, about the pandemic. the government is under relentless pressure over why more testing isn't happening. so, why does that matter in the struggle against coronavirus, and what are the different tests involved? the first kind of testing is the most urgent, because it's to try to find out who actually has the infection. this is done with a swab inside the mouth and throat to look for clues about the virus. this is really important for patients in hospital, because if they're infected, that will determine the course of their treatment. it's also vital for healthcare workers and many others,

because if they've got mild symptoms that turn out to be negative, then they can go back to work. and longer—term, relaxing measures like social distancing will all depend on working out who's got the infection and who hasn't. testing for the virus is now being scaled up, and scientists say that without it, we simply can't tackle the pandemic. it's like trying to fight with almost both hands tied behind your back. it means you're always responding a little bit after the effect. we're not really able to work out the extent, we're not able to plan as well as we could do, if we had more information. the second type of testing is to look for evidence that you've had the virus in the past. this involves a blood test — just a pinprick on the finger — to look for antibodies, a sign of your own response to infection. now, this should help answer the question about whether you have immunity — having had the virus and then recovered, and that would allow

you to return to work. but how long would that immunity last? months? years? at this moment, no—one can be sure. the hope is that the public will eventually get tests to see who's had the virus. but government scientists want to check the technology first. well, it's been recognised from the outset that testing is critical, and a huge effort has gone in. these are complete tests, and the existing technology is difficult to scale up quickly. everything now hinges on a research effort on a scale that wasn't expected. a race to catch up with a dangerous threat. david shukman, bbc news. schools and colleges in england have been given more details about how gcse and a—level grades will be calculated for pupils whose exams have been cancelled because of the pandemic. the exams regulator, quual, says teachers will be asked

to estimate a mark when ranking students. the results will be published no later than august, but could be earlier. here's our education editor bra nwen jeffreys. it's quite a freeing, strange thought, not having to worry about revision and exam stress for the next few months. but it is a weird feeling, yeah. a lot of people are worried about the work that we have done till now because, obviously, a lot of people don't put the effort in until the last minute and they can sometimes turn it all around, just at the last minute. i don't know if i'll necessarily definitely get the grades that i need for my first choice anymore, now that i can't pull it up in my exam at all. every year till now, exams meant grades. but now, in england and wales, teachers are asked to estimate instead, and rank students top to bottom. the results then adjusted across the nation. so, i wanted to ask — will these gcses and a—levels be just as valued as any other year?

the student certificates this year with their grades will be like any other certificates. they will use those grades to progress, they will use those grades in their lives just like any other set of students and that's hugely important. in chester today, two anxious students. for max, it's his gcse year. charlotte needs her to a—levels to get into uni. all the hard work we want to put in, we want to make sure it's shown in our grades and through the seven years we've spent learning haven't gone to waste. but i trust my teachers. i think that for people who perhaps didn't get the grades that they'd like to go into sixth form, or college, or an apprenticeship, then they might consider retaking the exams. but for most, as long as they get a suitable grade, i think it would be harder to get back and get the grade they want than just to continue with what they've been given already. the challenge is going to be to make this system feel fair for everyone. but most of all for those kids in the middle who've worked

really hard in the last few months to try get above a grade four. they already have a sense of what grades they're working at, or were prior to the school closures. they also therefore know, from that dialogue with their teachers, where, in essence, those teachers will be predicting that those grades are going to be in the summer. in northern ireland, students still waiting for details. the real test everywhere will be results day. branwen jeffreys, bbc news, chester. the head of the international monetary fund has warned the impact of the pandemic is "way worse" than the global financial crisis. kristalina georgieva said the world was in recession and the only way of resolving the situation was for countries to work together. freya cole reports. demand for dairy in supermarkets may be high but farmers in the united states have been left with no option but to throw out fresh milk due to mass interruptions in the supply chain.

there are not enough people to package and transport the goods. it is just one example of the huge economic fallout caused by this pandemic. this is a crisis like no other. never in the history of the imf have we witnessed the world economy coming to a standstill. we are now in a recession that it is way worse than the global financial crisis. sorry, we're closed. this business in the heart of london is one of many which has been forced to lock the doors until further notice. covent garden is almost unrecognisable. no shops are open and no—one is there spending money. that's because roughly 4 billion people around the world

are now under some kind of stay—at—home order. according to the international monetary fund, more than 90 countries have applied for financial assistance. the organisation has the capacity to lend $1 trillion, which it hopes will be funnelled back into healthcare systems to put an end to this crisis as soon as possible. saving lives and protecting livelihoods ought to go hand in hand. we cannot do one without the other. with no real end in sight to lockdown measures in many parts of the world, there are fears the economic downturn will be so deep that it will take a long time to recover. but first, the world's population must recover physically and mentally from this virus, which is upturning almost every aspect of life. freya cole, bbc news.

