spain records a second successive rise in deaths — more than 1a and a half thousand people have died there. life in wuhan, the chinese city where the pandemic originated, starts to return to normal as some restrictions are lifted. and celebrating recovery from coronavirus. we meet the man who received this guard of honour from hospital staff. i am feeling really great and i am appreciating every little thing as if it is the first time it ever happened to me in my life.

good afternoon. downing street says the prime minister remains ‘stable' in hospital and is ‘responding to treatment‘. he's in intensive care suffering from severe symptoms of coronavirus. number 10 says he remains in good spirits. the foreign secretary dominic raab, who is deputising for mrjohnson, chaired the regular morning meeting to discuss the government's coronavirus strategy. ministers are insisting it's too early to start easing the lockdown restrictions, which were put in place more two weeks ago. here's our political correspondent nick eardley. very little is normal around here just now. westminster would usually be buzzing with activity on a wednesday morning. instead, the streets, like so much of the country, are empty. behind closed doors, ministers have diverted huge resources to fighting coronavirus. the prime minister remains here this

afternoon, in intensive care, still fighting the virus. he is comfortable, he's a stable, he's in good spirits. whilst he's had oxygen he has not been on a ventilator, and i think that we are all, judging by the messages i'm getting from my constituents and others, and from across the political spectrum, everyone is rooting for the prime minister to have a full and speedy recovery. mrjohnson is set to be in good spirits and can contact those that he needs from number ten. this afternoon downing street has said the rye minister is clinically stable and is responding to treatment. ——prime minister. so far that treatment has involved the use of oxygen, but not of a ventilator, which would be far more invasive and serious. the foreign secretary dominic raab chaired this morning's strategy meeting again as he stands in for boris johnson. the prime minister is just fine, he says.

in the absence of mrjohnson, there are still decisions to be made and a strategy to implement. like when the restrictions on our lives might start to be eased. by law, ministers have to review regulations every three weeks. the first review will be next week. with experts saying that we haven't necessarily reached the peak of the crisis, yesterday, dominic raab made clear the government still thinks there is work to be done. we will take any decision when the time is right based on facts and the scientific and medical advice and our number one overriding focus right now is to remain absolutely focused on conveying the key message, which is, everyone needs to keep adhering to this guidance. here is a reminder of why. in scotland, new figures say coronavirus was mentioned on 354 death certificates, significantly higher than the figures published daily, which cover deaths in hospitals. the number of deaths covered under this reporting system is therefore

larger than under the daily system when you compare the two figures on the same date. it is also unfortunately almost certainly more accurate. in wales, this from the government. it is almost 2.5 weeks since we asked people to stay at home, to work from home where they can, and to stop making unnecessary journeys. these measures will stay in place next week. a few weeks agom, scenes like this were almost unthinkable and now they are part of life, and could be, for a while yet. we can speak now to the former head of the civil service, lord kerslake. hejoins me via webcam. many thanks for your time this afternoon. what is your assessment of just what for your time this afternoon. what is your assessment ofjust what is happening inside cabinet at the moment, given the prime minister's situation? look, it is good news the prime minister is stable and in good

spirits and we want him to recover as quickly as possible. dominic raab is genuinely in day—to—day control, cheering the key meetings, making the key decisions. the bit that is more challenging is when and in what circumstances is he likely to be backin circumstances is he likely to be back in full control again as prime minister? and given that, how i the big strategic decision is going to be made? and you touched on them in your podcast. we are almost certainly going to see an extension of the lockdown. will we see an intensification of it? if we are going to see an extension, one of the circumstances in which it might be relaxed and how long is that likely to be? to what extent are we making the progress we need to make contesting, which is crucial to an ending the lockdown? and of course

we have an enormous economic impact, we have an enormous economic impact, we have an enormous economic impact, we have heard about that today, good news i think today that the furlough policy is working. but the cost is significant. there are some groups who at the moment i highly vulnerable are not getting the protection they need. the question is how i these big strategic issues being answered ? is how i these big strategic issues being answered? is the cabinet clear about them and is dominic raab in a position to reach an agreement on them? that is what is interesting, you have outlined clearly a lot of the big decisions that are coming down the track. every major politician we have spoken to in the last few days, former cabinet ministers, they like to remind you that there is a thing such as collective cabinet responsibility, but ultimately to someone not have to have the deciding vote? if there isa to have the deciding vote? if there is a disagreement, someone has to make the decision. if they can't

resolve it through discussion. by the way, i think there will be a lot of effort made to rally around and get a collective agreement. if there are big disagreements about policy, in the end the prime minister determines it. the prime minister's power comes from being able to appoint and dismiss ministers. that is not available to dominic raab. he is not available to dominic raab. he is going to have to work extra hard to reach that consensus with his colleagues. he won't have the same political authority that boris johnson has, having won a big election victory only months ago. and isn't that because there isn't actually... there isn't a codified rule for him, that is not his fault, thatis rule for him, that is not his fault, that is the nature we're in right now, but i wonder whether this throws questions to the future that, like the united states has a vice president, do we need to have something like that here?

president, do we need to have something like that here7m president, do we need to have something like that here? it raises an interesting question. you are quite right to see in the united states they have a statutory vice president position. we have no deputy prime minister and it is very much in the gift of the prime minister how they delegate and most prime ministers are quite resistant to deputise, even when they are on holiday. i think it will be an issue when we are out of this crisis. in the meantime, i think it is less about his formal authority for dominic raab, i think it is more about his political authority and the extent to which he can be effective in coming to clear conclusions on some of these quite challenging issues where there are big debates about how much... i'm pausing only. i am hoping the line has come back. we lost you momentarily but it is so interesting to hear your point of view on all of

this. you have outlined again so many of the decisions that are in the coming weeks. do you feel perhaps it would be better if there was a bit more transparency about all of this? there are going to be big decisions coming, you have me there was clear, do you think the country understands how government is actually working right now? well, look, because we have such an informal model, we do not have the model of the states, i think there is an additional responsibility on government to be completely transparent how it is working and how it is working in relation to the prime minister's health. i think thatis prime minister's health. i think that is unusual but in the current circumstances the more transparency there is, the more trust they will be in the decisions of government. and just a final thought before we let you go, if i may, every medic we have spoken to, lots of people we have spoken to, lots of people we have spoken to have come through

coronavirus do see how extraordinary tired it makes you. a taxi well to come back from this. that puts boris johnson in a tricky position once he is the worst. medics may be telling him you need to be resting are not looking at your red boxes every day. iam looking at your red boxes every day. i am curious what you think about that, him as a personality and generally functioning and what will happen at that point when he says, i am back at work when he is really not at full strength, through no fault of his own? you raise an important point here. we all hope you will be through the worst of it very soon. all the evidence suggests it is pretty incapacitating and it ta kes a it is pretty incapacitating and it takes a while after that to get back to full strength. in his own interest, as well as the country's, i think it is important that a realistic assessment is made of how much he can contribute and the rest is delegated to others. none of us

are irreplaceable. at the moment, his focus must be on getting back to full health. yes. do you think you will be terribly keen on delegating? i suspect not, having worked with boris. i suspect he will want to stay in charge. and i understand that. we are all probably of that nature. he has got to think carefully about this and i am hoping he will get honest and robust advice from the medical team about what is realistic and i hope you will take it. fascinating to have your insight. thank you very much for your time this afternoon. the best to you. a crossbench pier and former head of the civil service, of course. let's talk to our political correspondent because, nick, we only had the farmer update on the prime minister's health in the last or so. these are still uncertain times. they are. it is a significant fact

that the prime minister is in intensive care. it does seem that the statement we got today is cautiously optimistic. we know the prime minister has been getting oxygen, but other than that, he is breathing unassisted. he has not had to have ventilator treatment, which is more serious and far more intrusive. when it comes to treating coronavirus. the light is coming out of number ten via the hospital where he is is that he is still stable and he is is that he is still stable and he is is that he is still stable and he is still in good spirits. he is not working, obviously, he is in intensive care. he is still in touch with those that he needs to from number ten. it does seem like his condition is roughly the same as it was yesterday, which we can probably ta ke was yesterday, which we can probably take as a fairly positive sign, in the sense that it has not got worse. he is still in intensive care, so it is not the all clear yet. indeed. we

