good afternoon. the british medical association has issued a stark warning that medics are unable to access the personal protective equipment they need to keep themselves safe while treating patients with coronavirus. they said that supplies in some areas are at dangerously low levels. it comes after the health secretary said there was enough ppe to go round if it was used according to guidelines, but doctors and nurses should treat it as a "precious resource". matt hancock said 19 health workers had died during the outbreak but it wasn't clear how each had contracted the illness.

here's our health correspondent, laura foster. almost 9,000 people have died after contracting coronavirus in the uk. including 19 contracting coronavirus in the uk. including i9 nhs front line staff. doctors nurses and physios can't practise social distancing while treating patients, it comes in the form of equipment. problem is, not even who needs this gear to treat patients will get their hands on it. this front line hospital nurse says they are being forced to use things they are being forced to use things they know don't offer enough protection. the situation is is reallied pa. we are skivered. we are seeing colleagues pass away every day, so this is not fairfor us. we are on the front line, we don't deserve it. we don't deserve it. we need more. the british medical association says the problem is particularly bad in yorkshire and london. a survey of members found more than half of

doctors working in high risk environments said they were short of face masks or had none. two thirds said they didn't have eye protection and more than half said they were being pressured into working in a high risks area, despite not having the adequate gear to protect them. doctors are also human beings, they don't want to become ill, they don't wa nt don't want to become ill, they don't want their lives to be at risk. they have dependent, they go home to families and what is really worrying us, is the numbers of health care workers who are now in intensive ca re workers who are now in intensive care units on ventilators and who have tragically died so doctors are naturally afraid, but the one thing they would feel obviously is important, is to give them protection and that is something government owes us. the health secretary told the bbc it couldn't be certain the nhs staff who have died contracted the virus doing theirjobs. the work is going

on to establish whether they caught coronavirus in the line of duty, at work, or whether, like coronavirus in the line of duty, at work, orwhether, like so coronavirus in the line of duty, at work, or whether, like so many other people, in the rest of their lives, it is obviously quite difficult to work that out. the government says delivery of ppe gear to hospitals will happen daily, but says it shouldn't be overused. but the bma says it is not misuse if they don't i have any. it is expected the number of coronavirus related deaths will surpass 10,000 by the end of the day. making sure the health service is properly equipped to help look after future cases will be imperative if we are to stop that rising further. a doctor in one of the uk's coronavirus hotspots says her team is approaching breaking point. over the last week the gwent area of south wales has seen britain's highest rates of confirmed cases of covid—19 per head. 0ur wales correspondent, hywel griffith, has more.

in a battle with so many front lines, this corner of the country is having to fight harder than most. the area served by newport‘s royal gwent hospital has a higher rate of confirmed coronavirus cases per head than either london or birmingham. no one here is sure why, but what they do know is that it's taking its toll. i wish it was raining, i wish it was miserable. amyjones has worked in war zones, served in afghanistan, but this, she says, has pushed her almost to breaking point. emotionally we are seeing patients our age, people that we know, relatives of people we know, that we just hope we can help. this disease has about a 50% mortality by the time you get to critical care, so it's a toss of a coin, you know. we are going to try our best to save as many people as we can, but the disease is a horrific one. we are not able to save half the people that we are going to take, potentially. as the critical care beds fill up, other wards have to be converted to try and offer even more intensive care spaces.

the problem isn't just how many patients are being admitted. it's the fact that some may need to be here on a ventilator for the next three weeks. dad, it's a video. 0h, a video! john barry davis lost his battle against the virus. the father of five had been fighting cancer and defying expectations. he was discharged from hospital to avoid covid—19, only to be rushed back in, suffering with the symptoms. one day he went to hospital. the next day he was gone. it just goes to show how scary and how fast it can take you, because i was on facetime to him probably 16 hours before he died, and he looked absolutely great. he was fine. he was with it. that's why i think it's so shocking, because i never thought it would take him that quick, you know? may i ask what the purpose of yourjourney is today? like many forces, gwent police has been reminding people they should stay at home. there are signs here the restrictions are working. the glimmers of hope

