this is bbc news with the latest headlines. the government issues an easter message to stay indoors this weekend to stop the spread of coronavirus. so to save lives, and this is about saving lives, and to make sure the nhs doesn't have excess pressure on it, it is coping really wonderfully at the moment but there is pressure there, we have to comply with those instructions. it's critical. the prime minister is spending a sixth day in hospital after leaving intensive care — his father urges him to rest. eu finance ministers agree a 500 billion euro rescue package

to help countries worst affected by the pandemic. new york starts to bury some of its dead in mass graves, with nearly 160,000 people infected with coronavirus across the united states. a bbc investigation reveals businesses have lost nearly £2 million in coronavirus related fraud buying non—existent medical equipment online. and, at just after 9:30am, we will put some of your questions on the coronavirus to two medical experts. stay with us for that. good morning and welcome to bbc news. i'm annita mcveigh. as the easter weekend begins,

the government has repeated its warning to people not to go out unless it's absolutely necessary. a publicity campaign has been launched telling people to stay home to have a "safe easter" as temperatures are expected to rise to as much as 26c in some places. police forces across the uk have warned the public that they will take action if necessary — including issuing fines and arresting people who refuse to comply with measures. the prime minister is now out of intensive care and is said to be in "extremely good spirits" at st thomas‘ hospital. speaking to the bbc, his father stanley johnson says that the he must now "rest up" after what he called "taking one for the team." let's get the latest from our reporter, charlotte rose. cheering and applause pots banging and whistles blowing across the country, it's become a national thursday night ritual to thank those front—line carers

for putting themselves at risk in the fight against coronavirus. and one person in particular was showing her gratitude. the pm's fiancee reacting to the news that borisjohnson is out of intensive care at st thomas‘ hospital in london. brilliant news. yeah, i mean, it's really good news. it's also a reminder that people can recover, more generally. that's good news. it's good to have some positive news generally, but it's really good to know that the prime minister is on the road to full recovery. i was always confident that he would, and it's really good to know that he's now out of icu. well, i'm really pleased for the prime minister and his family. it is a relief for them, and i really hope this is the beginning of a speedy recovery, and i think everywhere across the country, people will be wishing him well. so, this is good news. but whilst there's good news for the pm, yesterday's figures were a sobering reminder that not all are so lucky, with 881 deaths in the past 2a hours, taking the total to nearly 8,000. that's why ministers and police chiefs say it's so important that

people stay at home this easter weekend, despite the good weather. in cumbria, police stopped two men who'd travelled to the lakes to go canoeing. they were told to go home. and a warning from one chief constable that they were prepared to take drastic action. we will not, at this stage, be setting up roadblocks. be starting to marshal supermarkets and checking the items in baskets and trolleys to see whether it's a legitimate, necessary item. but again, be under no illusion, if people do not heed the warnings that the police and i are making today, we will start to do that. the force later clarified it would not interrogate shoppers. but one cabinet minister has been forced to defend his own actions during lockdown. for weeks, the housing secretary, robertjenrick, has been hammering home the government's message. this is really on all of us, and we can all play a part in tackling the virus, in many cases by doing something

as simple as choosing to stay at home for the coming days. last night, responding to a report in the guardian, he explained he travelled a0 miles to deliver food and medicine to his parents in shropshire last weekend, but insisted he had respected social distancing rules. for all of us, another challenging weekend lies ahead. but the message stays the same — to help nhs workers and ease the strain on our carers over easter, we all need to stay at home. charlotte rose, bbc news. the national medical director of nhs england, stephen powis, said the public were responding to government advice, with the majority observing social distancing. i think the british public is responding. i think we can see that

in evidence such as reduced to travel, reduced footfall around our cities. as he had just said, it is really critical this weekend at we keep obeying those instructions. as isaid keep obeying those instructions. as i said last weekend, the son might be coming out but that is not an excuse be coming out but that is not an excuse for us to be going out. we are beginning to see the benefits of social distancing and staying at home. we do believe the virus is spreading less and that is translating into fewer hospital admissions. that will only continue to happen if we don't get complacent and continued to follow those instructions. to save lives, and this is about saving lives, make sure the nhs does not have excess pressure on it, it is coping really wonderfully at the moment but there is pressure there. we have to comply with those instructions. it is critical. 0ur political correspondent leila nathoo is here. there is a predominantly key piece of messaging from the government

there easter weekend, isn't there? absolutely. it is not the time to deviate from what we have all been doing so far. you heard dominic raab yesterday saying we are not done yet. yes, there were indications of early promising signs but the m essa 9 es early promising signs but the messages it is too soon to start thinking of doing anything other than following the restrictions we are already following. people are saying, look, they want some idea of when the restrictions will end but there is a reluctance from government to even entertain those conversations at the moment is that the positive signs people are referring to are only happening because people are sticking to social distancing guidelines and the m essa 9 es social distancing guidelines and the messages for people to resist the temptation. we are three weeks and then there was an understanding of how difficult this has been. dominic raab talking about how he would normally spend easter weekends by doing an easter egg hunt with his young boys but there could not be a stronger message me now is not the

