social distancing may have to be maintained until a coronavirus vaccine is available, says a senior scientist advising the government. the warning comes as ministers are expected to extend the coronavirus lockdown for another three weeks. unbelievably large numbers followed the rules, very few infections, and i don't want to put all of that good effort to waste, because if we just relax all the measures now, the virus would run rampant again and we cannot let that happen. we'll have the latest from our medical correspondent and from westminster. also this lunchtime: senior social care officials criticise the government's handling of the pandemic. they say the provision of protective equipment has been shambolic. europe owes italy an apology, says the president of the eu commission,

for not helping enough at the start of coronavirus. president trump prepares for an easing of the us lockdown to get the economy moving in the face of opposition from state governors. and more than £13 million raised, and people are still donating. the world war two veteran tom moore completes his challenge. i'm surrounded by the right sort of people, so, yes, ifeel fine, and i hope you're all feeling fine too. and in sport, dundee united win the scottish championship after the football season is ended below the top tier, but relegated partick thistle to threaten legal action.

good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. a three—week extension to the current measures of lockdown is expected to be confirmed later this afternoon — as a senior scientist has said the uk will need to keep a significant level of social distancing in place until a vaccine is available. professor neil ferguson also wants the government to do more work on what happens after the lockdown ends. from westminster, chris mason reports. for more than three weeks, we have had to get used to this. beautiful beaches like this one in exmouth in devon as good as empty. our freedoms curtailed, our movement is restricted, and there is more to come. the people of this country have made these efforts over the

last few weeks in unbelievably large numbers following the rules, very, very few infractions. and i don't wa nt to very few infractions. and i don't want to put all of that good effort to waste, because if we just release all the measures now then this virus would run rampant once again and we can't let that happen. the cabinet met this morning, remotely, to discuss the plan, chaired by this man, dominic raab, the foreign secretary, who is deputising for borisjohnson. secretary, who is deputising for boris johnson. opposition parties back an extension to current restrictions but are asking questions. we would expect the lockdown to continue. we would support that, and we called for a lockdown before the government introduced one but we want more details from the government about what happens next. we need a way to manage lockdown in the coming months, to move to a testing, contact tracing strategy, so i will be looking for the government to give us more details today on where

they are on their promised 100,000 tests a day. we are only around 16,000 tests at the moment. the government is desperate to keep the message we have got used to about the lockdown simple and not start talking publicly about the long—term. lots of things are being talked about privately. could there be, at some point in the future, removal of some of the restrictions on younger people, or an expansion in the list for key workers. a lot will depend how things are looking and how many people are being sent to hospital with the virus, and how does that compare with the number of beds. if we relax measures too much, we will see a resurgence of transmission. what we really need is the ability to put something in their place stop we want to reopen their place stop we want to reopen the schools, let people get back to work, so we need to keep transmission down in another manner. we will have to maintain some level of social distancing, significant levels of social distancing, probably indefinitely until we have a vaccine available. so, while we have had to get used to pictures

like this, there is another blunt truth. of how long it will be before anything like normality returns, for some of us, at least. the lockdown has been incredibly effective. there isa has been incredibly effective. there is a magic number which is the infectivity of a virus and one person will affect 2.6 people at the beginning of lockdown, and now it has gone to under one, about 0.67. great news, lockdown is working to stop the problem we have is how we get out of lockdown, and do we do it slowly, do we do it fast? but we will learn from the european countries coming out this week. this is going to be a long haul and a spring and summer like no other. a huge challenge for all of us, and very difficult decisions for those in charge. chris mason, bbc news. our chief political correspondent vicki young is at westminster. certainly a few more weeks of what we are living throughout the moment

