welcome to bbc news. i'm simon pusey. the headlines: a further 6.5 million us workers file for unemployment as president trump announces plans to reduce the economic impact of coronavirus. in the uk, another massive rise in the number of reported deaths. but pm boris johnson is out of intensive care. the australian researchers studying a new phase for testing the vaccine. mission control: and liftoff. and getting away from it all — the russian space mission leaving the virus behind.

hello, and welcome to bbc news. we begin in the united states wher the number of people seeking unemployment benefits has surged for a third week as the economic toll tied to the coronavirus pandemic intensifies. 6.5 million people in filed for unemployment benefits in the us last week and that brings the number of claims to almost 17 million injust three weeks. new figures also show that up to 60,000 americans could die with coronavirus, downscaling earlier estimates, but there is little cause for celebration there as the state of new york reported 799 deaths, the highest number in a single day since the outbreak. 0ur correspondent nick bryant is there and he sent us this report. sirens wail. the sound of these sirens has become the sound of new york. a ceaseless noise, for many a terrifying noise, that has placed this city and are a form of mental siege. people here have become scared of ambulances and scared of the hospitals

they end up at. in the past 2a hours alone, new york has suffered almost 800 deaths. bereavement on a scale that's brought back awful memories. we lose 2,753 lives on 9/11. we've lost over 7,000 lives to this crisis. that is so shocking and painful and breathtaking... i don't even have the words for it. this famous cityscape has some jolting new additions. the military hospital ship, the comfort, docked on the piers that used to welcome the great liners. this is central park in the coronavirus spring. a field hospital in an open space they call the lungs of new york.

and those sirens again, where you'd normally hear the sound of children's laughter. america is not just facing its toughest public health crisis like the rest of the world, economically, it's being hammered. the fear is notjust of a recession but a depression. in the past three weeks alone, more than 16 million people have lost their jobs. that's a higher number than the unemployment recorded during two years of the great recession between 2007—2009. the federal reserve, the fed, is ready to pump in trillions of dollars in emergency relief. it's new york's poorest districts, heavily populated with african—america ns and hispanics, that are being hardest hit by this health and economic crisis. these were food parcels being delivered in the bronx. when you're in one of the poorest communities in the country, it already was a challenge. small businesses, they can't wait weeks for the fed to help them, they need it in days. and so, what people

are watching right now is what happens when you don't invest in addressing poverty for generations. as it confronts this invisible enemy, there is a martialfeel to life in much of the city. a war footing as america faces what could be its greatest ever peacetime challenge. nick bryant, bbc news, new york. well, at his daily coronavirus briefing, donald trump celebrated the fact the us has now carried out over 2 million tests. that's more in raw numbers than any other country, however mr trump does say he won't guarantee that the us will establish a nationwide testing system. we want to have it and we're going to see if we have it. do you need it? no. is it a nice thing do? yes. we're talking about 325 million people, and that's not going to happen, as you can imagine, and it wouldn't happen with anyone else either. other countries do it, but they do it in a limited form. we will probably be

the leader of the pack. david willis is our north america correspondent. he took a look at the virus‘s economic impact and how president trump responded. those jobless figures reveal the devastating impact that the coronavirus has had on the world's largest economy. 6.6 million people have lost theirjobs in the last week, on top of the 10 million americans who lost their jobs in the previous fortnight. now, that means that roughly1 in 10 of the workforce here, the labour force here, is currently out of work, and economists are predicting that in this month, april, 20 million people here will lose theirjobs. now compare that to the figures from 2008, the financial crisis back then, when 9 million people were thrown out of work in the united states. little wonder then that donald trump is itching to get this country

back to normal and get the economy back on its feet. he reiterated that desire today, touting the stabilisation in the number of hospitalisations, despite the very grim death figures. he said that he hoped this country would be back on its feet opening up again, as he put it, very, very soon, simon. and a big ongoing spat between donald trump and the world health organization. he criticised them a few days ago, and they hit back recently. tell us a little bit more about that. president trump believes the who has minimised the threat of the coronavirus. he believes that it is biased towards china and he is calling for his administration to conduct an investigation of the who and threatening to withhold millions of dollars in us funding for it.

the who, of course, criticised donald trump's decision to impose a ban on travellers from china to the united states back at the end of january, and that is a move that mr trump has touted as being among his most successful to date as far as controlling the virus is concerned. a lot of people, even his own supporters, are questioning, though, the timing of this threat to withdraw funding here in the uk, the prime minister, borisjohnson, who's been receiving treatment for coronavirus, has been moved out of intensive care at a london hospital, but a spokesman said his recovery was at an early stage. dominic raab, who has been deputising for the pm, ruled out easing the lockdown. the latest figures show another 881 people have died in uk hospitals in the last day.

