this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. with increasingly fine weather expected both here in the uk and europe — people are urged to stick to the strict lockdown restrictions to tackle coronavirus in the uk, police say they will only use their authority if they absolutely have to. when we come to enforcement, that really is the last resort because, ina way, really is the last resort because, in a way, if we come to enforcement than everybody has failed to understand the significance of this endeavour. the authorities in france say they will crack down on any holiday makers attempting to travel this weekend spain reports another 809

deaths to coronavirus — but it is the lowest figure for a week — and the second day in a row that the daily death toll has fallen... in the midst of the outbreak, sir keir starmer is elected the new leader of the uk labour party — the main opposition party to the british government... where we see mistakes, orfaltering government, or things not happening as quickly as they should, we'll challenge that and call that out. our purpose when we do that is the same as the government's. to save lives, and to protect our country. the us government issues clear advice — cover your faces in public to stop the spread of the coronavirus. but president trump says he has no intention of doing so himself.

hello and welcome to audiences in the uk and around the world — for all the latest developments in the coronavirus pandemic. as the weather heats up across europe the authorities are ramping up efforts to keep people at home to help fight the spread of the disease. here in the uk, the association of police and crime commissioners has warned that forces are facing a "big challenge" this weekend. there is also expected to be a much heavier police presence on the streets of switzerland over the next couple of days. and france has stepped up checks to stop people leaving their homes at the start of spring school holidays. more than 8,000 officers have been deployed in paris to discourage residents from leaving for the provinces. meanwhile — the uk government's pledge to carry out 100,000 tests a day for coronavirus by the end of this month, has been called into question by nhs scientists

and laboratory staff, who say they're short of key raw materials to carry out the work. the head of the international monetary fund has warned the impact of the pandemic is "way worse" than the global financial crisis. and in the states — president trump has said he won't wear a face mask — even though health officials in the us are recommending them as a way of stopping the virus spreading. the president said the advice was voluntary — and he couldn't see himself wearing one in the oval office. here in the uk, one of the government's most senior advisors on the coronavirus pandemic has warned that the uk could see high rates of infection for "weeks and weeks", if the lockdown rules are flouted this weekend. professor neil ferguson said that while the epidemic was expected to plateau in the next week to 10 days, people's behaviour was critical to determining how soon restrictions could be lifted beyond that. katherine da costa reports.

with warm, sunny weather marking the start of what should have been the two—week easter getaway, there is a risk crowds may be tempted to head to beauty spots and beaches, but the government says "stay at home, save lives" is an instruction, not a request. police forces are on standby for what could be one of their biggest challenge this weekend. they are being encouraged to engage with people and advise them to return home. when we come to enforcement, that really is the last resort, because in a way, if we come to enforcement then everybody has failed to understand the significance of this endeavour. government guidelines state everyone must stay at home, but you can leave under the following circumstances. for one form of exercise a day — the advice is to stay as local as possible. you can shop for basic essentials like food and medicine. you are also allowed to go out for any medical need or to provide care and assistance to someone vulnerable, and you can travel to work, but only if you

cannot work from home. 0ne senior government adviser says people's behaviour this weekend is critical. professor niall ferguson says he expects the epidemic will plateau over the next week to ten days, but flouting the guidelines could see the infection remain high for weeks. clearly, we want to move to a situation where at least by the end of may we are able to substitute some less intensive measures and more based on technology and testing for the complete lockdown we have now. capacity is key. the government says it is doing all it can to increase beds and ventilators. a number of large field hospitals are opening across the country, with the first at london's excel centre expected to start taking patients from next week. 0n the ground, hospitals like luton and dunstable have the beds to cope with current numbers, but if we see a surge in cases, and numbers of critically ill

patients, staff here are fearful. there is no cure for this disease. this is not a virus that we can give medicines, anything to to make it go away, we can keep you alive, using the technology and the equipment, until your body gets over it, but we can't fix the virus, but the general public, you can fix the virus, you can stay at home, stay indoors and don't spread it. if nothing else, do not spread it. the warning couldn't be more stark. the peak has yet to come, and how we behave in the coming weeks will be crucial. katherine da costa, bbc news.

in france the number of dead continues to rise, with nearly 600 deaths recorded in just 2a hours. 0n the screen are some new numbers from the government about the new figures as uk cases and deaths. the united kingdom's death toll from the coronavirus has risen by one fifth. as of 2a hours before that it is perhaps worth reminding you it was 3305.

