this is bbc news, i'm clive myrie. we'll be bringing you today's downing street news conference shortly, with the latest on the battle against coronavirus, but first our top stories. the number of people who have died a leading government scientific adviser says the outbreak in britain may be the worst in the region. the uk is likely to be certainly one of the worst, if not the worst affected country in europe. the british prime minister, borisjohnson, leaves hospital to continue his recovery a week after he was admitted, following his testing positive for coronavirus. i have today left hospital after a week in which the nhs has saved my life. no question. no question. spain's daily death toll from the coronavirus rises by 619,

having fallen for three days in a row. the us overtakes italy to have the highest death toll from coronavirus in the world — more than 20,000 people have now died. in his easter message, pope francis has delivered a prayer for those affected by the pandemic that has killed more than 100,000 people worldwide. and the legendary british motor racing driver, sir stirling moss, has died aged 90. hello, and welcome to audiences in the uk and around the world. we start with some breaking news. the official figures of the number of recorded deaths in the uk has passed 10,000.

this comes as the british prime minister borisjohnson has been discharged from hospital after being treated for coronavirus. the prime minister will not immediately return to work. sinn fein easdalely death toll from the coronavirus has ritz by 619 having fallen for three days in a row, taking their total to 16972. the us death toll overtakes italy as the world's highest. more than 20,000 people have died there. and the leader of the roman catholic church pope francis has urged people not to revealed to fear over the virus. not to revealed to fear over the virus. chris hopson is the ceo of nhs providers which represent health trusts in england. chris, good to see you. thanks for joining us. a milestone, a grim one, 10,000 now reached as far as deaths are concerns in the uk. yes, and it is clearly a very grim figure and

behind each one of those 10,000 there will be a personal story. i wonderful, given myjob is to represent hospital trusts if i might talk about something people don't usually talk about which is the impact on staff. if you work in a critical care unit, probably you might seea critical care unit, probably you might see a death a day, two deaths a day, and what i think is particularly distressing for staff, at the moment, is in a critical care unit you may well be having three or four deaths a shift, and they are happening really fast round you, and we know from talking to our staff, that there is this kind of feeling of helplessness on occasion in terms of helplessness on occasion in terms of being able to help people, so i do think we need to remember not only obviously the individuals who have died and their relatives but also, the potential impact on staff who are doing their very very best, in very difficult circumstances. absolutely, that is a really important point. not just absolutely, that is a really important point. notjust on those experienced nhs staff, who are

dealing with this crisis, but also, those who have just finished medical school, who have just those who have just finished medical school, who havejust becomejunior doctors and so on and who have gone straight to the front line. they are seeing things that perhaps it would have been very difficult for them to predict they may have had to see so early in their careers? yes, it is talking to, really interesting talking to, really interesting talking to, really interesting talking to the trust leaders about how grateful they are for the way in which staff who don't normally work, infor which staff who don't normally work, in for example adult a&e or in critical care are prepared to step up. there is a nurse in my street who normally works in paediatric intensive care but is helping with aduu intensive care but is helping with adult patients and right the way across the nhs, what you have got is people who are doing things that they don't normally do, they have been asked to do them with good, as good training we can possibly give them, they sometimes don't have all them, they sometimes don't have all the equipment they would like, they are the equipment they would like, they a re often the equipment they would like, they are often working in areas where you don't normally provide critical care like operating theatres and

recovery, so when like operating theatres and recovery, so when we do that clapping on a thursday, to recognise their effort, i think we particularly feed to recognise how much we are asking of people, and again, clive, you are right, to identify the fact that for example we are asking people who should probably still be studying, to step up probably still be studying, to step up and do what is a difficultjob, so, ithink up and do what is a difficultjob, so, i think they more than deserve those claps that we are giving them. it is clear we had a shortage of intensive care beds in this country compared to many others across europe. capacity has been increased now, and the situation is much better, but how would you categorize hospitals coping with the number of patients being treated for covid—19? so, one of the untold stories is right across the nhs, and it is not just hospital, it is ambulance community and mental health trust, the nhs has done something extraordinary, which is we have created 33,000 extra spaces, to

treat crooned patient, we have done a load of things to ensure we have the space and capacity to deal with that, so we have been asking community services staff to look after people who have been discharged rapidly and early from hospitals to create space for coronavirus patient, we are asking mental health trusts to step up and ta ke mental health trusts to step up and take patients who normally would still be in hospital so they can be looked after, on the grounds they are getting better, in intermediate ca re are getting better, in intermediate care and set up mental health accident & emergency services so across the nhs, we have done something that is unprecedented in the nhs‘s history which is to create all of that extra capacity and what i think we are experiencing at the moment, is although the service is under huge pressure, and there is still clearly some time to go to reach the peak, there is a real sense that the nhs line thanks to all of that dedication and professionalism front line staff is

holding, and that is partly because of that fantastic preparation work that we did over the previous five to six week, to create those extra 33,000 beds to treat coronavirus patients. the up surge in capacity has been incredible. chris, good to see you. thanks forjoining us. thanks forjoining us. thank you. doctor alex george is working in the accident and emergency unit at university hospital lewisham. he joins us from south west london. alex, thank you for being with us. we are hearing from chris there, ceo of nhs provider, talking about the toll front line staff, just tell me how difficult this whole thing has been for you, personally and your collea g u es been for you, personally and your colleagues dealing with this virus?. good afternoon to you too. i think thatis good afternoon to you too. i think that is fairly safe to say it has been a huge challenge to everyone in the front line, all members of staff andi the front line, all members of staff and i echo the point made earlier, that actually what we are seeing is

unprecedented. people pulling together from different specialities, working in areas they are not as comfortable in. medical stu d e nts are not as comfortable in. medical students stepping up to be doctors, it is incredible. there is of course, there is another side of the story. it is difficult to see the things we are seeing, it is very challenging, i would echo the thought that that on occasion you can feel a bit helpless because you wa nt to can feel a bit helpless because you want to help the patients in front of you and sometimes it is difficult. i would everyone is working so hard cases are doing a good job of getting people better but we can't save everyone. in the nhs, as doctor, nurses, and as other staff we want to help people and when we are not able to do that, this really, this is really tough and that can be difficult mentally. are you coping psychologically and those you are working with? yes, i am lucky we are family, we still

together, from consultant, down, eve ryo ne together, from consultant, down, everyone supports each other, if someone everyone supports each other, if someone is having a hard day or bad shift or a difficult case, we pull together and there is a lot of support, we have started a wellness group in hospital as well to support staff, which i think is important, there has been days i will come home and been upset. that is fair to say, things i have seen that are difficult. i am things i have seen that are difficult. iam not things i have seen that are difficult. i am not new to a&e, i am a junior doctor, i have been working here for three—and—a—half years but what we are seeing is unprecedented, it is not something i would from predicted seeing in my career.m there anything that could have prepared you for this, in your training, or in the two or three yea rs training, or in the two or three years you training, or in the two or three yea rs you have training, or in the two or three years you have been in a&e? so as you start as a junior doctor, your first year or so, foundation years you gain experience and you build up and you have education about how well you deal with major incidents and we get preparation round that, but you kind of never expect it to that. sometimes until you are faced

with a situation, it doesn't ever seem with a situation, it doesn't ever seem like it could be real, or that it could happen, but i would say, the response has been fantastic from manager, the doctors planned, you know, how we are caring to i for patient, it has been great. i know there has been talk in the media round ppe and of course, on the front line, my thoughts go to them, thatis front line, my thoughts go to them, that is so vitally important, very fortu nate that is so vitally important, very fortunate our trust i have never experienced that, we have not had thoseissues experienced that, we have not had those issues but i hope that is something that is rectified and if it is ongoing. your foundation trust is doing 0k in terms of ppe, there are not any shortages or problems? so, i work in a&e, we have stationed, scattered round the department, where ppe is available, and that is topped up regularly, next door to resuscitation where we see the sickest patient there's is a room dedicated to ppe, you get

yourself kitted out and go into the resus department and there is members of staff that go round checking there is an adequate supply, checking there is an adequate supply, i have never experienced a situation where i haven't. no should i. it is vital asking doctors, nurse, occupational therapist, physio, all different people to go and see patients that they are properly protected and for students and nursing staff that are graduating early, they want to know they are safe as well and i think thatis they are safe as well and i think that is vital and expected. that is great to hear. thank you. a hospital matron has died from coronavirus just months before her retirement. sara trollope worked at hillingdon hospital and died at watford general hospital after testing positive for covid 19. the mother of four had spent 33 years working for the nhs, and had her picture taken

with the prime minister last year, when he visited her hospital in his constituency. let's talk now to sara's sister, leanne breckons. she joins us from her home in gateshead. good to see you. thank ewe for joining us and our condolences to you and the family. —— you. as far as you are aware, what happened, what were the circumstances surrounding sara's death? firstly thank you for having me and having my sister's story told. for sara, she was the most amazing person going, she was a mental health matron, she was a wife, a mother, she was a nan, a sister, she was just beautiful. and for us as a family, we believe that her circumstances are that on her mental health ward, she had a patient with

coronavirus, who she would have looked after, she fed, she cleaned, he then showed symptoms, of the coronavirus, so was isolated and the staff had the necessary ppe, which was the basic ppe that the government guidelines have issued of the apron, the gloves, and u nfortu nately, the apron, the gloves, and unfortunately, for sara, i believe that this was too late, she has already contracted the virus by then, so unfortunately, she... she didn't make it. no. were you or any of herfamily didn't make it. no. were you or any of her family and didn't make it. no. were you or any of herfamily and i know she didn't make it. no. were you or any of her family and i know she leaves behind grandchildren, children and a husband. were you able to see her at all in those final days? my brother

