this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the uk government urges people to stay at home as the death toll from coronavirus in the uk rises by 700, including a five—year—old boy. our thoughts today are also with the family of the five—year—old child with underlying health conditions who's tragically died. so again, you must stay at home to protect the nhs and to save lives. as china delivers 300 ventilators to nhs hospitals, the strain shows on frontline hospital staff. it feels like a losing battle, but it's not because we've all got hope and we're all trying to do... we're all trying to do what we can.

spain records its lowest number of deaths this week, as the government says the crisis might be reaching its peak there. new york, the epicentre of america's outbreak, suffers its worst day as 630 deaths are recorded in the past 2a hours. sir keir starmer becomes labour leader and promises to work with the government to tackle the coronavirus crisis. under my leadership, we will engage constructively with the government. not opposition for opposition's sake, not scoring party political points or making impossible demands. and making a mountain of the lockdown — the man who climbed the equivalent of everest at home for charity.

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. meanwhile, a five—year—old boy has become the youngest person in the uk to die with coronavirus. the uk cabinet office minister michael gove said it appeared people were adhering to social distancing guidelines to stay inside this weekend. mr gove said seven healthcare workers have now lost their lives in the uk, fighting the virus. to help the nhs, the government said hundreds of new ventilators are being produced every day, with many more being sourced from abroad, including 300 from china. the spanish prime minister pedro

sanchez said the country was ‘close to passing the peak‘ of the virus as the daily death toll fell to its lowest level in a week. in italy, the number of new coronavirus cases is stabilising with fewer people being admitted to intensive care, but in the united states, a record 630 have died in new york state from covid—19 in the last 2a hours. here in the uk, the department of health has confirmed that 4,313 have now died after contracting coronavirus, but there are suggestions that the spread of the infection is slowing. 0ur science correspondent pallab ghosh reports. brighton beach would normally be packed on a day like this. but across the country, it seems that most people are following the government's instructions to stay at home. the police have been told to engage

with those they suspect are breaching the guidelines, like these people having a barbecue. they advised them to return home. the message was underlined this afternoon at the downing street daily press briefing. i know life under lockdown to be challenging and some will be tempted on this sunny weekend to venture out and about. but as the health secretary underlined yesterday, if we relax our adherence to the rules, we increase the risk for others. that's why it's so important to stay at home, to protect the nhs and to save lives. the latest projections indicate that if people continue to stay at home, the increase in cases could begin to slow down in seven to ten days' time and then plateau. i'd also like to ask steve in paris whether we should take any heart whatsoever from the flattening

hospital admissions in some parts of the country. the measures put in place, everybody‘s compliance is reducing transmission will over a number of days and weeks start to be reflected. the benefit will be reflected. first in the reduction of infections, then in a reduction of hospitalization, then finally a reduction in deaths. so yes, there is reason to be hopeful. hospitals currently have the capacity to deal with surgeon cases. doctors warn they could be overwhelmed if people don't follow the government's advice. we can keep you alive using the technology and equipment until your body gets over it, but we can't fix the virus. 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 number of cases and deaths are projected to rise before they plateau.

the human cost was underlined with a five—year—old dying from coronavirus. experts believe the number of tragedies could be kept to a minimum if we all play our part and continue to stay at home. speaking in the briefing earlier, the medical director of nhs england said that there was still capacity in the health service. posting on social media earlier today, one nurse who works in basildon in essex, said that staff there were doing all they can. people are appreciating what we're doing, that we are staying away from ourfamilies and putting ourselves in danger to try and save other people's loved ones. it feels like a losing battle, but it's not because we've all got hope and we're all trying to do what we can.

we are always sticking together. i'm very positive and i'm saying, guys, you should be so proud of yourselves because you are coming in and we are, we've never done this before. we've never been in the situation before. we are just turning up and we are just doing what we can. 0ne one of those doing such a great law will notjob on the front line. in spain, the prime minister has said the country is "close to passing the peak of infections" as the number of coronavirus deaths fell for the second day in a row. but pedro sanchez also extended lockdown measures until the 25th of april, saying the restrictions were "saving lives". the toll of 809 deaths in one day, is the lowest in spain for a week. the number of new coronavirus cases in italy is stabilising, and fewer people are being

admitted to intensive care. but authorities fear this could give people a false sense of security, with many now asking the government to relax the lockdown restrictions. italy's reported daily deaths have now fallen below the uk's. authorities say 681 people have died since yesterday. jean mackenzie has more from rome... a slice of normal, a local market reopening for the first weekend since italy's lockdown began, albeit with some caveats. do you think this is safe? there are very few people, everything is under control, so, it's ok. what difference does it make, having the market open again? it seems like normal.

