welcome to bbc news — i'm simon pusey. our top stories: a second night in intensive care for borisjohnson — his condition is said to be stable. the american state of new york now has more confirmed cases of covid—19 than almost any country — its health system is in crisis. the city where covid—19 emerged — wuhan in china — ends 2.5 months of total lockdown. while its handling of the outbreak may raise many questions, it offers some hope as well. these roads in beijing were deserted just a few weeks ago, but look at them now. there has been no virus shut down in belarus but increasingly, put all bands are

voting with their feet. borisjohnson is spending a second night in an intensive care unit as he fights the coronavirus and we will bring you more on that story shortly. around the world, there are now more than 1.4 million active cases of the coronavirus. however, in wuhan, the chinese city where the outbreak first began, people deemed healthy enough are finally allowed to leave the city after months of lockdown. in the us, the state of new york recorded its highest single—day increase in virus deaths, with 731 people reported to have died on tuesday. and in france, the total number of people who have died from the coronavirus has now risen above 10,000. 0ur political editor laura kuenssberg has more on the situation here in the uk, where boris johnson's health is raising questions about how the country is governed

at this critical time. nothing stops the spring. but the country's on pause — not knowing how deep this crisis will really cut, if the prime minister himself will recover. after a night for boris johnson in intensive care, the foreign secretary in his place at the lectern. he remained stable overnight. he is receiving standard oxygen treatment and breathing without any assistance. he has not required any mechanical ventilation or noninvasive respiratory support. he is notjust the prime minister, for all of us in cabinet, he is notjust our boss. he is also a colleague and he is also ourfriend. so all of our thoughts and prayers are with the prime minister at this time, with carrie and with his whole family. and i am confident he will pull through because if there is one thing i know about this prime minister, he is a fighter. politicians in other parts of the globe have been laid

low, but boris johnson is the only world leader needing this kind of emergency care. stable for now, but in a fast—moving situation. the last public glimpse of the prime minister was on friday. 0bviously ill, speaking from his flat. admitted to hospital on sunday, then into intensive care last night. behind whitehall‘s closed doors and empty spaces, the government's machine still whirs. specific cabinet committees are grappling with different challenges from the crisis, the civil service continues whatever happens, but many dilemmas are ahead. with the prime minister absent at this vital time, if there is a genuine disagreement in the cabinet, who actually makes the decision? decision—making by government is made by collective cabinet responsibility, so that is the same as before, but we have got very clear directions and instructions from the prime minister and we are focused with total unity and total resolve

on implementing them. of course, any prime minister is actually the ultimate decision—maker. good morning, everybody, it's great to see you here. the chancellor, rishi sunak, on the left of mrjohnson, would take the foreign secretary's place if he fell ill. michael gove, on the right of dominic raab, the latest, along with many downing street staff, stuck in isolation at home, but a rare appearance from the former boss of this table sought to reassure. the infrastructure is there day by day, it is the infrastructure of the civil service and the cabinet and ministers and of course junior ministers. and there is always somebody who, if the prime minister is not available, is able to step into that place and lead that cabinet government. normal politics, on hold. our thoughts are with the prime minister, his fiancee and his family. the labour party will act in the national interest, and that's why i've offered to act constructively with the government and support them where that's the right thing to do, and push them further

where we need to do it. i want to send every good wish to him, to his fiancee and to his whole family. we are all willing you on, boris, get well soon. a stressful and strange moment of history. an impromptu poster taped to mrjohnson‘s own hero. get well messages from the ward and from windsor, the queen sending her own message of support to the prime minister's family and his fiancee, expecting her first child. boris johnson, prime minister, politician, a partner and a father, too. laura kuenssberg, bbc news. the us state of new york is on the cusp of overtaking italy for the confirmed number of covid—19cases. it's recorded to have almost a 132 —— 132,000 and has recorded it's highest single day increase in the number of deaths. 731 people have lost their lives. but there also signs the outbreak is peaking in the state.

but that 731 people that we lost, behind every one of those numbers is an individual, is a family, is a mother, as a father, is a sister, is a the us surgeon general has indicated that black americans are disproportionately affected by coronavirus. he says this may be due to health inequalities. in his latest news briefing, president trump also acknowledged that african—americans are disproportionately getting sick and dying of covid—19. data released by the louisiana department of health this week showed that black people account for more than 70% of coronavirus deaths, despite making upjust a third of the state's population. public health experts point to a similar effect in other states and cities in the us. for more on this, dr ashwin vasanjoins me now from new york. he's assistant professor at columbia university medical center.