is inevitable, isn't it? it is, that is inevitable, isn't it? it is, that is the big message from today. the other question about when of these measures might be relaxed, ministers are very reluctant to talk about that in public. theyjust keep saying it is clarity of message, staying at home to protect the nhs and saving lives. they really feel that has gone through and they don't wa nt that has gone through and they don't want that to be diminished at the time when we are reaching the peak of this epidemic. and sadly, more than 700 people a day are still dying. our health minister has talked about this, tweeting that u nless talked about this, tweeting that unless there is a vaccine it will be ha rd to unless there is a vaccine it will be hard to completely lift lockdown. we will have to change the way we live may be for some time. they are trying to strike the balance between the nation's health and, of course, the nation's health and, of course, the economy will stop the prime and as the's official spokesman has been doing a daily briefing —— the prime minister's official spokesman has been doing a daily briefing. asked about questions about schools and whether they could reopen in parts of the country and not others, just

saying that that is too soon. the same response when asked if certain age groups could maybe go back to a more normal life. everyone does accept that testing could be an important part of this, and we know about the target of 100,000 tests by the end of the month, and the news today on that is that the capacity for testing has gone up to 35,000. capacity is not the same as actually carrying out those tests. that's a mixture of nhs labs, commercial testings, the drive—through sides of nhs workers and others. we don't know why the number of tests have not been happening. they might have been a lack of demand over the bank holiday, but when it comes to what comes next, the clear message from government is that it is too soon to talk about that. vicki young at westminster. the bbc has seen a leaked letter from social care officials which is highly critical of the government's handling of the pandemic. the association of directors of adult social services says the provision of personal protective equipment has been ‘shambolic‘. the government has admitted it needs

to do more to help the care sector. richard galpin reports. across england there are 430,000 elderly and disabled people in care homes like this and more than 2000 of these homes have already had a coronavirus outbreak. now it's been revealed that those in charge of social services are accusing the government of failing this vital sector in the midst of the crisis. in a letter sent at the weekend by the association of directors of social services to the department of health and social care, it said deliveries of personal protective equipment for staff had initially been paltry and then later haphazard. it went on to say messages from the government had been contradictory and the rollout of testing for care staff and residents to find out if they were carrying the virus had not been thought through. and all this causing real frustration.

we haven't been getting the ppe as easily as we wanted to and it has felt at times like the message has changed from day to day, there are lots of people in national government trying to talk to lots of people outside national government. working in these care homes or visiting there was in need in their own homes involves being in close contact, for example washing and dressing people, so protective equipment is vital to cut the risk of being infected by coronavirus. we were told we could have one mask per session and when i asked what was a session in their mind, they said a shift. our shifts on the whole are six or 12 hours, there is no way one flimsy mask is going to last 12 hours because even three hours into that, breathing into that same mask, it gets moist, so it then becomes completely useless. in response to all this,

the government says it will ramp up testing for the virus as part of an action plan to tackle the spread of coronavirus in care homes. we have now been able to roll out testing to everybody who needs it in social care, patients where we have been testing in care homes, we have been testing the residents wherever there is a suspected outbreak and there have been over 10,000 tests of residents that have been undertaken so far and then of staff as well. the need for action is urgent. hundreds of people in care homes have already died and there is anger that until now, this vital sector helping some of the most frail and vulnerable people in the country has been neglected. richard galpin, bbc news. the government has ordered 15,000 new ventilators from a high—tech manufacturing consortium. the device will be produced by a group of firms which includes

formula one racing teams. our medical correspondent fergus walsh is here. so, the order has gone in. how quickly can they be produced and get to the people who need them? this is a positive story, because these ventilators have been approved by the regulatory authorities. and up to now, we've heard a lot about ventilators being ordered and commissioned, but none had been approved. so these have gone through safety testing and they will be produced at ford in dagenham, at airbus in flintshire, north wales, and mclaren in surrey, so country —— companies that don't normally do medical products. hundreds will be produced next week, i am told, with the ambition to do up to 1500 a week in early may, and these will be for the very sickest patients because covid—19 in the sickest patients causes reading difficulties, and

they need to have a machine, a ventilator, that takes their breathing over for them —— ventilator, that takes their breathing overfor them —— breathing difficulties. i thought before we let you go, because we have had further figures let you go, because we have had furtherfigures and let you go, because we have had further figures and further analysis of figures which shows some striking figures around the number of people dying, but the number of people dying, but the number of people dying who have an underlying health condition. it's all about the context of the virus. these are figures from the office for national statistics and looking at death in april, in march, sorry, from covid—19, nine out of ten people who died from covid—19 had underlying health conditions and, on average, they had three conditions, were living with three conditions like heart disease, dementia, diabetes and so on. we shouldn't find that too surprising because we know people with underlying health conditions are more at risk, but these many people who would have had many years of reasonably healthy