but things are not normal. italy might have reached the peak of its epidemic but the country is still in strict lockdown. as the infections plateau and even start to decrease and the weather keeps improving, it's going to be a real challenge for authorities to convince people to stay indoors and play the long game. because the lockdown is working, they say, just look to the north, where, finally, the hospitals are starting to see progress. the situation for the first time after weeks is not worsening any more. we are still working 12—15 hours per day. they are serious, they are critically ill, but we can now cope with it. it is a relief. from a rooftop in rome, this serenade has become a nightly affair. people leave their homes to soak it in, just for a few minutes, while police look the other way.

the sound of hope returning. jean mackenzie, bbc news, rome. here in the uk, thirteen residents of a care home in glasgow have died over the past seven days, leading to concerns about a possible link to coronavirus. none of the residents were tested for the virus because they weren't admitted to hospital. 0ur scotland correspondent alexandra mackenzie is in glasgow. are care homes or looking after the frail list members of our families and the burlington court has 90 beds and the burlington court has 90 beds and i3 and the burlington court has 90 beds and 13 residents have died there in the last seven days. have you said, we don't know if this is definitely down to covid—i9. they were looked after, they weren't taken to

hospital, so they weren't tested. but we do know that two members of staff have tested positive and that family members were told that there could be a connection with coronavirus. scotland's deputy first minister has expressed his condolences and he has said the deaths demonstrate the gravity of the threat that we face to our population. alexandra mckenzie there. around 4,000 prisoners in england and wales are being released early to try to prevent what the justice secretary robert buckland has described as an "explosive outbreak" of the virus. people with less than two 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. the prime minister's fiancee carrie symonds has tweeted to say she has spent the last week in bed with the main symptoms of coronavirus. she said ‘i haven't

needed to be tested, and after seven days of rest, ifeel strong and i'm on the mend'. borisjohnson remains in isolation in downing street with a high temperature after testing positive for covid—i9 last week. sir keir starmer has vowed to lead labour "into a new era" after a decisive victory to become the party's new leader. the former director of public prosecutions, who's only been an mp for five years, took 56% of the vote, defeating rebecca long—bailey and lisa nandy. sir keir‘s first task will be to respond to the coronavirus emergency and he has accepted an invitation to take part in briefings from next week. 0ur political editor laura kuenssberg reports. phone rings no eager crowd, no hush of anticipation. instead, the ping of an e—mail, the bleep of a text, labour's new leader

announced in lockdown. it is the honour and privilege of my life to be elected as leader of the labour party. it comes at a moment like none other in our lifetime. coronavirus has brought normal life to a halt. under my leadership we will engage constructively with the government but we will test the arguments that are put forward, we will shine a torch on critical issues. sir keir starmer was in charge of labour's troubled brexit plan but was ahead from the start of this long contest. the former lawyer before becoming a london mp, he's considered less left—wing thanjeremy corbyn but he won twice as many votes as his nearest rival. back injanuary, these members in the marginal bury north gave him mixed reviews but today... i have in the past described him as sensible and steady which are not especially flattering adjectives but i also think he's very

trustworthy and inspirational. he's a bit dull. if you could clone what a minister would look like it would be him, mid 50s, wears a suit, but maybe that is what the party needs at this time. his track record shows him to be a fair and determined person. i'm also confident that he will be an effective and credible leader of the opposition. to become prime minister infouryears, though, jeremy corbyn left behind fewer labour mps than at any time since world war ii and the party shrivelled in many areas that it used to call home. the new leader has already given a grave apology to the jewish community, after so many accusations of anti—semitism in the party, but on so many fronts there is a huge job ahead. i understand the scale of the task, the gravity of the position that we are in, we have got a mountain to climb.

where that requires change, we will change. us to rethink, we will rethink. ultimately, labour needs to win the wider world, but after so much bitterness inside there are wounds to heal. in the strangest of times, many in the party hope that this is a chance at a new normal. laura kuenssberg, bbc news. new york state has suffered its biggest one—dayjump in coronavirus deaths so far. the state's governor, andrew cuomo, reported 630 new deaths, bringing the total tojust over 300,500. he number of cases now stands at more than 113,000, just over half of them in new york city. new york is the worst—affected part of the united states. the city alone has nearly as many cases as italy, which has recorded more deaths than any other country. mr cuomo warned that the worst was yet to come. so we're not yet at the apex.

part of me would like to be at the apex and just... let's do it. but there's part of me that says it's good that we're not at the apex because we're not yet ready for the apex either. we're not yet ready for the high point. we're still working on the capacity of the system. the more time we have two improve the capacity of the system the better, and the capacity of the health care system, beds, baths, equipment. while new york is the worst—hit state in the us so far, other states are preparing for a surge in infections. michigan already has over 12—thousand confirmed cases, including more than a50 deaths. the largest city, detroit, has relatively high levels of poverty and chronic disease, which could make it more vulnerable to the virus than other american cities. for more i'm joined by emergency medicine specialist professor phillip levy.