time to deviate. it is about holding the line against the virus. to what extent the line against the virus. to what exte nt d o the line against the virus. to what extent do the actions of the communities secretary madiba government? there has been a lot of scrutiny from people delivering the message. we had the resignation from the scottish chief medical officer after she was found to have visited her second home twice. this morning we have had reports of the community secretary paying a visit to the home of his parents to deliver essentials. he says thatjenny was 40 essentials. he says thatjenny was a0 miles in the car. another report in the mail saying he travelled from london to herefordshire where his family has a home, not his constituency home but a place where his family does have a home. he made that journey after the lockdown restrictions were in place. clearly he is very much of the opinion he

has stuck within the rules. guidelines suggest you can deliver essential medicines to elderly, vulnerable people. there is a risk highlighting that there is perhaps room for interpretation of what constitutes essential travel. a risk for the government as lockdown goes on people are feeling pressure, they they can start to listen interpretation of what constitutes essential journeys. interpretation of what constitutes essentialjourneys. as we head towards peak pressure on the nhs but what is the latest the government is saying about the state of play in terms of protective equipment? there has been a message that protective equipment is coming. there was a bottleneck and there have been daily updates on the millions of pieces of protective equipment that are

reaching the nhs frontline. there are problems. care homes is one where people are still highlighting staff are not adequately equipped. the message from the government, they are really trying to break that bottleneck in supplying ppe to all frontline nhs staff. thank you. our reporter helena wilkinson is outside st thomas' hospital in london. improving all the time, the prime minister. yes, he is. we heard the news last night that the prime minister was moved out of the intensive care unit and onto award here at the hospital. it is the fifth night he spent at the hospital. he was in intensive care for three nights. a huge concern about the prime minister, who was brought here on sunday, not as an emergency but because his symptoms we re emergency but because his symptoms were persisting. he was here on

monday, still working from his hospital bed. his condition got worse in the afternoon and that is where he was transferred into the intensive care unit as a precaution. doctors wanted him to be near a ventilator in case he needed it. we know he did not need to go on to a ventilator. the prime minister on award in hospital. the statement last night from hospital in downing street saying he would be closely monitored during the early phase of his recovery. important to note the word, early, in that statement and this probably is not going to be over quickly for the prime minister. a huge relief of course for the fiancee of the prime minister and also his friends and colleagues. we heard from the father of the prime minister, stanleyjohnson, who spoke to the bbc this morning. this is all pretty straightforward. he must rest up. asl pretty straightforward. he must rest up. as i understand it, i pretty straightforward. he must rest up. as i understand it, lam not really close with the medical side

of things at all but as i understand it he has moved from the icus into a recovery unit. i don't think you could say he is out of the woods fiow. could say he is out of the woods now. he has to take time. i am not with the details but i cannot believe you can walk away from this and get straight back to downing street and pick up the reins without a period of readjustment. it will obviously be up to the medical team treating the prime minister as to when he can leave that it minister as to when he can leave thatitis minister as to when he can leave that it is not clear at this stage when he can return back to work. thank you. for the third week running, people across the uk emerged on to their doorsteps and balconies last night to take part in a "clap for carers." groups of hospital staff joined the applause in many places. here's tim muffett. cheering and applause. noisy. passionate. our new weekly ritual. this is this is lissenden gardens

council estate in north london. very, very important. they are our life—savers. they are the heart and soul of this whole world. the nhs, all the front—liners down to the dustmen, you can't fault any of them. they are great. love them all. i have neighbours that are not well. a bus driver friend of mine died. it's really important. they do such a fantasticjob. so you are a doctor? how does this feel? what impact is this having? it's wonderful. it's a great boost and a sign of the country being united. it's fantastic. really great. so this is the third time we've clapped for carers, but three weeks in, any idea that enthusiasm or participation levels might have dropped, well, not here. massively important.

it's the only way we can show our appreciation, because we are locked in. from newcastle... ..to brighton. the sound of applause filled the streets and the skies. off the coast of falmouth, horns replaced clapping, but the sentiment was the same. 200 miles off the coast of aberdeen, workers on the oil and gas platform also wanted to say thank you. politicians... ..and police... ..in dorset... ..and on london's westminster bridge. service men and women posted abroad didn't want to miss out. the first fusiliers battle group are currently serving in estonia. we'll keep doing what we're doing, you keep doing what you're doing. we are definitely all in this together. now we want to make some noise for you guys

