this is bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in the uk and around the world. i'm simon pusey. our top stories: the british prime minister boris johnson is admitted to hospital for tests — ten days after testing positive for coronavirus. as the expected peak of america's coronavirus outbreak looms — the president has this message of hope. things are happening. we are starting to see light at the end of the tunnel. and hopefully in the not—too—distant hopefully in the not—too—dista nt future, we hopefully in the not—too—distant future, we will be very proud of the job we all did. the queen delivers a rallying call to the uk and the commonwealth, stressing the value of self—discipline and resolve. i hope ihope in i hope in the years to come,

eve ryo ne i hope in the years to come, everyone will be able to take pride in how they responded to this challenge. and those who come after us will say the britons of this generation were as strong as any. and lights out in india in a show of solidarity against covid—i9 — but there's criticism not enough is being done to help those most in need. 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. downing street has announced that the prime minister has been admitted to hospital for tests because he continues to have persistent symptoms of coronavirus. borisjohnson was diagnosed with the disease ten days ago. number ten described it as a precautionary step —

and said he remained in charge of the government. with me is our reporter simonjones. 0h boris johnson was 0h borisjohnson was admitted to hospital at about eight o'clock. incidentally the same time the queen was addressing the nation on the coronavirus crisis was not over the past ten days since he was diagnosed with coronavirus, he has been self isolating in a flat above downing street. but having spoken to his doctor, it was decided as a precautionary measure that it would be best for him to go to hospital for further tests where he could see medical staff face—to—face. downing street are stressing this was a precaution. it wasn't an emergency admission to hospital. no over the past ten days that he has been suffering, he says, with a high—temperature and it seems he is having difficulty shaking this. he released a video message on friday where he was talking about having that high temperature. so as a precaution he has gone to hospital. has

been seen over the past few days, he was last seen in public on thursday when he was just outside downing street joining people across the nation, clapping, supporting the work of the nhs and the emergency services dealing with the coronavirus outbreak but when he was seen in his video message, he did look rather u nwell message, he did look rather unwell and message, he did look rather u nwell a nd clearly message, he did look rather unwell and clearly finding it difficult to shake the symptoms of this. yes, number ten saying he is still in charge but practically, how does the government run when he is in hospital? number ten still keen to say he is leading the government and leading the government's response to the record —— coronavirus pandemic but the reality is he is in hospital so that will be difficult to do with full gusto but he —— but there is going to be in the morning a meeting of the emergency cobra committee that will be chaired by his de fa cto that will be chaired by his de facto deputy dominic raab he is the foreign secretary. —— who is the foreign secretary. he has been keeping in touch with cabinet ministers over the past few days and has been doing

that with zoom. downing street are saying it continues to function with him at the head of the government but clearly this is not a normal situation. the country, like around the world, fighting this coronavirus pandemic and the leader in charge of that might currently in hospital. so it won't be business completely as normal at certainly the message of downing street is that there isn't reason for alarm or panic. we have heard from leaders around the world, president trump saying he is a great leader and america will be praying for his recovery. also the new leader of the opposition here in the uk keir starmer wishing him a speedy recovery, too. thank you very much indeed. within the past hour, president trump has delivered his daily press conference on coronavirus at the white house. he began by saying he hoped the british prime minister would make a return to health. before i begin, i want to express our nation's well—wishers to prime minister

irisjohnson as he wages his own personal fight with the virus. —— borisjohnson. all americans are praying for him, he isa americans are praying for him, he is a friend of mine, he is a great gentleman, a great leader and as you know, he was brought to the hospital today but i'm hopeful and sure that he is going to be fine. he is a strong man, strong person. donald trump has also been reassuring citizens, with parts of the country expected to see a peak in their outbreaks in the coming week. the president says the country is prepared. things are happening. we're starting to see light at the end of the tunnel and hopefully in the not—too—distant future will be very proud of the job we alldid. will be very proud of the job we all did. you can never be happy when so many people are dying but we're going to be proud of thejob dying but we're going to be proud of the job that you did to keep the death down to an absolute minimum, the least that could have happened, with this terrible, terrible virus.