he was involved in setting up a drive—through covid—19 testing program in detroit and dearborn. thank you very much for being with us. thank you very much for being with us. i imagine that you are looking at new york with some apprehension. yeah, not only for the case is going on there but for the health care workers and first responders in the community. i'm from new york and trained at the hospital and i really feel for what they're suffering right now. the suggestion seems to be that michigan and specifically detroit could well become hotspots in the not—too—distant future. detroit could well become hotspots in the not-too-distant future. yeah, we say we're already hotspots. we don't have as many people in detroit as new york but what we see is not just a tremendous number of cases, but a high mortality rate relative to the number of cases. while we're in the top seven or so in total number of cases, we're the top three in deaths. that really relates to a lot of the determinant factors in

the beginning of the segments. detroit faces challenges with poor health. the city has been impoverished for quite some time. what that does a sets up the background so you have a population with a lot of high blood pressure and diabetes and other diseases and people don't have the physiological reserve to handle the major insult that comes with coronavirus infection. given those added complexities where you are, how well—prepared are complexities where you are, how well—prepa red are hospitals complexities where you are, how well—prepared are hospitals and how oui’ well—prepared are hospitals and how our supplies looking for health care workers? unfortunately, you can never be fully prepared us for something like this is much as you try. the supplies are holding steady. we are having to reuse some things like masks and gowns moving towards cloth gowns and the like,

probably more so than we would want to. we are getting to the point on ventilator access. 0ne to. we are getting to the point on ventilator access. one of the big challenges is when people develop respiratory distress and severe respiratory distress and severe respiratory impairment, with disinfection, you put them on a ventilator and they stay on for a long time and many of them ultimately succumb to their long consequences. it creates a very dire circumstance. we mentioned that you've been involved in setting up drive—through testing. how advanced would you say the testing set up is in detroit generally? we have actually a pretty robust infrastructure for this. we started very soon after the pandemic started to manifest. we set up drive—through settings for health care workers and first responders recognising that population is both more susceptible for being exposed to the virus, but also very likely if they are infected by the virus to transmit it to many other people. so finding out

who does and does not have the virus is critically important. not only to reduce the transmission of the virus and the spread, but also to ensure that these critical aspects of the health care response are available to continue doing jobs they so dearly love. indeed. i'm aware that michigan is one of the states which is receiving additional funding michigan is one of the states which is receiving additionalfunding by the president. what difference will that make? that will help get valuable resources that we need. it will help expand the pool of ventilators of those types of things, but it also allows us to build alternative care setting capacities the conditions under his being turned into a makeshift board if you will. —— convention centre. but we need a lot of now are human capital resources and all the equipment we been talking about and having federal funds come in equipment we been talking about and having federalfunds come in makes it easier. does a final thought, you

mentioned in yourfirst it easier. does a final thought, you mentioned in your first answer that health care workers of course remain a priority and their well—being and their support. how do you feel people are coping who work for the health care system there? people are coping who work for the health care system there ?|j people are coping who work for the health care system there? i see it on the faces of my friends and collea g u es on the faces of my friends and colleagues and those who drive there are testing centre —— drive—through art testing centre. these are people i've trained their whole lives for the stuff but never have really faced ending like this. none of us have. you can see the fear notjust for themselves but those for they —— who they care for. they want to know that everybody is behind them in their efforts and the support has been tremendous and ensuring the government also recognises the need will go a long way to reassuring them they can effectively do their job. really good of you to take time out to know what is a very busy challenging time. thank you very much indeed. china has come to a standstill for three minutes to remember the victims on a national day of mourning. the outbreak began

in hubei province in december. the country has recorded more than three thousand covid—19 related deaths. china, where the coronavirus pandemic began, has come to a standstill for three minutes to remember those who've died of the illness. people across the country stopped and bowed their heads to mourn the victims as sirens and horns sounded. steve mcdonnel reports from beijing. sirens. car horns sound. right across china, flags are at half mast. car horns sound. today is a special day for remembering those who have gone before us — a traditional festival.

but 2020's tomb sweeping day in china has taken on special significance. it has been declared a national day of mourning to remember those who have died from the coronavirus. at ten o'clock local time, people stopped what they were doing, cars stopped driving and people were sounding the horns of their cars, sirens and other alarms also went off right across the country. this nation is where the global coronavirus emergency started and people here have been living it for months. officially, more than 3,300 people in china have died from this highly contagious disease but we don't know really how many more may have died from it. some analysts say it's possible people have actually died from the virus but been instead recorded as having died from other causes.