this is bbc news. the headlines: as one of the world's biggest hospitals opens in london to treat 4,000 coronavirus patients, there is a stern warning for the british public to stay indoors this weekend. with nearly 250,000 confirmed coronavirus cases in the us, america's health watchdog says people should wear face masks when they go out. police in mumbai have closed part of the district made famous by the oscar—winning film slumdog millionaire after two people living there died from coronavirus. there have been more than 2,500 confirmed cases across india, and dozens of deaths, but there is now particular concern about the spread of the infection in densely populated cities. from mumbai, yogita limaye reports. the virus has reached here, asia's biggest slum, and the most densely populated area on earth — dharavi. nearly a million people live in less than a square mile. social distancing is

next to impossible. translation: people are extremely scared here. if italy's healthcare system, which is ranked second in the world, couldn't cope, india is far behind them. here in dharavi, as well as in other slums of the city, people have tested positive for coronavirus. once that happens, they usually try to seal the area, and then go door—to—door to check who else might be infected. but you can imagine that challenge the government faces trying to trace the spread of the infection in cramped spaces like these. the number of cases are doubling every three days now. the healthcare system is already struggling. a doctor treating covid patients at a hospital that caters to at least 3 million people described the condition there. fearful of speaking out, she didn't want her face to be shown.

we are totally unprepared. in our institute, there are only six ventilators, so we have been finding ways where they can use one ventilator for two patients. india's spending on healthcare is among the lowest in the world. a doctor here treats four times as many patients as one in the uk. and india has less than 11 ventilators per million people to treat covid patients. if the virus is a threat, so is the stigma of contracting it. in the city of indore, healthcare workers were attacked for trying to screen a woman. this stadium is being converted into an isolation centre, as are train coaches,

today lying empty. the railways were shut down nearly two weeks ago, as was the rest of india. it took months for coronavirus to affect a million people around the world. if not contained, in a country the size of india, that number could multiply very quickly. yogita limaye, bbc news, mumbai. in france, the number of dead continues to rise, with nearly 600 deaths recorded in just 2a hours. police are strictly enforcing the government's tough quarantine measures over the easter holidays. railway stations, airports and major roads will be monitored to prevent people leaving the city. lucy williamson reports from the french capital. it is not only nations that thrive on liberty, epidemics too. at stations across paris today, every journey began with a police check.

freedom of movement, a new national threat. do you have your piece of paper? of course. laughs he made it through. he is on his way home to brittany after two years abroad. but even the smallest mistake means being turned away. translation: i wrote the wrong date, not today's date, and they told me i need to go back home to prepare another form. i have to go to work, but i can't. france carried out almost 6 million checks during the first fortnight of confinement, far more than neighbouring italy, and it has issued more than 400,000 fines. but questions over when the confinement can end are growing. france's tough approach to the confinement runs the risk of losing public support if it becomes too harsh or too long. the interior minister has advised sensitivity in applying the rules, and says the police operate differently in the countryside compared to the big cities,

in the poorer suburbs compared to the towns. but the paris police chief was forced to apologise today after taking a different tone. translation: the ones who were hospitalised today, the ones on life support now, are the ones that didn't respect the quarantine when it began. this is not a videogame. it's real. there are dead people. with few life—support beds left in the paris region, patients are being sent across the country for care. this is now the worst hit region of france. but is there light at the end of the tunnel? if you'd asked me this question two days ago, i should say no. but there is a reduction in patients who come to the emergency wards, and also a reduction of severe patients who have covid—i9. he says there were no new admissions to intensive care in his hospital today, a first since the epidemic

began. the first glimpse of hope here, after weeks of fear and frustration, the first sign that confinement might have worked. lucy williamson, bbc news paris. some of the passengers from the zaandam and rotterdam cruise ships are finally heading home, after being stuck on board for weeks with nowhere to disembark. four people have died, several others tested positive for covid—i9, and more than 200 showed flu—like symptoms. there are questions about what happens to the crews and staff stranded on board the ships. reged ahmad reports. it's the culmination of a difficult and harrowing few weeks for the passengers of the zaandam and its sister ship, the rotterdam. some holiday makers are finally going home, with healthy passengers taken from buses onto chartered flights, heading back to their home countries. going to the airport! the holland america line cruise ships finally docked in florida on thursday. it wasn't the holiday passengers were expecting,

as some of the critically ill were taken to hospital. others with mild symptoms will need to stay on board in quarantine. the ships have been at the heart of several political storms. after being denied entry at other ports, the zaandam was initially refused passage through the panama canal. the rotterdam was then brought in to separate out healthy passengers, but people later became ill on that ship, too. after making it through the panama canal and finally arriving in florida, another political battle brewed, as the governor refused to allow the ships to dock. he later relented after being urged to do so by the us president, donald trump. the more than 1,000 crew, though, will not be allowed off the ships, and it is not clear what will happen to them. it's a scenario being repeated elsewhere, including on the ruby princess

