the government insists borisjohnson is still "very much in charge" despite being admitted to hospital with coronavirus. the prime minister, who's been ill for ten days and has worked while in self—isolation, will be back as soon as possible, says a cabinet colleague. i hope, we all do, that he has a speedy recovery and can get back to number 10 speedy recovery and can get back to numberio and take speedy recovery and can get back to number 10 and take charge in the way that he would want to. we'll be asking how challenging it will be for the prime minister to continue in his work from his hospital bed. also this lunchtime... scotland's chief medical officer, catherine calderwood, resigns after making two trips to her second home, against her own lockdown advice. continued concern that sunny weather is making people linger longer outside than absolutely necessary when going to exercise. a sharp spike in calls to a national

helpline for victims of domestic violence, which experts link to the coronavirus restrictions. the hotels being used to house low—risk patients to free up hospital beds for coronavirus patients. and, in sport, the boss of the mclaren formula one team says the sport's future is under threat and big changes are needed if it's to survive. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. a member of borisjohnson‘s cabinet has said the prime minister is "still very much in charge of the government" despite being admitted to hospital last night with coronavirus.

the housing secretary robertjenrick said it was hoped that, after medical tests, mrjohnson would be back in downing street "as soon as possible." the prime minister tested positive for coronavirus ten days ago. the foreign secretary dominic raab, who'd previously been tasked to stand in if the prime minister was unable to work, chaired today's coronavirus meeting. with our first report this lunchtime, here's our political correspondent helen catt. this was the prime minister ten days ago. hi, folks, i want this was the prime minister ten days ago. hi, folks, iwant to this was the prime minister ten days ago. hi, folks, i want to bring up to speed with something that is happening today which is that i've developed mild symptoms of the coronavirus, that is say a temperature and a persistent cough. on the advice of the chief medical for so, on the advice of the chief medical forso, i on the advice of the chief medical for so, i have taken a test which has come out positive. his symptoms have not gone away and after more than a week of self isolating in downing street with a brief appearance at the door of number 11 on thursday he is now in a london

hospital undergoing tests, a precautionary step, says downing street. he has been working extremely hard leading the government and being constantly updated. that'll continue. today he is in hospital having tests, obviously, but he will be continue to be kept informed as to what is happening and in charge of the government. i hope and we all do he has a speedy recovery and he gets back to number 10 and can take charge in the way he would want to. so it was the foreign secretary dominic raab who chaired the government's coronavirus meeting this morning. if borisjohnson were to have to take time off it would be dominic raab who would take over his responsibilities. sir keir starmer who became the new labour leader on saturday has wished mrjohnson a speedy recovery, as has the new shadow chancellor although she, too, says work goes on. obviously, i am concerned that we really need to make sure the british parliament, the whole political system responds correctly to this unprecedented

challenge, certainly from the economic side i am aware of how much are so many economic side i am aware of how much are so many businesses are struggling and individuals as well. downing street has been keen to reassure people borisjohnson‘s condition has not worsened, itjust hasn't improved. despite the reassurance, it's clear boris johnson has found it harder to shake off this virus than some others and the prime minister being admitted to hospital at this time, whatever the circumstances, is likely to prove unsettling. and there is an immediate impact. tomorrow's cabinet meeting has been postponed although the daily covid—i9 meeting will still take place. helen catt, bbc news. our chief political correspondent vicki young is at westminster. there must be concerns about the pm's ability to do his job from a hospital bed? yes, absolutely, of course it is incredibly disruptive, not least, of course, the worries his own family will have about his health but in terms of being in charge of the

government, downing street is very much emphasising that he is still working from his hospital bed. we had a briefing from the prime minister's official spokesman in the last hour with some more details about what has been going on. he said and emphasised the prime minister was admitted to saint thomas hospital in westminster as a precaution because symptoms of a cough and high temperature have persisted. he had a comfortable night and is in good spirits and he remains in hospital under observation. he has been undergoing routine tests although we are not being told what those are and we are not being told about any treatment he may have received. but they are again emphasising this was not an emergency admission, he wasn't taken by ambulance, it was in a private vehicle. what they are saying is any updates that come, they will be transparent about any of those and will let us know as and when they happen, for example when he leaves hospital. at the moment, there are no plans for that are announced. as you say, there concern about this of