pneumonia and the like. either way, from the country's top leaders down to people who have been walking in the street, it was a time to pause and to remember those who have died from this disease. and also, i suppose, to be thankful that this emergency hasn't been even worse in the country where it all began. now for those adventurous among us who have dreamed of one day climbing mount everest, clearly now is not the time, although one man remains undeterred! john griffin traded compass and crampons for a staircase and bannister to climb the equivalent of the world's highest mountain at home. duncan kennedy has more. wish me luck. here we go, bye. in these times of great uncertainty, life really does have its peaks and troughs. 0oh! that hurts. right.

butjohn griffin has peaked higher than most... the total height is 8850 metres. ..by climbing the equivalent of mount everest, using just the stairs in his house. just, it was an offhand remark to my wife, literally a week ago today, in the morning. i'd walked upstairs to the bedroom for the fifth time, and i said to her, "by the time this lockdown is over, i will have climbed everest." so he did it, for real. 29,000 feet — or 41,000 steps. i've got to get to 75% minimum today. six hours a day, forfour days, but coming down... ..doesn‘t count towards the total. just got to sit down for a minute. by day three, it was peas on knees for this stairway to hell. my lovely wife suggested sticking frozen peas on it. daisy! even stair climbers have sherpas...

..during what's also a sponsored effort byjohn to raise money to help people who use food banks. alexa, play move any mountain. yeah! john summited last night, to his waiting wife niri, daughter daisy and his neighbours. ending the kind of uplifting achievement he hopes will soon put everyone back on top of the world. thank you. duncan kennedy, bbc news. you're watching bbc news. around the world there are thousands of people desperate to return to their home countries. airports have been closed and borders shut. cities have been placed in lockdown. many are trapped in hotels, often with money and food running out. well, two british nationals — cordelia gartside and tom ironmonger — are in tegucigalpa in honduras. they have been out there for a few months working

as teachers in a local school. they are currently struggling to return to the uk. cordelia joins me now. thank you very much for being with us. thank you very much for being with us. there was a plan to get home when the window presented itself but what happened ? when the window presented itself but what happened? we were made aware there was a short window of time. we we re there was a short window of time. we were obviously unaware of how long that window would be open for so the morning of the 1st of april, we were looking online for flights to the uk. there was one flight available and wejust uk. there was one flight available and we just decided we would take that flight if we could, so we went to the airport. we had everything packed, we were ready, but u nfortu nately, we packed, we were ready, but unfortunately, we weren't aware that we needed a visa waiver for the states. we were turned away at the airport. we now don't think we'll be

able to exit the country on our commercialflight able to exit the country on our commercial flight until may. it doesn't look like there are any repatriation flights being reorganised because it's got a very small population of uk nationals here. at the moment, —— small population of uk nationals here. at the moment, -- what if are you getting from the foreign office 01’ you getting from the foreign office orfrom any you getting from the foreign office or from any people you reach out to for some guidance? so we have contacted the foreign office. we actually co—wrote a letter with some friends and families. we have 45 signatures. unfortunately, we haven't heard anything back from the foreign office or dominic raab. we are in contact with honduras, but u nfortu nately are in contact with honduras, but unfortunately the nearest one is in guatemala city which is 400 miles away. therefore things are starting to look more complicated when it comes to making arrangements of any

sort directly with the british government. in the meantime, as you try to work out what your options are, what is the situation like there? we been under martial law since march the 16th so we have been unable to leave our houses. apart from getting essentials from the supermarket and to visit the banks. it's been about three weeks. as of the 30th of march, the honduran government made it so that only three days per week would be allowed for citizens to leave the house and that depends on —— so now you can only leave the house one day per week. it seems that everyone is behaving quite conscientiously. they don't seem to be gatherings as far as we can see. the measures are fairly strict out here. the

government have been very clear about the severity of the consequences if people do not comply. but really, it's unusual. it feels very quiet. it's quite unsettling. and, yeah. i mean, it doesn't feel unusual here. it feels like the world is experiencing this. it's strange. in terms of the number of cases and so on in honduras, what sense do you have of how under control the situation is in kind of health care provision? the health ca re system health care provision? the health care system is gonna find it very difficult to deal with severe cases. it's difficult around the world to know at this point just how it's difficult around the world to know at this pointjust how many cases of coronavirus there are. everywhere is struggling to gain an

idea of statistical figures. everywhere is struggling to gain an idea of statisticalfigures. at everywhere is struggling to gain an idea of statistical figures. at the moment, i know that there have been over ten deaths in honduras so far. it seems that the spread is being mitigated by the measures that have beenin mitigated by the measures that have been in place since the 16th, but i think that the health care services are going to be inevitably overwhelmed by the amount of very sick people that are likely to start inundating hospital soon. finally, clearly from what you've said, you'd like to get home. if anyone is listening from the british government, what is your message to them? you said you try to reach out but you haven't heard anything back. we would appreciate the acknowledgement that there are you keep —— uk citizens here. we understand we might not be first on the list but an acknowledgement that there are considerations being made would be very encouraging. who knows