meanwhile, 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. in paris, railway stations, airports and major roads are being monitored, to prevent people leaving the city. spain has recorded its lowest number of coronavirus deaths in a week. it's the second day in a row that the daily death—toll has fallen — suggesting the outbreak there could be stabilising. a total of 809 people died from the virus in the past 2a hours — down from 932. the number of new infections was also lower than friday's figure. i want to bring you some news that

has just i want to bring you some news that hasjust come into i want to bring you some news that has just come into us from a bbc correspondent that a critical incident has been declared at watford general hospital in the united kingdom. the hospital says nobody should attend the accident and emergency department even if they have an emergency. they should go to other hospitals with an accident and emergency department instead. now, this is a statement that has come from west hertfordshire hospitals that a critical incident has been declared north watford hospital, north of london the capital of course, and we will bring you more news on that as soon will bring you more news on that as soon as we will bring you more news on that as soon as we get it. sir keir starmer has been elected the next leader of the british labour party. the shadow brexit secretary received 56.2% percent of the vote and will succeed jeremy corbyn. the human rights lawyer beat rivals rebecca long—bailey who got 27.6%

and lisa nandy who got i6.2% after the first round of voting. angela rayner won the deputy leadership race. the mp for ashton—under—lyne and shadow education secretary won 52.6% of the vote in the third round of votes. a spokesman said sir keir has already talked to the prime minister and accepted the offer to meet next week for coronavirus briefings, adding that sir keir "offered to work co nstru ctively" with the government in a time of national emergency. he has also spoken this afternoon to the chief medical officer and the chief executive of the nhs about the covid—i9 crisis. here's our political correspondent, helen catt. sir keir starmer had been widely expected to win this contest, but few could have predicted the circumstances in which he would become labour's new leader. in a sign of the extraordinary times, he

isa sign of the extraordinary times, he is a victory was announced by tweet, a speech on pre—recorded video. his first challenge was how to lead the opposition when party politics had been set aside. in my leadership we will not lead an opposition or for opposition's say, nor in scoring impossible demands but in the couege impossible demands but in the college to support one that is the right thing to do. but we will test the arguments that have been put forward , the arguments that have been put forward, we will shine a torch on critical issues, and where we see mistakes, or faltering government, or things not happening as quickly as they should, we will challenge that. labour is still dealing with the fallout of its worst election result for decades. of course the task is huge but that is why so much was vested in this election contest andl was vested in this election contest and i am so pleased that keir

starmer has now got the huge mandate of labour members across the country. tensions over anti-semitism have dogged the party in recent yea rs. have dogged the party in recent years. for many members, how keir starmer deals with that issue will bea starmer deals with that issue will be a key test. in behalf of the labour party, i am sorry. and i will tear out this poison by its roots and judge success by the return of ourjewish members. and judge success by the return of ourjewish members. keir starmer's background as a human rights lawyer is well known. he famously defended environmental activists against the fast—food chain mcdonald's. later, he was the director of public prosecutions. but for many, his politics are less well known. he has promised to keep some of labours policies on public policy in fighting or says he will speak for

the whole country. where that requires change, we will change. where that requires us to rethink, we will rethink. 0ur where that requires us to rethink, we will rethink. our mission is to earn prescribe trust in our party is a forceful good. so he has promised to work together to tackle the coronavirus pandemic. 0ur chief political correspondent vicki young is in westminster and joins us now. vicki, this was an emphatic victory, what you think she plans to do with this new power that he has got?|j think this new power that he has got?” think the nature of the directory is important, those that were seen as direct successors to the back to jeremy corbyn, such as rebecca long—bailey, where there is only beaten and i think that does allow sir keir starmer to go in a different direction if he chooses to

do so. during the campaign he still had to appeal to those who are supporting jeremy corbyn because of course they were making up a big chunk of the membership so he did talk about public ownership of course, of course, of the railways, but whether he pursues that is another matter, what economic direction will he take the partying. he did talk in that video message there about nhs workers, about screeners, about people who he said have been really undervalued and underpaid for too long and he wants to talk about a different kind of society so certainly that is the direction he will go in but as we we re direction he will go in but as we were hearing there this is an incredibly unusual time for somebody to ta ke incredibly unusual time for somebody to take over as leader of the 0pposition. he will probably work more closely if you like with the government and other mp's cross party then you would expect, he has already spoken to the prime minister, . .. already spoken to the prime minister,... he had said that he will be critical when he needs to be

and will point out the government's feelings but will probably do it in a more constructive way than you would expect from an opposition.” suppose it is interesting, here he is another london mp, part in some ways, some might say, of the political establishment, how does he reach out to reconnect with labour voters beyond london and the south—east? voters beyond london and the south-east? he has always made the point that it does not really matter where you have come from geographically in the country so yes he was born in south london, he represents a north london constituency, but he would say, actually, his background means that he can be in touch with people who are not seen as metropolitan elite, thatis are not seen as metropolitan elite, that is not the kind of family that he was brought up in it, even though it was a family of the labour party, if you like. his big challenge is going to be reconnecting with those areas of... well particularly scotla nd areas of... well particularly scotland actually, somewhere where over the decades labour has been

