a promise to test all care home residents and staff in england with covid—19 symptoms. laboratory capacity will be increased as the government says it's "determined" to ensure everyone who needs a test has access to one. going right to the front of the queue for tests, because we recognise it is so important to look after really vulnerable people and also the workforce who are looking after them. the government pledge comes after weeks of calls for action from charities, who claim the virus is ‘running wild' in care homes. i certainly wish that the testing process adds started a lot sooner, but talking about anger is not helpful in this situation. we'll be getting the latest reaction to the government's promise. also this lunchtime: with the lockdown set to continue, labour leader sir keir starmer urges

the government to publish an exit strategy in order to maintain public trust. and i think if there is transparency and openness, you get the trust of the public, and if you get the trust of the public it's likely the compliance levels will go up. under—pressure businesses claim coronavirus loans are being approved too slowly — if at all — as firms hit by lockdown measures struggle to survive. president donald trump says he's going to halt funding to the world health organization, because it has "failed in its basic duty" in its response to the coronavirus outbreak. and with many victims of covid—19 dying without their loved—ones at their side, we'll hear about the human cost to friends and families left behind. in the sport, mike ashley is on the brink of selling newcastle united for £300 million to a consortium led by the british businesswoman amanda staveley.

good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. after weeks of asking, care providers are being promised testing for all care home residents and staff in england with covid—i9 symptoms. the government pldege comes after charities said the virus was "running wild" amid outbreaks at more than 2,000 homes. providers also complain that deaths among residents are being "airbrushed" out of official figures and they're demanding much greater support for the industry. our health correspondent lauren moss reports. we will be there with you. heartbreak in goodbye from a family unable to visit their grandmother. their final words unable to visit their grandmother. theirfinal words to her unable to visit their grandmother. their final words to her read unable to visit their grandmother. theirfinal words to her read by unable to visit their grandmother. their final words to her read by a ca re their final words to her read by a care worker. for now, grandma, this is goodbye, but i know you will a lwa ys is goodbye, but i know you will always be with us in our hearts. we

have all got on with it and done what we can. and i can sleep well at night knowing that i did give them all the love and care that i could in their last moments. the government has confirmed there have been coronavirus outbreaks in more than 2000 care homes, although it is not known yet just than 2000 care homes, although it is not known yetjust how many residents have died because they are not included in the official daily figures. now, in addition to nhs front line staff, all care workers and residents who have symptoms are to be tested instead ofjust the first five. as testing numbers are going up, that's an absolute priority, going right to the front of the queue for test because we recognise it is so important to look after really vulnerable people and also the workforce who are looking after them. but behind the doors of ca re after them. but behind the doors of care homes like this one in liverpool, the consequences of the virus are devastating.” liverpool, the consequences of the virus are devastating. i can't tell you how hard it is to lose 16

residents, 16 residents in the space of three weeks. it's horrendous. it is absolutely heart— rending of three weeks. it's horrendous. it is absolutely heart—rending and horrendous. staff are doing all they can to protect residents. in sheffield, care workers moved into their home to minimise outside contact. we are on our fourth week and now and we have so far set out what we achieved to do —— so far achieved what we set out to do and keep the virus out. it is hard being away from the family, but we are doing it because we care and for the right reasons. any patients being discharged from hospital into care homes are also to be tested, even if they don't have symptoms. but all of this presents a challenge. there is a massive logistical problem in how to first of all make sure there is enough capacity for the enormous numbers of care home and also home staff. and it's notjust about

testing, again the lack of protective equipment in some areas isa protective equipment in some areas is a huge problem for staff who say they feel they have been forgotten. we were being told don't stockpile, and like idiots, well, i was an idiot, i listened to that guidance, andi idiot, i listened to that guidance, and i shouldn't have. i should have stockpiled and then i would not be in the situation. a leaked document from public health england revealed that washing and reusing some protective equipment is being considered for nhs staff as a last resort. the government promises kit is being delivered round the clock. 30,000 care providers are to be contacted this week and tomorrow an announcement will be made on the lockdown. any huge changes are unlikely though, as the uk continues its struggle with a disease that has taken so many its struggle with a disease that has ta ken so many lives. its struggle with a disease that has taken so many lives. lauren moss, bbc news. labour leader sir keir starmer is urging the government to explain in detail how and when the uk may be