we re is not the all clear yet. indeed. we were just talking they are to lord kerslake. he were just talking they are to lord kersla ke. he outlined were just talking they are to lord kerslake. he outlined some of the big decisions that are facing the government in the coming days and weeks. let's talk about the most obvious one, lockdown, because you can see some politicians don't want to be drawn on this, we don't want to be drawn on this, we don't want to be drawn on this, we don't want to be put into a corner on this one but in wales we are hearing the government talk more explicitly about seeing it is certainly going to be extended into next week, for sure. i think it looks fairly certain now that the lockdown would be lifted any significant weight next week. remember that under the emergency legislation the government passed to give it the power to change our lives and the extraordinary ways, they have to review the lockdown every three weeks. that doesn't mean they have to come back to parliament, just that they have to look at it and decide whether it continues. the hint so farwe decide whether it continues. the hint so far we have had from ministers and from the experts and

scientific and medical communities are the think it would be too early to do it now. dominic raab at the press co nfe re nce to do it now. dominic raab at the press conference early to the met yesterday said the worst thing to do it would take the foot of the pedal, now is the time to consolidate the gains we have made already. from english perspective, it is unlikely it will be lifted. from a welsh perspective, they have been categorically clear. the first minister saying it is not going to be lifted next week, it is going to continue and i expect the same is true in scotland as well and northern ireland. i think we don't know exactly how this is going to last —— how long this is going to last, but it is likely to be extended. thank you very much for now. we will stay with the topic of lockdown. with the long easter weekend coming up, the lockdown across the uk

will be put to the test. new polling suggests there is broad public support for the way police are enforcing the rules — as our health correspondent catherine burns reports. with the long easter weekend coming up, the lockdown across the uk this is not what lockdown is meant to look like. sunbathers on the beach, overflowing car parts, busy footpaths and pavements. but many people have been sticking to the rules. staying at home to help stop the spread of coronavirus. we are 16 days into lockdown, and now there is some very cautious optimism. it is possible that we are beginning to see the start of a change, where we might see numbers flattening. we won't be sure about that for a week or so, and we need to keep looking at it, but it does begin to suggest that things might be moving in the right direction, in terms of numbers, and it is important that we carry on with the measures we have got in place, in order to make sure that this does go in the right direction. with a four day weekend where the weather is expected

to stay warm for most of the uk, that message is being reinforced over and again. it is really important for us to follow the rules, exercise once a day, keep your distance from one another, you shouldn't be sunbathing and having picnics. those things lead to the virus spreading faster which puts more pressure on the nhs which will mean more people dying. a poll suggests most people support how the rules are being enforced. around three quarters question by yougov said they were comfortable with police giving out fines and even arresting people who refuse to go home, but others, around one in three, thought some officers had gone too far. a 29—year—old nurse died at home in northumberland on saturday night she had been sick with coronavirus for two weeks. herfriend sarah had to phone around letting people know. it was just a really surreal day.

and hearing people, they're heartbreaking on the phone... is there anything else you want to add? i know that the longer this goes on, the easier it might be for people to feel like the rules are relaxed, but please, just stay at home and please, please, please, tell your friends to stay at home, and tell people that you love them frequently, because you just don't know. meanwhile, the new temporary nhs nightingale hospital in london has started to take in its first patients. we are not at the peak for this virus yet, and until we are past that, we can realistically expect more messages telling us to stay—at—home. 366 people have now died in scotland. nicola sturgeon gave a news co nfe re nce scotland. nicola sturgeon gave a news conference where she confirmed

a total of 1771 people are now in hospital with either confirmed or suspected covid—19. of those, 210 are in intensive care. i am afraid that 70 deaths have been registered in this way. that takes the total number of deaths in scotland as of nine o'clock this morning under that measurement to 366. these figures are the best figures and most accurate figures we can provide on a daily basis. however, as i have said before in these updates, they do not ca ptu re all before in these updates, they do not capture all covid—19 deaths. national records of scotland are therefore also publishing on a weekly basis a further report. the first of these have been published ra nt first of these have been published rant about half an hour ago. this new report captures all deaths in a 70 period, that includes those who have died with a confirmed laboratory diagnosis of covid—19 and

also those whose deaths are presumed to be linked to covid—19. that means this report also includes cases where covid—19 is entered on the death certificate as a suspected cause of death, or as a contributing factor in someone's death, but we are no formal test has been carried out. the number of deaths covered under this reporting system is therefore a larger than under the daily system when you compare the two figures of the same date. it is also unfortunately almost certainly more accurate. as i say, they have published the first of these weekly reports today and it covers the period up to sunday the 5th of april, saw three days ago. that report shows that in total by sunday, 354 deaths had been registered in scotland as being linked to covid—19. now, you might be wondering why that combined figure is smaller than the figure i have given today of 366 for

laboratory confirmed cases. i want to be clear that it is simply down to be clear that it is simply down toa time to be clear that it is simply down to a time lag. the figure i have given four confirmed cases is more up—to—date, but as of the 5th of april, the reporting date this week for the combined figure of 354, the number of laboratory confirmed cases as part of that total was 320. that was nicola sturgeon in the last couple of hours. just to tell you we're just getting the latest daily figures through from northern ireland well. we are hearing that there has been five more deaths linked to covid—19 in northern ireland. it means northern ireland has now seen a total of 78 deaths. these are figures up until quarter past 11 this morning, we are being told. they have also been 84 new confirmed cases. it was a number of cases is 1389. those figures atjust through from northern ireland. let's

talk about lockdown, which we have touched on a little bit this hour. let's clarify the situation regarding wales, because we have had that formal announcement, if you like, saying the lockdown will be extended. it won't be lifted next week. the welsh government says there are signs that the measures are working. the first minister mark dra keford are working. the first minister mark drakeford said it is important people follow the stay—at—home advice. in advance of the easter weekend, the stay—at—home advice means you. it is not advised to someone else orfor means you. it is not advised to someone else or for someone else to follow, it is advice for every one of us and everyone of us is under an obligation to follow that advice and a journey to a second home is not an essential journey, and where a journey to a second home is not an essentialjourney, and where the police in wales. people who are doing that, they will take enforcement action against them.

now, we have a call with the chief co nsta bles now, we have a call with the chief constables prior to it weekend and immediately after the weekend to make sure that they are geared up for the very important work we are asking them to do and then to receive a report from them on how they discharge their responsibilities. 0n they discharge their responsibilities. on monday of this week, the report was that while there had been incidents right across wales, they were sporadic rather than organised. they did not come in the view of the chief co nsta bles, come in the view of the chief constables, represent a freeing of the astonished bill levels of observance. and that where they had come across incidents, the powers they currently have, including roadblocks, for example, as well as fines, that repertoire of enforcement actions were still sufficient for them to be able to deal with the infringements. i once

again made it clear in those discussions with chief constables that if that viewer to change and their advice was that they need a strengthened repertoire, we will not hesitate to do that. mark drakeford they are. the lockdown will be extended in wales. confirmation there. they were having a virtual meeting, so many people on that meeting, so many people on that meeting car. mark drakeford confirming what we have been hearing out of wales today that the lockdown will be extended. we await specifics from england on that. just to tell you as well we have just had the daily figures through of deaths in england. we brought you the northern ireland figures. we havejust england. we brought you the northern ireland figures. we have just had the english figures through. just to update you on that. we are hearing from the health service that the hospital death toll stands at 6483.

in terms of the rise in the last 24 hours, that is in addition of 828 people who have sadly lost their lives within that period. just in addition to that, worth explaining that the majority of those, the majority of the 820 people who have lost their lives in the last 24 a ways, did have an underlying health condition. it is worth looking at the breakdown that we get at this stage in the day. the health service saying that 46 people out of that total did not have a known underlying health condition. 46 out of 828 are not believed, at this stage, to have had an underlying health condition. clearly a large proportion certainly did. as you would always expect and i was happens now at this time of the afternoon, our health correspondence will go through those figures with tooth comb and look at the breakdown

and put all of that in greater context for you. those are the latest figures that have just emerged. we will turn to the issue of testing. official data suggests testing for coronavirus per head of population in england has been considerably slower so far than that in scotland, wales and northern ireland. and as england has by far the largest population, it is dragging the overall uk numbers down. 0ur reality check correspodnent chris morris is here. you have been looking through all of these figures. explain more about what you have found in the data. these figures. explain more about what you have found in the datam we wa nt what you have found in the datam we want to flatten the curve of those cases and deaths, testing is key. what we have looked at is the number of tests that have been done per 100,000 of population. you can see the uk average is that so far 321 people have been tested. for wales, scotland and northern ireland, that figure is well above 400. for england, it is lagging at

