this is bbc world news, i'm christian fraser. the uk extend its lockdown for at least three have. a significant increase in the spread of coronavirus. the worst thing that we could do it right now is to ease up too soon, allow a second peak of the virus to hit the nhs and hit the british people. it would be the worst outcome is notjust for public health but for the economy and for our country as a whole. as some eu countries announce plans to relax their lockdowns in the next fornight, we'll be looking at the different approaches being taken. meanwhile, a sharp fall in the numbers attending a&e departments with conditions like heart attacks or strokes amid concerns they're

too frightened to go. on the frontline — from doctors to cleaners, the hospital teams working tirelessly together to save lives. you just take one day at a time. i think if you try and think about the whole situation, it's too much. and a guard of honour for 99—year—old captain tom moore as he completes 100 laps of his garden and raises £15 million for the nhs. and coming up on bbc news, an absolute mess, the verdict on the state of the scottish football league from rangers manager steven gerrard as it finishes early due to coronavirus. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. the uk will remain in lockdown

for at least three more weeks. the foreign secretary, dominic raab, said britain is at a delicate and dangerous stage in this pandemic and relaxing restrictions too soon could risk a second wave of coronavirus and even more deaths. he said the lockdown, which is now extended until at least the 7th of may, would only be lifted once the daily death toll comes down to be sure the uk is beyond the peak and that the nhs can cope. the latest official figures for the uk show there were 861 deaths reported in the last 24—hour period. it means that the total official number of deaths in the uk linked to coronavirus is 13,729. that number doesn't include deaths in care homes or in the community in england and northern ireland. our political editor laura kuenssberg is in westminsterfor us. another sombre day when you hear those statistics behind each one of course a family whose lives have

been changed. although it seems like a lifetime ago since coronavirus led to the government introducing these limits on all of our lives to try to help beat the spread of the disease, there is no sign from the government at all that they are ready to change the restrictions on our lives after talking to their scientists and discussing it at cabinet. crystal clear from the foreign secretary tonight, the government view is that it is simply not safe to change the limits, not now and not yet. the start of another day. where looking out of the window is the only way to see the world outside. more time for fun for rocco and bonnie. but for their parents in wolverhampton, another 2a hours working, playing, caring and cooking all within the same four walls. we've already done more than three weeks and i guess in some ways that have been like an extended holiday.

we have had the weather and played a lot in the garden. but my fears about more time are more for the children. i guess there is a danger you could become quite worried about missing out on things. as the foreign secretary, in the place to be prime minister, confirmed today, that time at home will be longer. the government has decided the current measures must remain in place for at least the next three weeks. we have come too far and lost too many loved ones and have already sacrificed far too much to ease up now. but we are now at both a delicate and dangerous stage in this pandemic. if we rush to relax the measures we have in place, we would risk wasting all the sacrifices and all the progress that has been made. and that would risk a quick return to another lockdown with all the threat to life that a second peak to the virus would bring and all the economic damage that a second lockdown would carry. you have been very clear about why in your view

and sage's view it's not the time but in other countries people have been told when and what to expect but from what you know now, is it more likely we are looking at another three weeks or another three months? we cannot give a definitive timeframe, that would be to prejudge the evidence and that would be an irresponsible thing to do but the message to the public is there is light at the end of a tunnel and we re light at the end of a tunnel and were making progress. if i start giving you artificial and arbitrary timeframes, it would be the irresponsible thing to do and i can't do that. i want to play! life under lockdown is certainly a jug opened this family things they are fortu nate opened this family things they are fortunate sharing child care and an office but the situation is tough for millions and dire for the economy. labour pushing the government for a timetable at least of sorts. whilst i support the extension of the lockdown, i do think the government needs to bring forward the exit strategy to tell us the principles on which things are going to change in a few weeks' time. they need to do that because they need the trust of the public, we are asking a lot of them, another