able to emerge from the coronavirus lockdown. the government is expected to extend the restrictions tomorrow and ministers say talking about an exit before the virus has reached its peak risks confusing the public. 0ur assistant political editor norman smith is in north london. we will talk about that in a moment, but first of all, care home providers have been calling for weeks for some sort of promise, and they have now got a government promise, but for what? it is a promise, but for what? it is a promise, but for what? it is a promise, but it does come with a big if, and that is there is no time frame for delivering for care workers and residents in care homes who want it, so to that extent it remains an aspiration, and you have to say it is getting pretty late in the day amid some of the reports we have had from care homes of the virus really spreading through some homes. we do now seem to be getting close to the peak of the virus, and

yet so far, only around 500 or so ca re yet so far, only around 500 or so care home staff have actually been tested, and it comes back to the key issue which has dogged us throughout the crisis which is testing, the capacity to carry out sufficient tests. and there we are still quite a long way off matt hancock's target of 100,000 tests by the end of the month. i think the latest figures suggest we have capacity for around 20,000, so the problem is this, you can only provide care workers and residents with those tests if you've got the capacity to do so, given that we know nhs staff, of course, will still be receiving priority. so i suspect while many care home bosses were welcome the announcement, their view will be we need action, not just announcement, their view will be we need action, notjust words. more pressure on the government in terms ofa pressure on the government in terms of a strategy for exiting the lockdown on this from the new labour leader. yes, sir keir starmer once an answer to the big question, which

is how on earth do we get out of here? what is the exit strategy? he believes we need it now because it will take a lot of planning and preparation, but above all to retain public support for the lockdown, because his fear is if you don't give people a sense of a light at the end of the tunnel they willjust lose the will to carry on with the restrictions. so he wants an exit strategy published either this week or next week. this is what he said this morning. we do need to take the public with us. we need the public to comply, and therefore they need to comply, and therefore they need to know that the government has a strategy for what comes next, and they need to know the government's planning for that. and i think if there is transparency and openness you get the trust of the public, and if you get the trust of the public, it is likely that compliance levels will go up, and that is a very good thing, because what the government is doing now to keep the infection rate down is the right thing, and we should support that. the government view is, ok, we can talk about the

exit strategy but now is not really the time because it will send out a confusing, conflicted message. if you are saying to people at the same time that we want you to stay indoors while also saying, let's talk about how we can leave your house, well, that's a bit confusing and could actually be counter—productive in terms of ensuring people abide by the lockdown. i think as well, simon, the brutal truth is, it is such a big decision that it will have to be taken by the prime minister and as we know, he is still recuperating. he will probably be out of action for another week, may be weeks, and we probably shouldn't expect clarity on the exit strategy until he is back up and running. norman, thank you very much. in the past hour, scotland hasjust released its latest figures for deaths linked to coronavirus in hospital, care homes and at home. lorna gordon is in glasgow. yes, quite comprehensive statistics released this morning under quite lag as they are up to the period of

the 12th of april, but they do show that a quarter of those who are dying with presumed or confirmed covid—19 are from care homes, so there has been a further breakdown this week in comparison to the figures that were released last week stop 433 homes here in scotland have now confirmed or suspected cases of the disease. we know that 62% of those who died up to the 12th of april died in hospital. nicola sturgeon also talking, the scottish first minister, about the testing regime and she said the first cases in care homes have been tested and they are now increasing to testing all residents who are showing symptoms. we know also that 8000 nhs ca re symptoms. we know also that 8000 nhs care staff and nhs workers and care workers, have been tested for the illness because obviously the testing for coronavirus has been a

big concern, but out of the 8000 tested in scotland amongst the workers in the nhs and social care sector, we don't know the split of who comes from where. but in amongst all of these statistics, of course, important to remember that behind the statistics each death has a family, has relatives, mothers, brothers, children who are left grieving. lorna, thank you very much. 0nlyjust over 6,000 loans have been approved under the government's business interruption loans scheme — a centrepiece of its measures to help businesses through the pandemic. that's out of 28,000 who've formally applied. the government says it's picking up speed but many businesses have told the bbc they've been rejected or told they're not eligible. labour says the scheme simply isn't working and must change urgently. 0ur economics correspondent andy verity reports. this was the governments promise. any business that needs access to cash to pay their rent, their salaries, suppliers or purchase

