this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the uk government issues an easter message 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 medical equipment online. hello and welcome to audiences in the uk and around the world. i'm joanna gosling, bringing you all the latest covid—19 developments here in the uk and globally. as the easter weekend begins, we are all being reminded again not to go out unless it is absolutely necessary, whatever the temptation, with temperatures in some parts of the uk expected to hit 26 celsius. the government has launched a publicity campaign with the message — stay home and have a "safe easter". the uk prime minister boris johnson is out of intensive care and is said to be in "extremely good spirits" at st thomas‘ hospital in london. spain recorded its lowest daily

death toll from coronavirus in 17 days, with 605 people dying taking the total number of deaths to 15,843. new york state now has more coronavirus cases than any other country outside the us, according to latest figures, wihth almost 160,000 people infected. and european union finance ministers have agreed an emergency rescue package worth half a trillion euros for the economies worst hit by the coronavirus pandemic. let's get the latest in the uk 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. borisjohnson has boris johnson has been borisjohnson has been described by a senior government source is the energy that drives the machine in the fight against the virus in the uk. earlier, ispoke the fight against the virus in the uk. earlier, i spoke to our political correspondence who told us how the government is managing in the absence of the prime minister. 0n the messaging, i mean, you heard definitively that this was not the time to let up and i think dominic raab yesterday when we heard from him tried to convey a bit of humanity, talking about how he would usually spend his easter weekend with his young sons, a recognition that this has been tough and it is tough now that we are coming up to week three of these restrictions, especially, as you say, this bank

holiday weekend, but the messages it is too early to think about and doing these restrictions, we do not wa nt to doing these restrictions, we do not want to undo the work we have done so want to undo the work we have done so far in actually giving some potentially positive news about the spread of the disease. i really strong, definitive message to people ahead of this easter weekend. you mentioned robertjenrick, the communities secretary, there have reports about his movements today. 0ne reports about his movements today. one report that he had a trip to his pa re nts' one report that he had a trip to his parents' home in shropshire and another report saying that he travelled to a second home in herefordshire after the lockdown restrictions were in place. i think it is important to say that the context for this is screwed to the of ministers. you will remember the chief medical officer in scotland had to resign on sunday last week because she was found to have taken trips to her second home and had to apologise for that. there is a lot of scrutiny of the people imposing these restrictions on us. robert jenrick has talked about his visit

to his parents' house saying that was about delivering essentials, medical supplies, he obeyed the distancing rules and both his pa rents a re distancing rules and both his parents are self isolating. that is actually within the guidelines. the government guidelines tuesday that if relatives are elderly or vulnerable, then you may have to help them by dropping off essential shopping or medical supplies on their doorstep. his home in herefordshire is where his wife and children are based. ministers travel between london and have been a number of ministers still working out of westminster as we have seen so out of westminster as we have seen so you out of westminster as we have seen so you can out of westminster as we have seen so you can expect them to be travelling from westminster to their homes. basically, robertjenrick has said his family were already there before the lockdown restrictions we re before the lockdown restrictions were put in place and he travelled to be with them and that is where he is now, working from home. but clearly, there is some slight merging of the water here saying perhaps causing people to ask questions about what qualifies as an essential or nonessentialjourney. i

do not think that is helpful at this time when the government is trying to really ramp on that message of just eight. our correspondence held thatis just eight. our correspondence held that is outside st thomas's hospital in london where borisjohnson has been treated. the prime minister, we learned, last night, was moved out of the intensive care unit here at st thomas's hospital. he had spent three nights in intensive care. we know he was moved from the ward on monday and things actually turned quite quickly for the prime minister on monday. he was admitted here on sunday as a precaution. he did not come in as an emergency. 0n sunday as a precaution. he did not come in as an emergency. on monday, he was still getting his ministerial document and working from his hospital bed, but then by the evening, his condition, we were told, were sent and he had to be transferred to the unit. we understand doctors felt it was needed that he had to be close to a ventilator in case he needed to be on one. it turns out that the prime

minister did not need to go on a ventilator. he did receive what was described as a standard oxygen treatment while in intensive care, but, yes, last night, he was moved out of intensive care. he is now only ward. the latest we had from the hospital and downing street was that he is continuing to receive and being closely monitored during the early phase of his recovery. just not that word, early. you can assume they are that this is not going to be over quickly for the prime minister. you will need time to recover in the hospital but, of course, no one knows apart from his medical team how long that is going to ta ke medical team how long that is going to take for him before he can be discharged from here and then go back and get back to work. but we may get a bit more detail when we hear from the dailyjournalist while b briefing, that is a briefing given to journalists by downing street in