three weeks and possibly more of lockdown. but decisions have not been taken lockdown. but decisions have not been ta ken about lockdown. but decisions have not been taken about how and when restrictions will go and there are nerves about giving the public the wrong impression. is likely to eat eventually step—by—step. wrong impression. is likely to eat eventually step-by-step. when we do incrementally ease any of these restrictions, we must consider what we need to do instead to keep the virus under control. for example, testing and surveillance, contact tracing and isolation of people with symptoms. but the progress of the disease flattening, moves towards lessening the limits of our lives are starting to be discussed but the pandemic will have an impact on all our lives beyond next week, next month and perhaps next year. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. elsewhere in europe, some restrictions are being lifted. switzerland says small businesses like hairdressers and flower shops can reopen from the end of the month, with schools going back in may and restaurants possibly reopening in june, if infection rates remain low. switzerland, like germany,

has carried out extensive testing. our science editor david shukman looks at the benefits and risks of relaxing the lockdown. empty streets around the world. images that are now familiar, of lockdown. a very blunt way to fight the virus, but it is working. in some countries, they are are easing up. so what's involved in that? well, first, a key question. is the daily death toll falling? that's yet to happen here in the uk, so for the moment, the lockdown continues. belgium has also extended its measures until losses are reduced day by day, and the world health organization is warning that any move must be very careful. it is imperative that we do not let down our guard. complexity and uncertainty lie ahead, which means that you are entering a period where we may need to rapidly adjust measures, introduce and remove restrictions,

and ease restrictions gradually. so, how can the lockdown be relaxed when that moment eventually comes? in spain, it wasjudged that construction work is safe enough to resume as a first step. in italy, it's small shops like book shops that have been allowed to reopen. while in denmark, schools are seeing pupils return. each of these steps bring benefits, but also comes with risk. and here in the uk we don't know how the government is planning to handle this. i think it's essential that the government begins to tackle the issue of fear in the population and restore confidence, because otherwise, the lockdown strategy will fail, and that simply because people won't go along with it. and keeping track of the virus and where it spreads is vital after measures are relaxed. germany is highly praised for testing huge numbers of people, something similar will have to happen here. in lichtenstein, they are planning

to offer everyone a biometric bracelet in a radical drive to track the emergence of new cases. and apps like this will be needed to keep track of people's contacts, to spot symptoms and isolate any new outbreaks. the challenge for any government is to try and strike a balance between making sure that people do maintain social distancing while offering a sense of light at the end of the tunnel. and that bit of it is made all the harder by the growing realisation that this won't be over soon. and there is a warning that some restrictions will be needed until next year as scientists trying to predict the pandemic say that until a vaccine is ready to create immunity to the virus, some social distancing will have to continue to keep people safe. david shukman, bbc news. there's still plenty of concern about the amount of personal protective equipment available for frontline workers. the leader of birmingham

city council has written to the government warning that the city will run out of protective face masks within two weeks unless urgent action is taken. one hospital in the south of england has told the bbc that it will run out of protective gowns in two days. our health correspondent sophie hutchinson reports. alan stjohn cook, one of the now almost 14,000 people who have died with covid—i9 in the uk. aged 88, he and his wife had just celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary. their daughterjulia was allowed into hospital to say goodbye. their daughterjulia was allowed into hospital to say goodbyelj their daughterjulia was allowed into hospital to say goodbye. i took his hand. even though i had my glove on, i squeezed his hand. even though i had my glove on, isqueezed his his hand. even though i had my glove on, i squeezed his hand and he squeezed mine. he was peeling his eyes open, like he was trying to open them from a deep sleep. he knew that i was there. this was what julia walks in hospital, bringing most of the protective kit on

internet and was shocked when she saw the staff on her dad's covid ward. that masks were very much like this, not very fitted, you know. whereas mine was close fitting. and ijust whereas mine was close fitting. and i just looked and it whereas mine was close fitting. and ijust looked and it occurred to me, goodness... ppe is better. how can that be? —— my ppe .i of the nurses asked where i got mine from. and at st thomas' hospital in london, where the prime minister was treated, an a&e nurse has told us he feels restrictions on ppe use are putting staff at high risk. he described what happened when he and a colleague were looking after a patient on a award last week. we we re patient on a award last week. we were in the process of washing him and he had a coughing fit and we both knew that everything he coughed up both knew that everything he coughed up was hanging around in the air while we were completing his personal care. and we had to got we