able to rely on a huge number of labour mps being sent back to westminster, that is no longer the che case, that is a massive challenge for any labour leader because they really need the scottish mps to be able to form a labour government. looking at the last general election the worst number of seats for labour that they had one since 1935 and in areas that you wouldn't expect, people talk about that read will crumbling some of those seeds are north of england and the midlands as well, he is really is going to have to do a lot to try to win them back. —— red wall. some people think this is a two term proposition, he is going to have to do so much to get back from the conservatives, but the economic impact of the coronavirus and how hit it has the the british political landscape has changed everything and it remains to be seen how that will pan out not just it remains to be seen how that will pan out notjust in the coming weeks but in the weeks and months ahead.

around 4000 prisoners in england and wales are being released early because of the virus. people with less than 2 months left on their sentences will be let out, subject to strict conditions. sex offenders and those convicted of violent crimes won't be eligible. thirteen residents of a care home in north lanarkshire in scotland have died over the past seven days, leading to concerns about a possible link to coronavirus. none of the residents at burlington court in stepps was tested for the virus , because they weren't admitted to hospital. 0ur scotland correspondent alexandra mackenzie is in glasgow. alexandra, while become to talk to you we have just received the figures from scotland that a further 46 people who tested positive for coronavirus have died in scotland in

the last 2a hours. what does that bring the total number of deaths to? that brings the total number of deaths in scotland to 218 but we need to understand that these numbers are confirmed and tested cases of coronavirus and the number of people that have now tested positive for coronavirus in scotland is 3345. we have always been told by health officials in scotland that that number of people who actually have coronavirus in scotland is likely to be much higher than the number who have been tested positive. meanwhile, alexandra, asi was saying, 13 residents of a care home in north lanarkshire have died over the past seven days. what can you tell us about that, and perhaps a potential link to coronavirus? well, yes, it is obviously a very challenging time for people in care

homes, they are dealing with a very vulnerable group of people in our society, they are older, they are frail, many of them, as we are told with all 13 of these people do have underlying conditions. now, at the burlington court care home there we re burlington court care home there were 90 beds and 13 of their residents have died in the last seven days, so very distressing for eve ryo ne seven days, so very distressing for everyone involved. now, as you say, they have not been confirmed as having covid—19 because they haven't been tested, they weren't taken to hospital, the word cheated by the gp at the home, and i am told by health officials that that is normal, there has been no change to procedure, it would be up to the gp as to whether any of those residents would have been taken to hospital. now, we have been taken to hospital. now, we have been also told that two employees at the home have been tested positive

and they are being treated in hospital, and the families of eve ryo ne hospital, and the families of everyone involved have been told that there could be a coronavirus connection. that's arts corresponding in glasgow. meanwhile, our correspondence catherine acosta is here in the studio. we were just hearing about the latest figures in scotland, you have got further figures for the united kingdom.

bbc analysis has been looking at that and saying that figures have been roughly in line with scientific expectations. we would expect to see a lag of three to four weeks since the stricter methods of social distancing were introduced before you start to see death figures start to fall. confirmed cases have started to fold down in the last week, they were about 20%, this week it has been about 10% per day, as for deaths, that has been going down or growing byjust over 25% today, doubling every three to four days. so actually whether we would have expected to see more deaths, today's figures arejust expected to see more deaths, today's figures are just slightly lower than expectations, however it is important not to read too much into that, there can be peaks and dips but they will be in the anomalies. a

professor from imperial college london has said that we should expect to see figures plateau in the next one week to ten days. he says people need to listen to the social distancing advice. if they don't, we could see the infection rates stay high for weeks and weeks. if people do listen and the figures that do come down he thinks the restrictions may be able to be relaxed by the end of may by using more testing and contact tracing to try to reduce things. calls are growing for the british government to speed up repatriation flights for thousands of uk nationals who are still stranded overseas because of coronavirus lockdowns. in india, many british tourists have been unable to leave after the country was put under a three—week lockdown earlier this month, with less than four hours' notice. one of those who is stuck in india is steve marshall, a social worker from colchester in essex. he's staying with a family

in the mountains of kerala hejoins us now. steve, we' re very steve, we're very grateful that you have been able to join us here on bbc news. just tell us a little bit about what life has been like in lockdown for you over the past couple of weeks. hi. we arrived in carolina on the 13th of march and the following day we were informed that we needed to stay isolated —— kerala. since the 14th of march we have been staying in a lodging house, a small hotel on the outskirts owned by a family, there are three teenage boys and mum and dad and a couple of uncles and aunts that are staying here as well, so we are the only people in the hotel, there is a row of about seven