299. england has a far the largest population. that is dragging down the uk average. what it means is that roughly england has about 84% of the you keep ‘s population. so far, it has had 83% of confirmed coronavirus cases and slightly over 90% of the confirmed deaths in hospital. it has only been doing 70% of the testing. it is slightly slower and we have heard criticism from medical professionals and private sector and universities saying why aren't you involving us more? these figures do sure that england, in particular, it has been slower to take off. what is public health england saying about that? we had a statement from its chief executive saying, we have been moving heaven and earth to deliver accurate test. of course, that is important. no point in rolling out test if they do not work properly. he goes back to the commitment of in

hospital settings and public laboratories having 25, 000 hospital settings and public laboratories having 25,000 tests per day by the end of april. he says we are on track to do that as part of the overall government target of 100,000 tests. that in itself doesn't explain why it is that inning england numbers are lower than in the other three home nations. yes, and people trying to make sense of this will remember matt hancock's pledge to get the figure up to 100,000. 100,000 per day by the end of the month. i think the key to that is something coming on stream fairly quickly, which is private laboratories, university laboratories coming on stream as accredited testing facilities. we heard this morning on the today programme on radio fourfrom the heard this morning on the today programme on radio four from the ceo ofa programme on radio four from the ceo of a pharmaceutical company, the two big farms suitable companies in the uk are working with university of cambridge. —— make the two big

pharmaceutical companies. they say they can test by april. and they could be up to 30 tests per day by early may. everyone just wants testing to be done as quickly as possible. i suppose the point is once the private sector becomes involved and as long as there is a uniform standard of testing across the board to make sure everyone is testing for the same thing, i think the numbers will rise dramatically. it does still beg the question slightly, when we compare with countries like germany, why, as those figures show, we have been slow to get off the ground in our public health facilities. chris, really interesting. thank you very much for now. much more coming up in the next half an hour. let's pause and we will catch up with the weather prospects. there is very little happening on the weather front at the moment. a lot of sunshine and as far as the

rest of the week is concerned, it will stay warm across england and wales. not the case across scotland, certainly not today. in aberdeen, nine celsius. the midlands and yorkshire, closer to 18 or 19 celsius. tonight, we have thicker cloud across the north. certainly glasgow and edinburgh are overcast here. in the highlands, close to freezing. to the south, around seven or eight celsius. tomorrow, we are going to do it all over again. northern areas, more cloudy. a weather front here. northern areas, more cloudy. a weatherfront here. fresher conditions on the far north of scotland. south of this cloud, 19 in the midlands, 22 across south.

hello this is bbc news, with jane hill.

the headlines... the prime minister remains in intensive care in hospital, being treated for coronavirus. downing street says borisjohnson is in a stable condition and is responding to treatment. more than two weeks into the uk—wide lockdown, the government says it's too early to think about easing restrictions. and in wales, the first minister confirmed that restrictions there will continue. into next week. more than nine million workers are expected to be fuloughed under the government'sjob retention scheme — costing billions more than expected. spain records a further rise in deaths — more than 14,500 people have died there. life in wuhan — the chinese city where the pandemic originated — starts to return to normal, as some restrictions are lifted.

let's talk more about one of those headline stories. more than 9 million workers are expected to be furloughed under the governmentjob retention scheme organised to help businesses survive the pandemic. the thing tank says it is likely to cost between 30 and £40 billion over three months. andy verity has the details. thejob retention scheme is meant to help firms hit by the shutdown stay in business and still pay staff. companies like those who are working on this construction site near battersea power station in south london will keep staff on even if they're not working, putting them on furlough, meaning leave of absence, and the government has promised to reimburse 80% of their wages. the furlough scheme has been brilliant because what it's enabled us to do is keep the capacity within our business, and capability, so that when we come through this, we can then redeploy our people immediately so we can go back to work.

0livia webb has been furloughed in her job with a recruitment agency, but few employers are hiring right now, and she's not sure if there will be a role for her when the shutdown lifts. while i am grateful to have not been made redundant, it does feel like i'm just waiting for the inevitable, because when these three—months grants are up, what's going to happen then? are businesses able to pay salaries again? are they going to bounce back? probably not. so, it does feel like a bit of a waiting game right now. the cost of paying four fifths of the wages of millions of private—sector employees whose companies have been shutdown is so large, you can forget everything you've heard in the last ten years about getting government spending under control or cutting the national debt. it's going to jump. it is manageable, as long as the shutdown only lasts for three months. but if it continues through the summer, the cost could soon start to spiral out of control. the latest figures released today by the british chambers of commerce find 37% of small— and medium—sized companies are furloughing at least three—quarters of their staff,

and a fifth will furlough their entire workforce. if that pattern is repeated across the economy, the resolution foundation estimates at least a third of all private sector workers will be paid through the scheme, at a cost to government of £30 billion to £40 billion. businesses leaders say firms need money fast. if they don't receive some of the funding by the end of this month, many of them are going to have to take drastic steps. i'm afraid that we would see an increase in the rate of business failures and we'd see a lot of otherwise viable companies going to the wall. but there are holes in this giant safety net. saj devshi changed jobs just after the cut—off date at the end of february, so his new employer can't help him. this arbitrary date that the chancellor has put in 20 days before the lockdown even occurred, we don't qualify for any furlough pay and, effectively, we don't qualify for any state support either.

there's tens of thousands of people in this position like myself. whatever the scheme's flaws, though, companies agree that without it, this economic emergency would be even worse. andy verity, bbc news. the world of sports now. the latest news from arlene foster. good afternoon, ben stokes is a leading cricketer in the world, the first englishman to be given that accolade since freddie flintoff in 2005. the fast bowlerjofra archer, after his debut season, he is one of the almanac‘s five cricketers of the year. stokes played a key role in an's world cup triumph back injuly. he was man of the match in the final. he also led to england to a thrilling one—wicket victory over australia in the third ashes test at headingley. stokes, across all formats, and the impact he had in crucial moments, you know, you can't forget his contribution to the world cup final with england dead and buried, they

needed 15 off four balls to take it toa needed 15 off four balls to take it to a super over and he managed it, with a bit of luck, but he got it and he came out to bat in the super over and the headingley test, england were dead and hurried again and stokes, like lazarus, rose from the dead and took england to a miraculous one wicket win. so he had to win the award really. tottenham have reminded the players and jose mourinho of their responsibilities after a few of them were pictured training in a london park with the head coach. mourinho was seen standing with three players on hadley common. including the club's record signing tanguy ndombele. davinson sanchez and ryan sessegnon were also filmed going for a run. the mayor of london sadiq khan says the players and manager need to set an example. my my issue is leading by example and my concern is people, particularly children, when they support spurs or follow football, they may watch these images, pick up a paper, which

these images, pick up a paper, which the internet and think, if it is ok for them, why is it not ok for me? the point i would make with politeness and courtesy, ask yourself the question, is what i am doing really necessary? and the a nswer to doing really necessary? and the answer to your question is no, i don't think it is necessary to train in close proximity with another player who may be carrying the virus and what you are doing is inadvertently, unintentionally potentially spreading the virus, you should not be doing that. jose mourinho has given this response, he says: "i accept that my actions were not in line with government protocol and we must only have contact with members of our own household. it is vital we all play our part and follow government advice in order to support our heroes in the nhs and save lives." tottenham's record goalscorer jimmy greaves is understood to have spent a comfortable night in hospital after being admitted for an unspecified illness. it's not coronavrus—related. greaves, who's now 80, suffered a stroke five years ago.

he was a member of the world cup—winning england squad in 1966 and scored 44 goals in 57 games for his country and 266 goals for tottenham. he also played for chelsea and west ham and holds the record for the most league goals in the top division, 357. the world snooker and pdc darts chairman barry hearn is due to return home from hospital today after suffering a minor heart attack over the weekend. his son eddie posted this on social media: "as if we can't thank the nhs enough, i want to particularly thank the staff at broomfield and basildon. my dad was taken to hospital on sunday after a minor heart attack and was operated on yesterday. he is up and well and returns home today in good spirits. thank you." european ryder cup captain padraig harrington says the "common consensus" is that this year's competition won't go ahead unless fans are able to attend. it's scheduled to take place in late september at whistling straits in wisconsin.

