had to blackboard or that she would had to introduce herself online. it is hard. at first i was so nervous, even scared, because i have never used this technology before. having my first class, finishing my first class, i think it was not as bad as i thought. it can never be like an original class but still, in a situation like this, this is the best option. how has this time been for you? we are supposed to go to school. since we are still staying home for the last few weeks, my life style home for the last few weeks, my lifestyle has become more slack and lazy. their teacher tells me she can check their work in real time to ensure students are indeed studying. learning to work in a virtual classroom in just a few days has been a real challenge. it is

overwhelming. we had to adapt to a new change, so fast. it feels like a tsunami. the government is handing out 300,000 smart devices stop there are huge digital gaps to fill, even in this tech savvy country. this charity is delivering food parcels to make sure children from low income households can focus on school work and they are offering tech support including free wi—fi to thousands. translation: when i talk to the parents, they are less worried about the access to smart devices and more worried about whether the kids will be able to learn properly by themselves. the fear is that some students will be left behind in an already tough education system. the government admits this is an experiment but in admits this is an experiment but in a time when normal life has become a

distant dream, this is as close as stu d e nts distant dream, this is as close as students can get, for now. laura bicker, bbc news. now on bbc news it's the coronavirus newscast, hello and welcome to this bbc news special. stay with us over the next 30 minutes as we share the latest information on the coronavirus outbreak. we will take you into an intensive care unit in a london hospital to show doctors are confronted with as they care for patients who have severe cases of covid—i9. plus chris morris from the reality check team will bust more myths that have up about coronavirus

and a reminder that there further advice, news and information about coronavirus in your area on the news website. first, the dramatic spread of the pandemic has put health services in some countries under immense pressure. through the sheer scale of people requiring specialist treatment. our medical correspondent fergus walsh and cameraman adam walker got exclusive access to an intensive care ward at university couege intensive care ward at university college hospital in central london to give us this rare insight into what health professionals are having to face on a daily basis. it is com pletely to face on a daily basis. it is completely unimaginable and we are not at the peak yet. this is the front line. every patient we are looking after has covered. we can't cope, wejust looking after has covered. we can't cope, we just can't. looking after has covered. we can't cope, wejust can't. every looking after has covered. we can't cope, we just can't. every day, looking after has covered. we can't cope, wejust can't. every day, some battles are won. this is one of the doctors. and some are lost. all the

patients here are critically ill. we are planning for many more patients, all our theatres to be full of covered patients and possibly beyond. it is, you know, none of us have ever seen anything like this. this used to be a recovery area for patients after surgery. now, this used to be a recovery area for patients aftersurgery. now, it's this used to be a recovery area for patients after surgery. now, it's an intensive care unit for covid—i9 patients. a huge part of the hospital has been transformed in order to deal with coronavirus. i've beenin order to deal with coronavirus. i've been in intensive care nursing for 23 years now, i've never seen anything like this, even the london bombings, never seen it in such a short, condensed period of time. many of the patients here are elderly or have underlying health problems but not all.|j elderly or have underlying health problems but not all. i think perhaps i was a bit naive when we started. i assumed

perhaps i was a bit naive when we started. iassumed it perhaps i was a bit naive when we started. i assumed it would be the older and sicker. in here, we've got different people, in their 40s, their 70s, a lot of them have high blood pressure and diabetes or a bit of respiratory disease. but some of them are coming through, who are young and fit. the patients here have severe pneumonia, inflammation of the lungs. they must be heavily sedated while on a ventilator, a machine which takes over their breathing. patients can spend two weeks like this. many drugs are being tested but there is, as yet, no proven treatment for coronavirus. oxygen and organ support. amazing nursing care, really. one thing that helps is turning the patients onto the front. it increases the oxygen getting into their lungs. what seems like a getting into their lungs. what seems likea simple getting into their lungs. what seems like a simple procedure takes time.