the next couple of hours or so. we may get a bit of an update from them as to how the prime minster is this morning. helena wilkinson. the british government has reiterated its message to stay at home. the culture secretary said the uk was just beginning to see this strategy starting to work and people needed to stick with it. police forces have warned they will crack down on people flouting the rules. 0ne warned they will crack down on people flouting the rules. one of the uk's police forces has clarified its position already enforcement of the government rules on social distancing after an officer said that they had been patrolling supermarkets. this tweet from the force's team in cambridge said police officers visited tesco in barre hill where they found people we re barre hill where they found people were adhering to the guidelines and not shopping in nonessential isles. ina not shopping in nonessential isles. in a clarifying statement, they said officers were not monitoring what people were buying. fiona trott is at scarborough beach and, fiona,

obviously, people are allowed out for daily exercise and to get some air, but there are concerns that too many people may congregate in the same places, the obvious places and, i guess, a beach is one of them. what is the situation there? well, they are not congregating here today. this is the most visited holiday destination outside london during a normal easter bank holiday weekend, there will be thousands of people here in scarborough. at the mutant arcades behind me which are close, the cafe is, too. there are a handful of people here are north beach and that is because north yorkshire police, scarborough borough council and the coast guard have pulled them all to stay—at—home. i can naturally see a police carjust patrolling the promenade there. at the moment, the police have extra patrols in scarborough, checking traffic coming into the town centre, extra foot patrols on the beach this weekend, traffic wardens are also checking

the car parks in and around scarborough. if you do not have a residence permit, if you are not a key worker, you should not be here. we are talking about the police earlier, north yorkshire police say their first approach is to make sure people understand the guidelines, but, asa people understand the guidelines, but, as a last resort of course, they will find people. the people on north beach here today should be people who live in the immediate vicinity that are taking their daily exercise, but still, for them, vicinity that are taking their daily exercise, but still, forthem, north yorkshire police are saying do not bring food here, do not bring any drink here because you should not be staying out for a longer than necessary. thank you very much. 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. that's more 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 for the number of deaths from coronavirus. more than 7000 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. it 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. the headlines on bbc news... the uk government issues an easter message 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. 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 corona bonds. 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—19. 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. the bbc‘s europe correspondent gavin lee gave more details on what was the main sticking point for the eurogroup. 16.5 hours of screen to screen talks over three days, actually more than that because all 27 member countries fine as mrs involved in trying to get a deal, but there was a lot of bilateral causes, emanuel macron, germany, the dutch were the main

opposition to the rule for italy and spain having access to this fund worth about 240 billion and this is where the sticking point was. hours and hours, they were looking at one paragraph of text about whether on not spain and italy, the most economically fragile given the debt crisis is of the past, worst hit countries by coronavirus, could access money to use as they saw fit, to spend it on what they want to help recovery. there dutch along with finish, the germans allowed them to do most of the talking said there had to be strict rules and then there was one sentence which said you could ask up to 2% of your own economy, gdp, and it has to be for preventative measures are still health care and things like that, so that was the compromise reached. i think all sides gave way and little. credit from most people for the germans, angela merkel stepping up to make holes as well and see the deal go through.

the number of coronavirus deaths in spain has fallen — part of a trend suggesting the outbreak is beginning to be contained. the country recorded 605 fatalities in the past 24 hours according to health ministry officials. that's its lowest total in 17 days. 0verall deaths on spain now approach sixteen thousand people. the uk have the largest amount of deaths worldwide. states have imposed lockdowns, but in some places, religious gatherings are exempt. that could create a problem across the country this easter, as barbara plett usher reports. this is going to be a very different easter. in these pandemic times, most churches have closed their doors. but not this one. some christians believe that religious freedom is under attack, and meeting physically is an act of faith. i'm telling you what, no virus can touch me

until god is through with me. there are political battles over whether all churches should be forced to stop meeting in person and stick only to services online. but those that stay open say they can protect their members. at the glorious way church in huston, families are seated six feet apart. jesus is his word. his word says that we should come together. this pastor insists that gathering publicly is an essential part of worship. we've done the live stream service on a temporary basis for the 15 days that president trump asked for, but when it turned into holy week, palm sunday, now approaching easter sunday, this is a special time of year, it's never been shutdown. and so we must do this. but the challenge, even the adventure, of experiencing god's presence in other ways is how many worshippers will remember this easter. and many argue that staying out of church is the christian thing to do.