in that she wasn't going to make it. that we will always be eternally grateful to watford general because that was something that my sister had said, that if her ward became a covid—19 ward, she would allow any family in to say goodbye and she would explain the dangers behind going into say goodbye, but watford gave gary that opportunity to say goodbye and for us, that has brought us goodbye and for us, that has brought us great comfort. indeed. so sara had made that clear on her ward, that if there was anyone who had contracted the virus who were close to passing away that family would be allowed to see them? those were her wishes, yes. that is wonderful to hear. the medical director at hillingdon hospital said sara had an unbeatable combination of kindness, selflessness and total determination. she was so proud to

work for the nhs for so long. she was, and these weeks leading up to her passing were very tough for her and her colleagues at work. they we re and her colleagues at work. they were in circumstances that they would never have imagined themselves to be, and she used to attend the daily briefings and her colleagues named her the corona fairy and they would go to her and she would give them the support and advice that they required at that time, so for us they required at that time, so for us now, they required at that time, so for us now, as a they required at that time, so for us now, as a family, she is now our corona angel. she was incredibly knowledgeable about the illness. is there a sense that people need to stay—at—home, observe the lockdown, understand the dangers of this thing in order to honour her memory and those other nhs staff who have u nfortu nately lost

those other nhs staff who have unfortunately lost their lives because of this? i 10096 unfortunately lost their lives because of this? i 100% agree. unfortunately lost their lives because of this? i 10096 agree. i think what people need to realise is that the people dying and the people on the front line and the people, all nhs staff, all carers, people working in nursing homes and out in the community, these people have families behind them that u nfortu nately families behind them that unfortunately do lose their lives to and what the public need to realise is that, for us, we have lost our members of family. we can't when this lockdown goes, we can't go and visit my sister, i can't go and give her her cuddle, i can't tell her i love her, and people are still doing that now with their families and they need to stop. it's not fair on they need to stop. it's not fair on the people that have lost their loved ones. we are never, ever going

to get that opportunity again and when this lockdown lifts, they will have the opportunity and they need to ensure that the people who are dying through this virus do not die in vain. and that's really important. and if anything that comes of the loss of my sister, sara, is that she has not died in vain and she died doing what she passionately loved. she was a very old—fashioned nurse that nursed from the heart, and for us, as a family, her patients have survived and that is what sara would have wanted. as i said, our thoughts are with you and sara's family. thank you so much for joining us from gateshead. she worked for the nhs for 33 years. as we've been hearing, the prime minister, borisjohnson

has been discharged from hospital after being treated for coronavirus. 0ur political correspondent jessica parker is here. he is well, he's fit, he's out. he is out of hospital. you will remember it was a week ago today that we heard borisjohnson had been admitted to saint thomas is hospital just across the river from parliament. i think, just across the river from parliament. ithink, that just across the river from parliament. i think, that evening, he did, is a bit ofa parliament. i think, that evening, he did, is a bit of a shock to many people. we knew obviously that boris johnson had positive for coronavirus and that he had been showing symptoms that were through the week after, learned that as he tested positive and had symptoms described as mild. we heard he had a temperature and then it was emerged he had been admitted to hospital because the symptoms had been so persistent, lasting over a week, and thenit persistent, lasting over a week, and then it was described as a precautionary measure and the evening after that admitted to intensive care which was deeply concerning because agree or disagree with this government's politics, agree or disagree with the way it

has handled the coronavirus outbreak, boris johnson, has handled the coronavirus outbreak, borisjohnson, the prime minister, is the person elected to run the country, a country that's going through a very challenging time, so it caused a huge concern. he was not put on a ventilator during that period and was given oxygen treatment. then over the last few days we have heard he has been improving, steady signs of improvement and then this afternoon we learned he is out of hospital and going to the prime ministerial retreat in buckinghamshire, checkers, and not planning to return to work. as things stand, dominic raab, foreign secretary and first secretary of state, will continue to deputise for him. he has already been speaking, boris johnson, deputise for him. he has already been speaking, borisjohnson, we have had a video. we haven't heard or seen have had a video. we haven't heard or seen borisjohnson have had a video. we haven't heard or seen boris johnson for over a week, but he's put out an extensive video, a five minute long video, talking about his experiences and paying tribute to the nhs and thanking people for observing social

distancing measures. let's have a listen to some of what he was saying. i have today left hospital after a week in which the nhs has saved my life, no question. it is hard to find words to express my debt, but before i come to that, i want to thank everyone in the entire uk for the effort and sacrifice you have made and are making. when the sun is out and the kids are at home, when the whole natural world seems at its loveliest and the outdoors is so inviting, ican loveliest and the outdoors is so inviting, i can only imagine how tough it has been to follow the rules on social distancing. i thank you, because so many millions and millions of people across this country have been doing the right thing. millions going through the hardship of self isolation faithfully, patiently and with thought and care for others as well as for themselves. i want you to

know that this easter sunday i do believe that your efforts are worth it and ourdaily believe that your efforts are worth it and our daily proving their worth. because although we mourn those who are taken promising such numbers, although the struggle is by no means over, we are now making progress in this incredible national battle against coronavirus. the prime minister in a video message from number ten. he prime minister in a video message from numberten. he is prime minister in a video message from number ten. he is recuperating now and we have got the latest downing street briefing on the coronavirus situation and it will be will be manhattan cock matt hancock and yvonne doyle, but the big question is, when will boris johnson get back to work. the honest a nswer johnson get back to work. the honest answer is we don't know. something that has been reiterated by downing street is that he would follow the

advice of his doctors and whilst it was still in hospital last week, we we re was still in hospital last week, we were hearing that he would not be returning to work immediately and around a fortnight, may be longer, we just around a fortnight, may be longer, wejust don't around a fortnight, may be longer, we just don't know, a around a fortnight, may be longer, wejust don't know, a number of weeks before he would return to work and again we don't know whether he is now able now or wants to be told he can feed into some extent on the decisions the government made over the coming weeks were made and clearly not returning to downing street to get behind the desk and work full—time and one of the decisions, of course, we expect this week is the review of the lockdown measures. they said it would be reviewed after three weeks and we are approaching that time. dominic raab, the foreign secretary has said we expect a decision on this later this week as to whether the lockdown measures will continue and all the mood music we have had is that they will clearly, when we've been hearing from these downing street

briefings, whilst they said social distancing measures were having an effect, it is too soon to say when they could be lifted, and i think they could be lifted, and i think the government is still really trying and you heard it in the video from borisjohnson, trying and you heard it in the video from boris johnson, trying trying and you heard it in the video from borisjohnson, trying to focus the minds and observe the measures, stay at home, only go out when necessary , stay at home, only go out when necessary, and there are particular concerns over another sunny weekend, an easter bank holiday weekend and they have kept reiterating the message. the lockdown is critical to dealing with this pandemic. but, of course, as you say, the important decision, we've had three weeks of the lockdown. borisjohnson is well enough to make a video and we saw pictures there of the splendid isolation of checkers, so hopefully he will be up and running soon, but he will be up and running soon, but he will be up and running soon, but he will want to feed into the decision soon, surely. even later this week he will want to be part of the process. his character might suggest, and he did seem a lot better in that video compared to the

last time we saw him, just over a week ago, when he emerged out of the door of downing street to clap for carers, so as many people know, they will have joined carers, so as many people know, they will havejoined in carers, so as many people know, they will have joined in at 8pm carers, so as many people know, they will havejoined in at 8pm on carers, so as many people know, they will have joined in at 8pm on a thursday. he looks better now than he did then. exactly. he did not look hugely well, although it is a bit difficult to say, but it was a day later when he delivered the last self shot video from him in self isolation. you will remember after he tested positive he self isolated in downing street and his fiancee later revealed she had been suffering from symptoms of coronavirus as well, and incidentally, we understand she is expected to join incidentally, we understand she is expected tojoin him incidentally, we understand she is expected to join him there, incidentally, we understand she is expected tojoin him there, but looking a little healthier in this video that he has just released. street. matt hancock has reached the podium for today's briefing. good afternoon and welcome back to downing street for today's's daily

coronavirus briefing. i'm joined today by doctor yvonne doyle, the medical director at public health england. and before i outline the latest on coronavirus and the work we are doing as a government to tackle it, i want to briefly update you about the prime minister's condition. it's great news that the prime minister has been discharged from hospital and is now continuing his recovery at chequers. i hope eve ryo ne his recovery at chequers. i hope everyone has seen his recovery at chequers. i hope everyone has seen his message of love and thanks to all of those who have supported his recovery and to the nhs colleagues who have cared for him so brilliantly at saint thomas is hospital. i know that they have cared for him as they would ca re have cared for him as they would care for anybody in this country and it is one of the things that makes me so proud that the nhs is there for us all. and it can give its very best to every single person and has

been able to throughout this crisis. i know that all of his thoughts are with those affected by the illness and of course the government is working constantly through the coronavirus action plan and the aim is to protect life and protect the nhs, both by slowing the spread of the virus to flatten the curve and to ensure that the nhs is always there for you and always has more than enough capacity to meet the demands that are placed on it. today marks a sombre day on the impact of this disease, as we join the list of countries who have seen more than 10,000 deaths related to coronavirus. the fact that over 10,000 people have now lost their lives to this invisible killer demonstrates just how serious

coronavirus is and why the national effort that everyone is engaged in is so important. according to the most is so important. according to the m ost rece nt is so important. according to the most recent figures, 282,374 people have now been tested for coronavirus. 84,279 have tested positive across great britain, and the number of people admitted to hospital with coronavirus system is now 19,945. —— coronavirus symptoms. and of those who have contracted the virus, 10,612 have tragically died. 0ur sincere condolences are with all of them, with their families, their friends, their grief is our grief. and their stories will not be forgotten. 0n and their stories will not be forgotten. on friday, i said that staying at home this easter weekend would be a major test of the nation's resolved. and i'm pleased to say that the nation is rising to

this challenge. i know for some people this has been extra tough. if you are at home with children and you are at home with children and you cannot visit relatives now because they are shielding and you are unable to go to church on this most important day for christians, your steadfast commitment to following the social distancing rules is making a difference. thank you for the part you are playing in helping to protect lives. lives on this critical time in our nation's history. but we cannot be complacent. not when there is so much at stake, so please keep going, stay home, protect the nhs and save lives. today i want to provide an update on the work we are doing to slow the spread of the virus and to build capacity. the latest figures show that in great britain, we have