and lots of pairs of hands. ok, eve ryo ne and lots of pairs of hands. ok, everyone all right? ready, steady. with ventilated patients extreme is needed. all of this while staff wear full personal protective equipment. well done, that's great, can we check on the ventilation? their only barrier against coronavirus. every timea barrier against coronavirus. every time a doctor or nurse goes on the unit, they must don full safety gear. you can't wear this and work for more than a couple of hours. you've got a crushing headache. you've got a crushing headache. you've got a dry mouth. you have to get out. staff write their names on their aprons so they can be quickly identified. there is an emergency on the intensive care unit. the head of critical care was seen by a walkie—talkie if he would give a second opinion. but he needs to be there so the full kit has to be put on. they use walkie—talkies because

their advisers mean they cannot communicate on phones. it is training, physically and mentally. it's really ha rd training, physically and mentally. it's really hard and some of our staff ca n not it's really hard and some of our staff cannot cope with it. we've got a huge number of nurses, doctors, physios, not all of them can deal with it so they can only spend a short time, or not any time. it's not uncommon for some of our staff to have panic attacks, finding this so, so stressful. we've got to support people, some of them just can't do it. despite the possible risk to themselves, the medical staff carry on. 12 hour shifts, 60 hours a week is the norm. they worry about the patients, about each other, and about those they love. about the patients, about each other, and about those they lovelj think it's very hard on our families. my kids are at home, my wife is home—schooling. it's easy in a way for me, i'm doing myjob, and busy all day. they don't really know what it's like here, whether we are

bringing home the virus. they've just been amazing. letting me do what i need to do and i'm incredibly grateful to them. what is striking here is the sense of calm, in the face of adversity, doctors and nurses simply get on with the job. the staff here are dealing with the biggest challenge ever faced by the nhs. they can save many of the patients but sadly, not all of them. still, more patients keep coming every day. and no one is sure how long this will last. for now, they can cope. but that depends on all of us can cope. but that depends on all of us playing our part. what is your message to people watching or listening to this? if people don't stay at home and they sneak out, this is going to continue to happen and our staff are going to be exposed for longer, we are not going

to have the equipment to do the best that we can buy everybody who needs it. we do need to flatten that curve and it is so serious. and ijust wish people would really listen to what the government and you are saying. it is harrowing to see the devastation caused by coronavirus. and handling to witness the resilience of nurses and doctors. the heroes of this crisis. ididn't take i didn't take this seriously enough. imran is 37 and has breathing difficulties because of the virus. you don't know how bad it is until it actually hits you and so, i would absolutely urge everybody to listen to the government guidance. and stay away from people. he has a wife and

two children, everything to fight for. i have felt, times, were my body has been willing to just give up body has been willing to just give up completely. and i'm a very young and fit individual. from the moment patients arrive at a&e, nurses and doctors face the risk of infection. ido doctors face the risk of infection. i do worry about my staff because they are being exposed to patients who have a dangerous disease. the man in charge of the hospital through this crisis leads from the front. i am a doctor myself, i work in accident and emergency with coronavirus patients and i'm also anxious but on the other hand, we are all professionals, we know how to protect ourselves and we know the risk. so we can deal with this. the biggest transformation has been in intensive and high dependency care, the number of beds has increased fivefold, with plans for even more. what will it be enough, can they

cope with the surge? all those questions are critical and they depend on three things, people, kit and oxygen. we got enough people, that's difficult, inevitably we've had staff go of. we currently have enough oxygen, current problem today is having enough great ventilators. if you are purple you were confirmed coronavirus case , if you are purple you were confirmed coronavirus case, orange you are suspected, which is the very sickest patients will need a ventilator to breathe for them. look at the intensive care unit, there area at the intensive care unit, there are a non—corona patients, both of them a longer stay, weaning off ventilators slowly. the rest has been taken by corona. we've got another hospital that doing urgent cancer but this place is essentially becoming a huge corona centre, yes. that's ok. everyone going into intensive care must wear a full protective clothing. beds have been created in every available space.