life ahead of them, but it shows that not only age but having an underlying health condition does place people at greater risk. fergus, thank you very much. the president of the european commission, ursula von der leyen, has said europe owes italy a heartfelt apology for failing to offer enough support at the start of the coronavirus epidemic. italy was the first european country to suffer a serious outbreak, and has recorded more deaths than any other nation apart from the united states. mrs von der leyen was speaking to the european parliament. yes, it is true that no—one was really ready for this. it is also true that too many were not there on time when italy needed a helping hand at the very beginning. and yes, for that it is right that europe as a whole offers a heartfelt apology. but saying sorry only counts for something if it changes behaviour.

gavin lee is in brussels. very striking comments. this is a significant acknowledgement of the most powerful person in brussels, this is a formal recognition that in the moment of panic, when italy needed most help, that famed spirit of solidarity in the eu didn't show itself. president von der leyen talking to the european parliament saying it was important to show courage of honesty and it would only be populists who did not look at the truth of the fa cts . did not look at the truth of the facts. and it goes back to the fact that there seems to be an underlying and growing rancour from that there seems to be an underlying and growing rancourfrom other member states that when they asked for help at the start, early in march, when italy was the only country, as it was, to have a lockdown, to ask for urgent ppe for medical workers, gloves and masks, for testing equipment and

ventilators as well. it took stays and there was no official response and there was no official response and when ministers met here in brussels, the health ministers, basically the french, germans and czech republic ministers were accused of blocking any export of their own equipment until they had finished counting, so that lead, for some time, to a lot of criticism including the usually conciliatory belgian government saying it showed a lack of spirit and today president von der leyen said they had moved on and claimed that the world beating heart of solidarity comes from europe, the sharing of hospitals, patients being moved from one country to another, the sharing of kit, and that message of acknowledgement seems to have been well received in italy. the foreign minister saying that it was so important to hear the truth today, and it's only a good thing for europe. interesting. gavin, thank you very much. well, europe was once the centre of the coronavirus crisis, but now some countries are starting to ease restrictions on movement which have been in place for several weeks.

rich preston reports. there are still checks on who enters and leaves germany but within its borders, a relaxing of the rules as of next week. small shops will be allowed to open. children who were due to sit exams will be allowed back to school and hairdressers will start working again. germany has had over 3,500 deaths from coronavirus, but that's relatively few compared to some of its neighbours, a success widely attributed to early, rigorous testing. translation: we have achieved something which was in no way certain from the beginning. our doctors, nurses and all of those who work in the health care system in the hospitals are not overburdened. but the rules on socialising with stay in place for another two weeks, along with a government recommendation that everyone wear a face mask. a similar rule is being introduced in poland. anyone out in public must now wear something covering their nose and mouth. italy, europe's worst hit country,

is slowly starting to relax some of its restrictions, a sigh of relief that, whilst not out of the woods, the worst may have passed. in venice, book shops will open once more. so, too, will children's clothing stores. caution remains high elsewhere. france is extending lockdown rules until early may. belgium until mid—may. across europe, there is hope that with infection rates slowing and hospital admissions decreasing, that life might soon slowly, cautiously, return to normal. the time is 1:15pm. our top story this lunchtime: social distancing may have to be maintained until a coronavirus vaccine is available, according to a senior scientist advising the government. and coming up — as charities suffer a cash crisis because of coronavirus, a new sports challenge is launched

to help raise vital funds. in sport, organisers of the postponed london marathon launch the 2.6 challenge to save charities affected by the coronavirus. it's hoped to raise more than £66 million. the word "inspirational" is overused — but today we're saying it entirely appropriately. because captain tom moore, a 99—year—old veteran of the second world war, has completed his challenge of walking 100 laps of his garden to raise money for nhs charities. his originalaim was to raise £1,000. as of a few minutes ago, more than £13 million had been donated. in the past few minutes, downing street has confirmed the prime minister will look at ways to recognise the veteran's fundraising efforts which a spokesman said had