our north america correspondent peter bowes joins me now. what has been the main message from him? the tone from president trump as it has been before over the past few days overwhelmingly positive about the eventual outcome talking in optimistic terms, talking about light at the end of the tunnel and also giving an update about the help that it being given to states around the country, the 3000 military radical workers that have been sent to hospitals to help the dock as and nurses who in some cases, especially in new york city, really stretched to the limit talking about the hundreds of ventilators and thousands of facemasks that have been distributed around the country and again we continue to hear complaints, desperate complaints, desperate complaints in some places, that they simply don't have enough equipment. and the president really stressing once again at the federal government is

sending that equipment out to states on a necessary basis where certain places, the numbers begin to peak and then drop down and the equipment he says has to be moved around the country accordingly. his advisors are not quite as upbeat as donald trump, are they? we heard from the surgeon general who was really talking and quite dire terms about what americans should expect over the next week or two, talking about a pearl harbour moment, a 911 moment. those times in history really etched on many people ‘s memories as being particularly dark days and reflecting on that and suggesting that the same in terms of the number of deaths, perhaps even more deaths over the last couple —— next couple of weeks is likely to happen andi of weeks is likely to happen and i think that is something that a lot of americans are

hearing on the sunday afternoon as it still is here in the states, giving a lot of people reason to pause and think about what they are doing and this is pa rt what they are doing and this is part of the president's message and his scientific advisors‘ that only people continue to stay at home, to follow the guidelines, to socially isolate themselves, that the country will get through this and the president indicates will get through this sooner than some people have thought. the press conferences people have thought. the press c0 nfe re nces a re people have thought. the press conferences are still going on so more lines may come out of that but for now, peter bowes live in los angeles, thank you very much indeed. for only the fifth time in her 68 year reign, queen elizabeth has addressed the uk and the commonwealth outside her annual christmas broadcast. she paid tribute to the national health service and key workers keeping goods and services going amid the coronavirus pandemic. the queen also acknowledged the grief, pain and financial difficulties that many people were facing. here's our royal correspondent, nicolas witchell. from windsor castle, a broadcast by the longest serving head of state in the world.

a speech without parallel in her reign, as britain and the wider world face an unseen threat. while we have faced challenges before, this one is different. this time we join with all nations across the globe in a common endeavour, using the great advances of science and our instinctive compassion to heal. we will succeed and that success will belong to every one of us. she spoke first to those facing the most immediate challenge. i want to thank everyone on the nhs front line, as well as care workers and those caring out essential roles who selflessly continue their day—to—day duties outside the home in support of us all. i'm sure the nation willjoin me in assuring you that what you do is appreciated

and every hour of your hard work brings us closer to a return to more normal times. together, we are tackling this disease and i want to reassure you that if we remain united and resolute, then we will overcome it. cheering and applause. she praised the way people had come together to help each other and support the health services and she thanked those who'd followed the government guidelines to stay at home. our collective response, the queen said, would define us. i hope in the years to come, everyone will be able to take pride in how they responded to this challenge. and those who come after us will say the britons of this generation were as strong as any, that the attributes of self—discipline, of quiet good—humoured resolve and a fellow feeling still characterise this country. the pride in who we are is not

a part of our past, it defines our present and ourfuture. she recalled her first broadcast, as a teenager during the second world war when she'd sought to comfort children who'd been sent away from their homes for their own safety. today, once again, many will feel a painful sense of separation from their loved ones. but now, as then, we know deep down that it is the right thing to do. for all the current hardships, the queen said, we would come through it. we should take comfort that while we may have more still to endure, better days will return. we will be with our friends again. we will be with our families again. we will meet again. but for now, i send my thanks and warmest good wishes to you all. it had been an exceptional broadcast for an exceptional moment. nicholas witchell, bbc news.

stay with us on bbc news, still to come: as italy's death toll drops to its lowest in two weeks, we speak to some people who are finding life very hard after weeks in lockdown. after 25 years of hatred and rage, they jump after 25 years of hatred and rage, theyjump up! this funeral became a massive demonstration of black power. the power to influence. today is about the promise of a bright future. a day when we hope a line can be drawn under the bloody past.

i think that picasso's works were beautiful. they were intelligent and it's a sad loss to everybody who loves art. this is bbc news. welcome back. the latest headlines: the british prime minister, borisjohnson, has been taken to hospital for tests ten days after testing positive for covid—19. well, more on that now. our political correspondent, chris mason, gave us this update. downing street is saying that the prime minister has gone to hospital because of the persistence of existing symptoms rather than necessarily that there had been a further deterioration to the

point where he may have been struggling for breath. we know he has had a persistent high temperature, we were told yesterday he was continuing to self—isolate because of the continued high temperature and thatis continued high temperature and that is why he hadn't come out and being out and about after a seven—day period that people are told to isolate when they first demonstrate them terms. you are told to continue self—isolating if the symptoms don't go away. it's the persistence of those existing symptoms and high temperature that led to a decision by his doctors that he should go into hospitalfor doctors that he should go into hospital for what is described as routine tests. it was not an emergency admission. his doctor believed it would be sensible given the ongoing nature of his symptoms, that he was seen face—to—face by doctors rather than being consulted from self—isolation, over the phone, he was taken to a london and nhs hospital. he is staying there overnight and dominic raab, the foreign secretary, the first secretary of state,