this is an anaesthetic room attached to an operating theatre and just look inside here. this operating theatre has been repurposed for two intensive care beds. i mean, it's actually rather overwhelming because it just reinforces actually rather overwhelming because itjust reinforces the level of threat, the level of preparation going on here and just what we are facing. it's the same layout in ten operating theatres, leaving just two of them for emergency surgery. are you feeling stronger? all hospital visits have been stopped, only in exceptional circumstances might a family member of a very sick patient be admitted. it's the personal cost of what's happening to patients. which is devastating sometimes. it's really ha rd

which is devastating sometimes. it's really hard because we cannot let the relatives in see their loved ones, while the patients may not be aware, the relatives are really feeling this. like all of us, the doctors and nurses wonder when life will return to normal. certainly in my family we've got a holiday booked in august, we have got that as a date, i don't know if that's a hope. like everyone in the country, in some ways i've got a job, i'm getting an income, i know i'm not suffering like a lot of people are. the whole country is suffering here. and the whole country knows it owes an immense debt to nhs front line staff, putting themselves at risk from coronavirus day after day. to save lives. that report by our medical correspondent fergus walsh with cameraman adam walker. next, it's becoming clear widespread testing for coronavirus is owing to be crucial as countries try to navigate their way out of the crisis. but

there is confusion about what that means and how it might be achieved. asjim reid means and how it might be achieved. as jim reid reports. means and how it might be achieved. asjim reid reports. most scientists agree testing for this virus is critical, part of the way we can save lives and break out of the lockdown. we have a simple message for all countries, test, test, test. there are two main types of test for coronavirus, at the moment we are using something called a pcr test, normally taken with a swab, these look for genetic material related to the virus. you're asking the question, does that person had the virus in their system at the time of the test? to detect the genome of the test? to detect the genome of the virus itself. pcr testing can tell if someone currently has the virus, crucial for both tell if someone currently has the virus, crucialfor both patients tell if someone currently has the virus, crucial for both patients and health care workers. but it needs to be analysed in a laboratory, that it ta kes be analysed in a laboratory, that it takes time and is expensive. it needs skilled staff and chemicals called reagents which are in short supply. that's one reason why many

countries have struggled to increase testing rates, some like south korea have moved much faster than others. testing along with infection tracking is partly how it's managed to keep debts at a low level. translation: we've set this up as an alternative when many people could get tested in a short space of time. the second type of test looks for antibodies in blood. this is much faster, just needs apricot blood that can either be sent in the post or even analysed at home. the antibody testing reveals who's been exposed and who has mounted an immune response to the virus. it's been a mac a pretty good guess as to whether a person may already be immune to this virus. an antibody test is cheap and doesn't need a laboratory to process the result but it doesn't work straightaway, it can take weeks after infection to produce enough antibodies to measure. and there are real questions about the accuracy of the tests produced so far. if we

can't prove they work there are clear advantages. it will allow us to test health care workers and theirfamilies to to test health care workers and their families to see if they have had a covert infection. and that might allow a lot of health care workers to return to the front line. the other topic that has been widely discussed is the use of some sort of covid—i9 passport to say you had the infection and you can now return to work more generally. the idea is an immunity passport might lead some leave lockdown if tests show they've already had the disease but it's controversial. it's going to open up ethical issues about will be create a tiered society, one group allowed to go back to work, the other is not. we are already being accused in the media today of a police state. there's an awful lot of societal ramifications how this is going to be used. there is a third type of test which firms are developing, ravaged at the gene tests —— rapid

antigen tests. these should be far cheaper and quicker. based on a nasal swab or saliva sample. that could be critical parts of the world that might not have advanced testing facilities. we might expect some companies would be able to deliver a rapid test, that would be a game changer, especially if after ten minutes we could identify a large proportion of those who have been infected. the next step is to prove these tests can work effectively and quickly. it's not one but a combination of all these technologies that can, perhaps, help us keep the virus in check until a vaccine is developed. one of the latest countries to advise people to wear masks or cover their faces in public as the united states. despite the guidance from experts at the world health organisation, that medical masks should be reserved for health care professionals and not used by the general public. israel,