we re personal care. and we had to got we were at risk of breathing that in because the masks are not up to standard and don't provide the full protection we require. guy's and st thomas' nhs foundation trust has said it did not have a shortage of ppe and it is acting in accordance with official guidance on protective equipment. up at another hospital in the south of england which wants to stay anonymous has told us it has just two days supply a protective gowns left and, as a result, has been carrying out ward rounds online. it is notjust protective equipment but also testing which continues to fuel bad feeling between the government and nhs staff. ministers say they are able to carry out 35,000 tests per day now to see if people have the government and nhs staff. ministers say they are able to carry out 35,000 tests per day now to see if people have thereby whispered that staff are not turning up to be tested. you can't be expecting health workers who are ill to be going into a car to drive a long

distance for a test. we need to make sure that testing is much more easily accessible, being tested at home if you are ill and so forth. the government has acknowledged this evening that both ppe and testing remain major challenges. sophie hutchinson, bbc news. let's get more from our medical correspondent fergus walsh. so another high death toll today but a drop in the number of people in hospital with the coronavirus. at least some positive news. still around 19,000 people in hospital with covid—19. there was a fall of 396 in with covid—19. there was a fall of 3% in numbers over the past 2a hours and if we look at a slide showing the regional variations around the country, you can see that london had by far the biggest outbreak and the numbers are significantly falling in london. they are shrinking and shrinking pretty much across the country and that is down to social

distancing a down to the measures we have. and until we get a consistent and sustained drop in both deaths, daily deaths, and infections, we will not see an easing of the restrictions. and we are getting more information about who is getting most badly affected by the virus. the office for national statistics had been looking at this and we know three things fairly certain. one, the older you are, the greater your risk of dying from covid—19. in fact, greater your risk of dying from covid—19. infact, over50% greater your risk of dying from covid—19. in fact, over 50% of deaths are among the over 80s. we also know that nine in ten people who have died with covid have underlying health conditions, on average things like heart disease and diabetes and we also know but we don't know why, but men are at much higher risk of dying from covid—19 and women. we know that one in three people who are critically ill with

covid—19 in hospital are from black and asian minority ethnic backgrounds but we are not sure why. it could be that nearly half of all nhs medical staff in the front line art from those backgrounds and higher rates of diabetes and heart disease in those groups as well. thank you. new figures show a sharp fall in the number of people attending accident and emergency departments in england. some health charities have expressed concern that people with serious health conditions such as heart attacks or stroke are avoiding or delaying going to a&e forfear of coming into contact with coronavirus. our health correspondent dominic hughes has more. accident and emergency departments are normally the busy front door to your local hospital. but the coronavirus pandemic is changing all that. fears of contracting covid—19 seems to be keeping people away. that's what stopped the father of

two—year—old myra here from north london who had to go back to a&e to have a cut on my head redressed. do we wa nt have a cut on my head redressed. do we want to be anywhere near a hospital at the moment? we had to do it the day before if you can avoid it, then we should, so after thinking long and hard about it and weighing up if the nhs have enough on their plate already, we decided to not go and we sought help elsewhere. the latest figures from public health england cover more than eight major a&e departments. in the second week of april last year, more than hundred and 51,000 people attended emergency departments in english —— in england, but this year 70,000, reduction of more than half. on the face of it, it sounds like it could be good news for hard pressed emergency departments in the coronavirus crisis has put the whole service under intense pressure, but health charities fear some people are reluctant to visit hospitals when they should. people are acutely