national crisis having the prime minister not able to be completely up minister not able to be completely up to speed is going to be a bit of a problem although the meetings are going on, no cabinet tomorrow but other cabinet meetings will continue and dominic raab, the first secretary, is the person who will be chairing those meetings. ok, many thanks. our chief political correspondent, vicki young. farmers say there being put at risk because ofa say there being put at risk because of a lack of ppe. they reported a surge in demand as patients visit pharmacies for advice. nhs england says millions of pieces of protective could have been delivered. meanwhile, there is continued concern the sunny weather is encouraging people to linger longer in parks than is necessary for the purpose of exercise. pharmacists are key health care professionals. and are playing a crucial role in this emergency. after the first port of call for

people with coronavirus symptoms. and the demand is increasing. but they say they are needlessly at risk as they don't have the right protective equipment to keep them safe. we are in my pharmacy at the moment in sutton in surrey. the owner of this south london pharmacy describes the makeshift measures they've had to put in place to reduce the risk of infection. initially we were just allowing three people in at a time, and we had created these clear areas which we'd marked on the floor for patients to stand, so then they could have a social distance between each other. we've now moved to a one in out out policy, to keep safe for everybody. what they really need at the proper masks, gloves and aprons. i'm very concerned that our staff are not getting access to the ppe promised to them a week ago. and i believe most of our staff now are seeing regular people coming into the pharmacy, they are getting up close and personal. we have some perspex screens in some of our pharmacies. but that recognises the fact

that our pharmacies need protection and our staff need protection. nhs england says any issues with the supply of equipment should be raised via the dedicated hotline. meanwhile, the spell of warm weather in many parts of the country at the weekend looks set to continue for much of this week. there will be more concerns about people ignoring the government's instructions on social distancing. already more parks have closed and there are threats of tougher measures. the vast majority of people are adhering to the guidelines. compliance is very high. but, please, the small minority of people not doing so, don't spoil things for everybody else. the lockdown measures which have emptied our streets and shut down our economy, are due to be reviewed next week. there have been hints some measures could be lifted by the end of may if infections decreases efficiently. but as for fully getting out of the lockdown, experts say that exit strategy

is still a work in progress. the precise strategy has not yet been formulated. it will be in the next week or so. it is the highest priority of i would say the whole scientific and medical community in this country and many countries, and of course of the policy community. other countries are also planning to ease the lockdown. today austria has announced that due to a big drop in the rate of infections, some small shops could reopen in a week's time. richard galpin, bbc news. scotland's first minister, nicola sturgeon, has told the bbc it was her view that the government's chief medical officer, catherine calderwood, had to resign after breaching the terms of the coronavirus lockdown. dr calderwood admitted twice making non—essential journeys to visit her second home. here's our correspondent james shaw. caught on camera, visiting her

holiday home in fife. scotland's chief medical, the public face on the campaign to slow the spread of the campaign to slow the spread of the virus. this is a vital update about the coronavirus. to help save lives, stay at home. it could hardly have been more embarrassingly for miss calderwood and the first minister nicola sturgeon. at first it looked as though the chief medicalfor it looked as though the chief medical for some it looked as though the chief medicalfor some might it looked as though the chief medical for some might hang it looked as though the chief medicalfor some might hang on to herjob but, then, came the realisation of the huge damage that could be done to public confidence in the official advice to stay at home and save lives. i did think i could continue to call on her expertise because, to be frank, in a situation like this at this particular moment in time, it is far from idealfor me particular moment in time, it is far from ideal for me as particular moment in time, it is far from idealfor me as first particular moment in time, it is far from ideal for me as first minister not to have that continuity of advice but last night it became clear the bigger risk was the damage it could be doing to the very important message the government is putting forward. even before her resignation, catherine calderwood said she was sorry and didn't try to

excuse her behaviour, even admitting to an earlier visit to fife. i've already issued a statement this morning apologising unreservedly for travelling away from my home while restrictions were in place. as well as this weekend, it's important to be clear that i also was there last weekend with my husband. i did not follow the advice i am giving to others. i am truly sorry for that. opposition politicians have acknowledged the difficulty of the situation. politicians and senior civil servants need to lead by example. it is only with that example. it is only with that example being set very clearly that people will observe the guidelines in place. the streets of scotland's cities remain quiet but this is a challenging moment for the scottish government. the central question — whether it'll make a difference to compliance with the lockdown. james shaw, bbc news. a national helpline for victims of domestic violence has seen 25%