to show our appreciation. and across the uk, nhs workers who were able to, came out to savour the moment. at craigavon hospital in northern ireland, at the royal hospital for children in bristol, and at st thomas' hospital in london, where the prime minister is still being treated for symptoms of covid—i9. the disease which has transformed so many things. thursday nights being just one of them. tim muffett, bbc news. another nightingale hospital will be operational later today. it's been built at the national exhibition centre near birmingham. it will have a 500—bed capacity, which could be scaled up to a,000 if needed. phil mackie reports. it's taken just two weeks to transform the halls at the nec near birmingham into a new hospital. if required, it can provide 500

extra beds, and even more than that, if needed. the army was brought in to help build it. the most unusual thing that we weren't really used to doing was designing for oxygen capacity. so, there's kilometres' worth of copper piping that's had to go in all the subways and the piping ducts along here to make sure that every single bed space has got the capacity to be oxygenated. the midlands has seen the highest number of confirmed cases and deaths from coronavirus outside london, but while this has been built, they've also increased intensive care capacity at all the region's hospitals. it's providing an enormous comfort blanket to staff and patients across the region that, as i say, we will not be reduced to the scenes we had in northern italy and spain where patients are lying on corridors because there was nowhere for them to be nursed properly. we know that, because this facility provides us that backdrop. but, you know, would it be a disaster if we didn't use it? no, it would be quite a good thing, actually.

whether it's used or not, england's second nightingale hospital is ready and could take patients, if needed, later today. phil mackie, bbc news, birmingham. the headlines on bbc news... the government issues an easter message to stay indoors this weekend to stop the spread of coronavirus. the prime minister is spending a sixth day in hospital after leaving intensive care — his father urges him to rest. eu finance ministers agree a 500 billion euro rescue package to help countries worst affected by the pandemic. european union finance ministers have agreed a 500 billion euro package to help member states‘ economies. loans will be provided to help pay healthcare costs and support companies and unemployed workers.

the ministers stopped short of accepting a demand by france and italy to share out the cost of the crisis by issuing so—called coronabonds. matt graveling reports. while video links kept ministers apart, the message did not. solidarity is key. a phrase born through weeks of discussion and part of the first major step to repair economies left battered by the coronavirus pandemic. we can all remember the response to the financial crisis of the last decade, when europe did too little, too late. this time around it‘s different. different to the tune of 500 billion euros, being made available to help countries pay for the health care, cure, and prevention—related costs of covid—i9. the move comes after the world trade organization warned the pandemic will cause the deepest economic recession in living memories.

currently, we rely solely on the safety nets that are in place in each member state. but these safety nets are facing unprecedented pressure in some parts of our union. that is why we welcome the creation of a temporary european instrument to support national safety nets in this crisis. with quarantine measures leaving countries counting the cost of the outbreak, ministers say they will work hard to make funds available within two weeks. but the discussions were not without problems. talks broke down on wednesday without an agreement, including a dispute between italy and the netherlands over how to apply the recovery fund. this emergency plan will shield our economic and social fabric as we dive into a recession. when the health crisis abates, we will need to spur the economic recovery. it is imperative that we grow together.

the eurogroup described the rescue package as unprecedented, but it‘s still only a third of the 1.5 trillion euros the european central banks say will be required to tackle the crisis. matt graveling, bbc news. new york state now has more coronavirus cases than any other country outside the us, according to latest figures. there are almost 160,000 people infected — more so than spain or italy. the state has started to bury some of its dead in mass graves. images, taken by drones, show labourers working on hart island near the bronx, laying pine coffins in long trenches. president trump reaffirmed his desire to reopen the us economy as quickly as possible, in the face of surging jobless figures. david willis reports. every day for the last three days, a new record has been set in new york.

that is from the number of deaths from coronavirus. more than 7,000 people have died here, but despite that, officials believe there is still cause for hope. the number of people admitted to hospital with symptoms of the virus is starting to level out, and that is boosting president trump‘s belief that the united states might soon start to return to normal. looks like we are at the lower end of the curve in terms of death and i think we are going to open up strong and very successfully, and i would like to say even more successfully than before. the president is itching to see america back in business, the world‘s largest economy has devastated by this crisis. government figures show that in the last three weeks, nearly 17 million people here lost theirjobs. april‘s unemployment rate is forecasted to hit 15%, a number not seen since the days of the great depression.

in a ground—breaking move, america‘s central bank, the federal reserve, has announced it is to provide more than $2 trillion in loans to help small businesses and local governments pay their bills. but the cost of testing everyone here who thinks they might have the coronavirus could prove unsustainable, so how then could the trump administration start sending people back to work? at the present moment we have now cleared more than two million tests across the country, and i am pleased to report we are testing more than 100,000 people per day now. but more testing is crucial, especially of reports that the president is pushing to reopen the country by the beginning of may are true. the united states is expected to see its biggest death toll from the coronavirus this coming easter sunday. david willis, bbc news.