this year's four majors have already been cancelled or postponed. the two—time 0pen champion says "nobody wants to see the ryder cup played without the fans being there". we just wejust had we just had confirmation the world athletics championships scheduled for next year in oregon will now be in the middle ofjuly in 2022, followed by the commonwealth games in birmingham and the european championships in munich. world athletics have admitted it is not ideal having three major events back to back, but they say it will be a unique celebration of athletics over six weeks. i will have more on that in the next hour. quite a timetable! thank you very much, we will see you in a while. thank you very much. passengers on some london bus routes will only be able to board through the middle doors, as part of efforts to protect drivers from infection. nine bus drivers have died in the capital, after contracting coronavirus. 0ur transport correspondent, tom burridge, reports.

for the people keeping vital transport links open, the risk of contracting coronavirus is very real. this is him with his son. meks was 36. a bus driver for seven years. he was an absolute charming boy. he was treated in hospital for covid—19 and discharged. 0nce home, he fell very ill. i knelt in front of him, held his face with both of my hands and i said, meks, look at me, look at me, talk to me. and... then he said to me... mum, i'm not going to make it. i'm not going to make it. meks was one of 14 public transport workers in london who have died from covid—19 in recent days. most of them were bus drivers.

it is extremely tough, knowing that his life was put at risk. transport for london says passengers should now only bored through the middle door but, this morning, not everyone had got the message. we're using antiviral disinfectant. we've also made sure there's a perspex barrier between the driver and passengers, with a protective film to avoid droplets coming from people's mouth onto the driver. we've also made sure that no mpassenger can sit near the driver. passenger can sit near the driver. boarding only via the middle door might make it harder for passengers to keep their distance from each other, but for now, it is just being trialled. elsewhere in the uk, screens to protect drivers and empty

seats at the front should now be the norm. a bus driver in bristol also died from covid—19 last month. in liverpool, the mayor wants more clarity on what measures should be taken to protect drivers. at the moment, i think it seems to be a bit wishy—washy and we're getting confused messages — notjust on this issue but on a whole host of different issues from central government. the uk's bus industry said a thorough assessment of the risks facing drivers would be carried out, and further action would be ta ken, where necessary. let's see the tale of an assistant head teacher of a school in grimsby who is pounding the pavement to deliver his people school meals by hand. he is working five males every morning to make sure not a single student goes hungry while the school is shut. there's a cheeseball, a piece of fruit, some crisps,

mixed flavoured crisps and either cookies or a cake. the school lunch menu today. a team effort with the skeleton staff remaining at weston primary school in grimsby. but forget meals on wheels, this is meals on heels. i do these streets that are quite close by. and where most of our families are. every day since the coronavirus crisis began, assistant headteacher zane powels has pounded the pavements to personally deliver more than 100 students a packed lunch. gets me out, i suppose. but i enjoy it because i can check on the kids. and it saves all the parents coming out of the house to pick up the lunches from school. so they're doing the right thing, so i'm just doing everything that i can to do the right thing as well. and his friendly face and food parcel drop—offs have become something to look forward to in this part of town.

thank you! it's nice seeing mr powels every day. it's my turn. and he's doing a good job bringing everyone dinner. like a breath of fresh air. they love coming to the door and seeing him and it makes them smile and makes them happy. it's amazing. yeah, they wait for him to come in, don't you? every day, monday to friday. yeah, every day. he's a hero, he really is. just over two hours and around five miles later, there's empty bags and a reassurance of full tummies allaround. bye! i spoke to him about an hour ago after he had finished today's round. yes, great reception at the door still and still seeing the children smiling and wanting to chat to me and parents asking me about homework and parents asking me about homework and talking to them about how they are getting on and if i can do anything. all really good. of course, it is meant to be easter holidays right now but i wonder how

many conversations where you are you allowed to have about schoolwork and homework, do they think you are coming around just with the good stuff, the free lunch, or do they think you are coming to check up on them and see whether they have done any at all? no, ijust deliver the meals mainly, but if parents asked for extra homework children are struggling, i am there to help them out, but mostly, children arejust happy to receive their lunch. and we have got, in fact, a little video for you that has just come in and it is just for you that has just come in and it isjust a for you that has just come in and it is just a few thank you messages, let's listen to this. well done for walking five miles a day and making packed lunch people's houses. thank you, for working every day and seeing if we are ok. i want to say well done to mr —— mr powell. seeing if we are ok. i want to say well done to mr -- mr powell. so, the primary school, the deputy and head teachers had been bringing our

food for the past three weeks. so we would like to give them a big thank you. mr dean. and mr mr powell. so thank you a lot. thank you, mr powell, for showing us that you care, and keep up the good work. thank you, mr powell's! it has brought, well, it has brought a tear to my eye and i am going to tell eve ryo ne to my eye and i am going to tell everyone it has brought a tear to your eye as well because i could see that as well join that. yes, it is embarrassing a bit as well, i'm not used to this sort of thing. don't be embarrassed, fantastic what you are doing, but i wonder whether you have created a rod for your own back here because you could be doing this for many weeks to come? yes, i could be, i have just worked many weeks to come? yes, i could be, i havejust worked out many weeks to come? yes, i could be, i have just worked out i will be working over 100 miles a month at the moment. yes, good. i'm quite active anyway and i quite enjoy it

andi active anyway and i quite enjoy it and i see the children and the pa rents and i see the children and the parents and support them doing the right thing because that is really important. they are doing the right thing staying in with their children and if! thing staying in with their children and if i can help them doing that, i will keep doing that until this craziness finishes. zayn powells talking to me from grimsby. the prime minister remains in intensive care being treated for coronavirus, downing street says he is in stable condition and to treatment. two weeks into the uk that time, the government says it is too early to think about easing restrictions, it has already been these —— it has already been extended in wales. more than 14,500 people have died in spain with the coronavirus.

communities are unable to get together physically, so some religious communities are finding new ways to celebrate special events. tonight is the seder feast — which marks the start of the jewish festival of passover — one of the biggest events in thejewish calendar. easter and ramadan are also fast approaching, so the same dilemma is being faced by christians and muslims across the globe. 0ne organisation that has come up with an innovative way of celebrating the festival is chabad lubavitch uk. we put together this kit that is all in one, 4,000 of them, it unrolls like a place mat and each item on the seder plate is clearly marked in a special part and even if you have never done it, you have to match the two places to where they go, it has all the pairs inside, the special bread, the special wine, the book.

and also, some inspiration because it is not just and also, some inspiration because it is notjust about passing on the tradition, it is about celebrating our freedom, but tradition, it is about celebrating ourfreedom, but personalfreedom, freedom in general. the fact we are freedom in general. the fact we are free today and affect each one of us is free every year to go out of our own inhibitions and grow to a new level. i'm joined by our global religion reporter lebo diseko. passover starts this evening, doesn't it? absolutely. as the rabbi you have played a clip from said, the seder meal is a really big part of it. it is not just about the freedom, it is about community and really celebrating togetherness and the triumph over everything thejewish people have had to go through. i have been speaking to a rabbi who lives in new york, which has obviously been really hard hit by the coronavirus, and he also has been thinking about things that

people can do to just do things a bit differently. they have also had to move things online, they are holding zoom: and they put the text online so people have that ready and stand. and adapting bits of the ceremony. there is a ritual washing of the hands, it is not generally about physical cleanliness, but this year, it is a chance to teach children to remind each other that washing hands could help save the community. and easter coming up, of course, in the next few days, for christians. yes, we saw pope francis at the beginning of holy week on sunday, he had a service without a congregation and he will be doing that throughout holy week. culminating in easter sunday. unprecedented really to put all of this livestreamed. i have also been speaking to christians of other denominations, one lady in kenya