stock will be able to access a government backed loan or credit on attractive terms. nearly a month later, only 6016 loans have been approved out ofjust 28,000 applications. but there are 5.9 billion —— 5.9 million businesses in the uk and abouti million firms only have enough cash to last a month or less. the number of loans approved is less than 1% of those in that urgent predicament. the government scheme requires banks to check that they would be happy to lend to companies even if there weren't a shutdown, but that leaves out thousands of businesses who banks would not normally risk lending to, even though they are growing and viable. those banks have told us that the bbc that they would not even need a loan if it were not for the shutdown, but now, they have been turned down and they are running out of cash. this is a promo video for a young and growing company running corporate team building events which was due to

move into profit with a full order book this year. then came the shutdown, and its business disappeared overnight. it's tried for weeks to get a loan, but like many other firms, has got nowhere and is running low on cash. it's owner says £1 billion lent after a month is far too little, too slow to help in this emergency. that is pathetic. that is equated to an economy that is going to crash. that's equating to many, many millions of people being unemployed, and if you don't do anything about it now, then we are just making problems for ourselves. labour's business spokesman, ed miliband, said this morning that the government should underwrite 100% of loa ns to government should underwrite 100% of loans to small firms to speed the flow up. minister, this is too slow to help the millions of businesses in need? we are very aware of the need to make this scheme work more quickly, but we're very pleased that the banks have doubled the numbers of loa ns the banks have doubled the numbers of loans they've processed and we have now had go out of the door.

there's more to be done, and it's critical that the pace continues to pick up, and we expect the numbers to double every 48 hours and the government are looking carefully at other models to make sure that we get to the businesses we want to help. the government has already brought on board more lenders, including high—tech firms who can process loan applications much faster than banks traditional paper—based systems. with firms now in shutdown facing payday next week, many need cash in days, not weeks to stay afloat. andy verity, bbc news. well, for every death reported, there is of course a human cost to friends and families left behind. the grieving process is made worse because of restrictions on hospital visits and only limited numbers being allowed to attend funerals. reporters from the bbc inside out north east programme have been talking to families of coronavirus victims who've shared their experience at this troubling time.

kevin was small in stature but certainly larger than life. you couldn't really walk up the street in cockermouth, with kevin, without having to stop every five, ten yards to speak to somebody. lorraine and i were able to go through to the hospital, but only lorraine was allowed to go in to see kevin, which she did, over the weekend. on monday, they phoned up to say he'd deteriorated a bit further and that he was running a high temperature, and they recommended we didn't go to see him. then sadly he passed later that night, about 10pm. this may be, for you, the most heartbreaking and difficult time to have your loved one suffering from an illness that is affecting the whole world, here alone, and i want to assure you that we are going to do our absolute utmost best to be the love to your loved one, that you would be to them if you were here. ready, steady, 90.

we're going to turn them when they need turning, we're going to clean them when they need cleaning. we will talk to them, we will hold their hand. please know we have your loved ones in our hands and we will treat them like our own, and we will be your love to them. on wednesday 8th april my grandad was sadly found dead in his room in this care home. we, as his family, haven't seen him to hug him or anything in weeks. we only spoke to him through one of the windows, which i know is the case for a lot of families. i'm not going to allow one of my residents, one of my amazingly beautiful residents, to die alone, and die in pain. we will sit by them, we will comfort them, we will do everything we possibly can. and if family want to sit there and be with them in their last moments of their life, then that's fine, family will be with them in the last moments of their life, in a responsible and sensible way. what's really difficult now is a funeral.

it's not going to be the send off everyone wants, it's going to be low numbers, and, you know, only 20 minutes, and there's no wake to raise a glass for him in his memory, and, you know, he was quite a lively character, he led a full life. he was a chef in the army and then he was a crane driver. we would love to get together and share the happy stories, as you normally would when someone passes, but we're not going to get that opportunity, and its heart breaking. i don't believe that people should be stopped from attending a funeral service all together. i know that so many families have been gutted they haven't been able to hold a wake or a reception, or really celebrate that person's life in the way they would have wished, but there will come a time when we can meet together again, and i know that so many undertakers and funeral directors will work hard with families to provide a really meaningful and wonderful celebration of life.