nearly £2 million has been lost due to coronavirus—related fraud in the uk since the outbreak began, according to police. most of it relates to bogus companies selling non—existent protective equipment and sanitisers. a bbc investigation has found criminals in west africa have set up hundreds of websites in the last month. angus crawford reports. somewhere in west africa, there are facemasks for sale. hot demand and plenty of suppliers. look at this. as beer of the virus spreads, so did the adverts. everyone is looking for masks, disposable gloves and hand

sanitiser. just one click away. even a covid—19 testing kit. and there are glowing reviews, except it is all fake. time to bring in an expert. this is parasitic and reactionary nature when there are spikes and need for a product, they will flock into their need for the project and exploiting it. the damage is huge. i spoke to a business last week that was defrauded of £180,000, which was frankly shocking. how easy is it to place an order? do you sell surgical gloves and masks? did. iam place an order? do you sell surgical gloves and masks? did. i am looking for quite a lot. how many can you sell me? the maximum we can supply is 200,000 masks. how many? 300,000

masks. but you are not, are you? you area masks. but you are not, are you? you are a scammer. you are masks. but you are not, are you? you are a scammer. you are trying to rip people off, people in need. so he hung up. i do not think he has any masks or gloves, he just wants my money and they will not send me anything. scammers do not care. people are so desperate right now, there is a shortage and people are looking everywhere to try and find them. they feel betrayed, ripped off and angry. at a time of crisis, fear and angry. at a time of crisis, fear and exploitation go hand in hand. and angry. at a time of crisis, fear and exploitation go hand in handlj promise you this is the start of a very good business relationship and we will do more business in the future. the german military has

promised to send ventilators to britain. the government says 18,000 are needed. the group that represents universities across the country has had many will be forced to close about £2 billion of emergency government funding. universities uk said there is a full in revenues from overseas students. a letter has been written to the health secretary, urging him to cancel student debt for new nurses starting their careers by fighting covid—19. the public has shown its support in such a move by the government shows that it valued hard—working nurses. a doctor who warned the government it needed more protective equipment has died. he died after contracting

the virus. he called on boris johnson to fast track tests for frontline staff to stop the virus from spreading. there is still a critical shortage of medical ppe for healthcare workers — with an urgent need to increase supplies of protective equipment such as face masks. medical institutions around the country have been reaching out to the 3d printing community for help to overcome the shortages. one group who have been doing their bit to help — is ‘3dcrowd uk‘ who now have more than 5,000 volunteers helping to make and distribute plastic face masks to the nhs. and we can speak to one of those volunteers now. jonathan furness is the headteacher of stjohn‘s primary school in east london. jonathanjoins me now via webcam. thank you for taking the time to talk to us today. i know you have been very busy. your home 3d printer

has been running pretty much incessa ntly. has been running pretty much incessantly. that is where your story begins. absolutely. i have been working as a head teacher. busy at the moment, still opening the school. i have been here trying to keep my contribution going and that is to run left 3d printer. here is one of the masks i have produced. if ican one of the masks i have produced. if i canjust one of the masks i have produced. if i can just model app one of the masks i have produced. if i canjust model app for you now. this is not one that will go to the front line because it has had my fingers all over it but these are going straight to hospitals where they are very much needed. how long does it take to produce one of those? it can take anywhere between two hours and five hours to 3d print all the parts. it comes in a number of bits. this is the headband, the

bottom section and devise a bit that goes across the front. it is not a fast process. when you are working with 5500 people, each producing up to ten, 15 visors a day, that is quite a lot of facemasks. to ten, 15 visors a day, that is quite a lot of facemaskslj to ten, 15 visors a day, that is quite a lot of facemasks. i think that this group of volunteers, you have produced something like 20,000 masks already and counting, which is a really incredible contribution. you must feel very proud of the team effort. it is a huge response. it started with a couple of hundred people. the biggest issue right now as we‘re running out of raw materials to making these masks. we are looking for companies that can provide the filament for that 3d printers, the plastic floor devices themselves. if anyone out there can

help, please get in touch and go to the 3d crowd dot uk page to offer your support. you have put out that appeal perfectly. another shout out if anyone can help with, the plastic for the visors, the filament met what is that? we want these spores of petg of material, which runs through the printers. we are crying out for that. the more we get, the more masks we can produce. out for that. the more we get, the more masks we can producem out for that. the more we get, the more masks we can produce. if anyone has the plastic, if anyone can provide that filament, they should get in touch with 3d crowd uk.“ you go to the website can offer help and support. i am sure there are companies out there, people out there who can help with this tremendous effort. i hope you get more of the material so you can make more of the material so you can make more of the masks. we were talking

earlier today about the nursing home sector still very much crying out for the masks. you have had a direct appealfrom a for the masks. you have had a direct appeal from a local nursing for the masks. you have had a direct appealfrom a local nursing home, haven‘t you? appealfrom a local nursing home, haven't you? absolutely. when you look at frontline staff working in hospitals, what we forget is there are other members of the community also on the frontline, working with people in care homes and nursing homes. they just people in care homes and nursing homes. theyjust don‘t have anything. iam really homes. theyjust don‘t have anything. i am really torn as when i supply my local hospital or whether i should be producing for the care home. i will do as much as i can. you managed to turn this exercise, if you like, into a virtual assembly for your school. tell us about that? yes, i‘m busy enough as a head teacher, i work at stjohn‘s primary school and we have been running our virtual assembly is to try and keep