in australia. authorities there are providing some medical support, but denying entry to the remaining crew, despite covid—i9 cases on board, saying they are protecting the health system. it's my understanding that, over the next couple of days, two more ships will refuel, and will leave our waters back to their port of origin. many of those ships fly under flags of convenience, registered to smaller nations ill—equipped to deal with large numbers of covid—i9 cases. in florida, the zaandam and rotterdam are not the last cruise ships with passengers stuck on board. there are more to come here and around the globe, but some, at least, are finally going home. reged ahmad, bbc news. it's probably fair to say that an awful lot of us have been watching a fair bit of tv at the moment, and thanks to the internet, people can make it a much more sociable activity than it used to be.

emily cook from the uk is a big fan of doctor who, and she has been bringing together people from as many as 75 countries to watch their favourite episodes together, and the are helping to raise funds for people in the creative industries affected by the pandemic. jon hunt has more. it's a show that has always united fans. but now the doctor is helping people around the world cope with the coronavirus lockdown. this is my humble doctor who collection. people like david ang, in manila, in the philippines. it gets a bit lonely. definitely not being able to go out is a bit intoxicating, i'd say. that's why i really like these watch—alongs. ..

g'day, my name is rachel wyld, and i am from sydney, australia, and this is part of my doctor who collection. wherever they are, regardless of time zone, the fans have been watching past episodes of doctor who at precisely the same time, and while watching, they communicate with each other online. these viewing sessions go for about an hour, and then afterwards we're just basically in a friend zone for about — oh, about two hours and stuff. and it's so nice to be part of a bubble that... you can escape the world from nothing, it's quite amazing. i'm the doctor. tonight, the fans will be watching matt smith's first episode as the doctor, exactly ten years since it was first aired. the watch—alongs are the brainchild of emily cook from kent. when we started self—isolating, and the threat of lockdown was imminent, ijust put out a tweet suggesting that if anyone was on their own and fancy joining in with something, we could all watch doctor who together. and it went viral, and it was just a really cool experience for people to have

together, at a time when a lot of people are feeling apart. from southern spain... oh, i do have a couple of screwdrivers here. maybe they can help. laughs ..to paris... we tend to lose track of time in isolation, so it's good to be like, oh, i know tomorrow i am watching doctor who with the world. ..in fact, in many corners of the earth, as real doctors battle the coronavirus, they are turning to a fictional one to help them cope. let's have a look at the weather. here is nick miller. hello, yes. our weather is turning warmer this weekend, but of course we follow the rules, we stay at home and we improvise. and whatever your view on the weather outside, it'll be sunnier by sunday, and out that it'll be warmer. it'll also be windier, as well, with pollen levels heading up. the big picture shows high pressure to the east of us, the low approaching from atlantic, and ahead of that will strengthen the southerly flow, of course, that's a warm direction, so it will be a warm wind

on sunday, lifting temperatures in the sunnier parts of eastern england to around 20, maybe 21 celsius. that said, though, there will be a touch of frost in places as saturday begins, cooler than this in the countryside, so some spots close to freezing. there'll be a few mist and fog patches out there, more especially towards the midlands in southern england. as the rain in northern scotland will set on across the northern isles, still the odd shower in scotland and northern england, it will be a good deal of cloud, some sunny spells. elsewhere in england and wales, there will be increasing sunshine as we go through the day. while all parts are going to be milder, it is particularly across england and wales where we will notice those temperatures into the mid—teens. but also a freshening southerly wind, a sign of things to come as we get deeper into the weekend. overnight and into sunday morning, although there is plenty of cloud around, enough of the wind to stop the temperature going down too fast. so we are frost—free as sunday begins, and sunday will deliver plenty of sunshine. and whilst most places will hold onto that sunshine, the further west

you are, you'll see it clouding over. it may well start to get a bit of rain later in the day, northern ireland, western scotland, the far west of england and wales, some uncertainty about the timing of the arrival of any rain from an area of low pressure i showed you earlier. what is certain, though, is the winds will pick up more on sunday, gusts across western areas later in the day, near 50 mph. but it will be warmer across all parts, and particularly in that sunshine, across eastern parts of england we could see around 21 celsius. but pollen levels will be higher and particularly in england and wales. into next week, well, sunday night into monday, we will see from that area of low pressure a band of rain spread east across the uk. behind that, as it clears on monday, sunshine returns. it'll be cooler, before temperatures head up again as the week goes on.

this is bbc news, the headlines. as one of the largest hospitals in the world opens in london to treat 4000 coronavirus patients, people in the uk are being urged to stay at home this weekend to try to stop the spread of covid—i9. britain's health secretary said the advice was "not a request" but an instruction.