increase in calls and online requests for help since the uk lockdown, that's according to the charity refuge. they say they had hundreds more calls last week compared to two weeks earlier. campaigners have warned the coronavirus restrictions could heighten domestic tensions, and cut off escape routes for victims. tomos morgan reports. oh, it's been bad. i didn't care if i didn't wake up from like the night before. you know, ijust knew, ijust knew what was going to happen tne next day, the next day. ijust wanted the days to go past. yeah, it's just gone worse. tara told me she has been mentally and physically abused by her partner for six months. he deleted her social media account, stopped her from seeing family and controlled all aspects of her life. since having to isolate with him, things escalated. you must stay at home. it's obviously been getting worse since the lockdown as well. mentally abusive, verbally. he's been like hitting me. just causes an argument over nothing.

and obviously if i fire back, say something wrong, he'lljust hit me. new figures seen by the bbc give a picture of the potential consequence of lockdown for victims. the national domestic abuse helpline has seen a 25% increase in calls and online requests over the past week. refuge, the country's largest domestic abuse charity who run the line, say there has also been a daily rise of 150% in people visiting the website. tara has now fled her abuser and is being supported by a charity in wales. but charities and campaigners have expressed concern that those in violent relationships could be at serious risk as the lockdown continues. the homicide rate is going to go through the roof. you can't stop the perpetrator unless he's visible. rachel williams suffered violence from her husband for 18 years. when she decided to leave he shot her with a sawn—off shotgun. she's now one of the country's main campaigners battling on behalf

of those still suffering. we'll never do enough until we actually eradicate domestic abuse and violence, and of. you know, we've got an epidemic at the moment in the uk, with a pandemic on top. the police are there for you and you must feel that you can contact us in an emergency, but also that you can seek advice from us. so please, if you are in danger, if your family are in danger, contact us on 909. contact us on 999. we will prioritise your call and we will support you and we will deal with this. speaking to me online from the safety of the refuge, tara told me although things got worse for her during isolation, it made her realise and pushed her to escape the relationship forever. i'd been thinking for a long time, with it escalating to an everyday thing, you know, with him getting more abusive. tomos morgan, bbc news. if you are affected by any of the issues in that report, you can call the freephone 2a hour number 0808 2000 247,

that's for the national domestic abuse helpline. or go online to www. nationaldahelpline. org.uk hotels owned by the best western chain are today welcoming their first patients as they're being turned into hospitals for people deemed to be low risk to relieve the pressure on much—needed hospital beds. patients over the age of 65 with minor health conditions are beginning to be moved into the chain's weymouth hotel this afternoon. duncan kennedy reports. the rembrandt hotel is normally used by people enjoying the beautiful south coast. i amjust by people enjoying the beautiful south coast. i am just going to show you south coast. i am just going to show you some south coast. i am just going to show you some of our south coast. i am just going to show you some of our rooms. south coast. i am just going to show you some of our rooms. now south coast. i am just going to show you some of our rooms. now carers like you some of our rooms. now carers like violet are turning it into a form of hospital. when the clients come in we are going to be using that. a place where wards are being swapped for private rooms. that. a place where wards are being swapped for private roomsm that. a place where wards are being swapped for private rooms. it would not necessarily be harder to do our

job. at the minute they are going to have to be eating in their rooms. so basically, their bedroom is going to be everything. the carers have come from all over britain and have already been welcomed by local people. keep up the good work. much appreciated. the aim is to move non—covid—i9 patients out of local hospitals, so hospitals can concentrate on those with the virus. it's tricky because actually you don't know what is going to come out of hospital. we have people with a variety of needs, some with strokes, some who are bedridden, all sorts of complexity is there that we have to handle. but we do all understand it in strange times and we are all working our hardest to make it work. this hotel will be taking around 31 patients from four local hospitals. where necessary, specialist medical equipment will be installed here. they will be looked after by 13

carers, but also 13 members of the hotel staff will act as back—up. there will be hotel standard of service, including the food. we do have quite a high standard of food here, so hopefully we can pass that the elderly patients. it will be slightly different to the hospital food if they are currently getting. how suited is a hotel to be run as a hospital? it's certainly very different to what i've been trained to do for the last a0 years, but we are very to do for the last a0 years, but we are very proud to do our bit. we have been working very hard to prepare the hotel for this. and hopefully we will help in a small way, ina hopefully we will help in a small way, in a small way we will help the nhs to fight the virus. best western is one of many hotel chains opening their rooms to create more room in hospitals. duncan kennedy, bbc news. our top story this lunchtime.