what the future has in store? we don't know whether there will be flights leaving honduras in the next month or the next six months, so any information would really be greatly appreciated. it's good of you to speak to us. we wish you well. do keepin speak to us. we wish you well. do keep in touch. let's get a look at the weather. here's ben rich. temperatures got up to 70 degrees to gauge where we have the best of the sunshine. tomorrow more of us will see sunshine and it will be even warmer. quite breezy and also some rain later in the day across the west. as we go through tonight, cloud that has been affecting the northern half of the uk today will tend to melt away to allow clear skies overhead. despite that, not an especially cold nights because the breeze will be picking up all the

while. this southerly wind quite a big picture tomorrow. the wind is strong and western areas and later 0h strong and western areas and later on we will see some cloud and a little bit of rain. part of northern ireland and western scotland there could be wind gusts of filthy niles -- 50 could be wind gusts of filthy niles —— 50 mph. those temperatures in london up to 21 degrees. even for their north glasgow seeing a high of 80. -- 18. their north glasgow seeing a high of 80. "18. it their north glasgow seeing a high of 80. —— 18. it warms up again later in the week. hello this is bbc news. the headlines... the government urges people to stay at home, as the death toll from coronavirus in the uk rises by 700, including a five year old boy. and thirteen residents of a care home in scotland are feared to have died after becoming infected with the virus. spain records its lowest number

of deaths this week, as the government says the crisis might be reaching its peak there. new york — the epicentre of america's outbreak — suffers its worst day as 630 deaths are recorded in the past 24 hours. and sir keir starmer becomes labour leader — and promises to work with the government to tackle the coronavirus crisis they're used to selling to pubs, restaurants and school kitchens but wholesalers are now helping to feed the family, after the coronavirus closed the door to the hospitality industry. some suppliers are also providing hundreds of thousands of food parcels for elderly and vulnerable people. our business correspondent emma simpson reports. it is not your usual weekly shop. this is a new drive through click and collect service at a new drive through click and collect

food warehouse in essex. and they are making the most of it. i am shopping for my extended family so i am getting for myself and my sisters and i will split up and job to them. i am a teacher so i am out and about but i prefer not to be in the shops so this has been a great help. my daughter lives on tomato sauce. she hasjust come back from university and i have realised what she has been eating. just some things for baking. you can say that again, here's his box of eggs. it is fascinating to see what some people are stocking up on, the most popular items, pasta, flour, big beans and tomato ketchup. supermarkets are struggling to stop basic items but there is plenty of food here. most of the food at this depot is super—sized from tins of beans to bags of pasta. wholesalers generally

do not sell direct to consumers but the food service provider lost 40% of its orders overnight it then switched its business model to sell direct to to local communities instead. it is a no—brainer, we saw the pressure on the supermarkets and the vulnerability of the community so we turned on the click and collect to help service those individuals. that includes government emergency food parcels. they could soon be making a quarter of a million deliveries a week from across their uk depots. here's another business which has cooked up another way of working. this catering company would normally have 25 chefs on deck but its corporate clients are on lockdown so a skeleton team is making meals for emergency workers and churning out boxes for sale. the boxes are a lot cheaper than we would normally sell.

to get something income and underthe same time supplying people who can't get out. we are normally bustling at this time of year but right now we are just doing enough to get some cash in and also help the community. businesses are having to adapt fast. with food at least, if you are able to supply right now, there is no shortage in demand. in simpson, bbc news. amazing how creative people are getting. going out on the town may be over for now, but there are plenty of people keeping entertainment alive online. if you're stuck for ideas on how to fill the days at home, our arts correspondent colin paterson has been rounding up the best offerings of this weekend and beyond. coronavirus has led to cancellation after cancellation. glastonbury‘s gone. there's weeping over wimbledon. no points will be given out at eurovision. but it's the start of the school easter holidays and this weekend there's a determination to have free

front room fun. here's our guide on how to make it happen. starting with a trip to edinburgh zoo, one of a number around the uk whose webcams mean their animals can still be seen. no sign of social distancing from these penguins. it's been absolutely amazing, the amount of people that have gone on. we have had over five million throughout march. behind me the penguins are always on the go. so if you want to watch something that's always moving, going in the pool, on their nest, collecting stones, which is exactly what they're doing just now, then the penguins is probably your best bet. or what about a visit to stonehenge? spinal tap memorably sang "it's where the moon doth rise with a dragon's face." well, now you can check it through with the stonehenge skyscape. this is actually a camera that's mounted near stonehenge and it

gives the impression of being within stonehenge. so you can go on the website any time of day or night and you can see see what the sky looks like in real time over stonehenge. disney's theme parks are shut all around the globe, but there's still a way to ride their roller—coasters thanks to an unofficial youtube channel. and scenes like this will be happening and living rooms all across the country this weekend. scream if you want to go faster! screaming. the part where it became all black — it was like a big drop and then we were like going sideways into a big black hole. it was super scary. i thought i was going to fall off of it. if you are looking for something rather more cultural, the royal shakespeare company may have had to close its theatres, but 17 of its productions are available to watch free online for 30 days, including king lear. be gone.