telling me how they are adapting, they are planning a good friday zoom holy communion and their pastor has given them prayers to say with bread and it will be ribena or a great use of some sort. they will say the prayer and take the sacrament together. and she said it has really given her space to reflect about what these ceremonies mean. and i thought about ramadan as well of course. a lot of these ceremonies involve gathering around food and communities and ramadan has got the fasting aspect of it and then there is the breaking of the fast every evening, with the meal. unlikely to do that the way people would usually do. i have been speaking with a group that is trying to have the biggest online iftar, it is called the open online iftar, and they are

inviting as many people of as many face is possible tojoin inviting as many people of as many face is possible to join them as they break their fast online and they break their fast online and they will have the call to prayer online every evening through ramadan. and something that really struck me was one of the organisers said, just because we have to be physically alone this year doesn't mean that we actually are alone. thank you. and thank goodness for technology in some of these cases. thank you very much indeed. china has placed a city and its northern border with russia on a lockdown after a surge of coronavirus cases there, but it comes as many travel restrictions in wuhan where the epidemic began are lifted. stephen mcdonnell has the latest from that from pacing. the city where the global coronavirus emergency started, they have been cut up from the outside world now for more than ten weeks. so imagine

what the feeling is like to be able to start to leave the city, or for people to return there if it is their home town. many analysts are debating the extent to which we can trust china ‘s official figures. but observers would say, don't worry about the numbers, looked at what the chinese government does. and there is a feeling that the elite of there is a feeling that the elite of the chinese communist party would not have really established transport links with wuhan unless they were reasonably sure they were bringing this emergency under control. it doesn't mean the crisis is not over here. restaurants are capping numbers, you can't go into a neighbourhood or apartment block u nless neighbourhood or apartment block unless you are a resident and you have to wear a face mask in order to go intoa have to wear a face mask in order to go into a building. but every little bit of opening gives people more hope and i am sure overseas, others are watching china and taking a little bit of hope from that as well. and either way, if it starts to go wrong, like in this city bordering russia, they are able to

just lock it down again because chinese citizens coming across the border there, there is a threat of them reintroducing the virus so the lockdown there, in that small city, is as strong as it was in wuhan. but nevertheless, a very positive day when you consider this city is where it all started. stephen mcdonnell, in beijing. let's take a couple of minutes to pay tribute to some of the unsung heroes who are keeping everybody going during this pandemic. among those are care workers, and adam mcclean has been meeting some of them. this daycare centre would normally feed its elderly visitors every day, but this team are taking their service to the doorstep, keeping in touch and feeding those who need help. we still keep in touch with those people who normally come in and they rely on the day centre. evenif and they rely on the day centre. even if it isjust taking the dinners to them and to still have

that contact. this team are delivering hot meals and supplies to those who can't go out or have nobody to shop for them. the people who use the service are grateful for support. they are heroes, there is no doubt about it. they should get a medal for what they do. all these people, these ladies here who have helped me, this thing isjust fantastic. i am just lost for words to say. all i can say is that they are fantastic in doing a fantastic job. they always have smiley faces. yes. they do make it betterfor us, you know, if we expect things to be pretty gloomy, they cheer is up. they are great. in all parts of the uk, carers are busy delivering vital services that many people depend on. from the elderly to the vulnerable and those with complex medical needs, carers are essential in helping people live their everyday

lives. rosemary is part of the nursing service team for marie curie in belfast. 0vernight, she has been visiting those requiring end—of—life care. family meetingjust visiting those requiring end—of—life care. family meeting just to discuss medication with me and what would be the most appropriate action. so we had a chat and i have given the patient an injection, just to help and make her much more comfortable. magician wayne dobson was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in the 19805. with multiple sclerosis in the 1980s. he was moved to hear why his carer wa nts 1980s. he was moved to hear why his carer wants to help him. it is an incredible feeling as well that you make such a huge difference to someone's life. all my life, my career, i was someone's life. all my life, my career, i was very career someone's life. all my life, my career, i was very career minded and just thought about myself. just to know that people think about others,

it isjust very nice. know that people think about others, it is just very nice. that know that people think about others, it isjust very nice. that hardware continues every day for the millions involved in providing care —— that ha rd involved in providing care —— that hard work. ada mcclean, bbc news. much more coming up from three o'clock. the weather right now. plenty of sunshine outside and hopefully a little bit of sunshine inside, too, just to lift you up. this is the outlook for the rest of the week. it is going to be staying warm across many parts of the country, but it is not that warm everywhere. in fact, across scotland and northern ireland, farfrom it. it is relatively fresh. you can see clouds on the satellite picture here and a weather front in the north which also means we have slightly colder air, quite a which also means we have slightly colderair, quite a bit which also means we have slightly colder air, quite a bit cold in aberdeen, 9 degrees and in newcastle to the south, 16, london at around 21 and these are the evening temperatures. if you have been out

briefly and you are a hay fever sufferer, you may have noticed the pollen levels across much of england and wales are high. tonight, that area of cloud is stuck across the north of the country but also, it will stop the temperatures from dropping too low in glasgow and edinburgh, 7 degrees. to the north, not far from freezing and the rest of the country, a relatively mild night. this is thursday, not much change happening with the weather and that is because there is not much wind to move things around. the wind is out in the atlantic at the moment, so things are keeping warm across much of the country and across much of the country and across england and wales, but the north sea coast, scotland and northern ireland, you can see quite a bit fresher. talking about the wind and the weather fronts in the atlantic, they are nearing us and they will be slowly closing in on they will be slowly closing in on the uk as we head through the easter weekend and that doesn't mean some changes are coming our way eventually. good friday still pretty one depending on how much sunshine we get, but that is some blue here

and that is the possibility of some hit and miss rain. and that is the possibility of some hitand miss rain. 15 in and that is the possibility of some hit and miss rain. 15 in belfast, 16 in glasgow and 23 or 24 on good friday in london so perhaps the peak of that warmth heading our way. back to the weather fronts, you can see them flirting with the uk during the easter weekend. that doesn't mean increasing amounts of cloud. also eventually, as we head into monday, i know that is after weekend, but temperatures are dropping down to 30 degrees, a big drop in london. yes, the next few days stay warm across the next few days stay warm across the majority of the uk, but eventually, things are going to gradually cool down.

this is bbc news. the headlines... the prime minister remains in intensive care in hospital, being treated for coronavirus. downing street says he's in a stable condition and is responding to treatment. he's comfortable, he's stable, he's in good spirits. while he's had oxygen, he hasn't been on a ventilator. more than two weeks into the uk wide lockdown, the government says it's it's too early to think about easing restrictions. and in wales in the past half hour, the first minister confirmed that restrictions there will continue. more than nine million workers

are expected to be fuloughed under the government's job retention scheme — costing billions costing billions more than expected. spain records a further rise in deaths — more than 14 and a half thousand people have died there. life in wuhan, the chinese city where the pandemic originated starts to return to normal as some restrictions are lifted. celebrating recovery from coronavirus — we meet the man who received this guard of honourfrom hospital staff. i'm feeling really great. i'm appreciating every little thing as if it's the first time that it's happened in my life.

downing street says the prime minister remains ‘stable‘ in hospital and is ‘responding to treatment‘. boris johnson is in intensive care suffering from symptoms of coronavirus. number 10 says he remains in good spirits. the foreign secretary dominic raab, who is deputising for mrjohnson, chaired the regular morning meeting to discuss the government‘s coronavirus strategy. let‘s ta ke let‘s take a look at the latest death tolls. 366 people have died in scotland. 245 in wales and 78 in northern ireland. the figure for england, it hundred and 28 people have died from the virus, taking the total number of deaths to 6483. in other developments...