indonesia and morocco are now amongst countries that have made wearing of face masks compulsory in public. the bbc‘s science editor has been investigating how effective wearing them can be. a computer simulation of someone coughing in a supermarket. this is new research, still to be confirmed, that shows how coronavirus could spread and linger in the air, infecting people nearby. the scientist involved says the obvious conclusion as to avoid places that might be busy. first of all, don't go there if you don't need to go there. if you need to go there, go there only as seldom as possible. and stay there as short a time as possible. if someone is showing symptoms they shouldn't be going to a supermarket or anywhere else but there is growing evidence that people can have the virus and not show symptoms. and that's one reason why the us government and many others, are now urging people

that if they have to go out, they wear a mask. in morocco, for example, there is now a government ordered to wear masks. with the threat of prison or fines to back that up. at the world health organisation and the british government, believe measures like this just aren't needed. here government, believe measures like thisjust aren't needed. here in government, believe measures like this just aren't needed. here in the uk, the guidance is its health care workers and carers who should wear masks. and the worry is that supplies might run out if the public are trying to buy them as well. there are different views about this among scientists. one is that if you wear a mask, you among scientists. one is that if you weara mask, you might among scientists. one is that if you wear a mask, you might reduce the risk of passing virus to others. another is that once you put a mask on, you might get a false sense of security. you might think you can get close to people again or stop washing your hands so often. and you might treat the mask much too casually. wearing a mask must be

consistent, it's not on to wear a mask and decide to take it off and smoke a cigarette or eat a meal, it must be worn full—time. at the same time come up in the mask is taken off, the outside surface may be contaminated as well. and hands become contaminated and then could serve as a source of infection. in any event, more and more countries are demanding that people wear masks. in indonesia, they are handing them out. and the italian region of tuscany is scaling up deliveries because everyone will have to wear one. attitudes are changing fast. we headed to cape town now, an unprecedented truce has broken out between rival gangs in the townships around the city. south africa is trying to control the spread of coronavirus. gang leaders have halted their turf wars and turned the delivery networks usually used for drugs trafficking, to get foods into poor hassles instead. andrew

harding, the bbc‘s africa correspondent reports. these are some of the most dangerous streets in south africa and the world. for communities, fought over relentlessly by rival drugs gangs. but today a virus and nationwide lockdown, many have achieved what the police and the army failed to do. this is the american gangster. most of these men had been injail, some are killers. but today, instead of selling drugs and robbing people, they are backing up food supplies for hungry families. i got a phone call from different gang leaders saying we've never asked you for anything but i thought, hey, if these guys are starving, they are at these guys are starving, they are at the top of the food chain, the rest of the community will be in serious strife. to help, they gangs are drawing on their own particular skill set. the best distributors in the country,

they know how to distribute things, they know how to distribute things, they are used to distributing other white powders but they are disturbing things and they know everybody. what does the community think of the criminals sudden change of focus? there is really fear for sure, that i gang ceasefire has taken hold during lockdown. we rely on one another to help each other, evenif on one another to help each other, even if it's gangs, people, not gangsters. there is no such thing as gangsterism, in these times all of us stand together. but it is hard to tell what people here really think. about the men who have terrorised their neighbourhoods for decades. the authorities are sceptical. their neighbourhoods for decades. the authorities are scepticallj the authorities are sceptical.” don't think it exonerates you when you've done so much evil, one good doesn't deed doesn't wipe it all away, maybe they can commit to slightly more long—term good, put on farms permanently and stop intimidating and robbing residents. then we are good. because of the lockdown, i'm not able to film but i

