tv BBC News BBC News April 5, 2020 3:00am-3:31am BST
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this is bbc news. i'm simon pusey with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. new york state records its biggest one—day jump in deaths so far. more than 3,500 people in the state have now died. spain and italy, the two countries which have suffered the highest numbers of deaths in the coronavirus pandemic, both report progress in tackling the outbreak. people in the uk are urged to stay at home, amid another large rise in reported deaths. the queen will praise the country's self—discipline, and quiet good—humoured resolve in response to the crisis, when she makes a rare television address later on sunday.
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hello and welcome to audiences in the uk and around the world. we're covering all the latest coronavirus developments here in britain and globally. there's mounting pressure on governments to maintain lockdown restrictions to fight the spread of the coronavirus. in the us, new york state has suffered 630 deaths — its biggest one—day jump so far. there have been over 300,000 cases and 8,000 deaths in the us. new york accounts for over 3,500 fatalities. president trump has ordered 180 million face masks. here in the uk, a five—year—old child with underlying health condition was among 708 deaths reported in one day. over 4,300 deaths have been recorded in hospitals. in a message to the uk and the commonwealth, the queen will praise efforts of key workers and say that this generation will be judged as "strong as any". in europe, the spanish prime minister said the country was "close to passing the peak". he's also extended the lockdown by another two weeks. and in italy, the number of new cases is stabilising. we'll have more on developments across the world, but first
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freya cole reports on the situation in new york. silence filled the streets of queens, one of new york's was neighbourhoods. —— sirens. paramedics are in a constant right to transfer sick patients from home to hospitals, which are struggling to cope. new york governor andrew cuomo has warned the worst is yet to come. we are 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 not at the apex, because we are not ready for the apex either. we are not yet ready for the high point. we're still working on capacity of the system will stop the more time we have to improve the capacity of the system, the better. and the
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capacity of the healthcare system, beds, staff, equipment. 1000 ventilators from china are due to arrive in new york this weekend. it will help significantly with statewide shortages. president trump has also ordered 1000 troops to the city. among them will be military doctors and nurses. we will move heaven and earth to safeguard our great american citizens. we will continue to use every power, every authority, every single resource we've got to keep our people healthy, safe, secure, and to get this thing over with. covid-19 has infected more than 113,000 across new york state. another 630 deaths we re york state. another 630 deaths were recorded in the last 2a hours. another daily record. the total toll is now more than 3500 people. a mass text
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message has been sent calling for the attention of all healthcare workers to support facilities in need if they can. and controversy surrounds the 1000 bed hospital ship comfort, park inbee hudson river. it's on standby to care for non— virus patients, but hospital leaders have called on authorities to open the ship to ease the strain on intensive ca re ease the strain on intensive care units which are overcrowded and overrun. freya cole, bbc news. many of those military workers mentioned there will be sent to the various hotspots around the country. for more on these, i've been speaking to our north america correspondent peter bowes. the president, at his news conference, highlighted a number of these hotspots. it was a very sombre message from him as well, talking about a very deadly period ahead with a lot of deaths. mentioning, of course, new york city, which is still the epicentre in the united states. and we heard earlier the governor likening the spread of covid—19 to a wildfire. detroit in michigan is another hotspot, as is new orleans in louisiana.
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that's a very densely populated city. and that's a similarity between all of these hotspots and, of course, new orleans very popular with visitors, a high throughput of people, which i think in part accounts for the high number of cases there. we've heard the president about sending troops to some of these hotspots, again, particularly new york city. and he also talked, on a slightly different theme, about wanting to get the country back to work again and he kept going back to that argument that people can't continue indefinitely to stay at home, that the country needs to get back to work. he talked about sports fans going to arenas again to follow their teams, to church congregations being able to get together. and, remember, he mentioned there he once hopes that easter would be the time when the country gets back to work. he isn't setting a specific date now, although he did entertain the idea that maybe people could go to church and sit outside because, he said, it was sad that people had to watch services on their computers.
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so the president is clearly frustrated by the situation, while at the same time acknowledging the importance of social distancing and the advice of his experts all around him, once again, that people need to be very strict about their behaviour and stay at home unless they absolutely have to go out. peter bowes speaking a little earlier. for more, i wasjoined by hemal sampat, a doctor at massachusetts general hospital in boston, whose unit has been completely transformed to deal with the crisis. he says numbers are on the rise. we are definitely in the middle of a surge right now.