without our grace, our love, our benison. which, appropriately, shakespeare wrote while quarantined during the great plague. if you are thinking about your future education, swansea university are actually having a virtual open day today, i wonder if they will virtually get the rugby team to behave badly in the virtual students union. or if you fancy meeting some people from the other side of the globe, why notjoin in a virtual brunch, complete with guest speakers, being hosted in the usa tomorrow. also becoming extremely popular are virtual baking lessons, online pub quizzes — i was second last on one on monday, it still hurts — and there's the rise and rise of the web workout. oh, i'm feeling adventurous. i'm a beginner. let's lift those shoulders up a little bit. nice and slow and controlled. mr motivator is holding classes every midday. trust me. hopefully, we've given

you some more right here. enjoy your weekend. colin paterson, bbc news, in the living room. fantastic idea i just fantastic idea ijust need to find a wheel barrel now. now on bbc news — another chance to see your questions answered with kate silverton from a little earlier. so welcome now to your questions answered, you have been sending in your questions on coronavirus and we will get some of them answered for you know. let's introduce our guests today. doctor natalie and doctor jamie. personally thank you so much for joining us and i know your time is

valuable. i imagine you both are still working on the front and if can you share some of your experiences at the moment? let's start with you natalie? yes i am. i am working with children who are unwell, we are trying to maintain paediatric services while also addressing any children who might have covid—19 as well. addressing any children who might have covid-19 as well. how are you finding at? at the moment and has been 0k finding at? at the moment and has been ok because we did not have too many children who are infected and needing hospitalization at the moment that the number is growing as the weeks progress so it will probably become more challenging. the main challenges that you are facing at the moment?” the main challenges that you are facing at the moment? i work as a gp and nottingham and we made massive changes to the way we work. we significantly reduce the face—to—face consultations. 0ur front doors are locked and we are doing everything by telephone or video first. the whole staff made

massive efforts with pat. it is not about not seeing patients. we want to be there for our patients. it is trying to reduce the unnecessary footfall through the practice and there has been massive changes. thank you very much and thank you for the work you have been doing. and thank you for being here. let's turn to questions i have been coming and. one says if you have had the virus and recovered, can you still carry and spread it to others even though you might have personal immunity? interesting question that has something that has come up for me this week so who would like to ta ke me this week so who would like to take that? i am happy to go with that one. the answer to that is that you should be immune to the virus. we do understand after your symptoms are over, you can still carry the virus at the back of your throat for a few days afterwards. but let's

assume it is over a week since your symptoms have finished. you cannot carry the virus in terms of the in your throat or anywhere like that any more because your body will likely kill it off very quickly. but you can still transmit it if someone we re you can still transmit it if someone were to pop on your clothing or you we re were to pop on your clothing or you were to pop on your clothing or you were to touch surfaces and not wash her hands. and then have contact with someone else he could transmit it in the same way that you can at the moment when you touch surfaces that might be contaminated. it is something to remember particularly in the household, if you have been out and about and someone coughed all a very clothing you may want to wash it before your family come in contact with it. that is interesting because the implications of that is if lockdown was restricted and people started to think well, i had if testing is increased and i am now immune, they could still be

spreading this? yes but only if people who have not had the virus are allowed out of lockdown. if people who have the virus and are immune to it, that is not likely to be the case because no one should be coming into contact with anyone who is shedding the virus and is unwell. if you have a mixture of people released from lockdown there is a possibility but it is much lower obviously than someone coming home who is actively unwell with the virus and copying it around in their household and towards their family members. thank you for the clarification. do people who are on immunosuppressant medication clarification. do people who are on immunosuppressa nt medication receive a letter from the immunosuppressa nt medication receive a letterfrom the nhs immunosuppressa nt medication receive a letter from the nhs about staying home for 12 weeks and if so how long until we received them? that is a really good question and you are quite right, at the nhs are identifying that patients and the