"captured the heart of the nation". david sillito reports. you start at the beginning. captain tom moore was keen to do things properly on the final leg of a journey that had begun as a family challenged and turned into something extraordinary. i think it's a fantastic sum of money, we never imagined that sum of money, it's unbelievable that people have been so kind. it beganjust unbelievable that people have been so kind. it began just over a week ago. the target, 100 laps to mark his 100th birthday at the end of the month. a world war ii veteran born in keighley, he had served in burma. the family hoped they might be able to raise some money for nhs charities and settle what they thought was a bold target, £1000.

within a day we had reached a couple of thousands and we thought, are we dreaming of the dizzying heights of £5,000 by the end of the month? we we re £5,000 by the end of the month? we were floored at the thought of 5000. a week later, it had slipped past a million. steady, determined, optimistic, captain tom was proving inspirational and as he began today's final lap, the total stood at £12 million. he stepped towards the finish line to a chorus of congratulations. ben stokes here. what you have achieved is fantastic. the funds you have raised for the real heroes today are sensational. the funds you have raised for the real heroes today are sensationallj wa nt real heroes today are sensational.” want to say thank you for everything you have done, congratulations on a brilliant idea and pulling it off and doing it all before your 100th birthday. in behalf of the yorkshire regiment familyl birthday. in behalf of the yorkshire regiment family i would like to say thank you to captain tom moore for

your amazing fundraising efforts. thank you, captain tom, from the nhs! and among those offering congratulations, the nurses who cared for captain tom during his recent hip surgery and made all this possible. we are very proud of him, we adore him and we are honoured to be able to look after him because he always has a smile on his face and asked how you are, he is a true gentleman. and then the moment, 100 la ps gentleman. and then the moment, 100 laps completed, the millions raised honouring both the nhs and captain tom's determination and eternal optimism. we will get through it, it will all be right but it might take time, but at the end of the day we shall all be ok again and all those people finding it difficult at the moment, the sun will shine on you again and the clouds will go away.

however, it's not over yet. if people keep giving, captain tom will keep walking. not a keep walking. nota dry keep walking. not a dry eye in the house. president trump has claimed the united states has passed the peak of coronavirus infections — and he's expected to announce proposals later today for reopening the country's economy. but with more than 2,000 deaths reported yesterday in the us, the president is at odds with some state governors about when to ease restrictions. david willis reports. he's been itching to do this for weeks. now the businessman turned politician president is poised to announce the world's biggest economy will soon be back in business. thank you very much. the data suggests that nationwide, we have passed the peak of new cases. hopefully, that will continue and we will continue to make great progress. these encouraging developments have put us in a strong position

to finalise guidelines for states on reopening the country. we will be talking about that tomorrow. more than 30,000 americans have died from the coronavirus, more than in any country anywhere else in the world. and although hospital admissions are down and the spread of the virus has slowed, health officials continue to warn of the dangers of a second surge if social distancing guidelines are lifted too quickly. the key issue is testing. so far, just over 3 million americans have been tested for the coronavirus. not enough, according to several leading employers, who believe that more testing is needed before people will feel safe to return to work. ultimately, it will then be state leaders who decide when the economy reopens, and not the president. it is the governors of the states who have the actual authority

to shut down or reopen facilities within their borders. the president can provide guidance and suggestions and of course, being the president, that carries a certain amount of persuasive weight. but it is the governors of the united states who hold the power. i thought i heard some american... some workers are as keen to see a return to normal as the president himself. conservatives in michigan organised this protest against a stay—at—home order imposed by the state's democratic governor, defying social distancing guidelines to make their point. millions of americans have lost theirjobs in recent weeks, and the coronavirus has brought an economy that president trump had taken to calling the "greatest in the history of the world" to its knees. his aim now is to rebuild it before people go to the polls in november.