2295 spare critical care beds, up 150 from yesterday. so, throughout this crisis, with all the challenges we have been dealing with, all the operational difficulties and all the logistics, we have always been able to provide the very best of care to everybody who needs it through the nhs. at the start of this crisis, people said that the nhs would be overwhelmed. and we have seen that, and we have seen the risk of that. elsewhere, but not here. that is because of the action a huge number of people have taken. the incredible work of so many. there is more spare capacity now for critical ca re more spare capacity now for critical care than there was when coronavirus first hit or shore, and that is before the nightingale hospital has come on stream. london's opened and we are already proin the process of

building six more round england. this critical expansion is partly because we have a record number of ventilators 9775, and partly because we have record numbers of returners coming back, and rejoining the nhs, over 5,000 former staff are back on the nhs front line and over 36,000 have come forward to enlist. this bolstered capacity is backed by substantial financial support. as the chancellor said whatever they need during this time, they will have. but of course there is always more that must be done. so, we are increasing the amount of ppe, and i am glad to say that there are now record amounts in the system. and we need the right amounts of medicine too. and i can assure everyone that we are working very closely with the pharmaceutical supply chain, and

hospital pharmacies, so that the right medicines are there, to treat people, and i am glad to see the reassu ra nces people, and i am glad to see the reassurances that have been provided today, that everybody can have the medicines they need in order to get the care they need. and when we debate the operational challenges we face, i want to be transparent about every single one. let us not forget that the core measure of nhs capacity which is what matters to you, when you or one of your loved ones needs it, is whether you can get the best care, if you catch coronavirus. 0n get the best care, if you catch coronavirus. on that we are succeeding. in fact succeeding more with each passing day. i also wanted to provide a brief update on personal protective equipment which is so important for nhs and social ca re is so important for nhs and social care staff. is so important for nhs and social ca re staff. i is so important for nhs and social care staff. i pay tribute to health and care staff, who this weekend just like every weekend are giving the very best possible care. 0n thursday, on streets, front doors

and balconies up and down the country, we have seen the steams with which the whole nation hold our ca re rs with which the whole nation hold our carers who make the nhs what it is, and we owe it to them to get them the equipment they need. 0n and we owe it to them to get them the equipment they need. on friday, we published a comprehensive ppe plan, which is based on everyone using the right ppe, according to agreed guidelines, and daily we are delivering millions of items to the front line. i know this have been questions about gown, in the last two days 121 thousand gowns have been delivered round the country, and more are going out today, and in the week to come. so we are working very ha rd to the week to come. so we are working very hard to resolve all of these individual logistical challenges. it is worth saying that the average time for dealing with ppe queries has gone down, from six days in march to an avenue rabbling of two—and—a—half days over the —— average. i am delighted that the sheer number of businesses that have come forward to help with our ppe

effort, even over the bank holiday weekend. thank you to all of you and all of those who are involved in this enormous effort on ppe, and i know that we will see many more businesses coming forward and i look forward to it. testing of course has a huge role in our response and we have discussed repeatedly testing at the press conference, i am pleased to say over 42,000 staff and their families have now been tested, and as we ramp up families have now been tested, and as we ramp up our families have now been tested, and as we ramp up our ability to test in large number, we also need to make sure we have the ability to trace contacts just as effectively. so today i wanted to outline the next step, a new nhs app for contact tracing. if you become unwell, with the symptoms of coronavirus, you can securely tell this new nhs app, and the app will then send an alert anonymously, to other app users that

you been in significant contact with over the past few days, even before you had symptoms so they know and can act accordingly. all data will be handled according to the high etcical and security standards and would only be used for nhs care and research and we won't hold it any longer than it is needed. as part of our commitment to transparency, we will be publishing the source code too. we are already testing this app, and as we do this, we are working closely with the world's leading tech companies and renowned experts in clinical safety and digital ethics so we can get this right. i want to thank all of these world leading expert, who have been involved, the more people who get involved, the more people who get involved the better informed our response to coronavirus will be. and the better we can protect the nhs. her majesty the queen spoke for all of us as she so often does when she said that easter is not cancelled,

but we need it now more than ever. this is an uncertain easter, for so many people. at a time when we normally come physically together, we must stay apart. it runs counter to every human instincts and every intuition we possess but we must percent veer, because if we follow the rules and slow the spread of the virus, then each new day will bring us virus, then each new day will bring us closer to norm mall life. —— persevere. we can enjoy easters to come, safe in the knowledge when it happens we did our bit and rose to the challenge. and we put our loved ones, we put our nhs staff, and we put our local communities first. so please, this easter, stay home, protect the nhs, and save lives. iam going protect the nhs, and save lives. i am going to hand over to yvonne, to ta ke i am going to hand over to yvonne, to take us through the charts and the information. thank you secretary of state. we

have four charts to show today, and the first one is on the use of transport. and on this slide, you can see that all forms of transport have reduced greatly, particularly railand tube. but have reduced greatly, particularly rail and tube. but also, motor vehicles have declined recently as well. thank you. the next slide. this slide tells us about the new uk cases, and we can see here, on the 12th april, that we have had 4,500 cases done through our nhs, and public health england offer, of testing, and now, coming on stream increasingly, is the drive through testing of key worker, and the nhs staff, and that is bringing us in now 830 —— 838 yesterday, and today,

838. so an increasingence hans of the testing capacity. —— increasing enhancement of the testing capacity. we can see the people on the next slide, about people in hospital beds, with covid—19. and here we can see the trend has been increasing for london, but now we are beginning to see london stabilising, dipping, rising again, so a more stable pattern for london but op on the other hand, for great britain we see other hand, for great britain we see other regions now beginning to increase, particularly the north—west, and the yorkshire area as well, and the north east, so it very important that the message about staying at home and social distancing is adhered to, because we are certainly not past this virus damage yet. and then finally, on the final slide, we have the global death comparison, and here we can see where the uk is, it is somewhere

in the middle, it is tracking france, it is looking close to the italian trend at the moment, but this is still early day, we would stress, in understanding deaths and we can see where other countries have higher increases in their deaths at the moment. so those are the four slides, thank you very much. thanks very much indeed yvonne, and if we go to the bbc, we have got david shuckman. health secretary, thank you very much indeed. if i may ask about on this day we passed this very sombre milestone as you put it of 10,000 deaths, what is your reaction to the comments of one of your owned a vicar, sirjeremy comments of one of your owned a vicar, sir jeremy farrow, comments of one of your owned a vicar, sirjeremy farrow, renowned expert on infectious diseases that the uk may be on course for the worst outcome in terms of death toll in europe? well, i think that, that sort of comment merely reinforce

forces the importance of the central message, which is that people should stay at home, because that protects the nhs, and saves lives, we get advice from all sorts of experts and we ta ke advice from all sorts of experts and we take it all very seriously, and we take it all very seriously, and we assess it throughout. now, the future of this virus is unknowable, as yet. because it depends on the behaviour of millions of people, and the great british public. the good news is, that so far, we have managed to start to see a flattening of the curve, because people are following the social distancing measures, by and large, and also, that the core goal of making sure that the core goal of making sure that nhs capacity is always above the demand for nhs services has been achieved. so especially at moments

like this, when we have reached this, this terrible marker, we are thankfully, in a position where we are able to support everybody who needs it, in the nhs, and we are able to see the curve starting to come down. yvonne, i don't know on the initial comparisons you need to make sure you get the statistics right in that. could i say every one of ness 10,000 and more deaths is a tragedy from a virus we didn't know about some time ago. but when you get down to the statistic, it does depend on how people measure this, there are time lags in the deaths, i would stress particularly it is early days, because patterns we saw perhaps in countries earlier in this may change, and we are beginning to see that initially. thank you david. unless you want to follow up? yes, ifi could ask

thank you david. unless you want to follow up? yes, if i could ask you about the briefing about ppe with your colleague the home secretary, i asked whether it was possible for heron asked whether it was possible for her on behalf of the government to give a commitment to a date by when deliver riese of ppe would match —— deliveries of ppe would match, every day we get messages from health care workers saying they don't have what is needed? . the answer is, that it is needed? . the answer is, that it is impossible, because the quest is to geta, is impossible, because the quest is to get a, the right ppe to the right ppe people, on the front line, at the right time, across many millions of people across the nhs, and social care. and i am glad to say that that effort is moving in the right direction, we now have record amounts of ppe that has been put out into the system, but until everybody gets the ppe they need, then, we

won't rest, and we have, we have thousands of people working 24/7 on this, including over this bank holiday weekend, because the need and the demand for ppe doesn't stop either, so it is an enormous effort, andi either, so it is an enormous effort, and i want to, a eventually go out of my way, to thank the procure. experts that we have got in the system, they don't often get thanks because they are not on the front line but we need them to make sure we can get that ppe, and as i mentioned with gown, which is the currently, the item that he is most in need, we have been making some progress over the weekend, with more to come next week. thanks david. i have martha farrelly from itv.. question do you if i may, the royal couege question do you if i may, the royal college of nursing has issued new guidance to members telling them if they haven't been given the promise ppe and there is no other way of

treating a patient without reducing risk they should refuse to work rather than compromising their own safety, will you apologise to the nurses and indeed the other medical and health care workers who are being put in that. i possible position of having to make a decision about whether to offer treatment to a patient other to protect their own personal safety? well, martha, as i said in the previous answer, we are working night and day to make sure that we get the right ppe, and actually, the thing i want to do, is pay tribute to the unbelievable efforts of a huge number of people to get to the position where we are in now, which, asi position where we are in now, which, as i said in my opening remarks, is improving, but we won't rest until we get there, so, you know, i work closely with the royal college of nursing on thinks matters, on other thing, in fact i was in conattacks with them only earlier today, because it is so important to get this right. —— contact.