are suggesting that the lockdown measures are having the impact, but if we start easing off too soon, the virus will just start spreading rapidly again, and all of the hard work of the last few weeks will be undone. another spike in cases here would be simply overwhelming, for a place where the pandemic has changed so many lives. hywel griffith, bbc news, newport. the united states has become the first country in the world to record more than two thousand deaths associated with coronavirus in a single day. the country now has more than half a million confirmed infections. experts at the white house say the outbreak is starting to level off across the us but that it has not reached its peak. meanwhile, the us surgeon general has sparked controversy after urging minority communities to stop drinking, smoking and taking drugs to reduce their risk of contracting covid—19. drjerome adams said the virus was disproportionately affecting black and latino populations and was criticised by some for his use of language.

call your friends and family, check in on your mother, she wants to hear from you right now. and speaking of mothers, we need you to do this, if not for yourself then for your grandaddy, do it for your big momma, your pop—pop. we need you to understand, especially in communities of colour, we need you to step up and help stop the spread so we can to step up and help stop the spread so we can protect those who are more vulnerable. here, farmers are warning that crops could be left to rot in the ground because of a shortage of seasonal workers from eastern europe due to the coronavirus lockdown. the national farmers' union say they need up to 70,000 fruit and vegetable pickers in the weeks and months ahead. they're calling for a "‘land army‘ of workers including those who have been laid off in the hospitality sector to help with the harvest. here's our business

correspondent sarah corker. it's massively serious. we cannot get people across here from eastern europe, so we are having to revive on english workers. to rely on english workers. the asparagus crop is ready for picking in rural north yorkshire. for the last decade, this farmer has relied on polish and czech workers, because this is hard labour that britons haven't wanted to do. but now he is appealing to students and those who have lostjobs in bars, cafes and shops for urgent help. there is no alternative. either get english workers or we don't pick the asparagus or we pick very little asparagus. the rest would just go to waste and then there wouldn't be the fruit and vegetables in the shops. seasonal workers mostly from eastern europe would usually live on site these caravans, but with borders closed and aeroplanes grounded, they are likely to be emptied this summer, and british farmers are now facing a shortage of between 60 and 70,000 fruit and vegetable pickers.

gregor came here four years ago from poland and says it is backbreaking work. up and down, up and down. many people have got problems with legs and back. so do you think british workers will come and pick? i think so, definitely. and demand for groceries has surged. last month shoppers spent an extra £1.9 billion. the national farmers' union is calling for a land army to keep up. ultimately that could be a shortage on the shelves and the supermarkets and there could be an increase in cost, so really we need everyone to unite together right the way through the supply chain to make sure that we can really put these fresh fruit and vegetables, british fruit and vegetables on our plate. but it's the berry harvest with sam starts and picking on hands and knees that is worrying farmers most. there are though some positive signs. we have put a post on our facebook

page and had a good response, so we have now got a lot of english people wanting to come and work for us. has that ever happened before? never, no, it is very unusual. we usually get one or two who venture into the field but they don't last very long. the government is now preparing its own pick for britain campaign, asking us all to do our bit to keep the nation fed and avoid shortages. sarah corker, bbc news, north yorkshire. people are being urged to resist visiting their local beach or park over the easter weekend despite the warm weather. dan johnson is outside regent's park for us. dan. yes, it is not deserted here lots of people out exercising but i was talking to police who are patrolling the park, they said it quieter than last weekend, so i think the message is getting through, that most people are now abiding by the restrictions but there are police forces saying that two weeks into this lockdown now it

is getting to the stage where they have done enough education, engagement and they will start to ta ke engagement and they will start to take enforcement action against individuals who are flouting the rule, they are clear, you should only be out if it is for exercise once a day or necessary shopping, or any medical need or taking care of someone any medical need or taking care of someone who is vulnerable or going to work if you absolutely cannot work from home. it is simple. they are trying to avoid unnecessary gathers, chances where the virus could be passed which would put pressure on the nhs and take up vital intensive care beds. in an up side down world where everything seeps to be unbelievable. the weather is astonishing but this the main, it seems like the majority of people are resisting the temptation to be out in it. thank you. thank you. you can see more on all of today's stories on the bbc news channel.