am in johannesburg, not lockdown, i'm not able to film but i am injohannesburg, not cape town but leaders agreed to talk over the phone to my team. do you think south africa, your community will be changed by this experience? yes, it as well. and that's what's happening now? yes. do you think that will last? maybe, maybe not. once the virus is over, may the fighting will start again? maybe the fighting will start again? maybe the fighting will start again, but we trust in god. god will make away. so, a temporary ceasefire, temporary lockdown and just a sliver of a chance that the virus will bring lasting change to some of the most dangerous streets in the world. andrew harding, bbc news, south africa. finally, throughout our series, we've been hearing from chris morris and the reality check team who have been myth busting some of the big stories, treatments and cures she may have heard about covid—i9. we

are all going to be in this for the long haul and separating fact from fiction is really important. so here are some myths you should be aware of. number one. lemon juice protect number one. lemonjuice protect you from covid—i9. there have been plenty of claims about things you should eat or drink to thwart coronavirus. and the lemon juice myth just won't go away. it started with a viral social media post containing advice from a fake chinese scientist. to be clear, lemonjuice is obviously chinese scientist. to be clear, lemon juice is obviously not bad view, in fact, all fruit and vegeta bles view, in fact, all fruit and vegetables are essential while nearly all of us had to stay at home. they can help keep you healthy. but they don't stop you getting a virus like this. myth two. mosquito bites can infect you with the virus. we know you can get diseases from mosquito bites but there is no evidence at all that the little brutes can infect you with

coronavirus. again, remember, this isa coronavirus. again, remember, this is a respiratory virus, spread mainly when someone who is ill course or sneezes. and the best way to protect yourself is to avoid close contact with anyone who is sick. and keep washing your hands! myth number three. blood donations will get you a free test. some people are hoping they might get a free coronavirus test if they donate blood. that's absolutely not the case. but there's been a persistent false belief on social media that it might be. to be clear, you don't get tested for covid—i9 if you give blood. the last thing staff who blood. the last thing staff who blood banks want is sick people coming in. nor, of course, can you get the virus from a blood donation. so, the best advice for not, try to stay healthy, while scientists work towards medical breakthroughs. that's it for now. before we go, here are some of the latest striking images from the last few days as the

coronavirus continues to affect so many of us. a reminder, you can keep up—to—date with all the latest information on the lockdown in your area and your country on the website, and you can contact me on twitter at any time. thank you for watching. hello. try easter weekend for the vast majority, though we will see a few isolated, maybe thundery showers breaking out at times through the weekend, but the big story

weather—wise will be how the temperature shift around from a pretty warm start, temperature is 25 degrees across southern areas today, widely above average for the time of year, southerly winds wafting that 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 as well. out there at the moment eastern actually 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 for the time of year, peaking 23—25d across central and southern parts of england. we finish the afternoon, isolated sharp and thundery showers drifting into northern england, chances that the gardens will get a drop of rain. some heavy bursts of rain around over scotla nd some heavy bursts of rain around over scotland and northern ireland, turning patchy later, for all frost free as we head into saturday. damp and cloudy start across scotland and

northern ireland initially, turning drier and brighter, hazy sunshine, further south varying amounts of clapboard longer, sunny spells in 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 and northern ireland, westerly breeze finishing saturday, this area of low pressure moving through to norway. area of low pressure across southern ireland, we could see heavy rain, close enough to produce on its pledges to the west of wales. elsewhere, varying amounts of cloud, more cloud than we've seen on saturday, thunderstorms developing across southern england later, temperatures your 23 degrees but are starting to fall from the highs today and tomorrow and notably further north, temperatures in single figures. getting colder through sunday into monday, quite a windy night in—store as this pressure m oves windy night in—store as this pressure moves in windy night in—store as this pressure moves in ringing wind from the north, adding to the chill along the north, adding to the chill along the east coast, plenty of cloud here. sunshine becoming more

widespread in the west, even here, temperatures around 10 degrees lower than they have 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 urging people to remain at home this weekend as governments across the world ask people to stay indoors 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. and a bbc investigation reveals british businesses have lost nearly £2 million in coronavirus related fraud buying nonexistent