here's our health editor hugh pym. it was just so dreadful that no—one was able to visit him for three weeks and furthermore, no—one was able to be with him during his final hours and minutes. emily remembers her grandfather tony, who died yesterday. he'd gone into hospital with another health issue, and then contracted covid—19. she told me visitors weren't allowed because of the virus risk, but she's reassured to know two nurses were with him in his final hours. for me and my relatives, it is really comforting, just to picture those two amazing people at his bedside, comforting him and saying all the right things at the right time, and we'll forever be in their debt. we are just so grateful for everything they did. i raised the issue at the downing street media briefing today. we've heard some harrowing stories of people dying alone because family can't be with them, for understandable reasons to do with the virus risk. what do you say to the british public about how things will develop from here?

we don't know conclusively that we're beyond the point at which we could start considering whether the measures will be relaxed, so we must keep it up. the key thing is for people to understand how much of what they've already done has helped contribute to avoiding an even worse situation, in terms of the spread of the virus and the number of deaths, and how important it is that we don't slow up ortake our pressure off at this critical moment before we've come through the peak. there was a clearer prediction than before how long deaths would go on rising. in general, i'd expect the deaths to continue to keep going up for about two weeks after the intensive care picture improves, and so we're not there yet, in terms of knowing exactly when that will be. the latest analysis of data in england and wales suggests that death rates go up with age in both men and women, but men are ahead

of women in all age groups. alex died in hospital with the coronavirus ten days ago. none of his family could be with him. but staff did set up a video call, and his son says that made all the difference. it felt like we were together. it was really rich, it was really real. he was weak. but we also connected as a family, so often there'd be three orfour of us on the telephone, a group video call, and we could speak with each other, comfort each other, make plans. we felt together, which is... i've not really experienced that before. this is what patients will be aware of around them — staff like these in papworth hospital in masks, visors and gowns. it's confusing and communication is difficult. that's tough for doctors and nurses, as well as those who they care for. dr rachel clarke, who specialises in end—of—life care, says it can be an emotional drain. sometimes at the end of the day, you know, you take off your gown and mask, and you just cry your eyes out in the car on the way home, because you have seen things you don't want to see but,

at the same time, you've tried your utmost to be there at a time when perhaps a loved one, a son or daughter oi’ spouse, can't be there, and you're literally all the patient has and with every fibre of your being all you want to do is support that patient. the upward trend in deaths appears to be slowing. but whatever the statistics say, there are life and death issues for thousands of families to confront every day, in every part of the country. hugh pym, bbc news. as infection rates and death tolls continue to soar across the globe, researchers are working around the clock to develop a coronavirus vaccine. an australian team from the university of queensland has reached a new phase of testing, partnering with a dutch company for preclinical studies. for more on the progress of that vaccine, i'm joined by professor paul young in brisbane. so our vaccine is one of the ones that the coalition for epidemic preparedness innovation, or cepi,

tasked back injanuary to begin its progress and so we are in the middle of our preclinical studies, just prior to getting to our clinical work, where we go into phase one clinical studies with vaccines in humans in latejune so the critical point we have reached is that we have just begun studies with our colleagues in the netherlands, in rotterdam, to do the critical production studies in an animal model to determine whether our vaccine actually protects those animals from challenge by the live virus. we've already gone through our studies to show that we induce a very potent immune response and we are also going through other animal studies to determine toxicology so that's the sort of data that we need to have in play for going forward into human clinical studies. and the usual processes and procedures are being bypassed to try and get a vaccine out as soon as possible. tell us a little bit more about that.

so i guess the procedures are not being bypassed in terms of safety and efficacy of the vaccine, so we absolutely have to be sure when we go into human trials, that all that is in play but the process, the vaccine pipeline process which is normally a linear thing, where we reach a milestone and success defines whether you move onto the next stage, has defined that 5— to 10—year timeline for most vaccines previously and what we've been trying to do, we thought of as a month ago, so we can uncouple some of the pipeline and bring it forward, some aspects, so we can actually shorten it, so what we're doing at the moment is advancing manufacture, so even before we got confirmation in clinical studies that this is a viable vaccine, we are confident thatitis, but before we even get that data, are going to be ramping up manufacture so the whole idea is to move what is usually that end—stage manufacture after approval up to parallel what we're doing with the clinical studies and knock about six months, we think, off the timeline, so that 18—month timeline everyone has

been talking about which is radical in and of itself, we are trying to bring down to about 12 months. so just very briefly, paul, you talk about timeline there — everyone in lockdown and quarantine is looking for a vaccine to come out, you are saying about six months is the earliest, really. yes, exactly. there is a possibility during those clinical phase trials, if they are working well, for emergency use of a vaccine, that's happened before and that might happen towards the end of this year but certainly since the beginning of january when we started, it's really that 12—month timeline which is really quite radical. do stay with us here in bbc news. south america's street traders defying the lockdown to feed theirfamilies. 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. welcome back, this is bbc news. our top story.