aware that the nhs is under significant strain and they do not wa nt to significant strain and they do not want to be a bother, but also, people are worried about being in a hospital setting because they don't wa nt to hospital setting because they don't want to contract coronavirus. some conditions, heart attacks or strokes, for example, are time critical. the faster they are treated, the better the outcome, so any delay can have serious consequences. if you were to have a serious heart attack and not seek help and not have the right procedure very quickly, then you are ata procedure very quickly, then you are at a much higher risk of developing serious problems with your heart following the attack such as heart failure or breathing problems. the message from doctor is clear, even in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, the nhs is open and ready to treat other medical emergencies. delaying treatment could threaten your life. dominic hughes, bbc news. we were talking a moment ago about ppe. the provision of personal protective equipment to care workers has been "shambolic",

according to a leaked letter to the government from the association of directors of adult social services. they're highly critical of the government's handling of the pandemic. the government has admitted it needs to do more to help the care sector. our social affairs correspondent, alison holt reports. at this cheshire care home, staff are leaving their families and moving in here for up to three months so they can do all they can to shield it elderly and disabled residents from covid—19. it is just something we had to do. just to stop the virus from coming in the home. this is our second family and we want to keep them safe for their own families. the government strategy to provide more protective equipment, testing and recognition for those supporting people in care homes and in their own homes has been widely welcomed, but ongoing frustrations felt by directors who run council services are clear. a leaked letter to government

from directors of adult social care describes the national ppe supply chain as a shambolic, with early drops paltry and later ones haphazard. the woman who sent that letter on behalf of council care leaders told me they hope they are being listened to now but it has taken too long. i understand the national focus on the nhs, which is right and proper, but that is only part of the story. there are many more people living in care homes or in their own homes that require care and support. and we need to tackle covid—19 on both fronts. we have sadly had overall around 250 deaths. the growing number of deaths in care homes like the 133 run by the charity mha means some believe questions about the speed of response will eventually need answering. with something that has been of the scale of covid—19, we do need some form of public enquiry to learn lessons and to really embed those into our

infrastructure and the way that we manage our public care services going forward. the government has said it is doing all it can to recognise and support the care sector. alison holt, bbc news. the first new medical ventilator to treat people with severe symptoms of covid—19 has been approved in the uk. the government has ordered 15,000 from a high—tech manufacturing consortium. the device will be produced by a group of firms, including airbus and the mclaren formula one racing team. tonight hundreds of thousands of people will once again open their windows or stand on the streets to applaud our carers and key workers all over the uk. this pandemic has confronted nhs workers at all levels with an extraordinary challenge. fergal keane and cameraman tony fallshaw have been spending time with some of the teams fighting the virus at imperial college healthcare in london. doctor ali sanders is

fighting a disease that has killed colleagues. it's everywhere, you are reminded when you are cycling down an empty road that everyone is in lockdown and it is infectious and we are coming to work. we are not locked in our homes, isolating from it. we put some new signs of to give a bit of clarity to exactly what need to wear on red and super red? ali leads emergency teams at charing cross and st marys, two of the five london hospitals run by imperial college health care. the team is now briefed for the day ahead and what really strikes you here is the sense of calm and of common purpose. they are two vital things as the staff face this pandemic. this is the resuscitation unit needed by some patients arriving with covid symptoms. they are treated by in staff full protective gear. movement is careful. words are soft—spoken.

part of an essential gentleness for patients who can't have relatives with them in this protected zone. to have an infection that goes through the entire spectrum of age, that has limited treatment options, and takes out people who are largely otherwise well, with no particular rhyme or reason is quite hard. every hour, the staff disinfect their working area. imperial college health care has adequate supplies of ppe but even so, there must be constant vigilance. how do you deal with the anxiety? i think it is... take one day at a time. if you try to think about the whole situation, it's too much. there has been a massive reorganisation of staff as the hospitals have gone from 68 to 143 critical care beds,

with the potential for 300. it takes many to wage this struggle. from the cleaner, raj, at charing cross, to the clinical trials manager, serge, who has become a ward assistant at st marys. matron dolores, who spent a0 years in nursing, and wanted to pass this message to the public. stay at home. and not put our resources under more stress than they are because we don't want this spreading, it's quite simple. for staff, it's deeply personal. three colleagues have died since the crisis began. the latest was 60—year—old nurse melujean ballesteros, from the philippines, a mother of two and one of 18,000 filipinos working for the nhs. st marys is 175 years old and sacrifice is part of history here. staff fell in both world wars.