we do plan, when all this is over, to have some sort of fitting memorial to kevin in cockermouth, judging by the support we've had. the time is1:20pm... our top story this lunchtime... a promise to test all care home residents and staff in england with covid—19 symptoms. and still to come... the 99—year—old world war ii veteran, who has raised more than £6 million for the nhs by walking 100 lengths of his garden. and in sport... geraint thomas starts his virtual charity ride, cycling 12 hours a day for three days in a row in his garage to mirror a typical nhs shift run. children in denmark have returned to nurseries and primary schools

and german chancellor angela merkel is holding talks with the country's 16 regional premiers to discuss a timetable for the possible relaxing of coronavirus restrictions there, but the world health organisation has warned that europe is still at the centre of a "war" and relaxing lockdown measures too early could bring on a second wave of deadly coronavirus outbreaks. our global health correspondent, tulip mazumdar, spoke to the man co—ordinating the world health organisation's response in europe. it's a story of hope and of caution. europe is still the pandemic epicentre globally. it is not a time to let the guard down. i have never seen such devastation. many of us have been surprised by the speed and also by the aggression of the virus. the stark assessment from the man in charge of the world health organization's response to the pandemic in europe. dr hans kluge told me that despite some very cautious optimism, the region's fight against covid—19 is farfrom nearing an end.

we see for example, a number of countries like sweden, there is a fresh surge. in turkey, particularly istanbul, there is quite an increase of cases. in belgium, ukraine, norway, the same. but then we have, for example, germany, where there is no more increase in new cases. if we can talk a little bit about what is happening here in the uk at the moment, hundreds of deaths being reported every day, thousands of cases. this is a country with some of the world's top scientists, with an internationally celebrated health system. how has it got to this stage here? this is something which can completely overwhelm the best health systems in the world. i would really welcome the decision by the government to expand the testing capacity. we know what has to be done. let's do it. two of the worst hit countries in europe, italy and spain, have just started easing some restrictions, as the rate of infection continues to slow.

what happens next? i mean, what do people do? does life perhaps start getting back to some degree of normality, or not? this is indeed the biggest challenge that we are facing. it is a trade—off between going back to what we call the new normal, and lifting the restrictive measures, to ensure there will be no second wave. it means that if we see that there is a second wave, quickly, we can go back and contain. we have to take into account four factors. one is the epidemiology, and that is why it is so important to have expanded testing capacity, that we know to locate the virus. second is the capacity of the health system. are our nurses ready in case we have another surge? the third very important factor is people, the acceptability, because we know that such a lockdown has a very high toll. and the fourth one is to look forward to new technology

and hopefully new treatments and vaccines. europe remains in the midst of an unrelenting pandemic, but this is a global challenge, which will only end if all countries pull together to bring these outbreaks under control. tulip mazumdar, bbc news. more than a third of those who are seriously ill with coronavirus in hospital in england and wales come from black, asian and minority ethnic backgrounds according to analysis from the intensive care national audit and research centre. as millions of muslims across the uk prepare to observe the month of ramadan, ankur desai has been finding out how living conditions are making their community particularly vulnerable to the virus. boys, it's ready! meet kinzah. she lives with nine people in the same home. her husband and son, as well as her in—laws, two elderly parents and four brothers. that bedroom, just down

there, that is my mother and father—in—law‘s bedroom. it's a familiar scene. living life under lockdown is a struggle. social distancing doesn't really happen here, because we are all in one house together. everyone has their own room and whatnot, but it is just difficult to have, like, two metres between everyone. my father—in—law is getting ready to go to work. it is an issue faced by many british asian households, often with three and sometimes for generations all under one roof. i think we are alljust giving each other space, because everyone is normally so busy being out and now, being home. of course, you can't go to the mosque. normally, everyone will get up at whatever time they do and make their own way to the mosque but this time, it is really nice, everyone praying together at home. although families have found a way to come together for the routine, it is the fear of the unexpected. we know a few people

who have passed away, and unfortunately they have only been able to have five people at their funeral. as muslims, we believe that if a muslim has passed away, has 100 people, practising muslims, at their funeral, it is like their one—way ticket to heaven. this is a game that i would say a lot of british asians would play during lockdown. despite their fears, this tight—knit family are finding their own way through lockdown, through kindness and keeping busy. government figures suggest that cramped housing is more likely to be a problem amongst ethnic minority families. if we look at some of the figures, 30% of the uk bangladeshi population live in overcrowded housing. now that is in comparison to just 2% amongst the white british population. 0n the tightly—packed streets of bradford, local community leaders who are pulling together to fight the threat of covid—19 see the issues faced first—hand. the general issue is that the younger generations are a little bit relaxed about covid and not so concerned, but the risk factor is when they go