wheelchair the government was mark daly 9:15am meeting on its response the coronavirus. i can think we can say he is number two in the government, why he isn't deputy prime minister, his first equity of state, meaning next person down the line —— secretary of state. he has probably been doing the job long enough for pmq, which sometimes happens, but in this insta nce sometimes happens, but in this instance he would be the first person to substitute behind the prime minister. i suspect the reality of this is going to be how long does he stay? the prime minister in hospital. that will determine how much more work dominic raab has to pick up on his behalf. chris mason there. well, more on the spread of the virus and as we've been reporting, at his daily press conference, us president trump expressed hope that the united states was seeing a levelling off of the coronavirus crisis in some

of the nation's hotspots for the viral outbreak. let's speak to bill hanage who is a professor of epidemiology at harvard university. thank you forjoining us, bill hanage was not reminder soul, if you don't mind, what are the most effective steps to stop the spread of this virus? the most effective step to stop the spread of the coronavirus pandemic is to stop new infections. once you stop new infections, then those are already established and will ta ke already established and will take around 3—4 weeks, based on what we know about it before the most severely affected people stop ending up in hospital. so practice physical distancing, it doesn't have to be social distancing, i have made friends of the last few weeks, practice physical distancing, wash your hands whenever you come into the house and several times a day, 20 seconds, and if you are outside, try to stay at least six feet away from other people. all very good advice and there simply put. from a scientific perspective, can you explain how this virus is different to others? the most

important way in which it is different to others is that it is new and we don't know enough about it. if they coronavirus, which means it is not like flu, it means assumptions you might have as a result from having watched flu pandemics in the past or seasonal flu, they do not necessarily correlate here. the really important thing is there is no immunity. there is no population level immunity, which means everyone is vulnerable. even though it has not killed as many people as seasonal flu yet, it is certainly on track to do so. that point you make about immunity there, we still don't know whether once you have caught the virus, whether you can get it again. no, we don't. there is some kind of confusion around art, probably as a result of testing which is not 100% incentive, so people will test positive and negative again and positive again —— 100% sensitive. we think it is probable that immunity does

occur, but if we look at other coronaviruses, we do not think it is necessarily long lasting. so this is something at the moment we do not know for sure, but right now we are still in the teeth of this pandemic and we're doing everything we can to fight it. without getting too political, bill, how would you judge the federal government was not response in the us? it's been scattered and disorganised and struggling to mount a coherent response was not much of the responsible it he has been left to local jurisdictions such as the states or even cities. and the testings of article, the fact we still haven't managed to get large numbers of tests being done is catastrophic —— testing debacle was that we need to to test the most severely ill people and make sure they get appropriate treatment. we need to test healthca re appropriate treatment. we need to test healthcare workers, people who are looking after

them, people on the front line. once we have enough tests for infection, we can start looking at people out in the community and you population level tests. we need that at the moment. we need date and an antibody test to determine if people have been impacted. until we get those things we are still really going to be on the back foot of this pandemic. and of course without proper testing you don't really know the scale of what you are dealing with. bill hanage from harvard university, boston, that is all we have time for their thank you. italy has recorded its lowest daily death toll in over two weeks, a further sign that the country is starting to get the disease under control. but the reality on the ground is still very bleak for many italians, particularly amongst poorer communities. from rome, jean mackenzie reports. at this moment i have no way to have money, no. on these balconies there's desperation. people who've not been able to work now for weeks.

tito started bringing food to those who can no longer afford to buy it. like stephano, who sells houses for a living, and now can't feed his two young children. living without money for more than one month. we change our life from one day to another one. everything changed, everything. it's not your life. casual work is common here, so for many the money has simply stopped. like for maria rosa. yesterday, her money ran out.

these sacrifices have helped fight the epidemic here. the situation is finally improving, but the price has been high. this virus has taken thousands and thousands of lives, but it's also taken people's livelihoods, it's taken people's futures, it's taken some people's very last pennies. the government has promised to pay part of people's wages, but four weeks into this strict lockdown, the money hasn't arrived. applications only opened last week. do you accept it's taken too long for this money to come through? here, they've given up on political promises.