a further 6.5 million workers filed for unemployment as president trump announces plans to reduce the economic impact of coronavirus. here in the uk, the prime minister is out of intensive ca re minister is out of intensive care but there is another massive rise in the number of reported death did. according to new research, people living in areas with high levels of pollution are more likely to die than those living in cleaner parts. we speak to one of the senior authors at the senior —— harvard school of public health. she said there was a large overlap between covert deaths and other diseases associated with long—term exposure to pollution. the study is the takeaway of the study is that historical exposure to air pollution is associated with higher risk of death for covid—19. we have conducted a national study in the united states that quantified the potential increase in covid—19 mortality

that is associated with historical exposure to air pollution. our study accounts for over 90% of the debts that have been occurring in the united states as of aprilfour, 2020. in summary, we found that a person that has been living for decades in a county with high level of fine particulate matter is 15% more likely to die from coronavirus than someone in a region with much less exposure to air pollution. and is it therefore simplistic to say that capital cities like new york, like london, london for example, or paris, are they seeing such high levels of deaths because what you have just been talking about, because of the pollution? well, that's a possibility. i mean, we know from the study conducted in the united states

that if you compare a city like new york with, for example, the suburb, which has a little less exposure or historical exposure to fine particulate matter, you consider population that is similar with respect to socio—economic status, obesity and smoking in a very large metropolitan areas with a higher level of pollution, there would be higher risk of death from coronavirus. talk about smoking there. is the science simply behind the immune system and the stronger the immune system is, the better it can cope with a virus like coronavirus? well, what the science that is behind our study and helped us develop the policies behind the study is that there is very solid science that shows that the historical exposure to air pollution and particulate

matter increased all of the series of diseases, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, diabetes, and these are all of the diseases that we called preclinical conditions that make covid—19 much more serious and cause death. so we made an important observation that all the diseases that are affected by historical exposure to fine particulate matter are the same diseases that increase the severity of the health responses of coronavirus patients and therefore deaths. let's get some of the days of the coronavirus news now. georgia has postponed primary elections due to a second time due to the pandemic. they are now scheduled to be held in june, not may. a statement says they prioritised the health and

safety of poll workers officials and voters. the eu's finance ministers have agreed toa finance ministers have agreed to a rescue passage “— finance ministers have agreed to a rescue passage —— package. loans able to help countries pay healthcare loans able to help countries pay healthca re costs loans able to help countries pay healthcare costs as well as supporting companies and unemployed workers. south africa is to extend its nationwide lockdown until the end of april as it settles coronavirus. the president said there was there evidence that there was there evidence that the restriction was already limiting the spread of the disease and he also announced that senior politicians would donate one third of their salary to help the worst affected by the pandemic and urged business leaders to do the same. street traders in south america say they are unable to obey government orders to stay indoors because doing so would leave them unable to feed their families. while official vendor's interest chilly close their doors, unofficial benders are still trying to make a living

with some in mexico saying the pandemic has seen their business half. for decades, 76—year—old maria has made ends meet by selling from this spot. as well as making money to survive, she also supports her family. translation: i have to live. i have to eat. the coronavirus has affected me and sales, look how it is affected me. since i arrived i have not sold anything and i must be here until three or four pm. look what i have sold. god today gives me no more sales but for these little eggs. these once bustling streets of santiago are now home to a trickle of passing trade. parts of the city have been put under quarantine for several weeks but maria says the restrictions will not stop her. translation: i raised my children, my granddaughters, great—grandchildren, i have raised them all here on the street. chile is reporting 6000 cases with 57 deaths. official traders have obeyed government

orders, with shopping centres closing their doors. adriana sells cosmetics in mexico city. she says that stopping is not an option. translation: they told us that from monday we're not going to be able to go out. those of us who sell cosmetics, clothes, it puts us in a very difficult situation because... i am sorry. my son depends on me. mexico is reporting over 3000 cases of coronavirus with 174 deaths. when a customer fails to come, some take the trade to them. daniel buys old items to sell for a profit. translation: it affects all of us. it is true for me personally. we have to go out to work and if we do not we do not have a salary, we have nothing. we work day to day. if we are going to eat we must sell a mattress, a washing machine. we have to do this every day because we work daily.