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we saw our first case of covid—19 probably a couple of months ago but it has really picked up in the last month and especially over the last week. 0ur unit, the hospital medicine unit, we take care, we are very much the front line for the hospital in taking care of patients with covid—19 who are on the general medical floor who are not sick enough to be in the icu and our service has essentially completely been devoted now to taking care of patients with covid—19, we have multiple floor units that have been converted almost exclusively to take care of these patients. how worried are you about the capacity of your hospital to cope if the increase in levels of the virus cases continues to increase across the us? it is definitely a concern for the hospital. i will say our hospital leadership has been very much ahead of itself in preparing for any possibility, so we have contingency plan after contingency plan which one by one we are implementing. we are definitely seeing that search happening right now, and so there is...
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i don't think we have a concern we're not going to be able to handle it, but will require absolute complete all use of oui’ resources. and how worried are you and your colleagues for your own safety? obviously, you may have as much ppe as you need and there is a debate about that across states in america. what is morale like when you go into hospital knowing that this is such a dangerous disease that you are fighting? it is definitely... there is a palpable tension among my colleagues, all of us do worry about our own safety. there is a strong spirit of camaraderie, we are in this together, this is what we are here to do, this is what ourjob is, but at the same time, it is not typical that we see a condition where our own personal safety is going to be at risk, and what makes it even more challenging is the nature of the disease itself.
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most diseases, when patients come in with them, have a general sense when we see a patient of how that patient is generally going to do. to some degree, we are able to predict what disease will be like. with covid—19, even though we know what some of the high risk factors are, for people to have worsening illness, we also see people who don't have risk factors who get very sick very quickly, and that is unnerving, and especially if it is people who are on the younger side, not far from our own ages. hemal sampat talking about the coronavirus in boston and its impact. 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 april
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25, 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 in the past 2a hours. jean mackenzie reports 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.
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what difference does it make, having the market open again? it seems like, you know, normal. but things are not normal. italy might have reached the peak of its epidemic, with fewer deaths here in the last day than in the uk, 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 at the hospitals, where the number of people in intensive care has fallen for the first time since this crisis began. 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.
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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. a five—year—old child with an underlying health condition has become the youngest person in the uk to die after becoming infected with coronavirus. the latest figures show another record rise in the number of daily deaths — another 708 deaths takes the uk total to more than 4,300. 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 instruction to stay at home. we haven't got all day. the police have been told to engage with those they suspect of breaching the guidelines,
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like these people having a barbecue, and advise them to return home. 0ne emotional and exhausted nurse posted a video after a shift in intensive care, explaining why it was so important for people to observe the guidelines. we're desperately short of staff and things are really difficult and we're all really struggling. so i'm just saying to you all to stay in. if you stay in and you don't spread it and you don't catch it, that takes the pressure off of us because we are all on our knees at the moment, to be fair. that sentiment was echoed at the downing street briefing with the news that covid—19 had claimed the life of a young child. our thoughts today are also with the family of the 5—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.
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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. and i'd also like to ask stephen powis whether we should take any heart whatsoever from the flattening of hospital admissions in some parts of the country. there is some evidence that the measures that have been put in place, everybody‘s compliance with them is reducing transmission. it will come over a number of days and weeks, be reflected, the benefit will be reflected. first in a reduction in infections, then in a reduction in hospitalisation and then, finally, in a reduction in deaths. so, yes, there is reason to be hopeful. watford general hospital in hertfordshire has declared a critical incident and told all patients apart from women about to give birth to stay away. the hospital trust says it's because of a technical issue with oxygen equipment.