hello, you're watching bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. more now on the news that the united states has become the first country in the world to record more than 2000 coronavirus deaths in a single day. 0ur north america correspondent david willis has more details from new york. david willis has more the united states has seen the deadliest day of coronavirus attacks, or deaths, if you like, than any country has seen so far. more than 2000 people died of the virus today, that brings the total of deaths here to nearly 19,000. 500,000 americans have been infected by the coronavirus and the united states is on track to surpass italy's total of the most number of deaths worldwide.

now, more than half of those deaths occurred in new york state, but there is a glimmer of hope there, because the governor revealed today that the curve appears to be flattening, as they say. the number of hospitalisations there has stabilised. and that's a statistic that donald trump has seized on in his bid to get to this country back in business as quickly as possible. he announced today that he's assembled a taskforce to advise him on that and the trump administration is not downplaying suggestions that this country could be back in action, to some extent, anyway, by the 1st of may. just a line in on the health of the prime minister. reuters are reporting he is making a very good progress, according to his office. he's out of intensive care after

three nights on thursday. and yesterday, downing street said he had managed to start walking. the new line is that he's making very good progress. that's all it says and that's from a downing street spokeswoman. moore as we get it. an experimental drug has shown promising results in a preliminary trial involving 53 severely ill covid—19 patients. the us pharmaceutical company, gilead sciences, says two thirds of those treated with the drug remdesivir have shown signs of improvement and 17 out of 30 patients who were on ventilators were able to be taken off the life support machines. let's get more on that then. joining us live now from london is dr andrew hill, a senior research fellow at the university of liverpool. thank you forjoining us tell us more about this drug in the hopes

and tummy it? this is an antiviral drug from a company called gilead, which is in five large clinical trials, we are expecting results in the next two weeks. this is not a randomised study, we don't have an alternative control group were given alternative control group were given alternative treatments. so have been alternative treatments. so have been a number of small studies showing seemingly encouraging results which have not transpired into real benefits, so we just need to wait another two or three weeks until we get the results from a round of bigger studies. the drug originally wasn't designed for this new coronavirus at all, it's got a longer history? that's right, it was used during the ebola outbreak and there are many other drugs that are being repurposed, drugs to treat hepatitis c, influenza, hiv, and

we're in an emergency situation and trying out all sorts of different treatments, and we hope they work. there are ten different treatments in ten clinical trials against corona, and we just need in ten clinical trials against corona, and wejust need one or in ten clinical trials against corona, and we just need one or two to work and then we have a new option. and how quickly, if the early results that gilead themselves are talking about, if those early results are replicated in a bigger shows you're talking about, how quickly could not be scaled up to be a hopeful treatments for all those who are facing life and death situations now? let's be optimistic and imagine these results do show promise, gilead have said, in that case, they have enough drug to treat 140,000 people at the moment and then a 500,000 by october. if you think about the exponential rise of this epidemic was white, that will

not go very far, and may be enough to treat people with the most serious disease, but we also need preventative treatments for the health care workers to make sure they don't get infected. we also need treatments to improve lung function in people who are in intensive care. so this will be one ofa number of intensive care. so this will be one of a number of drugs we can use, but not the only one. one thing we have seen not the only one. one thing we have seenin not the only one. one thing we have seen in recent days is a really fierce fight between different countries and, indeed, in the united states between different states within the united states of america, about access to medical supplies, the limited resources of the straw, even notes were affected, cuter british patients hope to get access to this drug? at the moment, there isa to this drug? at the moment, there is a scramble for any drug that shows promising results. we have bidding wars between american states, protective equipment being