the government insist borisjohnson is still very much in charge, despite being admitted to hospital with coronavirus after being ill for ten days. postmen and women still doing the rounds. and in sport, the culture secretary warms the public will take a dim view of premier league clubs who furlough their nonplaying staff. liverpool are among those to do so. every day, we confront the distressing news of further deaths from coronavirus. that sobering number is doubling every few days. but the figures for confirmed cases of coronavirus, and also of people being taken to hospital, are slowing down. scientists say the daily death toll will follow suit, but they warn we could still see record highs in the coming days. our head of statistics, robert cuffe, has been looking at the figures.

the number of people dying in hospital with coronaviruses still doubling every few days. but confirmed cases tell a happier story. let's look at the deaths. these are the new deaths announced every day, plotted on a scale where this straight line means doubling every three and a half days. now that every day is exactly on trend. there tend to be dips on the sundays and mondays, but overall the numbers are following that pattern pretty closely. in one sense you don't need the stats to tell you if the lockdown is working. just look out the window. fewer people out there means fewer chances for the virus to spread. so why does it take so long to show up? well, even if all infections had stopped on lockdown, we'd still be seeing new deaths reported a month later. it takes time before an infection becomes symptoms, or before they get worse. treatment in the hospital or intensive care takes time too. and if someone dies, the death still has to be recorded and reported, which takes days, sometimes weeks. but there is better news elsewhere.

the growth in new cases has started to fall behind that long trend of the past week. it's still growing, but slower. and that's after allowing for the fact that nhs workers are now being tested as well as hospitalised patients. scientists are calling on the government to report these figures separately. they argue it's like reporting figures for wales only, and then adding in scotland. of course, your total spikes. to understand the trends in both populations you need to report them separately, not lump them. so, be careful about reading too much into new cases before they are reported consistently. and for the death figures, they will lag, and watch out for those weekend dips. there are hopeful signs in here, but we still may see record highs in the coming days. robert cough. many long—term nhs patients are seeing treatment and support altered or even withdrawn, as the coronavirus spreads. the government has identified 1.5 million of the most vulnerable, whom it says should self—isolate. but many of those most at risk are deeply worried about what the next few

weeks might bring. richard bilton reports. when ezra was born i guess that's kind of the happiest day of your life. nick has terminal cancer. he has changed his life, self isolating with his family, but is nhs treatment has also changed. he was told his chemotherapy would put him at risk of the virus, so it's been stopped for three months. i'm not ready yet. and ifeel that stopped for three months. i'm not ready yet. and i feel that are potentially having this treatment taken away is stealing some time. i haven't got a lot. there are other worries for people like nick. recently published bma ethical guidance suggests terminally ill patients may be treated as low priority. in the worst-case scenario, if i was to become

infected, there is a shortage of ventilators. i will probably be at the back of the queue, knowing that this guy has not got much longer anyway. there are some syringes left out of there for later. paula has complex medical needs. she relies on support from carers who come twice a day. she is worried about what will happen if she or her support team get help. the first inkling of how bad it was going to get was when i got told by my gp that if i got the bug it would kill me. there wasn't any ifs, but two or may be. this will kill you if you get it. then there is loneliness. jim is one of hundreds of thousands of elderly patients isolating. he is 90, has cancer and lives alone. it's heartbreaking because i've got friends in this building that i love

very much. particularly one. a very close friend. is it because you can't see these people now? yeah. it's very hard? yeah. well, it might be forever because they might die, i might die, and we never say goodbye. these are difficult days for us all, but many of those most at risk are facing their own battles as they wait in isolation. richard bilton, bbc news. and you can watch that panorama special coronavirus: the most at risk in full at 7:30pm tonight on bbc one. the rate of infection in italy is showing promising signs of stabilising. but the authorities there are nervous about anything that could lead to a new outbreak. last week, after a cluster of cases was discovered in a village just outside rome, the entire village, with its residents, was sealed off. jean mackenzie sent this report.