italy may be starting to control this virus but it's unprepared for the devastation it's leaving behind. jean mackenzie, bbc news, rome. let's get some of the day's of the coronavirus news now. the latest figures in spain so nearly 700 people died, taking the total to 12,000, 400. does matter the king of sweden has urged people to stay at home over the easter holidays to curb the spread of the virus. the swedish government has been criticised for its softer measures to combat the disease. the colombian army has stepped up the colombian army has stepped up security along the border with ecuador, which has reported one of the highest number of cases of the disease in latin america. extra troops

we re in latin america. extra troops were deployed at dozens of illegal crossings. millions of people in india have followed the prime minister's plea to switch off and light up candles for nine minutes, in a show of solidarity during the virus crisis. but government critics have been quick to dismiss the movement, saying there's an urgent need to assist the country's poor. freya cole reports. the victory of light over darkness, prime minister modi's message during india's battle against covid—19. the country of1.3 against covid—19. the country of 1.3 billion people were large to light candles or tortures at 9pm for nine minutes, a show of national unity. to stand in solidarity, we did some meditation also, and hope india survives this and hope india survives this and comes out in one piece. but government critics say it was nothing but a picture

opportunity for the prime minister, who is under increasing pressure to do more, especially for the country's bore. the former finance minister made this direct appeal to the leader, being we will listen to you and light diyas on aprilfive, will listen to you and light diyas on april five, but interim please listen to us and the wise of epidemiologists and economists. india is in the grip ofa economists. india is in the grip of a strict 21 day lockdown, almost all shops including large factories have closed, leaving workers on a daily wage with no source of income stop the prime minister has announced a $22 billion package to assist the poor, but many fear the financial aid won't go far enough or come quick enough. chaos is also breaking out in some of india's poorest neighbourhoods, in the central city of indoor, an angry mob was filmed attacking two e—mail. those who came to check on a patient with

symptoms. the doctors say people are threatened by their presence and fear they are a source of spreading the disease. there are now more than 3500 confirmed cases of the confirmed virus —— coronavirus in india, there are fears the number of deaths will rise significantly. but for many people on the lowest of incomes, their greatest fear is starvation and having no work to go back to after the lockdown. freya cole, bbc news. just before we go, let's bring you a quick reminder of our top story. downing street has announced the prime minister has been admitted to hospital for tests because he continues to have persistent symptoms of coronavirus. borisjohnson has been diagnosed with the disease and that was ten days ago. number 10 downing street described it as a precautionary step and that he remained in charge of the government. we will bring more details of that

throughout the night. you can reach me on twitter, i'm @sipusey. thanks for watching and used a turn. —— do stay tuned. hello there. there weekend brought plenty of sunshine for many of us and temperatures responded accordingly. sunday was the warmest day of the year so far, 22.2 degrees, the highest of which are recorded in west wales but for monday, something a little bit cooler. there will be some sunshine around yes, but there will also be some showers. so that plume of warm air that wafted northwards across the uk through sunday is being replaced by something cooler from the atlantic, moving on behind this frontal system. this will bring some outbreaks of rain through monday morning, very slow moving, actually, across east anglia and the south—east. you can see these outbreaks of rain only slowly trudging eastwards.

east anglia and the southeast iran is likely to turn heavier free time during the morning. behind it we was see brighter skies and sunshine, wanted two make showers across england in september, one or two more for england and scotland, possibly heavyin england and scotland, possibly heavy in bunbury. fairly windy across the far north—west. temperatures down on where they have been but 12— 18 degrees, thatis have been but 12— 18 degrees, that is still respectable for this time of year. as we move through monday night with light winds and largely clear skies overhead, it is going to turn cold, certainly a colder start to tuesday morning. temperatures in towns and cities very close to freezing. some spots in the countryside will probably get down to freezing. potentially one or two fog patches around as well. tuesdayis two fog patches around as well. tuesday is all about high pressure building its way in from the new continent, so that promises a lot of dry weather. yes, that chilly start we will see plenty of sunshine. the winds come back up from the south so there will be some warmth in that sunshine with top temperatures in london

getting to around 20 degrees. further north by glasgow, more like 14—15, always some patches applied for northern ireland and north—west scotland, turning any sunshine quite hazy. some frontal systems trying to push in from the atla ntic trying to push in from the atlantic on wednesday, bringing a renewed surge of warm air from the south. notice scotland holds onto something colder, but elsewhere temperatures climbing, 23 degrees is likely in the south. it does look like we will see some outbreaks of rain moving on from the west on friday.

this is bbc news, the headlines: british prime minister borisjohnson has been taken to hospital, ten days after testing positive for covid—19 and going into self—isolation. his office says he's still suffering symptoms, including a high temperature, and has been admitted for tests as a precaution. he's expected to remain in hospital overnight. donald trump says there is light at the end of the tunnel as parts of america prepare to reach their peak in deaths in the coming week. that's as officials warn the death toll in places such as new york is a sign of trouble to come in other states. the queen has given a televised address in which she urged the people of britain and the commonwealth to remain united and resolute in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. speaking from windsor castle, she said countries around the world werejoined in a common effort against the disease.