but in the spring of 2020, it is in critical care units like this that staff willingly face a potentially lethal virus. we were invited to see the work of the cpap unit, where air is applied through a mask to help breathing. it can help some patients, not all. in the process, infected droplets are exhaled. we use it for things to be passed through, so medications or equipment. staff communicate with the outside by video link. the ward is specially ventilated to create what is called negative pressure that stops any contamination escaping. a hong kong born doctor leads the team. how do you feel for the patients? they are isolated, they don't have people with them, they can't even hear us properly. i think it is a really scary time for them and i think any small measures we can take to make them feel more at ease makes

a big difference. i think doctors, we mainly see the patients and we pop in and out to see them, but it is the nurses who stay here for a long time. that is what we need to recognise the hard work for. nick, recovering, was deeply grateful to his carers and, having struggled for his life, there was a moment of clarity he wanted to share. it is because of these guys i am sitting up, because i'll be honest, i never took it serious in the beginning. but after this, it has kind of told me to slow down. family, you know what i mean? being with your family is important. i was doing long, silly hours but being with your family is really important and that is what it has taught me. i have just come out of the unit and that word hero that is being used a lot of late has been going in my head.

if you say to anybody here, they would say, no, i'm just doing myjob, this is what i have been trained to do. but having watched the doctors, the ambulance people, the cleaners, the cooks, porters, all of the people who keep this struggle against the virus going, people from the uk, people from everywhere, brave hardly begins to describe them. applause as britain claps for its carers, emergency team leader doctor ali sanders knows she is engaged in the greatest struggle of her medical life. you know, it'sjust nice to be appreciated. you have done all this hard—working. and i love you. her nine—year—old son jack is learning the meaning of duty and of courage. fergal keane, bbc news. we have at least three more weeks of lockdown here in the uk to keep

pressure of critical care. schools won't be coming back soon and millions of people will continue to try and work from home. sian lloyd reports on how families are adapting to the severe changes to all our lives. the start of another day in lockdown for this family and daily routine kicks in. the cockerills say they are coping, but inevitably life has changed. we've been quite fortunate with our company that they are supporting us, the management and the owners have been really great, but at the same time, that's for now. we don't know how long this is going on, so we've still got that anxiety about what is going to happen. we think, for the kids, it's been hard. we think they really miss their friends at school and trying to home—school, which is not our specialty, has been a challenge. i mean, they've been brilliant, but i think it's going to be a bit of a challenge after easter to kind of get them back into a routine. they're making the most of the sunshine while gym lessons and play dates with friends are on hold. aged ten, isabel says she understands why. i feel bad for them

if they are in hospital, or if they are old, or like over 70, because they've done nothing wrong. it'sjust the virus. a few miles away, the gill family live in a tower block on this estate. tamika is a single mum with two children and is struggling with lockdown. like, its stressful. i almost fainted yesterday, to be honest. it's like all that stress, because i'm indoors and not being out like i used to be. so it's kind of made me feel a bit down. i've been in bed most days, and that's the truth, like, yes. and how is the family being affected? well, my kids, they bicker a lot. they completely bicker over everything, and that annoys me to the teeth, because it's not like they are going out like they used to go to the park or going to school and whatnot. they are here together

in a confined situation. i have to keep them on top of the schoolwork, and i have to keep myself sane doing that too, so it's hard. two families in the same city showing their experiences of lockdown. sian lloyd, bbc news, birmingham. he set out to walk 100 laps of his garden to raise £1000 for the nhs, and this morning 99—year—old captain tom moore completed his challenge at his home in bedforshire complete with a guard of honour by soldiers from the yorkshire regiment. and he has raised a little more than he expected — more than £15 million, so far. and the money is still pouring in. 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 challenge 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 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 set 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 were floored at the thought of 5,000. 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 more than £12 million. he stepped towards the finish line to a chorus of congratulations. ben stokes here.