in contact with our pupils. and as pa rt in contact with our pupils. and as part of that initiative, we‘ve also been running our own fundraising campaign, our children are going to be doing some sponsored activities to raise money for the nhs. there is a real community spirit amongst all of us, to try and do our bit to support those in great need. jonathan, you are an absolute store. keep on doing what you‘re doing. i‘m sure all your colleagues and the kids are incredibly proud of you. thank you so much and thank you for talking to us. thank you very much. someone absolutely going above and beyond to help out during this pandemic, just a reminder, if you can help out with any of those materials for those masks that 3d crowd uk are making, their volu nteers crowd uk are making, their volunteers are making for the nhs, do go to their twitter account and offer that material to them, if you

can. 0k. it is 9:32am, let‘s take a look at the weather. matt taylor is with us. hello. it‘s going to be really a very, very nice couple of days for many of us. but there is an important message that goes with that. easter at home is the message for most. bright start to the easter weekend. warm across eastern coasts, offshore wind compared to yesterday, some showers in the forecast, some of those developing through the day, to the north and west of scotland, northern ireland, later in north—west wales. temperatures above where they should be at the time of year, higher than yesterday, 25 degrees the highs, later on, sharp showers in wales could drift into northern england, through the night it‘s across parts of scotland, northern ireland, showers are more likely. giving some garden is a welcome drop of rain, temperatures above freezing to take us into saturday. starting cloudy and damp for scotland and northern ireland,

most predominantly dry, hazy sunshine for many, even warmer today, 26 degrees in the south—east, turning cooler for the today, 26 degrees in the south—east, turning coolerfor the north and west of scotland through the day. that‘s a sign of what will happen in the second half of the weekend, temperatures dropping, add in across the east. goodbye for now.

hello, this is bbc news with annita mcveigh. the headlines... the government issues an easter message to stay indoors this weekend to stop the spread of coronavirus. so to save lives, and this is about saving lives, and to make sure the nhs doesn‘t have excess pressure on it, it is coping really wonderfully at the moment but there is pressure there, we have to comply with those instructions. it‘s critical. the prime minister is spending a sixth day in hospital after leaving intensive care — his father urges him to rest. eu finance ministers agree a 500 billion euro rescue package to help countries worst affected by the pandemic.

new york starts to bury some of its dead in mass graves — with nearly 160,000 people infected with coronavirus across the state. a bbc investigation reveals businesses have lost nearly £2 million in coronavirus related fraud buying non—existent medical equipment online. sport and time for a full round up from the bbc sport centre. here is mike. good morning to you. going to be a very different easter weekend in sport than we might have expected a couple of months ago? absolutely, good morning to you. this weekend a lot of speculation and talk about what will happen in football, when, if, how it can resume. important day in scotland, the scottish fa deciding the season cannot resume until the 10th ofjune at the earliest but today, by this

evening, we will know the outcome of this will taking place involving clu bs this will taking place involving clubs in the scottish championship, and league1 clubs in the scottish championship, and league 1 and league 2 and it will decide whether to end the season now and decide the outcome is in those leagues bite points one per game so far. delighted to say i can speak to the former scotland international pat nevin who joins us from home. good morning and thank you forjoining us. you‘ve had so many roles in scottish football over the years so you know how important this is. yes, it's extraordinarily important but that‘s happening every other day in scotland just now. i have to be honest it‘s an existential crisis for some of the clu bs, existential crisis for some of the clubs, particularly the smaller ones down the food chain, the ones making that decision today and making the vote by 5pm, a2 clubs and 75% have to agree to maybe finish the season now. i‘m not too sure what way is going to go, i don‘t think anyone knows. the one thing i have to say,

be kind of honest and upfront about this, it‘s not being made on the grounds of sporting integrity, these decisions, it‘s basically making sure clubs can get through this and are surviving and are fit and can live for another season. so you know, we‘d love to end the season, everybody knows that, just might not be possible for some of those clubs. really, the clubs have to take back, ta ke really, the clubs have to take back, take a step back and think of the overall game rather than their own particular cases at this point? yes, that‘s what they have to do but for every clu b that‘s what they have to do but for every club it‘s probably different, the right answer for one club will be the wrong answer for another. what we are concerned about is one thing, the money going to be paid by the spf fell at the end of the season for prize money for where you finish in the division, they cannot pay that until they know what the league and it is going to be, that‘s a slight difficulty, if you finish it now there‘s a massive problem, tv contracts, i don‘t think uefa or