thank you forjoining us. we keep hearing that this virus doesn't discriminate but according to you and certain other people, communities are going to be impacted, certain ones more and harder than others. we are seeing this both in the disproportionate acquisition of the virus by communities of colour and low income communities as well as the disproportionate impact of the disproportionate impact of the virus in terms of severe illness and deaths and why is that? that is because the communities that are more likely to get infected are folks who cannot shelter in place, who don't have the luxury of working on line but are actually part of our essential services, like healthcare and pharmacies in grocery stores and the like and have to take the subway every day and have to put their

selves at risk, put their households at risk so it's no surprise we're seeing those getting infected at higher rates and as well, we have underlying health inequalities and that is true both here and i know in the uk, they published a report today about these disparities in severe covid—19 illness. it's the same in the us, we have communities of cover —— colour, of structural disadvantage that have higher rates of underlying chronic illnesses like respiratory illness, like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, kidney disease, all of which put people at higher risk of having a more severe outcome and debt as a result of covid infections of the sad truth is, the data is alarming, but it's not entirely surprising for someone who studies this and what we need to do is to call specific attention to it, we need to call on all the authorities to

be releasing disaggregated data by race and ethnicity and other demographics but we also need to be intentionally designing outreach strategies including protesting, education and access to care in the communities that i the hardest. it's interesting you say that, because we've heard so much about that message of staying at home. for some people, that's not possible or it could make it worse because social distance is as impossible at home. are these topics being discussed at the highest level? it's encouraging to hear the surgeon general mention it. even the president mentioned it in his briefing you can see state and local officials that are releasing this data, the mayor of chicago, the governor of michigan, governor of louisiana, calling attention to these incredible disparities we are seeing borne by in particular the african—american community but i will be shocked if we don't see similar differentials amongst other communities that are lower income, working class and share

other kinds of vulnerabilities like disproportionate rates of homelessness, incarceration and underlying mental illness. i would be very surprised if we don't see these disparities. i'm encouraged people are calling it out. i think we need to systematise the collection of this data on the release. we need to mandate its release. it can't be certain states releasing it, others not releasing it, others not releasing it, others not releasing it like my own. new york and new york city is not releasing its disaggregated data and we shouldn't be doing so. data and we shouldn't be doing so. briefly doctor, can we talk about mental health because it's obviously really important and you have experience. what impact will this have on people's mental health in terms of the cultural lockdown? clearly, it's causing us all to physically distance from each other. we are calling it social distancing but really the effort needs to not make this social isolation. the groups that are going to be most impacted are ones that are

already disproportionately affected by social isolation. people with underlying mental illness, people with higher rates of homelessness and other vulnerabilities and we are going to have to make specific outreach to those communities and care for those communities if we don't want to see the brunt of this epidemic borne by groups already at the margins of society. 0r groups already at the margins of society. or the general public, of course this is fracturing our sense of connection with the cover. we are incredibly lucky, i am incredibly lucky to be talking to you right now all the way from new york, using digital media but we need to lean into these technologies even further to keep ourselves connected but nothing can approximate, we are innately social creatures that need to be in proximity with each other to gain succour and to gain strength and this is really eroding this and what this means is that our public health response needs to be strategic and clear and it needs to be based on the best data which is only gathered

through mass testing so that we can open back up our society in safeways so that we are not dealing with rolling epidemics, rolling out makes and peaks. this is one peak we are hitting here in new york but we don't wa nt here in new york but we don't want there to be several peaks until a yearfrom want there to be several peaks until a year from now when we have a vaccine widely available. the only way we can do that is by strategically deploying public health measures like mass testing, contact tracing and strategic isolation while we open up other parts of the economy and the society and start to break down the social isolation and the real disconnection it is going to affect our mental health. i'm going to have to jump health. i'm going to have to jump on thank so much. really interesting to speak to about vulnerable communities and mental health and the impact the vice is having on that. the chinese city of wuhan — where covid—19 first emerged — has allowed people to leave the area for the first time since a lockdown went