david willis, bbc news, los angeles. barbara plett usher is in washington. what do we think president trump is going to propose later today? we know that he's going to be issuing guidelines, not orders. he had earlier said he had total authority to reopen the economy but he has acknowledged that the governors make those decisions so those guidelines would be along the lines of which would be the best businesses to reopen first, under what restrictions, should schools open so parents can go back to work? he also said some states could reopen before others because they haven't experienced many problems and line states were mentioned that had less than 1000 cases, so alaska, hawaii, vermont, west virginia, montana, but there will continue to be tensions because he and his

republican allies are keen to open the economy as soon as possible, it's an virtual freefall and we expect new unemployment figures. millions have reported earlier and millions more will report today but democratic governors said they want to walk in step with public health guidelines especially as massive testing and the country does not have that capacity yet. the work of parliament is likely to take place virtually, under proposals being considered by the house of commons authorities. it means mps would be able to contribute to some sessions from home, including prime minister's questions. our political correspondent nick eardley has been speaking to a number of mps who are already working remotely. a world away from westminster, the isle of skye in scotland, home to these newborn lambs and the snp‘s westminster leader, ian blackford. this is my home office. it's got everything i need in it.

it's got a decent enough connection under the circumstances. from next week it's likely he'll be asking government ministers questions from this office. i can keep my eye on our sheep and our lambs at the same time. we have to take our responsibilities seriously. our constituents expect us to be holding the government to account. the reason we have to do that on a virtual basis is we're telling the public not to travel, we're telling the public to work from home. quite simply it would not be a good look for parliamentarians to be travelling long distances to london when we don't need to. tory mp stephen crabb, who lives in pembrokeshire in wales, has been chairing committee meetings from home. inevitably there's a few teething challenges, chairing a meeting of committee where you have ten other people in the room all wanting to perhaps talk at the same time, it's much easier to chair that when you're physically in the same space. these changes are of course a response to the current crisis but in truth nobody really knows when things will get completely back to normal here.

there's still some debate on exactly how virtual parliament functions, but for now mps will have a bit more time for views like this. nick eardley, bbc news, westminster. uk charities are facing an estimated loss of £4 billion because of the number of fundraisers that have been cancelled due to the pandemic. now organisers of the london marathon, and other events, have joined forces to try raise vital money. the 2.6 challenge is encouraging people to get involved in their own fundraising activities — starting on 26th april, the date the marathon was due to be run. here's our sports news correspondent, laura scott. and it is a massive logistical exercise. 114,000 runners would have pounded the streets of the capital next sunday for the london marathon, most of them running for good causes, but with the event postponed due to coronavirus, many charities have been left without vital short—term funds.

it is hoped that the 2.6 challenge can help charities big and small and maybe even raise more than the london marathon itself. it would be incredible to beat the figure that the london marathon raised last year. it is a huge target and we will only do it by britain being united, united kingdom behind the 2.6 last yea r‘s last year's london marathon ride £66.4 last year's london marathon ride £661; million. without that and other fundraising events this spring, 34% of small charities say they can only meet running costs for three months. it is estimated that the uk charity sector could lose £4 billion in income. during the lockdown, sports stars have taken social media to raise money, mostly for the nhs, from adam peaty raffling off his swimming trunks to geraint thomas cycling in his garage in 12 hour blocks to replicate nhs workers shifts. absolutely, we have been hit quite significantly, probably 60% of our income has been lost overnight, so we are fighting really hard and making tough decisions to try

and get through that. but some smaller charities are struggling to survive and are worried they are not getting the money they need at this time. the 2.6 challenge encourages people to do any form of activity related to the numbers 2.6 or 26, whether it is running 2.6 miles, walking for 26 minutes or something quirky yet like flipping pancakes or hopping around the house 26 times. olympians have already signed up to take part. there won't be the crowds in london on the 26th of april but the hope is that millions will still come together, albeit apart, to help uk charities. and that was laura scott reporting. time for a look at the weather. let's cross to tomasz schafernaker. good afternoon. since the lockdown we haven't had a lot of rain, there

have been a few showers