fifa would be delighted going against their wishes or before they make a decision. but if you get that money in that means you may well be able to survive between now and the end of the season, because there is no other cash flow coming to the clu bs no other cash flow coming to the clubs so that‘s why they are doing that. one possible suggestion by a number of people is may be the sp fl should give a loan to these clubs and say, ok, there is some of the prize money, we will loan it to you not knowing by the end of the season we will pay you anyway, that‘s what might happen by the end of today. that would be an interesting development. in terms of the clubs themselves partick thistle would perhaps have an argument of the seasonis perhaps have an argument of the season is ended now because they are at the bottom of the championship but they have a game in hand and they are only two macro points behind queen of the south so they have a case to argue against ending the season now. it's not surprising, you look at dundee united, and other clu bs, you look at dundee united, and other clubs, it seems selfish but they are

businesses, they have to run as businesses, they have to run as businesses and it would help them, you are right, the teams at the bottom are going to feel very, very differently knowing they could get out of the situations and seen at a times before. that the end of the season, so many things change and that‘s all the way through the leagues and it goes up to the premiership as well. hearts are four points behind the moment, if they stop, they are not going to do that at the moment, they will have to start discussing that and think about that point soon. they would be absolutely furious and understandably so. one option i heard a scottish football correspondent talking about the other day was getting rid of relegation and expand the league, clu bs ca n relegation and expand the league, clubs can still get promoted and win titles but you don‘t have anybody relegated stop is at realistic? yes, it‘s a potential, we call it the belgian model, that‘s what they‘ve done, they‘ve managed to get round it by doing exactly that. it‘s got problems going forward, a lot of people in scotland feel that the

league is much too small anyway, they could do with another couple of times so yes, it might be something to ta ke times so yes, it might be something to take into consideration and i certainly wouldn‘t be against it on the face of it but there‘s a lot of things that have to be taken into consideration. that‘s ok for the premiership. but look down the leagues at the sp fl, maybe they are not delighted they are losing two of the slightly bigger teams that bring in money. as we go over these things, there is no simple answer! no, trying to keep everyone happy which can be done. pat, you have said it‘s going to be close, too close to call, football leagues across europe, certainly the scottish premiership, will be watching this very closely. ipm, you say, we should know the outcome. pat, we have to leave it there but thank you forjoining us. pat nevin, former scotland international explaining their predicament and conundrum facing scottish clubs today. back to you. mike, thank you. now on bbc news — it‘s your questions answered.

i‘m joined now by dr oksana pyzik senior teaching fellow, university college london school of pharmacy & global health advisor and by dr rita issa, who is a gp registrar — which means she is a newly trained gp. thank you poulsen much for taking the time to answer questions today. let‘s try and get as many of those a nswered let‘s try and get as many of those answered as possible. —— thank you both so much. nigel asks is the virus airborne, does it last in the atmosphere and does sunlight kill it? i have a condition, how does this affect the chances? i believe his condition is related to asbestos exposure. dr oksana, would you like to begin? yes, there have been a lot

of concerns around whether this virus is airborne or not. what we mean by airborne as for instance, it can‘t linger in the air. these respiratory droplets when someone coughs or sneezes is the primary form of transmission. so if you have coughed outside, it‘s not that someone walks by an hour later and inhales that air that they could get infected, because those respiratory droplets are quite big and heavy, so they drop to the ground rapidly. now, when people are talking about it being airborne, this is, under very specific circumstances, when health care professionals are conducting aerosol generating procedures, so in debating, in intensive care units, you are putting a tube down someone ‘s throat, their suctioning, that way, in an artificial circumstance, you

don‘t have also a regular outdoor airflow, there we can see that these droplets can last longer. but the concern about someone reallyjust going outside for a walk and being at risk, is really on a standard. it is not airborne in those circumstances, as the who has verified. and you are right to also say with the condition that you mention, it usually occurs in someone who has had, who has been next exposed to asbestos and it thickens some of the membranes within the lungs so if the person currently has their breathing under control, as they should, then we wouldn‘t expect for this person to have severely compromised breathing ability. however, they should be very alert towards the development of any symptoms and to be quite

quick to act as we know that this disease can progress very quickly. 0k, disease can progress very quickly. ok, the other part of the question which i want to pick up on as we go into a pretty sunny, warm weekend, does sunlight kill it, asks nigel? rita, can you answer? the short answer for that is essentially no. high intensity ultraviolet light has been suggested to affect virus particles but the amount of sunlight that we get isn't really high enough to kill coronavirus as we know it. that‘s important, isn‘t it? we don‘t wa nt that‘s important, isn‘t it? we don‘t want people to be thinking it‘s sunny outside we should be safer because the message is to stay at home. obviously, you can exercise within the guidelines but essentially, to stay at home. of course, and actually the main way we know to kill coronavirus is through hand washing with soap for 20 seconds. that's the most important way to prevent yourself catching