into effect in injanuary. those with a green code on a widely—used smartphone health app now have permission to leave wuhan, as restrictions within the city have been gradually easing. 0ur correspondent john sudworth reports. after 76 days of lockdown, the trains were lined up and ready to go, the barriers taken down from the highways and wuhan reopened its links to the outside world. it's a long way from this. the outbreak which began in the city had, by late january, spiralled out of control. so strict were the quarantine rules that only a select few were allowed to move around the city, including delivery drivers, providing a vital lifeline. translation: the roads were empty, it made me feel sad. as people couldn't leave their homes, people would ask us for help with things like delivering president xi's walkabout in wuhan last month was

the first sure sign that the infection rate was now under control, but questions remain. social media footage of the long lines outside funeral homes led to claims that deaths were far higher than officially reported. and there is still deep anger directed at local officials for covering up the outbreak early on. zhang hai lost his 76—year—old father to the virus. translation: it is because of the cover—up by a small group of wuhan officials that led to my father's death. i need an apology and i want compensation. but for the authorities, the focus is on getting the country moving again. the reopening of wuhan is a hugely symbolic moment in china's efforts to declare victory over this virus. while its handling of

the outbreak may raise many questions, it offers some hope too. these roads in beijing were deserted just a few weeks ago — look at them now. 0fficials admit new outbreaks could still occur but for now they are celebrating. wuhan‘s success was marked with a light show. john sudworth, bbc news, beijing. travel has resumed into and out of wuhan but anyone who's able to work remotely is still being asked to stay indoors. it's the case of li kuang, an english teacher who's been at home since the 23rd of january. things are getting better now. the lifting is mainly for the transportation going out of wuhan for people have to work on site, they are free but the people like me, our company doesn't need us to work on site yet so we are advised to stay inside. and so many weeks in quarantine. tell us how you've coped. i think i just spent time watching tv series or eating

snacks and doing work, nothing much, so that's it. how would you describe the balance that the authorities have got? have they got it right between being too heavy—handed and taking safety into account? i think the government is doing quite ok because of their swift acts, we can be safe now but also we don't feel quite safe now because me myself, even if i can go outside, i wouldn't because i think there still are 2,000—3,000 patients getting treated in hospital right now and also there are some patients carrying the virus without showing any symptoms so i don't think it's still safe outside so i think the lifting is quite a good thing but it's maybe a little too early. talk about the lifting of restrictions. national exams have been postponed, school exams, and it is a big deal in china. it's quite a big deal, it's the university entrance examination.

it's the first time it's been put off. and how would you say that the kind of healing is, the nature of the city? because it was almost a celebratory feeling a couple of weeks ago with the big light show and fireworks. because at first, when the city is being locked down, i think everybody, some people would be panicking because it's never happening but gradually, with the help coming into wuhan, i think people's mind are easing and i think people are generally very happy about the lifting. thank you very much indeed for bringing us your insights stay with us on bbc news, still to come: it's a bottling plant, but not as it used to be. how one american distillery switched from serving up whiskey to delivering hand sanitiser.

25 years of hatred and rage, as theyjump up on the statue... 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, the latest headlines: britain's prime minister, borisjohnson, is spending a second night in intensive care with coronavirus. his condition is described as stable. after two and a half months, the lockdown of the chinese city of wuhan — where the coronavirus pandemic started — has ended. let's take a look at how the virus is impacting europe. france continues to suffer — 1417 deaths were reported on monday — the country's worst figure to date. rich preston has this report: after italy, then spain, france is now the country in the eye of the storm. death toll has passed 10,000. it only reported its first coronavirus case at the end of january.

its first coronavirus case at the end ofjanuary. this has all happened in little over ten weeks. an increasingly tight state of lockdown has now come to this, in paris, a ban on all outdoor exercise in daytime after a sunny weekend saw hundreds take to the city's open spaces. while it remains the country hardest hit by coronavirus committing in action rate in italy is continuing to slow stop medical staff in the northern region have criticised officials for how they handle the pandemic saying that too little protective equipment was available. spain is following a similar pattern. it's infection rate also slowing down. the total death toll is over 13 one half thousand. elsewhere, resista nce half thousand. elsewhere, resistance to move to limit the spread of coronavirus by tracking people's mobile phones, a technique widely credited with helping to reduce the spread of infection in asian countries but is now facing backlash in croatia.