we are 1900 people. we are in quarantine. once a sleepy hilltop village, now a militarised red zone. everything happened very quickly. the army comes and say nobody can enter, nobody can exit. the town was sealed off after 77 cases of coronavirus were discovered here last week. how do you feel about this? very upset. we are so confused. people called me on the phone and said, "are we sick? are we sick? what's up? " the virus started in a care home and spread quickly without doctors realising. two people died, the rest were taken to hospital. how are you feeling? translation: i'm feeling well. i don't have a fever. this doctor was also infected. she is recovering in the next—door village.

translation: at first it didn't look like coronavirus. it all started with some people getting sick, as they usually do because they are very old. we even have a 10a—year—old woman. to quarantine an entire village is unusual, but given everything italy has gone through, authorities were just so nervous about having an area so contaminated and the thought that would be allowed to spread. now the village is being turned into a human coronavirus laboratory. everyone is to be tested. and this is day one. translation: it's an interesting place, because it's a small village and quite contained, with a population of more than 1800 people that can be tested quickly. the researchers are trying to work out exactly how the virus spread through a community, and how many people display symptoms. they will then trial possible treatments.

our sacrifice will be used for the entire scientific community. this tiny microcosm may well provide a somewhat massive answers on how this virus lives and dies. jean mackenzie, bbc news. low earners, younger workers and women are likely to be hardest hit by the effects of coronavirus on the economy, that's according to new research by the think—tank, the institute for fiscal studies. let's go to our business correspondent, ben thompson. then, why are these groups are the ha rd est then, why are these groups are the hardest hit? because they work in industries that are most likely to be affected by the shut down of business. we are talking about hospitality, retail, travel and tourism. those are the jobs that quite frankly you cannot do from home. women, for example, a third as likely as men to work in those

industries. they make up the bulk of workers in retail and hospitality. those under the age of 25, two .5 times more likely to work in an industry that is badly affected by the shutdown. we should also bear in mind as well there are big questions about those jobs in future. many retailers and travel firms are saying they may struggle to get through the worst of this downturn without more government help. so it's likely we will see many fewer jobs in those industries, even when business can reopen and the virus has passed. it is also worth bearing in mind that even though the supermarkets had a record month last month, sales up 20% in supermarkets, but that is not enough to offset the difficult times that the high street is facing, the wider high street suffering from that fall in footfall as we cannot go out and buy every day items. bear in mind to, spare a thought for those coming to the end of college or university. there was the time they would be starting to

look forjobs. but the time they would be starting to look for jobs. but in the time they would be starting to look forjobs. but in the ifns report this morning it's suggested couldn't be a worse time to be starting out on a new career. ben thompson, thank you. many of us have had to embrace new technology to keep in touch, but cards and letters from friends and family remain vitally important. postmen and postwomen have been designated key workers, allowing them to go on with deliveries and our correspondent tim muffett has been to meet ali on a delivery round in north london, to find out how his job has changed. delivering when it matters. we're still trying to get everyone's mail out. everyone's trying their best with this whole pandemic thing that's happening. it is very important that people stay connected through our service, because people are at home. some people are lonely at home. you know, some people are in need of stuff. some post has been delayed. royal mail says that's mainly down to coronavirus related staff absences. there have been other changes. whenever possible, unaddressed

advertising material, orjunk mail, as some call it, is only being delivered alongside addressed mail. and postmen and women are no longer getting people to sign for packages on hand—held devices. in terms of delivering parcels now, we have to knock on the door, leave the parcel on the doorstep and step back. in these strange times, a familiar face can be comforting. morning! being a postman, you get to meet people every day, you get to see the same people especially if you're doing the same round. and people do kind of respect you in that way, so you kind of build that bond. all right? morning! because you're in the same area all the time, you can see the vulnerable people, you can see the people that do need the help. that happened recently when ali saw one resident in herfront garden looking like she needed support. she looked a bit worried, so i asked her if she needed anything, i can always bring it to her. she asked for a newspaper and a pint of milk. i bought her some eggs, some bread, some fruit, and a bunch of flowers.

hi, cathy. how are you? ali has gone to check up on cathy. thank you so much for thinking of me. no problem. how nice was it when ali came and offered to get you stuff? i cried. it's so thoughtful, wonderful postman. heart in the right place. best postman ever! people talk about this strange time bringing out the good in people, do you think that is happening? yes, to feel appreciated in that way was just amazing. carrying on as normal in abnormal times. and occasionally going the extra mile. tim muffett, bbc news. time for a look at the weather. here's nick miller. hello. anybody with a garden or

patio may have appreciated the splash of rain