nick martin from sky. good afternoon. a question first, to the secretary of state then yvonne doyle ifi secretary of state then yvonne doyle if i may. secretary of state you painta if i may. secretary of state you paint a relatively positive picture of where we are within at the moment, but there is a very different picture being painted within our care and nursing homes, i spent a full day in a nursing home the other day, which a full floor had been devoted to elderly patients suffering from coronavirus. i witnessed flimsy ppe overstretched staff, a lot of illness and unfortunately some death of some of the residents and what has been coming back from what i witnessed from the care sector, is they are crying out for tests, homeowners have been telling me they are not getting regular tests for staff and

residents but usually, for those being transferred from hospitals, to the care sector, and that they are operating in the dark. i tell you, if my inbox is anything to go by today, the care sector is watching this right now, and is desperate for you to tell them that they will get regular tests so they can end this lottery. can you give that guarantee to them? yes, i can, that is coming. last week we were able to open up testing to staff in care homes and throughout this there has been the availability of testing on a clinical basis within care homes, as you mentioned, and this is an area of incredibly high importance because precisely as you have seen, some of the most vulnerable people live in care homes and especially in nursing homes. therefore getting this right is just so nursing homes. therefore getting this right isjust so important. i think one of the things that we have succeeded in doing as a country

during this crisis is recognising that our care staff are on the front line just as that our care staff are on the front linejust as much that our care staff are on the front line just as much as our nhs staff are, and making sure we expand that testing capability both to staff and residents including this very difficult issue of patients leaving hospital. we are addressing that, andi hospital. we are addressing that, and i think the issues you raise are incredibly important. john stevens from the mail newspaper. john, we can go back to nick, if you don't mind. care operators are telling me that they need this now or tomorrow. what is the timescale that you can arrange for regular, widespread tests to get into care homes? how long will they have to wait for these tests? for the staff, as i said, we have made that change already at the end of last week and

i announced it on friday, and therefore we are rolling that out right now. and for the residents, the testing has been available throughout but we keep under review the protocols for the transfer of people between hospitals and social care, which is a very nuanced and complicated area where the most important thing is that the interests of the patient put first. yvonne doyle, did you want to add anything more? i thinki might have had a question. are you satisfied right now that care homes have enough support? i'm trying to get more support to them constantly is the honest truth, and of course, making sure, for instance, that the testing is available and i was very glad to have got that out to test centre staff and you will have seen at the sharp increase in the number of tests that are available. i'm happy to add to that and i think you

might have had a question, but this is very much on our radar through our local health protection teams and connections with local directors of public health and the local resilience forums, about the care homes, and we profile them in a way that was never done before and this is very valuable for us going forward as a country that we have a truly integrated approach to care, and yes, testing does occur in the nursing homes but we have more to do. nursing and care homes, we understand there is much more to do here to get to every last quarter where there is anxiety, where the most vulnerable are and our guidance has taken account of this to simplify what people actually need at the front line in that sector. anything more, nick? no, thank you very much. john stevens? thank you, health secretary, the updated figures on n h workers who have died on coronavirus, what are you doing

to establish those reasons why? are really important question and i don't have an update on the figure of 19 don't have an update on the figure of19 nhs don't have an update on the figure of 19 nhs staff who have died that i gave yesterday, but what i can tell you is that we are looking into each circumstance to understand as much as is possible how they caught the virus, whether that was at work, outside of work and the clinical setting that they were working in and making sure that we learn as much as we possibly can and therefore, of course, protect our health workers as much as possible. thank you secretary of state. this is of great importance, scientifically, as well, that we understand why infections occur in hospital across health care staff and what the avoidable factors in that might be, and that is something that might be, and that is something thatis that might be, and that is something that is under investigation at the moment. i would say that the people

who go into the nhs as the prime minister so movingly said in his words in the video he recorded this morning that i hope you have seen, and the admiration for those who put themselves in harm's way is incredibly high. you know, they are unbelievable and therefore it is incumbent on us to make sure that we get to the bottom of each individual case and learn everything we can so we can better protect people in the future and so that we can give a full account to the family and loved ones of each member of the nhs family who has died. can i ask a quick follow—up? do you know if the prime minister has been given advice on how long he should rest for before he returns to work? he is

resting. he is at chequers and i'm delighted he's out of hospital and is recovering but there is no advice on how long, that will be a clinical decision for his doctors to take with him. the government is operating perfectly efficiently within the strategy that he has set out. nicola bartlett from the mirror. secretary of state, we have talked about a reduction in the time it has taken to get ppe to those places that need it down to two and a half days. i wanted to ask you if thatis a half days. i wanted to ask you if that is an acceptable time during which the nhs staff that you have just praised will be putting themselves in harms way while treating patients. thanks to the question. just to be clear, the two and a half days is the time taken to fulfil a query, so we have a 20 47

hotline for all of the 58,000 locations that we now need to get ppe out to, and they can call that when they have a need, and the two and a half days is not necessarily or particularly a time to wait for pp without any because many of the times people call the hotline they are calling saying that we will run out by the end of the week, for instance. the more urgent cases where the shortage is more acute, we act on immediately because the two and a half days as an average so it shouldn't be interpreted that people are waiting for two and a half days. that is not the measure. the reason the measure is important is because it is the way of tracking how quickly we are able to go from somebody raising an alarm on that phone number, which is there so that anybody in the system, any organisation that receives ppe from

us can organisation that receives ppe from us can get that protective equipment and it is a measure of how fast the system and it is a measure of how fast the syste m ca n and it is a measure of how fast the system can respond stop and the challenge of getting protective equipment to every single person is very complicated, and so you have to have a measures of how we are progressing against that because my ultimate goal is to make sure everybody has it at every moment they needed, and that is one we are driving hard at but we have to be able to measure the progress on the way. just on that point, we have known about the dangers of this virus for many months now and that it was likely that the uk would have to respond to this challenge. were we to late in putting on the orders and putting some of these measures in place to get that vital equipment to people, because other countries have managed to protect their staff ina way have managed to protect their staff in a way that we don't seem to have been able to do? i don't quite agree with that. firstly, when i talk to

my colleagues across the world, we share this challenge and the reason is that we have the stockpiles and we went into this with the stockpiles and the challenge is a logistical one of having had previously an organisation that serves just over 200 nhs organisations, and the demand for it has gone up enormously and there are now 58,000 organisations that this huge logistical operation services. and so, it's been a challenge of logistics as much as one of supply, and that is what the plan i set out on friday goes into detail on, to explain the challenges in that distribution, but also, at the same time, of course, we have got to replenish the stockpiles that we went into this with. so we did go in

with some quite significant stockpiles but, of course, given the sheer quantities that were distributed across the system, we are using those stockpiles up and we need to replenish them as well. good afternoon. the chief scientific adviser, sir patrick vallance, was happy to go on record last month to say that 20,000 deaths or fewer would be in his words, a good outcome for the uk. given that we have now hit 10,000, can we still achieve that good outcome? the best way, and i will ask yvonne to come in on this, but the best way to respond to the question is to say that the future path of this pandemic in this country is determined by how people act, and thatis determined by how people act, and that is why it is so important that people follow the social distancing guidelines. and i know that we repeat this message, but we repeat

it for a reason, because it is so important. the twin goals of having a social distancing guidelines followed so we reduce the spread of the virus and, at the same time, making sure that the nhs capacity is a lwa ys making sure that the nhs capacity is always there to treat people, these are the most important measures we have got. and discussion about ppe is important and discussion about gowns and medicine shortages, all of these things are important, but the capacity of the nhs to treat every single person and the behaviour of eve ryo ne single person and the behaviour of everyone in this country to do their bit to flatten the curve are the most important thing we can possibly be doing. and so predictions are not possible precisely because they depend on the behaviour of the british people, and i'm really glad that at the moment the british people, this weekend, are doing their bit. yvonne? thank you,

secretary of state, and i would agree with this. just as we are learning about the virus and its behaviour we are learning about why deaths are occurring in the way that they are, and can we actually do anything more and we are doing? at the moment, at this stage of this epidemic, by far the the moment, at this stage of this epidemic, by farthe most the moment, at this stage of this epidemic, by far the most important thing to do is exactly what we are doing, which is social distancing, breaking the chain of transmission and shielding the most vulnerable, which is an absolutely crucial element of this. and we are watching that day by day, sometimes many times a day, including what is happening with the deaths. so that is what we need to do for some time to come. jill's you and the prime minister today had both paid tribute to people who work in the nhs and both highlighted in particular those who come from overseas. do you think that when this crisis is over, the government

should be asking if the government has the right policies in terms of funding and organising the nhs. and in terms of immigration. we have seen that people working in health ca re seen that people working in health care and other vital jobs seen that people working in health care and other vitaljobs have been told they are low skilled workers are not a priority. i'm not sure about that. firstly, we brought in the nhs visa precisely to be able to attract people from around the world to work in the nhs, and i'm incredibly proud of the people who come into this country to work for the nhs. and you are right, yesterday i highlighted the fact that, tragically, a disproportionate number of those in the nhs who have died are people who came to make their lives here and to work on the nhs and have given their lives working in the nhs. and i pay tribute to them, and i want to acknowledge that. but i would say that in terms of the immigration policy, the nhs visa is precisely a

reflection of our respect for and admiration of those who have come from overseas to work in the nhs. and on the support and funding on the nhs, i'm delighted we went into this crisis with record numbers of people and record funding in the nhs, but there is no doubt that afterwards, of course, everybody will ask all sorts of questions and we will reflect on that, but i think it's fair to say that my admiration for those who work in the nhs, whether they come from overseas or whether they come from overseas or whether they come from overseas or whether they were born here, it doesn't matter. my admiration for them is unparalleled, and i think that at this moment, the fact that it is so obvious to them that the nation really values their work,