coronavirus, we must reiterate. back to the basics, good hygiene. another reviewer asks, is it beneficial to open the windows of our homes during the pandemic? some think the virus is airborne and will enter through open windows? if someone wants to fling open their windows but they are worried about doing that, what would you say? i would highly recommend it. we have some lovely weather and we need to be respecting government rules and only going outside for essentials or exercise. but we can enjoy the sunshine by opening the windows and as we have discussed, there is no risk of the virus being blown into your window. so, please do enjoy that pressure. 0k, clear cut answer, which is good ina time 0k, clear cut answer, which is good in a time of confusion, it‘s good to have definite answers. rita, peter from colwyn bay in wales asks when it showed a 65—year—old male with

long—standing type one diabetes, asthma, and mildly high blood pressure contact 111? what we know of coronavirus is that it affects certain groups more, generally that those who are older in age and might have underlying health conditions like the ones you've described but what we know of the course of the virus is that between getting it and having a worsening of symptoms, it it's around four or five days, generally people who had to go to hospital it around date seven. i would say have a low threshold to contact 111, if you're feeling short of breath, not able to control your temperature, then definitely reach out to health services. i know in ourgp out to health services. i know in our gp practice what we are providing is oxygen saturation monitors, to people in the local community who might be at higher risk so we can monitor people at home. so definitely contact!!! or your local gp, we home. so definitely contact!!! or yourlocalgp, we are home. so definitely contact!!! or your local gp, we are open and generally taking phone calls.“

your local gp, we are open and generally taking phone calls. if in doubt, airon generally taking phone calls. if in doubt, air on the side of caution. definitely. dr oksana, joe in london says she is pregnant, will it affect me when i give birth. do i need to give birth alone without my partner with me? yes, this is a question that many people who are pregnant are going to be very worried about at this time. in terms of the baby itself, at this stage, there is no evidence to show that vertical transmission, meaning the mother could pass the disease to her baby that way, however if she already has coronavirus then the child could be affected once born through fluids and otherwise, but if she doesn‘t have the virus, then of course, her risk is much lower. in terms of transmission. i know that usually these questions are also around

concerns for both the mother and baby. the guidance is really changing so quickly on this. but to reduce risk in terms of having your partner there, currently, reduce risk in terms of having your partnerthere, currently, i believe, the best advice is to minimise the amount of people in hospital, to reduce the overall spread. and we can also, this should be checked, really, information is changing so quickly. i think really, information is changing so quickly. ithink can ijust bring rita in on that, about whether some hospitals are allowing a birth partner in, others not? what‘s the latest you are hearing. yes, as i know it, antenatal care is continuing to schedule, it may be shifted from a face—to—face appointment to a telephone or video consultation and when it becomes time for the birth, consultation and when it becomes time forthe birth, if consultation and when it becomes time for the birth, if you don't have symptoms of coronavirus, you should be able to have a birth partner there with you, that seems

to be the most up—to—date guidance on what is going on. i think if you or your partner have symptoms of coronavirus there may be certain measures that may be brought in, for example extra use of personal protective equipment for staff that are there. check with your maternity unit? exactly, exactly. let's try and get some more of these. dr oksana, jason and get some more of these. dr oksa na, jason asks and get some more of these. dr oksana, jason asks our and get some more of these. dr oksa na, jason asks our facemasks beneficial in stores and workplaces? can air conditioning, fans and heaters distribute germs beyond distance measures, beyond that to micro metres. yes. to start with the second half of the question, the a nswer second half of the question, the answer is a little more straightforward, in terms of air conditioning, heaters, there is no evidence to substantiate that this could be a huge play in terms of the additional risks. as has already been mentioned, really the best precaution is around ensuring

essential and basic hygiene. in terms of our use of face mask, we do see that the language from the who has slightly changed from only recommending it for front line health care workers, where it it is absolutely most essential, as we already discussed, these are the people who are front line, conducting these aerosol generating procedures and they require very specific masks. now, for other people also in the public and they would like to use a mask, we see other countries are starting to also slightly move in that direction, with the general public using facemasks, however, it is so important that we don‘t have this false sense of security because you are wearing a face mask. still frequent hand hygiene and washing, alongside using a face mask, is going to be far more effective. also, if you are not used to wearing

a face mask, you can end up touching your face a face mask, you can end up touching yourface more often. and then, that actually increases the chances. really, if you are going to use a face mask, it has to be done safely. you shouldn‘t be reusing single use either and you should always remove it from the back of the ears, not touching the front of the mask. they can bring problems as well? be very careful when it comes to thinking that facemasks are the answer. that is the message. very pertinent one for you rita. this is an enormous question but opposes the idea of doctors all around the uk practising in the uk, going to test centres to test everyone, do you think it‘s time that all doctors do that, it affects all of us? yes, i'm not quite sure if the question is asking whether all front line staff should be tested or whether we should be rolling out testing to everybody and i think both are quite good points for us to discuss. i guess the first