suspending interpersonal worship is notjust about protecting those who go to the actual church service, it's about protecting the lives of every single grocery store worker, gas station attendant and healthca re worker they meet. it truly is about loving our neighbour and healing the sick, which are things jesus told us to go and do. in this brooklyn church, janice russell has been making music for decades. normally, her ensemble would take part in a two choir brass band extravaganza at easter. this year, there will be only a soloist on a facebook live stream. but with new york at the epicentre of the, the crisis, even that is something for which to be thankful. the fact that we can do it from home and still be somewhat connected to others, i can't imagine what it would be like if we did not have the internet, if we didn't have zoom and all of these

things, where we can at least see a face, we can't touch each other but we can see a face. we miss you very much... perhaps this easter, the traditional story of death and resurrection will be heard in new ways. barbara plett usher, bbc news, washington. nearly two—and—a—half million dollars 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 fear of the virus spreads, so do the adverts. everyone is looking for masks, disposable gloves and hand sanitiser. just one click away. even a covid—19 testing kit. and there's glowing reviews. except it's all fake. time to bring in an expert. scammers are all fairly parasitic and reactionary in nature. when there is spikes in a need for a product, they will flock in towards the need for that product and exploit it. the damage is actually huge. i spoke to a business last week that was actually defrauded of £180,000 which was frankly shocking. so just how easy is it to place an order? do you sell surgical gloves and masks? yeah. oh, good, good. i'm looking for quite a lot,

how many can you sell me? the maximum we can supply is 300,000, maximum. how many? 300,000. 300,000 masks? but you're not, are you? you're a scammer. you're not, are you? we know you're a scammer. is that the end of this discussion, sir? you are a scammer, though, aren't you? you're trying to rip people off, people in need. call disconnects. so, he hung up. i don't think he's got any masks or gloves. he just wants my money and then won't send me anything. scammers don't care at all. so long as they get their money, that's all that matters to them. i think people are very desperate right now, there's so much of a shortage of these things, people are looking everywhere to try to find them. they feel betrayed, they feel completely ripped off, they feel angry. at a time of crisis, fear and exploitation go hand in hand.

angus crawford, bbc news. you're watching bbc news. if you have been watching us outside of the uk, we will say goodbye to you now. stay safe. goodbye. in addition back to the 17th century, a tradition that villagers believe will protect them from the plague has been forced to be stopped. here is a brilliant correspond in. it should have been the performance of a decade. rehearsals are well under way for one of the worlds most famous religious productions. 0pening nine was just weeks away and coronavirus brought the curtain down. it's a lwa ys brought the curtain down. it's always a very special thing, the passion play here. people are

getting closer and suddenly everything has stopped and i think it is pretty hard for a lot of people. i think it's a close community because it's generations coming together. it's 400 years since the people of this bavarian it is 400 years since the people of this bavarian village made a promise. they put on a passion play. in return, they hoped god would protect them from the plague. they have been doing it ever since. once every ten years, the village faithfully re—enacts the life, death and resurrection of christ. legend has it the play saved 0berammergau from the black death. little protection now it seems against a modern virus. it is a kind of a grave fog that lays all over every life, every action, everything we do. with stopping or bringing the passion play

two years later on stage, and the fact of the corona crisis, we miss 10 million euros. costumes, props, in storage now. the play itself is insured but local businesses depend on the visitors. 0berammergau is in lockdown. the production postponed until 2022. people think about the meaning of life, i have a feeling there are a lot of answers also in the passion play itself. it is about jesus talking about the poor. he is talking about diseases and about war. those sentences we had in the rehearsals, i think they have a different meaning when we will bring it on stage in two years. in this, the bleakest of times, faith and hope.

now it's time for a look at the weather. dragon right across most parts of the uk and fairly warm as well with temperatures rising continuously throughout this afternoon. there could be a few showers in the far north of scotland and out towards northern ireland later on and maybe one or two in the far north of wales but temperatures could peak around 23-25dc, a but temperatures could peak around 23—25dc, a warmer day than yesterday. an offshore went on eastern coast feeling quite chilly. in north wales, isolated tribe showers drifting into england and some bursts of rain across scotland and northern ireland through this evening and overnight. not too much though, some places staying dry completely. into the morning, frost free start, cloudy and dry for some in scotland and northern ireland. turning drier and brighter for a time, sunniest conditions the further east you are where temperatures could peak around 26

celsius. a cooler feel for much of scotla nd celsius. a cooler feel for much of scotland later in the day and as you go through the second half of the easter weekend, temperatures will drop for all with an added wind—chill across eastern coasts. hello, you're watching bbc news. our headlines. the uk government issues an easter message, urging people to remain at home this weekend as governments across the world ask people to stay indoors to stop the spread of covid—19. prime minister's spending a sixth day in hospital after leaving intensive care. his father urges him to rest. eu finance ministers agreed a 500 billion euros 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 covid—19 across the state. the bbc investigation

reveals british businesses