taken while it's on its way to other countries are. so we've done a bit of analysis showing that all the drugs being tested against coronavirus are actually very cheap to make. a ten day course of treatment with this remdesivir it should cost in the region of one us dollar per day, and that is true of almost all the other treatments we are looking at. sweater member, if these treatments work, there are so cheap to make, they should be available for anybody in any country ata available for anybody in any country at a cost close to the price of production. we know from treating hiv, 20 million people worldwide every day are treated with cheap drugs, again, so that close to the cost of production, so we know what to do work, we have a mechanism to get them out worldwide to anyone who needs at an affordable price. habitat that is encouraging. are there any other drugs you think that are there any other drugs you think that a re really there any other drugs you think that are really hopeful that? there is a

japanese drug that looks promising. people are using combinations, drugs to treat hiv, there are hepatitis c drugs, but we should also remember that we need drugs just to treat the lung function. there's a drug that is being looked at for that. we need to wait just is being looked at for that. we need to waitjust a few more weeks to see the results, and if they were, it is time to start mass producing these so that anyone in any country can get a ccess so that anyone in any country can get access to them. thank you. in spain, the number of daily deaths from covid—19 has continued to slow. the latest figures show 510 more people have died, the lowest rise for 18 days. this takes the total number of deaths to just over 16,300, the spanish health ministry has announced. let's head to madrid and speak with the bbc‘s guy hedgecoe. guy, what do you make of it these

figures? cautious optimism that the turn may have been reached by spain? yes, i think there is cautious optimism here. as you said, these are the best figures we have seen in terms of daily deaths since march at the 23rd. a drop from even yesterday of almost 100, compared to yesterday. so clearly, that is encouraging and it would appear to continue this trend of the last week or so were daily deaths have been dropping. however, you have to bear in mind we are in the easter weekend at the moment and experts have warned these figures have to perhaps be taken with a pinch of salt because local authorities might be under the number of deaths they're sing over the holiday period. so we have to be cautious, but over the last few days, where been seeing encouraging signs, both in terms of

the number of daily deaths and the spread of the virus itself, which has been slowing as well. what is the public mood, guy poor one can imagine the grief, fair, site, debts and yours feel when they look at the awful ordeal they haven't been through in the last few weeks. but as they look ahead, as the anxious to get back to life as normal or as a fearful that the disease will come back? i think there is a tremendous amount of uncertainty. they've who had such a terrible time of it in the last month or so in terms of the health care crisis. i think there is a lot of fear there could be a spike again in terms of deaths and the spread of infections, but there is another aspect of this, the economic aspects. i think the country is very much bracing itself for a serious economic crisis. memories of last

economic crisis. memories of last economic crisis, the eurozone crisis, are still very fresh, and that crisis hit spain very hard. i think people are worrying about that a lot. it's very much a mixed response at the moment, looking ahead to what the future holds. thank you very much. south africa's president cyril ramaphosa announced on thursday night that his country's 21—day lockdown will be extended for a further two weeks. the president said there were signs that efforts were paying off but, as our africa correspondent andrew harding reports from johannesburg, it's not yet clear whether the slowdown in reported cases is down to the strict measures implemented or whether the virus is just spreading undetected. a stict lockdown here in johannesburg, and early hints that south africa mightjust be on the right track. and here's why — testing for the virus in a poor township. it's several days since the first positive case was confirmed in this neighbourhood and there's a real danger it could spread.

presently, we have discovered some people in this area, that's why we are focused today specifically in this particular area. but so far, prompt testing under lockdown appears to be working. the daily rate of new infections has slowed, for now, to a trickle. stay at home, social distinction, do not go out in public. that is what we're asking, spread the message to everybody. this man is friends with the man who tested positive here. now he's waiting to hear his own result. i'm still afraid. we don't know who is affected or not affected. he later messages me that his family is in the clear. the lockdown, stricter here than in many nations, is causing real hardship, but the apparent slowdown of infections has prompted the government to extend it. while it is too early to make a definitive analysis

of the progression of the disease in south africa, there is sufficient evidence to show that the lockdown is indeed working. hand sanitiser, distributed in the poorest communities. the danger is that the virus may still be spreading undetected in overcrowded neighbourhoods. what are your main concerns about the situation here? mainly, it's the crowding. as you can see, people are crowded very close to each other, there's a lot of low—income people, and we know they can't afford sanitisers, that's why we are coming to give them those. as for the messaging about social distancing, it's still not getting through to everyone. obviously, you need to go out and have some fresh air. you know you're supposed to do that? i know, i know. so, two weeks of lockdown now, and south africa does feel