from the prime minister down, if you saw his message, i think that is the most important message we can give them as they take the brave steps as they do each day of going into work to tackle virus. thanks very much indeed. that concludes today's downing street briefing, and we will no doubt see you all again tomorrow. studio: you are watching bbc news and we have been hearing the government there through matt hancock, the health secretary, and professor yvonne doyle medical director for professor yvonne doyle medical directorfor public professor yvonne doyle medical director for public health england give the latest statistics and the government's policies in dealing with the coronavirus outbreak. let us with the coronavirus outbreak. let us look at some the key points from tae briefing and the health secretary said today, marks clearly a sombre day, as the uk's coronavirus death toll has now risen above 10,000. professor doyle said we are begins to see hospital admissions stabilising in london, but

increasing in other regions. mr hancock said there are a record amount of personal protective equipment of ppe in the health system. let at look at some the figures in detail. our health correspondent is with me. first overall the figure that stands out for many people today and for the health secretary, he said it was a sombre day in the fight against the disease. 10,000 —— 10600 people have died. a significant number and a very sad number, 10612 deaths in the uk. these are people who have died in hospital after testing positive for the coronavirus, when figures continue to be released for deaths in the community, people who have passed away in care home, that number is likely to be even hiring than this, so if we look at the numbers, as they are growing day on day, this is an increase of 737 recorded deaths up to 5.00 yesterday

afternoon, so actually almost 200 fewer an increase than yesterday, if you... if we look at the trends over the last few weeks up until last weekend, the death figures were, over three—and—a—half days. so, perhaps there is some comfort, looking ahead further down the line as potential deaths, as we go forward , as potential deaths, as we go forward, it is still too soon to say from a couple of days and there is a reduction in the increase, but still, 137 more recorded to have died. just... number of care homes and in, is that figure round and somewhere in statistics, but you

need to report patients aed many itted to hospital, test positive for covid—19, publishing figures for deaths, which include those who have passed away outside of hospital, but there is about a ten day lag behind on the numbers so they are published every wednesday, every tuesday, we get those figures in the morning and they will be increasing and we will be comparing those with what we have had from the government. the figures will be released but they are on a delay. we have some graphics from yvonne doyle, medical directorfor public health england. it looks as if the lockdown measures in place seem if the lockdown measures in place seem to have an effect in stabilising the number of infections. the real lockdown was announced three weeks tomorrow. if we look at the graphs in the press conference, all forms of transport

down. rail and tube use especially but also people using their cars, motor vehicle use down as well after rising and falling a couple of times and if you compare that to the number of uk cases we can see something of a levelling out in the number of new cases, and then if you look at hospital admissions after that, it shows there has been fluctuation in london, but recently over the last 24 hours the number of admissions has the reduced in london and appears to be stabilising but other areas admissions are slightly climbing, so, professor yvonne doyle said we are not past the virus dam yet but we could be looking at a case where cases are flattening out, that curve we hear, it is about pushing down on it and that is where we can see going through weeks into social distancing, hopefully the recorded deaths coming down and the number of new cases as well. sure, very important part of this, fighting this virus, testing. and

professor doyle suggested that there we re professor doyle suggested that there were 42812 tests of nhs and social ca re were 42812 tests of nhs and social care staff for the coronavirus, but still overall, that figure that the government wants to reach, 100,000 a day, nowhere near that. yes, 100,000 a day was the target announced to be reached by the end of this month. now, 12776 people were tested between 9.00 yesterday morning and 9.00 this morning, so still you know some way off reaching that 100,000 tests a day figures but like you say 42,000 nhs and social care staff, a number may have been isolating because they had symptoms of the the coronavirus or some members of their family did so have been off work. those people who may have tested negative will have been able to go back to work and some interesting lines mentioned in the press conference we heard, is that 5,000 former nhs staff are also back out on the front line, so they are the

ones who have answered the call to come out of retirement and they have had the checks down and an induction and thousands more will be joining them as well. some other points mentioned in the press conference with the health secretary. he said there are 2225 spare critical care beds, that is 150 more than yesterday, not even counting with the further six nightingale hospitals coming online. he said there were 9775 ventilator, as well, and that the ppe, that has been a big issue is being delivered even over the bank holiday weekend. yes, ppe, very very important, record amounts said the health secretary, being coming into the system daily. 121,000 gowns delivered round the country, he also said. why is it, though, that there are some trust, andi though, that there are some trust, and i interviewed a doctorfrom one trust who said there was lots of

ppe, no problem, yet we are getting other trusts round the country rand doctors saying and nurses saying we have not got enough stuff. there seems to be a distribution problem. it is not even. i don't think it is just across the country, it is across the world that has been mentioned many times in the press conference, i spoke to paramedics last week who said they didn't have enough of the protective equipment they needed, then there was a delivery and it went really quickly, so, ithink delivery and it went really quickly, so, i think it a supply and demand and distribution in getting it out, and distribution in getting it out, and we can talk about the hundreds of millions of items that have gone out, mask, gown, eye protection but if it isn't getting to the staff needed there is still a difficulty and disparity there, the royal couege and disparity there, the royal college of nursing has said its members could refuse to treat patients as last resort if it cannot be provided. that is nothing any doctor or nurse would want to go, it

does show the seriousness of this, but as we heard, with matt hancock, he said they are working round—the—clock to get deliveries out and it is a a race against time. yes. patchy situation on ppe. thank you. going through some of the figures from today's briefing on the coronavirus pandemic. as we have been hearing the number of deaths relating to this in the uk has topped 10,000. the bbc was told the uk is possibly the worst affected the numbers in the worst affected the numbers in the uk have continued to go up, i do hope that we are coming close to the number of new infections reducing, and ina number of new infections reducing, and in a week or two the number of people needing hospital reducing, and tragically in a couple of weeks' time the number of deaths plateauing the and starting to come down, but

yes, the uk is likely to be certainly one of the worst if not the worst affected country in europe. sirjeremy farrow. in spain another 619 people with coronavirus have died, the rise comes after the country recorded its lowest increase in deaths since yesterday. the country one of the worst hit has recorded just over 17,000 deaths, associated with covid—19. guy hedgecoe gave us the latest from madrid. yes, i think it is very disheartening, this figure today, 690 more deaths. that is over 100 more than are registered yesterday, which you mentioned, was a relatively low figure yesterday was the lowest since march 23 andi think there are a lot of people thinking that perhaps a major corner had been turned yesterday. there are some statistical reasons that might be somehow distorting these figures at the moment

and that is possible because of the easter holidays. it might be delaying how local authorities are reporting the figures. i think there has always been a suspicion that the figures over this easter holiday might not be entirely reliable. i think tomorrow we will get a much clearer idea as to the real situation regarding the deaths, and if you look at the number of new infections, they have come down again today, to just over 4000. overall, the feeling is that the overall trend, the overall trajectory is still encouraging, but the figures today are rather worrying. we have had a one—month lockdown last week and that was extended for another two weeks by parliament. the prime minister has said that he fully expects to extend it again once it expires at the end of april. having said all that, tomorrow some restrictions are going to be lifted on nonessential workers who are not able to work from home, for example, construction workers, people who work in factories and other heavy industry, they will be able to go back to work tomorrow.

around 10 million face masks are going to be handed out by the government to people who are travelling on public transport as of tomorrow, as part of that slight lifting on the restrictions that have been in place so far. as we mentioned, the united states has now overtaken italy as the country with the highest death toll from coronavirus in the world. more than 20,000 people have now died in the us. new york state has become the centre of the outbreak, accounting for around half of those deaths. the state's governor andrew cuomo has described the figures as ‘horrific‘ but pointed toa stabilisation in the number of new deaths. speaking earlier, he said he understood the hardships people are feeling. we are seeing a lot of pain, a lot of loss, again last night we lost hundreds of new yorkers to this

terrible disease, it has been dis0rienting, everybody is suffering ona dis0rienting, everybody is suffering on a lot of level, people are afraid, people are anxious, they are under strivesry way they turn. normally you go home for solace, you go home for peace, but it is even difficult at home in this period with so many questions. the country's most senior disease experts say federal social distancing measures are slowing the spread of the virus and must not be lifted prematurely. but on friday president donald trump said he wanted to get the economy moving again after it was revealed that 16 million americans had lost theirjobs in recent weeks. mr trump announced a new council of advisers to help him decide when to relax social distancing measures. i don't think i've had a bigger decision than that, when you think, right? somebody said it is totally up to the president. and it is. i don't know that i have had a bigger decision.

but i am going to surround myself with the greatest minds, not only the greatest minds but the greatest minds in numerous different businesses, including in the business of politics and reason, and we are going to make a decision and hopefully it is going to be the right decision. i will say this. i want to get it opened as soon as we can. we have to get our country open, jeff. some of the other stories making the news round the world. russia has reported the largest daily increase in new coronavirus cases, since the start of the outbreak, 2186 were confirmed infected with covid—19 in the last 24 hours. a total of 130 people have now died from the virus. the security officials have reported a surge in attacked on mobile phone masts, blaming extremist protestors who are against the roll out of 5g networks. 0fficials who are against the roll out of 5g networks. officials say the damage could hinder calls to emergency

service, attacks have increased after conspiracy theories merged falsely linking coronavirus symptoms with the technology. and a meeting of its ruling party the north korean leadership called for stricter measures, pyongyang has closed its border with china and further restricted the movement of people and goods. north korea hasn't add milted to any cases of the virus. —— admitted. christians around the world are celebrating easter, despite restrictions that have left many people confined to their homes. the archbishop of canterbury, justin welby, recorded his traditional easter address online from his kitchen and hailed the heroism of front line workers. pope francis held the traditional easter vigil in an almost deserted st peter's basilica, as our religion editor martin bashir reports. in rome, pope francis delivered his annual easter message, in chastened and starkly different circumstances to those normally associated

with the joy of easter sunday. no flowers around the basilica, no pilgrims in the square. and the context of the coronavirus pandemic clearly shaped the content of his message. translation: this is not a time for self—centredness, because the challenge we are facing is shared by all without distinguishing between persons. after the second world war, this beloved continent was able to rise again thanks to a concrete spirit of solidarity. it is more important than ever, especially in the present circumstances, that these rivalries do not regain force. in bergamo, the worst hit province in italy, the church of the blessed redeemer live streamed its service to

a parish where more than 150 have lost their lives. after so much suffering... the leader of the anglican church, archbishopjustin welby, who normally preaches from canterbury cathedral, delivered his easter message from a kitchen table at lambeth palace. he said the country should use this pandemic to change direction. we cannot be content to go back to what was before, as if all was normal. there needs to be a resurrection of our common life, a new normal, something that links to the old but is different and more beautiful. the body of christ... in the philippines, which has also cancelled services, a church north of manila found a way of gathering its congregation together, creating a fellowship of photographs to celebrate easter. martin bashir, bbc news.