thing to note is the tests we have at the moment only tells us if you currently have coronavirus, we are trying to develop a test that tells us if you've previously had coronavirus and your body has mounted an immune response to it and you have recovered from it. ithink there is something to be said for knowing when front line staff have coronavirus. currently about a quarter of the nhs workforce is off work because of coronavirus symptoms or because of a family member who might have symptoms and i think to that end, it's good for us to know when staff are safe to go back to work. in terms of testing more broadly like we've seen for example in germany or south korea, i think the limiting factor isn't necessarily that there aren't enough doctors to do the test, i think it's we are limited with the number of tests we actually have available to us and! tests we actually have available to us and i think what's important to remember is that there's not that much value injust doing the testing necessarily. in the countries that have done testing, what they've done

is test and trace. if you are found to have coronavirus and everybody that you've been in contact with is contacted to say watch out for symptoms, stay at home and don't go out and interact with other people so you can reduce the risk of passing it on. i hope that answers that question for you. dr oksana, this question from a viewer in pressure, does coronavirus live on the ground, should be be wary about carpets and vinyl floors and how can chronically ill people clean these services? we have some evidence that this virus can persist in hard services, that could go actually more so on hard floors than fibres of carpets because adherence is actually preferable or ideal on hard surfaces. in terms of people who are chronically ill, hopefully they have ca re rs chronically ill, hopefully they have carers or other support in place that can help to thoroughly disinfect, not only the floor, but

probably, if we think about it, we are touching services more and more often, if you think about the risk often, if you think about the risk of transmission, it‘s going to be things like door knobs and handles, lots more so than floors but these should also be cleaned regularly. but i do of course, if people have very severe chronic conditions that prevent them doing so, appropriate support from carers or the government would perhaps be required to ensure that they can keep safe in their home. it depends if someone has been self isolating for a number of weeks, it depends whether traffic has been in and out of the house. time for a very brief answer for a very serious question. elizabeth asks why is it if some people who don‘t have underlying health issues survive the virus and some die? unfortunately it's too soon for us to say. we are currently conducting studies to try and work out why certain people are more affected by the virus than others. some theories

that have been postulated at the moment is that there might be an association with how much of the virus you were initially exposed to. that means people who perhaps are working in hospitals, if they are exposed to a higher apparel load their body might mount a more extreme immune response which then means they end up needing to go to hospital but unfortunately, i think it's too soon to say but what we do know is it affects you by age so generally the older you are, the more likely you are to have worse symptoms. we are out of time, we a lwa ys symptoms. we are out of time, we always have more questions than time to a nswer always have more questions than time to answer them, but dr oksana and dr rita, thank you so much. and thank you for your questions. right now, time for the weather with matt taylor. hello, try easter weekend for the majority we will see some isolated and possibly thundery showers breaking out in time through the weekend. big story weather—wise is temperature are shifting around, from a pretty warm start, damages 25

degrees in the south today, widely above average for the time of year, southerly winds wafting the once northwards but towards the end of the weekend, north to north—easterly winds developing and that will limit temperatures across eastern areas to single figures with an added wind chill. out there at the moment eastern parts warmer than yesterday, the wind offshore, most places try across the country. sunshine hazy in the north, we could see one or two isolated showers especially in the west of scotland, west of northern ireland but temperatures above where they should be at the time of year, peaking at around 23—25 across parts of central, southern england. we finish the afternoon, isolated sharp, possibly thundery showers drifting into northern england, greater chance of the gardens getting round this evening and overnight, the west of scotland, northern ireland, heavy bursts of rain around her neck lighter and patchy later. frost free as we head into saturday. could still be a damp and cloudy start across parts of scotland, northern ireland initially, turning drier and

brighter, hazy sunshine, further south varying amounts of, longer sunny spells were the south and east, wales and the south—west could catch an isolated thunderstorm later in the day. temperatures higher than today in the south—east, 26 degrees possible, cooler in western scotland, northern ireland, westerly breeze finishing saturday, this area of low pressure moving. low pressure out towards ireland, southern ireland, we could see heavy rain, may be close enough to produce splashes to the west of wales. elsewhere, varying amounts of cloud, or club on saturday, thunderstorms developing across southern england later, temperatures were 23 degrees, all that falling away from highs today and tomorrow, notably further north temperatures in single figures. getting colder through sunday night into monday, denied in—store, this high—pressure mousse in bringing the wind from the north, adding to the chill along the eastern coast, plenty of, sunshine more widespread for the west. even here, temperatures around 10 degrees lower than they had been for the

next few days. with winds touching gale force in the south—east, added wind—chill as well.

this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the uk government issues an easter message to stay indoors this weekend to stop the spread of coronavirus. the british prime minister is spending a sixth day in hospital after leaving intensive care — his father urges him to rest. eu finance ministers agree a 500 billion euro rescue package to help countries worst affected by the pandemic. new york starts to bury some of its dead in mass graves, with nearly 160,000 people infected with coronavirus across the state. a bbc investigation reveals businesses have lost nearly