like a very different place. the government insisting its tough restrictions will bear fruit. but here, in the crowded townships, you get the sense that not enough yet has changed. and along with that, the knowledge that it's simply far too early to tell if the battle against the virus is being won. looking out turkey now, it has imposed a 48—hour curfew across 41 provinces, including istanbul and the capital ankara in order to control the spread of the virus. with only pharmacies and bakeries permitted to stay open. the country has more than 47,000 cases of covid—19, with 1006 deaths. in russia, the number of new cases has slowed, with 1667 diagnosed in the past 24 hours.

the majority of them were recorded in moscow, where the city's mayor has announced new restrictions requiring residents to obtain special passes to move across the city. we say goodbye now to our viewers on bbc world news. lockdown is hard on all of us, but there are particular fears for some groups of vulnerable young people who can't meet up with friends and could be deprived of vital services in the long term. charities are warning that a quarter of youth clubs could struggle to reopen after lockdown has ended. anna adams reports. normally, you would have 30—50 young people here... mervyn is showing me around this youth club in lewisham. it has been closed since the lockdown. in what way are you having to change the way you work?

fenchurch trying to meet the people where they are, using tech talk on instagram, we are trying to recreate the adventure playground is can in a virtual environment. nicola is a youth worker, chatting online with kids who would normally be here. how do you think you'll feel if your not able to come here for three months? this club is confident it will survive the difficult months ahead, but others across the country are worried about the knock—on effect of coronavirus and the lockdown and what that will do to the young people who have come to rely on places like this are. the national body for youth worker says it is or is getting reports of some young people feeling suicidal and self—harming. people feeling suicidal and self-harming. we're seeing off a lot of services closed and not being able to reopen and provide that vital support. there is around a million young people with hidden needs are not being supported today.

charities say some services will not survive. youth workers in north london a right looking for some of the teenage they've lost contact with. for now, the kids are off the streets, but can it stay that way should someone yell about?m streets, but can it stay that way should someone yell about? it is those children have price been voted no activity or a scooter from school, i would no activity or a scooter from school, iwould be no activity or a scooter from school, i would be worried about that group. because those young people are not on the social media platforms urbanity on people are. and st albans, these houses are full of young people trying to keep themselves busy. what are you missing the most? my girlfriend, that has been the hardest part so far. i don't knowl that has been the hardest part so far. i don't know i would have to cope for three month sting on site. not being able to see my friends, my family, it'sjust not being able to see my friends, my family, it's just lonely.

not being able to see my friends, my family, it'sjust lonely. ifi not being able to see my friends, my family, it'sjust lonely. if i was to know how long will the last war, that we better mentally, but it's a fa ct that we better mentally, but it's a fact which we're know, so it is waiting every day. and that uncertainty is the hardest thing that uncertainty is the hardest thing for these teenagers. no—one knows how long this lockdown will last. in the meantime, your nail art out for a small number of reasons and a short period of time, but let's get a look at the weather when you do go out. the chance of some thundery showers across england and wales, warm, up to 25 celsius, the mid—teens for scotland to northern ireland, cooler across the northern and western isles. cloud increasing through scotland today and into the evening. clearer skies across england and wales with mist patches and temperatures overnight in a range up and temperatures overnight in a range up to eight celsius. easter sunday, a frontal system drifting

eastwards generating more cloud, patchy rain and also the chance of a heavy, thundery showers across england and wales. a split tomorrow. not is not in scotland, more in the way of cloud, patchy rain at times, could move into the north of england. elsewhere, spurs sunshine and increasing cloud and a greater chance of heavy, thundery showers. could be a lot of rain in a short amount of time. cooler further north and west. the headlines, doctors are warning the are still not getting the protective equipment they need to treat patients with coronavirus. what no health care worker should do is knowingly got into a situation where they feel they will become infected simply because the

government has not done