the french government has called for an army of workers to help in the field in the weeks ahead to meet manpower shortages caused by coronavirus. around one third of a million seasonalfarm coronavirus. around one third of a million seasonal farm workers come to france every year, mainly from eastern and southern europe and north africa, but because of travel restrictions there are fears crops might go unpicked. all of france is under lockdown, not just the might go unpicked. all of france is under lockdown, notjust the cities, but in small towns and villages it is the same, dead quiet. but for farmers, life goes on. crops cannot wait to be sown or planted or picked in the nation still has to be fed. the question is, in the time of coronavirus, who is going to do all of that work? some growers have seen business boom. this organic nursery suddenly found scores of new customers who won produce delivered to their doors during the

quarantine. more staff are needed badly —— who want produce delivered. we have the good fortune to have a website, and as a result, online sales have shot up. demand is 40% more than usual and that means a lot of extra work on the sales side, which means we need to take on people on the production side. but the seasonal workers from abroad who normally help with the harvests, like the asparagus harvest right now getting under way, because of the virus, they are not coming. and so the french government has teamed up with a farming website to launch an appeal. people from the towns, temporarily out of work, are urged to come to the field to help. already 200,000 have signed up. quite honestly, if no one comes to work on the farms, in the weeks ahead, we will be facing real supply problems for certain produce. it's already what's happened in italy, which is a few weeks ahead of us. there won't be zero production, but definitely shortages. one man who

has answered the call is maxime, a computer worker in alsace. he was put in touch with a grower of hops who needs labour because of the absence of his regular migrant staff from eastern europe. i don't see myself as a soldier, more than is somebody as someone who wants to help in this terribly difficult time. i think farming is a great profession so if there is a lack of manpower, i want to play my part. spring has come to france now, and the growing season is under way. very soon the need for farm labour will be intense. if the migrant workers continue to stay away, france may have no other option but its army of city pickers. hugh schofield, bbc news, central france. let's get more reaction to the latest coronavirus briefing from number ten and joining me now from leicester is labour mp liz kendall,

the newly appointed shadow health minister. hello to you and thanks very much indeed for being with us. clearly, as the health secretary made clear, this is a sombre day. we have now crossed the 10,000 barrier for those who have died. yes, it's terrible, really, that 10,612 people have died from this virus and every single one of them is a real human being with people who loved them and whose hearts are breaking. and my heart goes out to every single one of them today. what do you make of what sirjeremy farrar told us. a government scientific adviser on the sage committee, that potentially we are on track to have the highest death toll anywhere in europe? well, that's extremely worrying and i think that we have to do everything to get the infection rates and the

death rates down, and i know that the labour party wants to be constructive in helping the government to do that and we want to ask the right questions and to scrutinise their action, but also to support them when they take the right decisions. that's why i think it's really important that parliament returns as quickly as is possible. yes, we have to follow all the right rules and make sure nobody is health is put at risk but i think it is through scrutiny and questioning that we will help the government get to where the country needs them to be, which is making sure we get those death rates down and we make sure we get the correct protective clothing and equipment they need and crucially, we get enough testing going on. one of the suggestions we are making is that alongside the daily death rates in hospitals, the government should also publish death rates outside of hospital, including in care homes. i think there have been some very,

very worrying reports about increasing numbers of very elderly and frail people dying in care homes. we've seen that in other countries, and i think if you're going to deal with the problem, you need to know how big it is, where it is and how fast it is spreading, so that's one of the things i hope the government will listen to and take action on. yes, the government, and we heard matt hancock make the point, that record amounts of ppe is in the system and they are delivering millions of pieces of ppe every day, but the suggestion is from some trusts and some doctors that they are not getting enough equipment. it does seem to be patchy around the country. it does. we heard from doctors organisations on the royal college of nursing and doctors and nurses themselves saying that they are not getting the ppe they need. but let's not forget the ca re they need. but let's not forget the care workers who are providing care

in nursing homes and residential homes. i've spoken to the care homes in my constituency and many of them have been worried that they are not getting enough, that it's not the right type, and they are also especially worried about testing because, look, if you are in a care home now, families are not going to visit, so the only way the infection would get in is through one of the staff. so care staff are desperate not to infect the people. the people they are going to work to care for. so we really need the plan for ppe and testing to get to care homes and home care agencies now, because these are some of the most frail and vulnerable people in society, and as isaid, vulnerable people in society, and as i said, we've seen in other countries some terrible, terrible incidents in care homes and we don't wa nt incidents in care homes and we don't want that happening here. as you say, part of the issue with the situation in care homes is that the death figures are not being recorded but there is no international requirement for those figures to be

made public, along with those deaths in hospitals. you don't need an international requirement, you need common sense. in ireland, they are collecting the figures and the latest stats we have seen from their show that around half of all of their coronavirus deaths have happened in nursing homes. france collect those figures. we are a society that cares for the elderly. there are many families who are desperately worried about what is happening to their elderly mums and dads at the moment. i know those ca re dads at the moment. i know those care home staff are working really ha rd to care home staff are working really hard to try and do their best but if they don't have the ppe and are still not being tested, we can't do as much as we should be doing to keep people safe. there's over 400,000 people in nursing and residential care in this country and they matter just as residential care in this country and they matterjust as much as anybody else. it is ourfamilies, the people we love, and we need to do more. you

you do say you want to see parliament coming back with the right social distancing measures in place and so forth. is there a sense that you feel the government hasn't been held to account enough for the way it has handled this whole crisis? look, the reason i think we wa nt crisis? look, the reason i think we want parliament to return, we can also do a lot virtually. i've had my first treasury select committee. i've now come onto the front bench. we had ourfirst virtual i've now come onto the front bench. we had our first virtual meeting, questioning the cbi and tuc about economic measures the government is taking. we can use technology, but the point about scrutiny is not to score points, it's to get to better decisions. that's what we want, we wa nt to decisions. that's what we want, we want to help the government to do what the country needs and get the right result, because that's what i think the public want. they don't wa nt think the public want. they don't want point—scoring, they want to see results, action, people protected.

and they want to know if and how we are going to get out of this lockdown and go back to us much of a normal life as possible. today, people across the country are desperate to see their families. they have been cooped up with their kids. we need a way out of this, and as kier starmer rightly said today, we need to see the government's exit strategy so we can question it, scrutinise it, to make it as good as it possibly can be. ok, liz kendall, thank you forjoining us. hello and welcome to our audiences in the uk and around the world. we have the latest for you on coronavirus developments here. the official figures of the number of recorded deaths in the uk have now passed 10,000. matt hancock, the health secretary, said it marked a sombre day. he also said there are record amounts of personal protective equipment in the health system. professor yvonne doyle, medical director of public health england said, we are beginning to see

hospital admissions stabilising in london but increasing in other areas. this comes as the british prime minister boris johnson areas. this comes as the british prime minister borisjohnson has been discharged from hospital after being treated for coronavirus. you will not immediately return to work. spain's daily death toll has risen by 619 after falling for three days, taking the total to 16,972. the death toll has overtaken italy as the world's highest in the us. let's hear from the health secretary, matt hancock, speaking in the last few minutes. i hope everyone has seen his message of love and thanks to all those who have supported his recovery, and to the nhs colleagues who have cared for him so brilliantly at saint thomas hospital. i know that they have cared for him, as they would care

for anybody in this country, and it's one of the things that makes me so proud that the nhs is there for us so proud that the nhs is there for us all and so proud that the nhs is there for us alland can so proud that the nhs is there for us all and can give its very best to every single person, and has been able to throughout this crisis. i know that all of his thoughts are with those affected by this illness. and of course, the government is working constantly through our coronavirus action plan, and the aim is to protect life and protect the nhs, both by slowing the spread of the virus to flatten the curve, and by ensuring the nhs is always there for you, and always has more than enough capacity to meet the demands that are placed on it. today marks a sombre day in the impact of this disease, as wejoin sombre day in the impact of this disease, as we join the list of countries who have seen more than