hotels, all the others are close down, andl hotels, all the others are close down, and i believe that we are the only tourists within about 50 miles of here. the family have really been looking after the sow, so well, they have been bringing us food every day, the children have been great fun to be around, we have been playing games and playing cards and things with them, the guy who owns the hotel has been going regularly to the police and to the tourist board to give them updates about how we are, people have been really looking out for us, so we've only had... i'm sorry to interrupt you but i just had... i'm sorry to interrupt you but ijust did wonder what sort of help have you had from the foreign 0ffice, what news is that when you might get back the united kingdom? the news has been fairly sparse, we are following the british embassy on twitter and facebook so thompson the ambassador who has been putting out announcements every sort of two or three days, i think really when there has been any news to put out

then she has done that, the news as it stands is that we hear that flights are likely to begin at the beginning of next week, but we are aware that those flights will be repatriating people aware that those flights will be re patriating people from aware that those flights will be repatriating people from the whole of india, so at this point we don't know when we may be able to go home. sorry to interrupt, we must leave it there. we're so grateful to you for talking to us india. thank you. millions of americans have been told they should now wear a face mask in public, following new medical guidance on coronavirus. however, president trump says he will not be wearing one himself, and we should be clear that here in the uk, the advice remains that people do not need to wear one. the us now has nearly a quarter of a million confirmed

cases. some power sitting somehow sitting on the oval office behind that great resolute desk i think wearing the face mask as meeting presidents, kings, queens, i don't see it for myself. the world's outbreak of covid—19 has brought about an unprecedented disruption to daily life for people around the world now living under some form of quarantine or lockdown. and while the number of those affected by the pandemic continues to climb, it comes amid examples of solidarity and generosity. one of them is from thomas floor. he's the founder and chairman of vista global, a private air travel company. he's offered to put his company's fleet of air planes at the disposal of government and medical organisations, to repatriate citizens, transport equipment, doctors and specialists during this pandemic.

i'm delighted to say that he is here with us now, a very generous offer, i wondered what the response has been? hello rebecca. the response has been very good. actually about 48 hours after the initial offer we now also include our other brands who are bringing the whole availability of all of our 115 aircraft to this initiative. it is not only the aircraft, it is really the global infrastructure and the expertise and the technology to make sure that in these difficult times the permits and the logistics are under control. presumably as well from your business points of view it does make sense they are claims to be flying rather than parked on the tarmac? well, we continue to support out tarmac? well, we continue to support our clients with their very urgent travel needs but what we really have seen travel needs but what we really have seenis travel needs but what we really have seen is that the uptake of these opportunities to help has been very very inspiring for our entire team

and so... to help governments and medical institutions for repatriations or transporting very critical medical go to something we are very excited about. you, i think are very excited about. you, i think are also providing the crew, what safety precautions are you taking for them, and what has been their response? the crew has been very, very inspired by this programme, obviously very early on in the outbreak of the coronavirus we were putting very very strict safety and security measures to make sure that both our customers and our crew are safe but what it really allows us because we own all 115 aircraft and we own the entire global infrastructure, we are controlling the entire end to end process of these flights hence it is all under out these flights hence it is all under our control and all the safety measures we put in place and are putting in place are really to the standards that we want them to be.

i'm afraid time is tight and we have got to leave it there but really good to talk to you, thank you. thank you rebecca. now two professional dancers — well known to viewers here in the uk — are on a mission to get the nation dancing during these tough times — while raising money for nhs workers. brothers, aj and curtis pritchard, are using the power of social media to encourage the people to get active and learn their fun dance routine. and we can speak to aj and curtis now. . .. great to have you with us here on bbc news. just tell us a little bit about what it is you have been doing this week and what you want everyone to be doing tomorrow, ajay festival. we are doing dress up, dance, donate. it is what it is, we want people to dress up, we want people to get off their sofas, and we want people to donate for their front line workers and nhs workers that

our heroes. i think the dress up aspects emphasises to get out of the pyjamas feel fast, but the suits are not something a bit smarter, whatever it is, just have fun. what will you be wearing then? i'm not going to give away anything that i am for fancy dress. i don't know what i'm wearing because it is not planned for way. none of the family know what they're going to be wearing, ido, but know what they're going to be wearing, i do, but i'm not giving it away until video tomorrow, but trust me, you want to see what they are wearing. we have got our tutorials on social media so you can see all of them on instagram and today we've put another video where we're dancing all in random places around the house to really make it more fun and just for us it is light—hearted but we want to use our time wisely, we are stuck here at home, we are obviously self—isolating, it is about using our time to help others because so many people are doing so