ministers are insisting it‘s too early to start easing the lockdown restrictions which were put in place more two weeks ago. more than 20,000 nhs workers and theirfamilies have more than 20,000 nhs workers and their families have been tested for coronavirus. nhs nightingale, the temporary hospital that has been built in east london, has taken its first patients. we will have the latest on the current situation in the uk. first, the health of the prime minister. here‘s our political correspondent nick eardley. very little is normal around here just now. westminster would usually be buzzing with activity on a wednesday morning. instead, the streets, like so much of the country, are empty. behind closed doors, ministers have diverted huge resources to fighting coronavirus. the prime minister remains here this afternoon, in intensive care,

still fighting the virus. as i understand, he is comfortable, he‘s a stable, he‘s in good spirits. whilst he‘s had oxygen, he has not been on a ventilator, and i think that we are all, judging by the messages i‘m getting from my constituents and others, and from across the political spectrum, everyone is rooting for the prime minister to have a full and speedy recovery. mrjohnson is said to be in good spirits and can contact those that he needs from number ten. this afternoon, downing street has said the prime minister is clinically stable and is responding to treatment. so far that treatment has involved the use of oxygen, but not of a ventilator, which would be far more invasive and serious. the foreign secretary dominic raab chaired this morning‘s strategy meeting again as he stands in for boris johnson. the prime minister is just fine, he says. in the absence of mrjohnson,

there are still decisions to be made and a strategy to implement. like when the restrictions on our lives might start to be eased. by law, ministers have to review regulations every three weeks. the first review will be next week. with experts saying that we haven‘t necessarily reached the peak of the crisis, yesterday, dominic raab made clear the government still thinks there is work to be done. we will take any decision when the time is right based on facts and the scientific and medical advice and our number one overriding focus right now is to remain absolutely focused on conveying the key message, which is, everyone needs to keep adhering to this guidance. here is a reminder of why. in scotland, new figures say coronavirus was mentioned on 354 death certificates, significantly higher than the figures published daily, which cover deaths in hospitals. the number of deaths covered under this reporting system is therefore larger than under the daily system when you compare the two figures on the same date.

it is also unfortunately almost certainly more accurate. in wales, this from the government. the first minister said the lockdown would not be eased yet. these restrictions will not be ended then. we will not throw away the gains we have made by abandoning our efforts just as they begin to bear fruit. a few weeks ago, scenes like this were unthinkable, now they are part of life and could be for a while yet. 0ur correspondent sangita myska is outside st thomas‘ hospital. how much are you hearing? as you know, we are getting intermittent details about what is happening to borisjohnson, not direct details about what is happening to boris johnson, not direct from details about what is happening to borisjohnson, not direct from the hospital, no great surprise because doctors tend not to give commentary

on any patient, information coming out of downing street. the update we had was just before lunch. the prime minister remains in intensive care and that he is responding to treatment and that he is clinically stable. we can combine that with what we know from last night, the time of the last update, seven o‘clock, when we told he wasn‘t on a respirator but he was being given oxygen treatment. what does that mean? 0xygen treatment is likely to mean? 0xygen treatment is likely to mean he is either getting oxygen through a nasal tube or through a mask. crucially, that oxygen is not being pumped at pressure into his lungs. that would be a respirator. how do we decode that? what that means is he is certainly not so ill that he needs to be put on a respirator, a tube with an invasive procedure, at this point. what we also know is that he is able to communicate. how do we know that? we

are told repeatedly now he is in good spirits. all of that, it cautiously optimistic tone. as with the story throughout, that information comes with a caveat, which is this is a new virus. people respond very differently to it, depending on a range of factors and those factors can be anywhere between your age, underlying health factors like diabetes, to do with your general well—being. we do know that the prime minister has been under a huge amount of strain, working very hard for a long period of time, and actually predicting what happens next is something no doctor is willing to do right now. thank you. let‘s speak to our political correspondent helen catt. all of this means that the rest of the cabinet and all eyes on dominic raab, the people now making decisions and there are several decisions and there are several decisions coming down the track.

yes, there are. as the update told us yes, there are. as the update told us this lunchtime, the prime minister is not working, even though he can be in contact with those people he needs to. because of that, it does mean that dominic raab, the foreign secretary, is deputising for him full time, really, at the moment. there are some big decisions that have to be made. the first thing the government is really focusing on is increasing testing. we have got this pledge of having 100,000 tests being carried out daily by the end of the month. at the moment, they are in the low tens of thousands and they say they are on track to meet that 100,000 by the end of the month. we have some updates on the figures, more than 20,000 nhs staff and their families have been tested for coronavirus. there are now 13 drive through testing centres which are operational, they have tested more than 9000 people in total. in total across all methods 14,000 tests per

day. this living decision on what to do about restrictions. that is because when borisjohnson put these restrictions on peoples movement in place that national address that he did on the television, he said they would be kept under constant review and he would look at them again in three weeks‘ time. that three weeks would be monday. it is coming up to that. we understand the government is expected to review those measures next week. in part, that is because the legislation that gives the police the power to enforce them, the secretary of state has to look at it every 21 days to see if these restrictions are necessary and the first instance of that has to come before the 16th of april, next week. just because the government is expected to review, does not necessarily mean it is going to change the rules. consistently the message from downing street has been that this is about getting us past the peak of the virus. we don‘t know quite how they are going to measure that. until the data, the scientific data, suggest we are beyond that

peak, it is very unlikely we are going to see the rules relaxed. anti—quick thaw looking ahead to the daily briefing. we are getting used to that. —— a quick thought. we can guess what a lot of the questions are going to be about. i wonder whether you think there are going to bea whether you think there are going to be a lot of questions about where the balance of power is, really who is making these decisions, who has the authority to make ultimately big decisions that are going to affect people up and down the country. yes, thatis people up and down the country. yes, that is an ongoing question. the prime minister remains the prime minister. we don‘t have a system where he gets formally replaced. what dominic raab is doing is deputising for him. there are questions being asked about how far his power goes. it is clear he has to be working in conjunction with the cabinet, the senior ministers who are looking after each strand about what is doing in this government plan. they are keen to stress this is the government plan

that was set out under borisjohnson but there are questions about if there are big decisions that change there are big decisions that change the strategy, who really is the person who ends up making that call? lots of talk about the idea of cabinet collectively making decisions. i don‘t think we have got to the bottom of it about who will make it a final call on a big decision. thank you for now. the conservative mp tobias ellwood is a former defence minister. he is chairof he is chair of the select committee. do you have full understanding about how major decisions now are being reached, given the situation that the prime minister is in? yes, i am satisfied with the division of labour, if you can put it that way. you have the deputising for the prime minister. it is not acting prime minister. it is not acting prime minister, there is a distinction between the two. there

isa distinction between the two. there is a mission to be executed very clearly, nhs capability needs to be advanced. we have economic intervention which the chancellor is taking forward, and there is the procurement process of ppe ventilators and so forth, and as well as retaining law and order during this lockdown period. these are ongoing operational concerns. dominic raab is taking this forward. i would suggest that if there were anything new to be considered, a strategic change, a scientific breakthrough or a hostile state intervention, that the prime minister would then make that final judgment on what should be done. the prime minister, though, is in intensive care. we know from the numerous people we have spoken to who have come through covid—19, from medics we talk to, it leaves anybody

feeling absolutely exhausted. i mean, rest is paramount after a situation like this. are we not going to have to reach a position where some sort of formal arrangement needs to be made? there is no way, is there, the prime minister will be able to fire on all cylinders in his usual way, through no fault of his own, but that is the nature of this virus. let's leave it for the five o‘clock briefing. it will be up to number ten and the prime minister and the doctors to make the judgment. for the prime minister and the doctors to make thejudgment. for the moment, i‘m very content to see dominic raab continue the work that the prime minister has set. so the strategy is being taken forward. dominic raab is a tough individual. he is unassuming, very a tough individual. he is unassuming, very respected, he is loyal, calm, he is a team player and he is focused on working with his cabinet colleagues to pursue the strategy that has already been approved by the prime minister. and

you see he is a team player. sometimes if it is a situation where agreements can‘t be reached between agreements can‘t be reached between a group of people, someone has to have a deciding vote. does he have the moral authority, if you like, to have that deciding vote? you are putting hypothesis about what might ta ke putting hypothesis about what might take place right now. like i say, there is a clear plan of action which needs to be executed and that is what going on. should any other queries come through, we will cross that bridge when we come to it. ultimately this comes down to how long the prime minister will remain in hospital and for that, we have to wait and see. he thought from you as well about lockdown. the welsh government being specific about expanding it into next week —— might be on next week. is that where the uk is have to go? it is not my call at all. from what i read from the graphs, it has been very clear from the time scientists, that we will

not consider changing the recommendations on lockdown until we reach that apex. i would be surprised if we get there by the end of the bank holiday. my guess is it will be extended. let‘s wait to hear what is being said by number ten. all right, thank you very much for your time. and just a reminder of the headlines here on bbc news. the prime minister remains in intensive ca re prime minister remains in intensive care in hospital, being treated for a coronavirus. downing street says he is ina a coronavirus. downing street says he is in a stable condition and is responding to treatment. more than two weeks into the uk wide lockdown, the government says it is too early to think about easing restrictions. it is being extended in wales. and spain has recorded a further rise in deaths. more than 14 and a half thousand people have died in the country with coronavirus.