10,000 deaths related to coronavirus. the fact that over 10,000 people have now lost their lives to this invisible killer demonstrates just how serious coronavirus is, and why the national effort that everyone is engaged in is so important. the health secretary, matt hancock, speaking at today's downing street coronavirus briefing. the british psychological society has told the bbc the uk is running the risk of a future mental health crisis and a generation of burnt out health workers. it comes after a cross—party group of mps wrote to matt hancock calling for psychological first aid and support for front line workers during the coronavirus pandemic. the snp's lisa cameron is a clinical psychologist and one of the mps to sign this letter. thanks for being with us on bbc news. just explain what your concerns are for front line staff dealing with this crisis. yeah, i

mean, as chairof dealing with this crisis. yeah, i mean, as chair of the parliamentary group on psychology group in parliament, we have been working with the psychological society and we know that staff on the front line, in care homes, in the nhs, in ambulance services etc, they are experiencing trauma alongside the physical demands of the job just now, and we think it's absolutely crucial that they are provided with mental health support at this time. that ceo of nhs providers, i was speaking to him in the last hour or so, and he made it clear there now has to be a focus on the mental health of nhs front line staff dealing with this crisis, and that perhaps this is a time bomb that could well explode at some point in the future. absolutely, because trauma doesn't always hit people at the time of the experience of the

crisis, but it will be starting to have an impact on staff, because not only are we putting staff on the front line to care for people who are dying, they are helping the families of those who are bereaved, losing colleagues, which is something they wouldn't perhaps have expected to see in their lifetime of service in the nhs or in the care services. therefore, this is an unprecedented situation. it is, as i said, a ticking time bomb and we need to address mental health needs with parity to the physical health needs that we need to make sure that staff have essential ppe as well. spokesperson has said, we share the concerns that this epidemic poses to mental health and the well—being of all our health and care workers. a £5 million grant is available for mental health charities to fund additional services for people struggling with all this, and that ministers say that nhs staff can call the helpline if they are feeling stressed. is any of this

enough? we think that's a good start but it's certainly not enough. it's excellent that people can call a helpline. having charities take this forward in itself we don't think is enough, because that might mean it isa enough, because that might mean it is a postcode lottery for staff in different parts of the country, depending which charities are set up and wear. it really needs more central government coordination and to be dealt with by the nhs, and to include psychological first aid, which is a specialist type of therapy, and to help prevent post—traumatic stress disorder in those front line staff who have experienced crisis and trauma. what about those front line staff who have literally just about those front line staff who have literallyjust come out of medical training, want to do their bit, now on the front line, and who are seeing things that, you know, frankly, a more experienced nhs worker might not see for many years in thejob? worker might not see for many years in the job? you are absolutely correct, and that's one of the key

issues. we are very concerned because staff are desperate to be there to be doing their bit from the get go, and we absolutely commend them for that, but we have to be providing them with all the mental health support that they need in order to deal with the circumstances, to develop coping strategies and make sure they are not burning out before they have even started, and to make sure that where they experience trauma, they have support as soon as they need it. that is actually now. liz cameron, from the snp, thank you very much forjoining us. as doctors warn, health workers are putting their lives at risk because of a lack of protective equipment, matt hancock says ppe is being shipped in greater numbers and must be used as a precious resource. under the nose of the daily news, a citizens group has sprung up, taking things into

their own hands. factories of sewing machines and making masks and scrubs. it started in hackney and has escalated to 50 so—called scrub hubs. annabel is the founder and joins me now from east london. annabel, thank you for being with us. annabel, thank you for being with us. what a venture. it seems to have taking off and seems to be sorely needed. thank you, yes. i'm part of a team of four who started it. it is very community—based, the whole project. where did the idea come from? it happened in our local mutual aid whatsapp group, which i think a lot of people will be —— will be part of in the country at the moment. a local doctor was struggling to find scrubs to wear as she doesn't normally wear them, and she doesn't normally wear them, and she thought it was the safest way to dress during the crisis, so she looked out for help, and us

neighbours, we work across the fashion and charity worlds, had the skills to help her, and soon realised she wasn't the only one in need, and we set up a production line that worked on a very local scale. i bought fabric, another team member organised volunteers, rebecca, a professional pattern maker, copied the pattern, and brooke, who runs a textile studio five minutes from here, took on the production side of organising the fabric and getting it out to all the volunteers. so, we now have a community production line producing batches of scrubs for local doctors. we shared that information with others as an open source document, and then other local communities picked it up and it has escalated, and now there are over 50 hops and

thousands of scrubs are being made. 50 hubs as of today. there could be more in the next couple of weeks. how many bits of kit are you able to churn out, do you think? scrubs are the garments that nurses and doctors wear underneath the ppe, which is the aprons and masks, and the visors, as we are seeing a lot of. it is the most comfortable way for them to be dressed during this period. i had reports back today that we are in the low thousands being produced as a uk based network, but each hub, it works it does stake —— it works at different sizes. there will be concerns about whether or not the equipment being

made meets the necessary standards. are you confident that is the case? yes, in ourteam are you confident that is the case? yes, in our team there are professionals who work in the fashion industry, and as scrubs are garments, we are making everything with the highest standards and with materials that will last a lifetime, hopefully. that was one of our core aims when we began. we didn't want to just aims when we began. we didn't want tojust provide aims when we began. we didn't want to just provide something that would be throwaway and not good enough standard. we wanted to make things that lasted and had a more ethical impact, oncejust that lasted and had a more ethical impact, once just going to that lasted and had a more ethical impact, oncejust going to go in the bin will create more waste. we liaised with doctors who described the exact materials we would need to use. we did research, so we are confident that what we are providing and what we are telling others to provide will be the right standard. a great idea, and it has taken.

congratulations to you and all the others. thank you forjoining us. thank very much. unlike boris johnson has thanked nhs service staff after leaving hospital in london. the prime minister will now recover at chequers, the mansion in buckinghamshire. he has thank the medical team who looked after him. in the last seven days, i have of course seen the pressure the nhs is under. i've seen the personal courage notjust of under. i've seen the personal courage not just of the under. i've seen the personal courage notjust of the doctors under. i've seen the personal courage not just of the doctors and nurses but of everyone, the cleaners, cooks, health care workers of every description. physios, radiographers, pharmacists who have ke pt radiographers, pharmacists who have kept coming to work, kept putting themselves in harm's way, kept risking this deadly virus. it is thanks to that coverage, that

devotion, that duty and that love that our nhs has been unbeatable. i wa nt that our nhs has been unbeatable. i want to pay my own thanks to the utterly brilliant doctors, leaders in their fields, utterly brilliant doctors, leaders in theirfields, men utterly brilliant doctors, leaders in their fields, men and women, several of them for some reason called nick, who took crucial decisions a few days ago for which i will be grateful for the rest of my life. i want to thank the many nurses, men and women, whose care has been so astonishing. i'm going to forget some names, so please forgive me, but i want to thank shannon, emily, kept my angel, connie, becky, rachel, nicky, and i hope they won't mind —— angel. i hope they won't mind —— angel. i hope they won't mind —— angel. i hope they won't mind if i mention two nurses who stayed by my bed for 48 hours. jenny from new zealand,

and luis from portugal, near porto. the reason in the end of my body did start to get enough oxygen was because, for every second of the night, they were watching, and they we re night, they were watching, and they were thinking and caring and making the interventions i needed. so, that is howl the interventions i needed. so, that is how i also know that across this country, 24 hours a day, for every second of every hour, there are hundreds of thousands of nhs staff who are acting with the same care and thought and precision as jenny and thought and precision as jenny and luis. that is why we will defeat this coronavirus and defeat it together. we will win, because our

nhs is the beating heart of this country. boris johnson there, thanking the staff whom he acknowledges help to save his life at saint thomas' hospital. lockdown measures in the uk, in place for almost three weeks, are presenting a range of challenges in all sorts of circumstances. it has been especially difficult for those who have recently left the care system, often estrange from relatives. have recently left the care system, often estrange from relativesm have recently left the care system, often estrange from relatives. it is very empty, deserted. i haven't seen anyone for a couple of days. back up to my room. like my daily life of diana, a 20—year—old care lever, estranged from her parents and stuck in temporary accommodation. i'm pretty much back here now. i'm finding things quite challenging at the moment. since the covid—19 lockdown, a lot of students have

gone home, and i'm still living in halls, because i don't have a home to go back to. the whole of campus is shut, and it does feel quite isolating. as someone who grew up in care, i'm aware of the unique challenges care leavers face, so when the uk went into lockdown, i wa nted when the uk went into lockdown, i wanted to find out how they were coping. this bedsit is where 20—year—old casey lives. struggling to afford food, she survives on universal credit. my kitchen is over there, that tiny bit, and in there i have a tiny little bathroom. so, that your whole living space? yeah, that's my living room in my bedroom. a lot of care leavers are restrained from their family. that is people's main point of support and contact. i have no one to support me in my isolation. no one can do my shopping for me, help me if i get ill. you are so alone in it, basically, there

is basically no support. according to recent figures, almost half of all care to recent figures, almost half of all ca re leavers to recent figures, almost half of all care leavers struggle with their mental health in normal times, and one infour mental health in normal times, and one in four have a mental health crisis. experts predict these figures will get worse. 17—year—old lives in supported accommodation. she has had a particularly tough. couple of days after the government announced the lockdown, my local authority moved me from one supported lodging to another with two hours' notice, which is a really strange situation to be in. i had been working the weekend before that with the public, so i could have had the virus and not known. and then i'm moving into a house with total strangers that i've met like ones. leading charity is calling on councils to do more. we know councils to do more. we know councils are under real pressure at the moment. we would like to see councils reaching out to care leavers and emergency funding from government to help with that important work, and also to make

emergency cash available for those ca re emergency cash available for those care leavers who are struggling and really need it. according to the local govenment association, councils are working hard to make sure ca re leavers councils are working hard to make sure care leavers get the support they need. as tough as things are, these care leavers, like so many others across the nation, are remaining resilient. it feels like everything that could go wrong is going wrong at the minute, but i have got to keep moving on with it, i suppose. the big question in all of this, of course, is, how close are we to finding a vexing? scientists are in a race to find a way to treat covid—19, and bbc has been speaking exclusively to the founder of microsoft, bill gates, who warned of global pandemic, and is helping develop vaccines.

in 2015 you gave one of those ted talks. if people go back and listen to it now, it was extraordinarily close to what is happening now. you were talking about the real risk of a pandemic across the world. did you feel like you were listened to then? no. the investments that could have been done so that diagnostics would have been essentially immediately available, drugs in less than half the time, the vaccine in less than half the time, most of those investments were not made. there is an exception to that — cepi — but that's only about 5% of what could have been done. now we are scrambling and it's taking us much longer to get these pieces together. even though scientists are doing heroic work. unlike the defence budget, that prepares us for wars, where we simulate the problem and make sure we are good at it, this risk, which i viewed as even greater than the risk of war, there was very, very little preparation, very few of these germ games where you try out and say, 0k, how you build up the icu capacity. can you make ventilators?