very high risk category and specifically sending communications to whites and to advise them to stay home for a few weeks. the immunosuppressant, there is good information on the 111 online coronavirus service. —— 12 weeks. it tells you who is in the very high—risk group and also advises that if you think you are in the very high risk group and have not received a letter to contact the gp. if facemasks do not work my dear nhs staff wear them? so facemasks do work if you are a health care worker and you are and an environment where you are going to be highly exposed to the virus. but one of the concerns about people using them is not so much that they do not work at all, they may have some benefits but it is actually the risk of not wearing the right type of facemasks

and not wearing it and the right manner and not changing it often enough and then people not necessarily washing their hands after changing and asked. we wear very specific types of facemasks as health care workers and we are fit tested for them so they fit securely around ourface tested for them so they fit securely around our face and tested for them so they fit securely around ourface and are not going to allow a ny around ourface and are not going to allow any leakage around them. we wear them for a fixed period of time and then discard them. we discard them along with all the other personal protective equipment we might be wearing like a gown or adviser and wash her hands afterwards to make sure we take everything off carefully. that is one of the reasons health care workers wear them but we wear very specific types of masks which are known to block the virus going through them. some of the flimsy are masks that you see out and about, they are very good at blocking the virus. 0ther they are very good at blocking the virus. other than if you are someone who is unwell, then actually the advice is if you are actively

unwell, wearing a mask may protect other is. but if you are out and about on a street, you wearing them ask yourself is not necessarily going to protect you. a quick one for you again. can a virus survive and a freezer? i think the answer to thatis and a freezer? i think the answer to that is that we are still investigating that but the answer is probably yes provided the virus has not been damaged in any way so the structure has not been damaged. it can survive in a freezer but essentially what it would be is dormant in the freezer. it will be when you want to back up to a normal temperature again it would become active. i only have one kidney does that mean i am at a greater risk if i contracted covid—19 virus? that mean i am at a greater risk if i contracted covid-19 virus? it is a similaranswerl i contracted covid-19 virus? it is a similar answer i would have a look at the 111 checker and the government, nhs are directly

contacting people in a very high—risk group and also there is the 111 website on who is in the group and if you have questions on their not answered by that, it is bt year specialist or at the gp to clarify. can be virus spread and our drinking water? i am not aware that it can but i think i will send that over to the team. there is no evidence to suggest it can spread and drinking water that is clean and filtered that is coming out of our taps. are renters spreading the virus while outside jogging?” taps. are renters spreading the virus while outside jogging? i think this is a key message at the stay—at—home message. ithink this is a key message at the stay—at—home message. i think it is a very key one. if people are

staying at home and following the advice and washing hands regularly, only going out if they absolutely have to, maintaining a two metre distance at least and then know. i think that is key advice, if you are clearly running closer than two metres, then there is a chance that you could be spreading it but if you are following the two metre rule, following the clear advice or know instruction. from the government, then you are reducing the chance of spreading or catching the disease. there is a balance to be had that people will need to be fit and healthy and they will need to have exercise as i know the government has reiterated that there is this concern that if there is two metres if people are huffing and puffing, thatis if people are huffing and puffing, that is just if people are huffing and puffing, that isjust me, if people are huffing and puffing, that is just me, but if you have people huffing and puffing it doesn't being there in the air, it is airborne so i understand the

concerns around people cycling and jogging concerns around people cycling and jogging even if they are keeping a distance. what would you say to that? i think you are right it is about finding a balance that people do have to go out and get some exercise. now but the purpose of social distancing, it is not necessarily completely eliminate transmission of the virus, particularly at someone was unwell and household. the purpose of it is to reduce the amount of people infected by any one person who is unwell. if we can get that number down to less than one person being infected from any case of coronavirus, we would eventually get on top of the epidemic. the goal of social distancing is to get the number down. and may not completely eliminate transmission of the virus especially when you have essential workers that need to go to work and are having contact with each other as well. as a family of asthma sufferers, we are concerned about

catching it that the government has best a high—risk category category. how effective are steroid and hilarious —— steroid inhalers?” think in general that has been very interesting that insight has come back about the use of oral steroids which are and safer asthma and the latest guidance we hide is the use of oral tablets is safe. the tablet is different to the inhaled steroids that people may use for that asthma andl that people may use for that asthma and i think really people with asthma have that it is well—controlled to making sure you are using a medication that has prescribed as prescribed so to make sure that your asthma is as controlled as it can be. there has

been a lot of mention made of what is called viral loading where health ca re is called viral loading where health care workers is called viral loading where health ca re workers are is called viral loading where health care workers are in close proximity with someone who has that and it is a lot more shedding in that one insta nce a lot more shedding in that one instance of contact. there is a question and i think it might be related to that but let's may be addressed both. viral loading issue, philip dunham as asking whether repeated exposure over time make the illness more deadly or more virulent? in terms of the viral load of all the virus that a person is being exposed to, viral load can also mean the amount of virus that is circulating and a person's body who is unwell. we do know that the higher the amount of virus that you are exposed to the more likely you are exposed to the more likely you are to become infected. and also the more likely you are potentially to have a severe infection just because there is a lot more virus invading