the number of people who have died from the virus in scotland now stands at 366. the first minister nicola sturgeon has given a news conference in the last hour where she confirmed total of 1,771 people are in hospital with confirmed or suspected covid 19, with 210 in intensive care. iam afraid i am afraid that 70 deaths have been registered in this way. that takes the total number of deaths in scotla nd the total number of deaths in scotland as of nine o‘clock this morning under that measurement to 366. these figures are the best figures and most accurate figures we can find figures and most accurate figures we canfind on figures and most accurate figures we can find on a daily basis. however, asi can find on a daily basis. however, as i have said before, in these updates, do not capture all the covid—19 deaths. so national records of scotla nd covid—19 deaths. so national records of scotland are therefore also now

publishing on a weekly basis a further report and the first of these has been published around about half an hour ago. this new report captures all deaths registered with a seven—day period. that includes those who have died with a confirmed laboratory diagnosis of covid—19, and also those whose deaths are presumed to be linked to covid—19. that means this report also includes cases where covid—19 is entered on the death certificate as a suspected cause of death, or as a contributing factor in someone‘s death, but we are no formal test has been carried out. the number of deaths covered under this reporting system is therefore a larger than under the dili system when you compare the two figures of the same date. it is also u nfortu nately figures of the same date. it is also unfortunately almost certainly more accurate. they have published the first of these weekly reports today and it covers the period up to sunday fifth april, three days ago.

that report shows that in total by sunday 354 deaths had been registered in scotland as being linked to covid—19. now, you might be wondering why that combined figure is smaller than the figure i have given today of 366 apart laboratory confirmed cases. i want to be clear that are simply down to a time lag. the figure i have given four confirmed cases is more up—to—date. as of the 5th of april, the reporting date this date for the combined figure of 354, the number of laboratory confirmed cases as pa rt of laboratory confirmed cases as part of that total was 220. nicola sturgeon speaking if you hours ago. in wales, 33 more people have died after testing positive for coronavirus, bringing the total number of deaths to 245. the lockdown in wales will be extended and will not be lifted next week. the welsh goverment said there were signs the measures are working. first minister, mark drakeford, said it was important that

people followed the stay at home advice. in advance of the easter weekend, the stay—at—home advice means you. it is not advice to someone else for someone else to follow, it is advice for every one of us and every one of us for every one of us and every one of us is underan for every one of us and every one of us is under an obligation to follow that advice and a journey to a second home is not an essential journey. and where the police in wales people who are doing that, they will take enforcement action against them. now, we have a call with the chief constables prior to a weekend and immediately after the weekend and immediately after the weekend to make sure that they are geared up for the very important work we are asking them to do and then to receive a report for them on how they discharged their responsibilities. 0n how they discharged their responsibilities. on monday of this week, the reports from all four chief constables was that while there had been incidents right

across wales, they were sporadic, rather than organised, they did not in the view of the chief constables, represent a freeing of the astonishing levels of observance which wales citizens have shown to the obligations we are face and where they had come across incidents, the powers that they currently have, including road blocks, for example, as well as fines, that repertoire of enforcement actions were still sufficient for them to be able to deal with the infringements they sell. i once again made it clear in those discussions with chief co nsta bles those discussions with chief constables that if that viewer to change and their advice to the welsh government that they needed a strengthened repertoire of actions, we would not hesitate to do that. the first minister of wales talking about the importance of the stay—at—home message, particularly as we go into the long weekend, and wheels confirming it will be

extended there, the lockdown. more than nine million workers are expected to be furloughed under the government‘sjob retention scheme introduced to help businesses survive the pandemic. the think tank, the resolution foundation, says the scheme is likely to cost £30 to £40 billion over 3 months. 0ur economics correspondent andy verity has more details. thejob retention scheme is meant to help firms stay in business and pay staff. workers on this construction site will keep staff on, even if they are not working, putting them on for a low, meaning leave of absence. the government promises to reimburse 80% of their wages. absence. the government promises to reimburse 80% of their wagesm absence. the government promises to reimburse 80% of their wages. it has enabled us to keep capacity in our business and capabilities to when we come through this, we can then redeploy our people immediately, we can go back to work. olivia webb has been furloughed in herjob and in recruitment agency. few employees are hiring right now and she‘s not

sure if there will be a role for her when it left. it does feel like i am waiting for the inevitable. when these three—month grants are up, what is going to happen then? can businesses pay salaries again? probably not. it does feel like a waiting game right now. the cost of paying four fifths of the wages of millions of private sector employees for companies that have been shut down, it is so large you can forget everything you have had last ten yea rs everything you have had last ten years about cutting the national debt, it is going tojump. it is manageable, as long as the shutdown only last for three months. if it continues through the summer, the cost could soon start to spiral out of control. the latest figures released today by the british chamber of commerce fined 30% of smaller companies are following three quarters of their staff. if that pattern is repeated across the

economy, it is estimated at least one third of all private sector workers will be paid through the scheme. at a cost to government of 30 to £40 billion. business leaders see firms need money fast. if they do not receive some of the funding by the end of this month, many are going to take drastic steps. i‘m afraid we would see an increase in the rate of business failures and a lot of otherwise viable companies going to be well. there are holes in this giant safety net. this person changed jobsjust this giant safety net. this person changed jobs just before the cut—off dates of his new company cannot help him. this date that the chancellor has put in 20 days before the lockdown occurred, we do not get any state support. there are tens of thousands of people in this position like myself. companies agreed without it, this economic emergency would be a lot worse. spain has

announced a slate increase. an increase of 14 on the previous 24—hour is and brings the death toll since the outbreak began to just over 14,500 people. a senior world health organization advisor who has been visiting spain has told an online news briefing that the outbreak there is certainly slowing down. i don't want to use the word optimism because in the face of such devastation and destruction in a country, that is the wrong word. there is hope and evidence that this outbreak is definitely slowing down. that is the latest regarding spain. many of us have been showing our thanks to health workers. the roles we re thanks to health workers. the roles were reversed when one patient left

hospital. health workers applauded him when he was discharged after nearly two weeks been treated for covid—19. the heroes of the pandemic cheering one of their su ccesses . the pandemic cheering one of their successes. five days since he came home and he is loving every minute of it. i am feeling really great. i am appreciating every little thing is if it is was the first time it happened to me in my life. the birds, the daffodils you may see behind me, the blue sky. when i was in hospital, i was thinking about toast and marmalade. all of those little things which you take for granted normally, i‘m never going to ta ke granted normally, i‘m never going to take for granted ever again. at his lowest, he was on a ventilator being fed through a tube. little by little, he started to get better. to set up on a chairfor little, he started to get better. to set up on a chair for three little, he started to get better. to set up on a chairfor three hours and not be flat on my back, basically, begging for mercy, felt

fantastic. it was step—by—step from there. my goodness, nhs leek and potato soup, i could live on it for the rest of my life. he paid tribute to the doctors and nurses at the leicester royal infirmary. and then the applause started rippling up in the applause started rippling up in the entire corridor. many of these faces i had felt incredibly close to after a ll faces i had felt incredibly close to after all the time i had been there. he lost 15% of his body weight and has had to learn to walk again. his great grandfather played cricket for england, which inspired this analogy. every little thing to me now is special. i am gobsmacked, really, to have been given a second chance. i do feel like a cricketer. i have been at the crease and the umpire has put his finger up. there has been a secret camera somewhere that says, no, we need a little bit

more time in the crease for hilton. it just feels fantastic to be here. we all need good news at the moment, don‘t we? and lovely to hear that interview. let‘s pause and catch up with the weather prospects. there is very little happening on the weather front at the moment. a lot of sunshine across many parts of the uk. as faras sunshine across many parts of the uk. as far as the rest of the week is concerned, it will stay warm across england and wales. not the case across scotland. certainly not today. huge contrast in temperatures. aberdeen, nine celsius. the midlands and yorkshire, closer to 18 or 19 celsius. tonight, we have thicker cloud across the north. certainly glasgow and edinburgh are overcast here. to the north of that in the highlands, close to freezing. to the south,

around seven or eight celsius. tomorrow, we are mostly going to do it all over again. northern areas are more cloudy. a weather front here. pressure conditions on the far north of scotland. south of this cloud, that is where the warmth is. 19 in the 22 celsius across the south.