but while quarantine restrictions remain in place, so does the question faced by these traders. obey orders or feed theirfamily? if you are looking for somewhere that is coronavirus free you may need a russians lease rocket to get there. a new crew has blasted off to the iss and one of the cosmonauts on board say right now it is the safest place to be. with a pandemic sweeping the world, here is an idea. leave the planet. a russian soyuz rocket blasts into space. confirmed separation of stage two. strapped inside are cosmonauts anatoly ivanishin and ivan wagner and a nasa astronaut chris cassidy. the new crew for the international space station. coronavirus had affected pre—flight preparation.

the three men have been in a tighter quarantine than usual before a launch, with contact kept to a bare minimum. and that meant no family members present for liftoff. obviously we would love to have our families here with us but we understand we have to do this to be safe. you do not want to come down with covid—19 up here. but assuming they stay healthy, the crew will be well away from the dramas back on earth. translation: although spaceflight always carries a particular risk we understand that for the next few months the international space station will probably be the safest place on earth. of course, self isolation comes naturally to a spaceman. no popping off to the shops orjogging in the park up here. 250 miles above the surface of the earth, the crew will be setting an example to us all, on the international space station they will be staying home for the next six

months. that is all from the bbc newsroom for now. plenty more on our website. we will leave you with these emotional pictures of people clapping the nhs across the country. clapping, cheering, general clamour bagpipes play cheering, horns honk

most parts of the country will be dry and warm today. yesterday was the warmest day of the year so far in wales with temperatures of 23.5 degrees in cardiff, similar temperatures again today and some parts of southern england may reach 25 degrees. yesterday under the cloud in newcastle was only 9 degrees so today will be warmer, a bit warmer across central and southern parts of scotland. over the weekend we will see the high temperatures getting squeezed down towards the south—east of england, it will start to seem cooler from the north, significant change for all of us on monday with cool and northerly wind. these are the temperatures that we start off with on friday so mild even in the south where we have clearer skies. much milder across northern scotland this time but there will be rain to clear away from the northern isles and then we see some

sharp showers coming in across scotland, perhaps the far north of england before it brightens up and we get sunshine, the rain holding off until the evening. sunshine across england and wales and the high—temperature is likely to be in the midlands, wales towards the south—east of england 2a maybe even 25 degrees. some of that heat could trigger thundery downpours late in the day across north wales moving to northern england and there is also wet weather coming into parts of scotland as well. there will still be showers around on saturday morning across scotland and the north of england. those should tend to fade away and they should all brighten up again and for much of the country should be dry into the afternoon. a few sharp showers developing in wales in the south—western that means the high temperatures are more likely to be in the south—east of england. 26 degrees is possible. more significant changes are coming in on sunday. northern parts of the uk will be cooler and cloudier, further south we will have some sunshine but there is more

likely to be showers developing across more southern parts of england and wales. those could be heavy and thundery. 22 degrees still possible in the south—east with the heat is beginning to ebb away. and that is because we have a change in the wind direction. while we will see the back of the showers eventually it is a cold area of high pressure moving down from the north and bringing with it more northerly wind and some stronger wind overnight and into monday. it may blow in more cloud across the eastern side of the uk, sunshine further west but the high—temperature this time is 1a degrees. for many, those temperatures are below average for the time of year.

through these are the main stories: in the united states, another 6.6 million workers have filed for employment in the last week. that brings the number of claims to almost 17 million injust three weeks. new figures also show that up to 60,000 americans could die with coronavirus, downscaling the earlier estimates. here in the uk, there is being another massive rise in reported deaths. but the prime minister, boris johnson, who is receiving treatment for coronavirus, has been moved out of intensive care at a london hospital. a spokesperson said his recovery is at an early stage. as infection rates and death tolls begin to soar,

researchers are working around the clock to develop a coronavirus vaccine. an australian team from the university of queensland has reached a new phase of testing, partnering with a dutch company for preclinical studies. now, panorama. tonight on panorama, how are the most at risk coping with the killer epidemic? they might die, i might die and we'll never say goodbye. the desperately ill who are no longer getting the help they need... i feel that potentially having this treatment taken away, it's stealing some time. i haven't got a lot. ..and those not able to lock down and stay safe. the homeless people are scared enough when it's normal, never mind when there's

a virus about.