back into their households, there is a serious risk of them contaminating their parents and grandparents. and that is why there is potentially a greater danger to the families within these crowded houses, and why the asian community is facing an extra challenge as it attempts to keep covid—19 at bay. donald trump says he is going to halt funding to the world health organization — arguing it has "failed in its basic duty" in its response to the coronavirus outbreak. he accused the organisation of covering up the spread of the virus and being biased towards china. 0ur diplomatic correspondent james landale reports. as this pandemic sweeps across the world, many countries are fighting the virus their own way. there hasn't been much in the way of international cooperation. the one body that has been sharing expertise and guidance is the world health organization, an agency of the united nations.

and yet now it is facing a huge 15% cut in its funding, about £400 million, courtesy of the president of the united states. today i am instructing my administration to halt funding of the world health organization while a review is conducted to assess the world health organization's role in severely mismanaging and covering up the spread of the coronavirus. mr trump's criticism focused on the organisation's handling of the national outbreak in wuhan, accusing it of failing to get experts in early enough and failing to challenge china's apparent lack of transparency. all of which, the president claimed, have cost thousands of lives and worldwide economic damage. in china, the foreign ministry spokesman said his government were seriously concerned.

the current global epidemic situation is grim. it is at a critical moment. this us decision will weaken the world health organization's capacities and undermine the international cooperation against the epidemic. the world health organization has faced criticism for initially playing down the possibility of human—to—human transmission and for appearing unwilling to criticise china but there was little support across the world for any cut in funding which many said would make things worse. the un secretary general antonio guterres said, "it's my belief that the world health 0rganization must be supported, as it is absolutely critical to the world's efforts to win the war against covid—19." at the time like this where we need to be sharing information, where we need to have advice we can rely on, the world health organization has provided and we will continue to support it and we will continue to make a contribution. donald trump is instinctively

distressful of international organisations but his critics said his attack on the world health organization was intended to distract from his own poor handling of the virus in the us, where he has been accused of acting too slowly, with more americans suffering and dying from covid—19 than anywhere else in the world. james landale, bbc news. a 99—year—old second world war veteran — who was hoping to raise a thousand pounds for the nhs — by walking one hundred laps of his garden before his hundredth birthday this month — has now raised more than £6.5 million. captain tom moore — from bedfordshire — says the response to his appeal has been "almost unbelievable. " he was live on the bbc news channel as donations reached over £5 million. completely out of this world. thank you so much for all you people who've subscribed to the national health service. because for every penny that we get, they deserve every one of it.

they do. it's a time of massive upheaval for all of us — and whilst it may be strange enough for us humans, for dogs it's even more confusing. we can't exactly let them know why we're working from home or changing our routines. and, of course there's one question — if they could — they would all ask... where's our walk? well, help is at hand, as david sillito explains. dogs are just amazing. they are that rock that often people need. the daily walk has, for many, come to an end, but thankfully help is at hand. volunteers signing up with a charity that has now become a dog walking service. during the covid—19 crisis, we have redeployed our services to allow volunteers that usually take on lots of different tasks, to help people that are in vulnerable situations. so we're really delighted by how people have come out to help in this time of need. dogs like leo here.

each underdog volunteer is vetted, handovers are done at a safe distance, leads are cleaned and the current understanding is that dogs don't spread the virus. but that's not everything. because there is no shortage of dogs needing a walk, and there is no shortage of volunteers who want to give them a walk. the issue though... cleo! do you like strawberry? here's a strawberry. is bringing them together. he will be back soon, back soon. that is why the charity wants to get the word out, to reach people like stephanie and leo. ifound myself feeling extremely unwell for about two or three weeks and i thought, "gosh, am i gonna do? i can't take my dog leo for a walk." —— what am i going to do? and i found this wonderful charity online. and for me it's been an absolute life—saver. so we may be limited to just one walk a day, but hundreds of us are keen for a bit of canine company and a chance to help those who can't get out.