good afternoon. you are watching bbc news. these are the latest headlines... the prime minister remains in intensive care in hospital, being treated for a coronavirus. downing street says borisjohnson is coronavirus. downing street says boris johnson is in coronavirus. downing street says borisjohnson is in a stable condition and is responding to treatment. the uk look set to record its highest daily number of hospital deaths from the virus, at 828 are reported in england. more than two weeks into the uk wide lockdown, the government says it is too early to think about easing restrictions. although in wales, the first minister has confirmed that restrictions they will indeed continue. more than 9 million

workers are expected to be furloughed under the job retention scheme, costing billions more than expected. spain has recorded a further rise in deaths. more than 14,500 people have died now in the country from the virus. life in the chinese city where the pandemic originated starts to return to normal, are some restrictions are lifted. to bring you some breaking news here this afternoon. this is not about coronavirus. another grim story indeed that you will remember from last year. we are just hearing that the lorry driver has just pleaded guilty at the old bailey to the manslaughter of 39 people who we re the manslaughter of 39 people who were found inside a refrigerated lorry in essex. this case goes back

to october last year. a refrigerated lorry was found in essex at the water glade industrial park. inside you will remember the bodies were found of 38 adults and one teenager. it emerged, if my memory serves me correctly, it emerged all those who had been on board were trying to get into the country and i think almost all of them were nationals of vietnam. they arrived from a fairy and that lorry was found in essex. nobody survived those freezing temperatures and maurice robertson from northern ireland has pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of 39 people. pleading guilty at the old bailey. he is 25 years old. that news are just bailey. he is 25 years old. that news arejust coming bailey. he is 25 years old. that

news are just coming through from the last couple of moments. now, we will return to our coverage of course of coronavirus and to tell you today that the nhs has launched a mental health hotline to try to help staff that are dealing with the virus on the front line. more than 1500 volunteers will be staffing the phone lines from a variety of charities. the phone line will be open from 7am in the morning until 11pm in the evening every day. let us 11pm in the evening every day. let us discuss this today with a man from the royal college of psychiatrists who is an expert in occupational mental health. thank you for so much for your time this afternoon. i feel as if you for so much for your time this afternoon. ifeel as if my you for so much for your time this afternoon. i feel as if my first question barely needs asking, but just remind us what kind of support something like this could provide to men and women he must be seeing and

experiencing the most stressful conditions perhaps that they have ever experienced. i am sure you are absolutely vital and of course they are doing an amazing job too. it is important to say that the offering by an nhs england today is a real step forward to providing a really wide level of care and support to the nhs workers avoiding the vital job. it still remains the case that we know that the best support for people doing really challenging work is to make sure that the team is really well supported so we need supervisors in the team throughout the hospital is to be able to have a psychologically several conversation and we also need the and nhs doctors to have a nip it in the boat approach to make sure that most staff feel really well supported so that they can speak to their collea g u es that they can speak to their colleagues about the really challenging work they do. —— psychologically savvy. —— nip it in

the board. it is important to make sure that these attacks back numbers and phone lines and other offerings that the nhs england are rolling out an —— text back numbers. they will play a very important role in the mental health support. they will be losing patience of all ages and that is...i losing patience of all ages and that is... ican losing patience of all ages and that is... i can only begin to try to put myself in their stews but that is so distressing for people who generally wa nt to distressing for people who generally want to make people better and try to get people home and get people well again. health care staff are used to dealing with people who don‘t always make it and have suffered really quite serious illnesses but the current situation is somewhat exceptional. it is fair

to say that the numbers of patients coming on in ace short time can be quite overwhelming, these shifts that staff are having to doing in order to keep going and provide life saving care are probably longer and more exhausting than normal particularly because they have to wear ppe which makes communication difficult could make you feel quite isolated, and what is more staff are going to be asked to make motherly challenging decisions and some of them may not have the relevant experience to do the job as well as they would like to do. however, it is also really important to hear that despite these difficult challenges in the circumstances available for them the chances are that most staff will come through not only unscathed but also feeling quite rightly that they have done an amazing job and helped a huge amount of people. although it is a bit u nfortu nate of people. although it is a bit unfortunate sometimes to label nhs staff as heroes even though i can fully understand and appreciate why we would want to do that, what is

really important is that when they come through they feel rightly proud of the work that they have done in spite of unfortunately a large number of people dying. absolutely, we are seeing that already and everybody is immensely grateful. i‘m interested in the neutral aspects of a phone line, they can talk to their collea g u es a phone line, they can talk to their colleagues and their families but is it more useful to be able to talk to someone who don‘t work with because you don‘t want to go through this at the end of the day to go through all of this with your loved ones or your children who don‘t want over hearing your stories of the day and whether thatis your stories of the day and whether that is helpful in stories like this. well i that is helpful in stories like this. well! looked that is helpful in stories like this. well i looked at this topic in military personnel for my doctorate and actually what is very interesting about where people get support from is there is no one single best place to get it. so some people will absolutely want to speak to colleagues and supervisors, others won‘t feel comfortable doing so, some want to speak to her family

members and friends, others don‘t wa nt to members and friends, others don‘t want to burden them, so i think what is important is that across the spectrum we provide support and lots of different ways because no one way will fit everybody but the national offering does indeed, as you say, provide someone who is trained to listen and who is in depending and who hopefully can offer a useful air and maybe some advice as well. —— a useful area. a professor from the royal college of psychiatrists there, many thanks. let us turn our attentions to china which has placed attentions to china which has placed a city on its northern border under a city on its northern border under a lockdown after a surge in cases there, but this comes after many of there, but this comes after many of the cases in wuhan are in fact lists —— this comes after many of the restrictions in wuhan are, in fact,

it lifted. 0ur correspondent has more.

backin back injuly. back in july. man back injuly. man of the match in the final also led england to a thrilling victory in headingley. the england captain dominated the sport. we almost began it each year. england captain dominated the sport. we almost began it each yeahm would take something special. any sense to achieve that, yes, it is an

award. not quite the same as the five cricketers. that is special. stokes five cricketers. that is special. sto kes wo n five cricketers. that is special. stokes won that award in 2016. it was nice to give him some reward for the miracles of 2019. tottenham have reminded their players and the manager of their responsibilities after some weight filmed training in after some weight filmed training in a london park. the manager was seen standing with three players. 0thers we re standing with three players. 0thers were also filmed going for a jog. the mayor of london said the players and managers need to set an example. my my issue is leading by example and some children who may support a spa as football, me watch the internet and think it is ok for them, why is it not ok for me? the point i would

make with politeness and courtesy is asking the question, is what i am doing necessary? no, i don‘t think it is necessary to be training in close proximity with another player who may have the virus and you may unintentionally spread the virus. we should not be doing that. we have had this response from the manager. he says... the record goal—scorer from totte n ha m the record goal—scorer from tottenham is understood to have spent a comfortable night in hospital after being treated for an illness which is not coronavirus related. he suffered a stroke five yea rs related. he suffered a stroke five years ago. he was part of the cup winning squad in 1956. he scored 256 goals for tottenham and he also played for chelsea and west ham. he

holds the record for the most league goals in the top division. the ryder cup captain says the common consensus is that this year‘s competition will not go ahead unless fa ns competition will not go ahead unless fans are able to attend its schedules, taking place in late september in wisconsin. this year‘s four majors have already been cancelled or postponed. the champion says nobody wants to see the ryder cup played without the fans being there. and that is all your support for now. —— that is all your sports news for now.

this is bbc news. we will be bringing you the latest on the daily briefings from the government on coronavirus, but first, the headlines. the prime minister remains in intensive care in hospital being treated for coronavirus. downing street says he is in a stable condition and responding to treatment. he is comfortable, stable and in good spirits. while he has had oxygen, he has not been on a ventilator. the uk looks set to record its highest daily number of hospital deaths from coronavirus after 828 are reported in england alone. more than two weeks into the uk wide lockdown, the government says it is too early to think about easing restrictions. in wales, the first minister has confirmed

restrictions there will