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the government continued its testing of nhs staff, but few were turning up today at this temporary centre in surrey. at the moment, overall, hospitals have the capacity to deal with the expected surge in cases, but that could easily change. 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 number of deaths are likely to continue to increase over the coming days. experts say the best way of turning the tide is to stay at home. 0ur science correspondent pallab ghosh reporting. this is bbc news. the headlines: new york state has recorded its biggest one—day jump in deaths so far. more than 3,500 people in the state have now died. spain and italy, the two countries which have
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suffered the highest numbers of deaths in the coronavirus pandemic, both report progress in tackling the outbreak. buckingham palace has given more details about sunday night's special broadcast by the queen on the coronavirus emergency. 0ur royal correspondent nicholas witchell explains the significance of the broadcast. it's not wartime, but everyone is facing the same peril. everyone has a part to play. we're told that it's a deeply personal message from the queen. she will talk about a challenging time, which has already brought grief, financial difficulties and enormous changes for everyone. she will thank those in the nhs, in care homes, in essential services. she will recognise the pain that is already being felt by many families, and she'll thank everyone for playing their part for following the government guidelines to protect the vulnerable. and then, in what i think is a real echo of wartime spirit almost, and of shared national
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purpose, she will say this: so, a situation without precedent in her reign, and a broadcast intended to reassure and really draw the nation together. the queen's speech will be broadcast at 8:00pm here in the uk. that's 7:00pm gmt. let's get some of the day's other news. in scotland, 13 residents at a glasgow care home have died in the space of a week after a suspected outbreak of coronavirus. the residents, all with underlying health conditions, lived at burlington court care home. two of its staff members are being treated in separate
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hospitals after testing positive. the international police agency, interpol, has warned that cyber criminals are targeting hospitals at the forefront of the coronavirus response. it said criminals were using emails containing an infected link to plant malicious software that blocked computers unless a ransom was paid. congress in peru has approved a bill which allows workers to withdraw up to 25% of their pension funds to mitigate the economic impact of the virus crisis. the measure still needs to be signed into law by the president, who has expressed concern. the fiancee of british prime minister borisjohnson, carrie symonds, has said she's on the mend having spent a week in bed resting after showing symptoms of coronavirus. ms symonds — who is pregnant — says she wasn't tested, but after seven days of rest, she's feeling stronger. the union representing footballers in england has rejected a request for its members to take a 30% pay cut to protect other jobs at premier league clubs. the professional footballers' association said a pay cut would impact tax revenue and therefore the money available for the british
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health service. countries around the world increasingly scramble to get their hands on orders for personal protective gear, among them n95 respirator masks. earlier, president trump announced that the us is ordering the production of 180 million masks amid a row with germany over the supply of the vital protective equipment. the battle is just one element of a growing controversy, with us manufacturer 3m at the centre. reged ahmad reports. these are some of the protective masks desperately sought after by governments and health systems around the world. and orders are only increasing. in a sign of growing demand, the us has been accused of modern piracy by germany for intercepting 200,000 3m masks it had ordered and diverting them back to the us. both 3m and the white house deny the claims but 3m saying
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it does not even have a record of the order. but the german government website statement alludes to a new us policy it is blaming for the issue. that's because of the move by the us president donald trump to invoke new korean war era laws to demand us firms provide the country with more medical supplies. we need the masks. we do not want other people getting them and that's why we are instituting a lot of defence production act. you could call it retaliation, because that is what it is. it is a retaliation. the us president said earlier he is using the emergency laws to take aim at 3m, a key supplier of masks in the us. there's been no act of piracy, the opposite. 3m has not treated our country well and if they do, great and if they don't they will have a hell of a price to pay. on saturday, the company pushed back against the new policy saying in a statement that it had already gone above and beyond to manufacture
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as many n95 masks as possible for the us. it went on to address heavy criticism of profiteering saying, we continue to act on reports of price gouging and unauthorised reselling. it's a row that's reverberating around the world as the n95 masks become like gold dust. 3m says it's also been asked to stop supplying canada and latin america, warning that the decision had significant humanitarian implications. as desperate health systems run short and government starts to recommend the wearing of face masks, the global struggle to access protective equipment is set to increase with nation pit against nation in the hunt for dwindling supplies. reged ahmad, bbc news. as the coronavirus continues
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to spread across the globe, the united states appears on track to be the world's worst affected country. the virus is affecting every area of us society, including agriculture. la rew, larew, president of the farming union, outlined how agriculture is being affected by the virus. —— rob larew. farmers, ranchers and farm workers are continuing to produce food every day. they're working hard. but the impacts are tremendous. so far, the losses are pretty staggering, and on top of that, of course, they are also concerned, share the concerns about their families and communities in this public health crisis. yeah, obviously, at this time, people cooped up at home, there's not much to do but think about food and cooking food and eating food. what kind of support has the sector had? so, really the most disruptive thing that we've seen is just the food system in general shifted with all of the closures of restaurants and food services into homes, as you just mentioned, and all the snacks that folks are having. this is something that's really tough for farmers,