cells right from the beginning rather than having to make copies of itself and spread t cells. there is a chance he can have a more severe infection and we know your health ca re infection and we know your health care workers infection and we know your health ca re workers are infection and we know your health care workers are more exposed because they are dealing with people who are and also they might be looking in the backs of people's throats or doing some kind of procedure to take a swab or something like that and by doing so they are a little bit more exposed than the average person who is walking past someone down the street or someone who might cough nearby to someone. they are exposed to a higher dose of virus and that is why we think some younger health care workers might have become quite significantly unwell from the virus. in terms of the circulation of the virus, actually went tends to happen with viruses when they circulate for prolonged periods of time and populations is actually the opposite, they become less barren

land in terms of the harm they do to a person. that is not dampened but we know that viruses mutate subtly as they are circulating within a population and what we tend to see is the preservation of a virus that spreads much more easily bite does not harm its host as much because it does not want to kill its host it wa nts to does not want to kill its host it wants to keep the house to live so it can continue to spreads out we actually tend to see that the virus may become more contagious but sometimes the last vicious if you would like to the person infected with it. thank you so much for that explanation. finally within a few minutes left, ari you aware how long the virus stays active on human hair? i do not know the answer to that question i'm afraid.” hair? i do not know the answer to that question i'm afraid. i think there has been some, not a lot of

data but there is a suggestion and can live on human hairfor a matter of hours but i cannot be specific. certainly a matter of hours. i think it is why we have to be playing really good attention to our hand hygiene. and if we are concerned we have been in an environment where we have been in an environment where we have been in an environment where we have been highly exposed for some reason and we are worried it might be attached to our clothes or hair, we wash our clothes when we get home and wash her hair. can cats or dogs catch the virus, if not, why and if yes... we have had one report so far ofa yes... we have had one report so far of a dog in hong kong, i think a pomeranian it was that supposedly caught the virus from the owner but they were never particularly unwell with it and i did not think they we re with it and i did not think they were unwell at all. i think it was a scientific study essentially to test the dog and they found low levels of virus in the dog and they found some

antibody levels but the dog was not unwell. when animals transmit said —— whether animals can transmit it we do not know the answer to that yet. but they will not become unwell with it and if they do not have high levels of the virus in their body, i find it unlikely. thank you both for joining us and thank you for the work you do. good evening, temperatures got up to around 17 degrees and some southeastern parts of the uk today thanks to a lot of sunshine. there was more cloud further north bite tomorrow more of us will see sunshine and it will be even warmer. quite breezy they'll particularly windy in the west where we will see outbreaks of rain later on as best stripe of cloud approaching. a fair amount of cloud across the northwestern the uk and it is rolling its way north now as we pick

up rolling its way north now as we pick upa rolling its way north now as we pick up a southerly wind, bringing dry air in ourdirection up a southerly wind, bringing dry air in our direction helping to bring the cloud up and also bringing outair bring the cloud up and also bringing out air north words across all parts of the uk. you can see the cloud rolling away to the north and more clear skies developing and despite the starry skies overhead it will not be a particularly cold night, partly down to the increasing strength of the breeze. some areas may be getting down to freezing in the fast majority holding between four and the fast majority holding between fourand 8 the fast majority holding between four and 8 degrees. a lot of sunshine through the day and we'll generally see some ice behind crowd from the last turning the sunshine a little hazy and it will cloud over for northern ireland and the far southwest of england and we will see more and here later in the day. those wind gusts, 50 mph or more and parts of northern ireland or scotla nd parts of northern ireland or scotland but this temperature is 21 degrees in london and even further

north, glasgow up to around 18 degrees. pollen levels will be high across england and wells. mostly tree pollen this time of year. and as we go through sunday night we will see the frontal system citing its way eastwards with some rain with pat and it could bring her across the southeast corner for a time on monday morning and we could see some light coming heavier rain for a time but it should clear away and we should see some brighter skies and sunshine and particularly across the weather and scotland and across the weather and scotland and a little bit cooler at this stage. that is not going to last as we head deeper into the week, we see a southerly wind returning in those temperatures will climb once again and it could be around 22 degrees in the south and it will be dry for many of us.

this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the uk government urges people to stay at home, as the death toll from coronavirus in the uk rises by 700, including a five—year—old boy. our thoughts today are also with the family of the five—year—old child with underlying health conditions who's tragically died. so again, you must stay at home to protect the nhs and to save lives. as china delivers 300 ventilators to nhs hospitals, the strain shows on front line hospital staff. it feels like a losing battle, but it's not because we've all got hope and we're all trying to do...