how do you prioritise the diagnostics? that we are figuring out as we go. we definitely need to fund the research and the manufacturing and the distribution. the distribution piece for developing countries will be gobi. where the uk has always been super generous on that. the research, we will need to fund about ten of the most promising constructs. we won't know in advance which ones will prove to be safe and effective. and being effective for older people's immune system is a huge challenge. if you amp up the vaccine to do that, you can run into safety issues. so we are going to have to take something that usually takes five to six years, and get it done in 18 months. we want to get back to the life we had before coronavirus. people are seeing the economic destruction, the psychological stress. this is such an unprecedented,

very tough thing to deal with. people like myself and tony fauci are saying 18 months. if everything went perfectly we could do slightly better than that. there will be a trade—off. we will have less safety testing than we typically would have. so governments will have to decide, do they indemnify the companies and really say, let's go out with this, when we just don't have the time to do what we normally do? so 18 months is about what we would expect. i do think now, because this has been so dramatic, we weren't ready for this pandemic but i do think we will be ready for the next pandemic. and using the new tools of science, that is very doable. the british motor racing legend sir stirling moss has died at the age of 90, following a long illness. he is widely regarded as one of the greatest drivers of all time, racing in many disciplines, including formula one,

katie gornall looks back at his life. a warning her tribute contains flashing images. he was described as the greatest driver never to win the world championship. but he was one of the most talented men ever to sit behind the wheel. racing ran in the family. his father alfred had raced in the 1920s and his mother competed in hill climb events. he won the british grand prix in 1955 and finished second in the world championships. he also won the mille miglia, the gruelling 1000—mile italian race, shattering the previous record time. in 1957, moss switched to a new british car, the vanwall, and once more he won his home grand prix but once more the championship eluded him. for the third year running he finished behind the argentine ace fangio. the prize slipped from his grasp again in 1958 at the moroccan grand prix. despite winning the race, he lost the crown to mike hawthorne byjust one point.

moss won at monaco in 1961 but his lotus was no match for the all conquering ferraris. this it was to be his last full season. in april 1962 his lotus slewed off the track at goodwood at 120 mph. moss suffered multiple injuries and was unconscious for four weeks. his racing days were over. stirling moss, good morning. he received a knighthood in 2000, with his name still indelibly linked to the sport. i would not swap my era for now even though i would be better off, that's for sure, i am fascinated by what they are doing. technically it is amazing. but it isn't quite what it was. in 2010 he survived a fall down a lift shaft at his home but he was back behind the wheel in months and at the age of 85, he took lewis hamilton for a spin. his competitive spirit never fading. moss was a gifted driver whose preference for unreliable british cars probably cost him the championship.

but he had no regrets. white knight sir stirling moss, who has died today at the age of 90. —— sir stirling moss. we arejoined from the sports centre in salford. surprising, he never made it as world number one. no, he never one like a world championship, clive, saying it was something that as he went through his life he came to terms with a lot better, and towards the end, when he kept being asked that question, widely regarded as arguably the greatest driver of his generation, he said it bothered him less that he was someone who throughout his career was obsessed with winning the drive, the race in front of him. that was all that mattered. i spoke to the 1996

champion damon hill early, and he was saying the same thing. he was of a different era, different generation. every race itself mattered, and he wasn't someone a lwa ys mattered, and he wasn't someone always looking or thinking about the bigger picture. you heard in the peace there what he did in 1958 to his rival, michael thorn. he prevented him in the final race from being disqualified. if hawthorn had been disqualified, sir stirling would have won might well championship. that was an indication of the man he was, that the white sport and the integrity of it was more important to him thanjust winning —— the wider sport and the integrity of it was more important to him than just integrity of it was more important to him thanjust winning the integrity of it was more important to him than just winning the world championship. katie suggested in her piece that part of his problem in not winning was that he quite liked driving dodgy british cars. very loyal and unpatriotic. very principled in what he was going to do. there may well have been other ways he could have landed that

elusive world championship, but he stuck to his guns, and i like the fa ct stuck to his guns, and i like the fact that damon hill described him asa fact that damon hill described him as a fly by the seat of your pants driver. he had tactical nous, knew what he was doing, and that was all that mattered. he was someone who raced at legends events into his 80s, someone who inspired the drivers that followed, like lewis hamilton, who has been amongst the modern—day drivers paying tribute today on twitter. frank bruno, showing impact on the spot, said that he used to have personal conversations, and when things were problematic for frank, he would turn to sir stirling moss. he continued to sir stirling moss. he continued to have an impact throughout the generations, and it was notjust his driving style but his personality on the integrity of the man that had an impact on modern day sportsmen and

women as well. we saw him driving alongside lewis hamilton there, but that 1000 mile italian victory, that will go down the ages, frankly, in terms of motorsport. yeah, his record is extraordinary, and we forget, at a time when motorsport was at its most dangerous, the 50s and 60s, this is when he was getting in the car, putting his life at risk, race in, race out. the numbers are extraordinary, when you think about winning 15 of the 16 f1 races he competed in. he was the first british driver to win at aintree. he nearly lost his life, left in a coma later in his career with a crash at goodwood, leaving him partially paralysed for six months, but he still came back to race at those legends events. an incredible figure who will be sorely missed. thank you

for joining who will be sorely missed. thank you forjoining us. as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, most of us are having to change how we live and work. for one office worker in birmingham, it has meant moving back in with her parents in turning their camper van in with her parents in turning their campervan in the in with her parents in turning their camper van in the driveway into a makeshift office. dougal sure has been finding out how it is all working. i've got asthma so living on my own it isa i've got asthma so living on my own it is a bit ofa i've got asthma so living on my own it is a bit of a worry wondering what could potentially happening if i was to fall ill. so, being with my pa rents i was to fall ill. so, being with my parents seemed to be the best option. one coronavirus struck the uk chloe baker decided to quarantine herself and move back in with her pa rents herself and move back in with her parents and their camper van indie driver became the marketing manager's dedicated workspace. they had the house but i didn't want to interrupt their day—to—day lives on the camper van was on the drive. she gave me a tour of her office by video call. show us how it works.

so, it is a volkswagen, usually have two screens at work which is really helpful to be able to have a setup like i read in the office. it has its own heating system, a nice little radio, it is nice and cozy so it is ideal, really. there is the sink, tidy little oven and a little fridge as well. it has even got its own bathroom! what, chemicaltoilet because yes, and a little shower. how long might you spend there everyday? and i am working from here monday to friday, doing long days but having a regular break and seems to have worked out 0k. but having a regular break and seems to have worked out ok. does not drive you mad? it is a long time to be in drive you mad? it is a long time to beina drive you mad? it is a long time to be in a small space. my mum has joined me a couple of times and read her book here because it is quite quiet. we have two check with people at work every day which takes half hour or at work every day which takes half houroran hour, so at work every day which takes half hour or an hour, so it is worth doing, just to have that little bit

of human contact. dougal shaw, bbc news. time now for the weather. hello. still some very warm and sunny weather around but the chill has reached scotland and northern ireland, and, in fact, easter monday for all of us is going to be quite a bit colder. that temperature is going to drop like a stone by more than 10 degrees in some areas. now, on the satellite picture, see where these clouds are coming from, straight out of the north, the norwegian sea, so, cold, scandinavian air will be spreading across the uk. this is what it looks like as far as the temperature goes on sunday at 8pm. five in aberdeen, 20 in london, so, that huge temperature contrast. and with this weather front moving through, we could see some thunderstorms through the day and evening across parts of wales and the midlands. see the arrows coming in from the north. so, cold air from the north, a frost in scotland first thing on monday, still around 9 degrees across the south. you'll definitely notice the chilly wind on monday, particularly on the north sea coast,

the coasts around east anglia, the south—east of england and also the channel coast, too. you see the blue colours, that blue as spreading into parts of europe as well. so, it's notjust us that our cooling down. other parts of the continent as well. here's monday, that chilly, northerly wind with occasional areas of cloud here perhaps overcast in places. the winds, these are the average wind speeds on the arrows. if you double them, you get gusts. so, gusts in excess of 30, perhaps even in some instances approaching 50 miles an hour across the south—east. look at that temperature, from 25 on sunday in london, down to 12 degrees, so a huge drop in the space of a day. here is tuesday. high pressure is over us, and there will still be plenty of sunshine around, and the sun is strong so it doesn't feel that cold if you're out and about but it's still going to be quite a bit colder compared to recent days.

you can see around 13 degrees there across most parts of the uk on tuesday. so, the high pressure is still with us tuesday into wednesday. there will be some overnight frosts as well and high pressure basically means dry weather conditions, so, as far as the eye can see, the weather is going to remain chilly but at least dry. then, towards the end of the week, perhaps those temperatures picking up a little bit across some parts of the uk. bye— bye. welcome to bbc news. now it's time for us to answer your questions on covid—19 with our two experts in your questions answered. joining me is philippa kaye,

a gp in north—west london. and i'm joined by linda bauld, professor of public health at the university of edinburgh. welcome to you both and thank you very much indeed forjoining us to a nswer very much indeed forjoining us to answer our viewers questions and they've been coming into us all day. first of all, philippa, let's start off with you. andrew from lancashire says... i've had a total loss of smell and taste for 21 days now but feel totally fine and well. should i continue with isolation and for how long? so, loss of taste and smell is a symptom which lots of people have been reporting. and king's college london are doing some research where they are asking people to track their symptoms and this is one of their symptoms and this is one of the most common symptoms but it isn't on the guidance as an official isolation symptom. even if it was, you are past the seven days for you,

and as long