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the food processing sector, to shift very quickly. the impact this has had is that grocery stores have empty shelves at times, even though there's a large supply of product out there. and on the flipside, dairy farmers are now having to dump their milk at the farm level simply because the system is backed up and they cannot process all that. so the system itself is trying to adjust, and it will, but in the meantime, there will be a lot of hurt. the government so far has passed a package of assistance. we hope that assistance gets there very quickly. but the hurt is real and it's going to continue for some time now. yeah, it's a difficult situation, isn't it? because obviously the farm workers themselves and the companies that are running these places need to think about the health and safety of their workers, while also seeing a higher demand for their products. yes, the work has to continue day in and day out on the farm, but in these rural communities in particular, the healthcare systems there are
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at a much greater need than they are in the suburban and urban areas. they have about half the number of doctors, fewer hospitals, and about a tenth of the medical specialists out there. so as the crisis reaches these rural areas, where the farms are, primarily, the pressures will continue even further. rob, for us viewers watching this, should anybody be worried about food reaching their stores? absolutely not. the food is there. the system is continuing to adjust to the dramatic shift that's happened. and we do expect that those shelves will be restocked very quickly. but it does take some time to do that, and certainly, the food remains safe. farmers and others selling direct fruits and vegetables to consumers continue to employ very safe practices. so the food remains abundant and safe. rob, thank you so much forjoining us. that was rob larew speaking to us in washington. for many people around the world who are living under lockdown or are adhering
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to social distancing rules, the loss of an opportunity to socialise and have some fun on the weekend is being keenly felt. three room—mates in the spanish city of barcelona have been doing their bit to spread some cheer, holding a dance party for their neighbours. and yes, they have been taking requests via social media. the scheme has been so successful the trio has created a radio station to play a0 minutes of music every friday and saturday night. for the latest on the coronavirus pandemic, head to our website. we have answers to all the key questions regarding the restrictions on daily life. there's also plenty of information on how to cope with self—isolation and crucially staying active at home. that's all at bbc.com/news, or you can download the bbc news app. you can reach me on twitter. i'm @sipusey.
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hello there. temperatures in some southern and eastern parts of the uk got up to 17 degrees on saturday. i think those temperatures will get even higher on sunday, into the low 20s for a few, with lots of sunshine around. it will be breezy, particularly in the west, where we'll also see some rain arriving later in the day, courtesy of this stripe of cloud here, a frontal system that'll be pushing its way in. but there is a big zone of clear skies heading in our direction, and also a plume of warm air. now, that warm air being brought to us on a southerly wind, a brisk southerly wind at that. the wind might touch gale force across some western areas later in the day. so there will be a lot of blue sky and sunshine around. i think generally speaking there'll be increasing amounts of high, wispy clouds spreading in from the west, turning the sunshine a bit hazy into the afternoon, and also some thicker cloud that'll bring some outbreaks of patchy ran into northern ireland, perhaps the far west
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of wales, the far south—west of england and the far west of scotland as well by the end of the day. these are the wind gusts we're expecting. it's going to be a blustery day for all, but could see gusts of 50mph or more for some exposed spots in northern ireland and western scotland. but with those winds coming in from the south, yes, it will be warm. 21 degrees in london. even further north, in glasgow, highs of 18. high pollen levels, though, it's tree pollen at this time of year, across england and wales. the levels much lower for much of northern ireland and scotland. as we go through sunday night, we see these outbreaks of rain in the west, pushing eastwards. the rain will tend to fizzle for awhile. but it looks likely that
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into the early hours of monday morning, we'll see some slightly heavier rain pushing its way back into the south—east corner on what will be a really mild night. temperatures holding in double digits for some of us. now, as we move into monday, this weather front still staggering its way eastwards. a pulse of heavier rain likely to be running along it, so we could see some pretty hefty downpours for a time across the south—east of england and east anglia on monday morning. that rain will then clear away. we see sunny skies behind, but a scattering of showers, chiefly across the north—west of the uk. still quite windy here, so those showers fairly blustery in nature. some could be heavy. and monday is a slightly cooler day with highs between 12 and 17 degrees. however, that does not last. temperatures are going to climb again as the week wears on, as we pick up a southerly wind. 21, 22 degrees is possible in the south. for most, dry. a bit of rain in the far north and west.
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this is bbc news, the headlines: new york state recorded its biggest one—dayjump in coronavirus deaths so far — 630. in total more than 3500 people in the state have died. governor andrew cuomo warned the worst is yet to come and hospitals aren't prepared. the two countries which have suffered the highest numbers of deaths in the coronavirus pandemic have both reported progress in tackling the outbreak. spain reported its lowest number of new infections in more than ten days. in italy, deaths linked to the virus have continued their downward trend. the government in the uk has urged people to stay at home, as the death toll from coronavirus rose by 700 in one day, including a five—year—old boy. there are indications that the spread of the infection in the uk is slowing because of the lockdown restrictions.
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