0pposition lawmakers say it violates human rights and the government says it would save lives. the president of belarus, alexander lu kashenko has resisted calls for a nationwide lockdown there, calling fears of a coronavirus epidemic a ‘psychosis' and suggesting vodka or a sauna would help. so as football leagues across europe have shut down for safety, teams in belarus are playing on.

as the usa continues to battle against coronavirus, a number of unlikely heroes have stepped forward to join the fight. among them, a local distillery in branson, missouri matt graveling reports. we are able to supply notjust missouri but also people in oklahoma and in texas with their hand sanitiser. the states of america, united. while residents here in new york try to keep spirits high as cases of coronavirus

continue to rise, people across the country are doing whatever they can to help. here in missouri, this distillery normally makes whiskey. but with regulations relaxed, they switched to hand sanitiser to help supply demand. it is important to me to get this stuff into the hands of those keeping all of us safe. earlier today a gentleman with the american kidney foundation left with 250 gallons of it and they will probably be back in a week. he is transporting this stuff to chicago. the distillery has made 3000 gallons of the product, selling it at a reduction to medical professionals as well as supplying local pharmacies. if we had not had a local supplier it would be difficult for us to find product for our customer base and even for the staff. he was able to come up with a source for it and provide. he has done a fantastic job meeting needs. people like this make you proud of what the industry has done.

that is it from us. stay tuned here on bbc news. hello. we have had clear skies across parts of northern england and southern scotland. and some of our weather watchers have been taking pictures outside their windows of their gardens of the super pink moon, such as this one from county durham. we have had clear skies, but cloud amounts have been increasing. and, really, through the day on wednesday, although there will be a bit of sunshine breaking through, it will feel quite warm. there will be more cloud in the skies then we've seen in recent days. so this is how we start wednesday morning, then. a weather front bringing thicker clouds across parts of northern ireland, northern and western scotland, some outbreaks of light rain here. and further south across england and wales, a bit more cloud than we've seen recently.

probably the best of the sunshine on wednesday for northern england into the southern scotland as well. temperatures doing pretty well, up to around 23 degrees down towards the south—east, but quite widely in the high teens, a little bit cooler for parts of scotland and northern ireland. and if you are across england and wales and you suffer from hay fever, you will probably notice we've got high levels of pollen out there at the moment. into wednesday evening then, and overnight into thursday, this weather front in the north clips a bit further south. a few spots of drizzle but not very much on it. further south, it's going to be a frost—free start to your thursday morning, and a bit of sunshine from the word go as well. so not a bad day on thursday, a lot of dry weather. but regardless of what the weather is doing, of course that doesn't change the rules on self—isolating and social distancing. stay at home and stay safe wherever you can. but in the sunnier spells in the south, we are likely to see temperatures up to about 22 degrees or so on thursday. further north, a little cooler in scotland and northern ireland as well. looking ahead towards the easter weekend, it will be all change as we start to see weather fronts slowly moving in from the west, heading their way eastwards, bringing a little bit of rain at times. equally, there'll be some drier

weather, if you're hoping to get a little bit of gardening done before the easter weekend. for good friday itself, we start off a lot of dry weather, but more cloud and showers working in from the west. central and eastern england probably staying dry and pretty warm here for a quite good part of the day, in fact temperatures reaching around 2a celsius. the cloud and showers further north and west will edge their way further eastwards through the rest of easter weekend. so a bit of a mixed picture, one or two showers around, equally some spells of sunshine through into the easter weekend. but you will notice that things will start to turn a little bit cooler. but don't forget, we have got high levels of pollen out there. stay at home and stay safe where you can. bye— bye.

this is bbc news — the headlines: britain's prime minister, borisjohnson, is spending a second night in intensive care. his condition has been described as stable. across the entire country, 786 people with coronavirus died in hospital — the highest figure to date. however, officials say the number of new cases may be slowing. the 2.5—month lockdown on the chinese city of wuhan, where the pandemic started, has been lifted. transport connections have been re—established between the city of 11 million people and the rest of the country. china registered no new deaths in its official coronavirus figures on tuesday. the american state of new york is on the cusp of having more confirmed virus cases than any single country. 0nly spain has more. the state reported its highest daily death toll from the pandemic on tuesday — 731.