this is bbc news with the latest headlines. the boss of an nhs trust warns his staff could run out of protective gowns this weekend, despite assurances from ministers that there are enough to go round. the mayor of london says people should wear facemasks whenever they leave home — but the government's chief medical adviser says the current evidence to support wearing a mask is "weak." ministers set out five key tests before lockd own restrictions might be eased, including a sustained fall in daily death rates. chinese officials revise upwards — by 50 per cent — the number of people who've died, after testing positive for covid—19 in wuhan — the city where the pandemic started. president trump outlines proposals for a phased lifting

of coronavirus restrictions across the united states. and the duke and duchess of cambridge on life in lockdown, and prince charles being diagnosed with coronavirus. at first i was quite concerned. he fits the profile of somebody at the age he's at, which is very risky and so i was a little bit worried but i thought to myself, if anybody is going to be able to beat this, it's going to be him. good morning. as the uk enters another three weeks of lockdown to tackle coronavirus, the head of an nhs trust has asked for help finding more protective clothing and equipment, despite government assurances that there's enough to go round. he contacted the bbc asking for the phone numbers of clothing

manufacturers burberry and barbour — who are repurposing their production lines to produce ppe — because he said his trust has "less than 2a hours supply". after the lock down was extended — ministers have set out five key tests before restrictions might be eased, including a sustained fall in daily death rates and confidence that any adjustments won't risk a second peak. labour's leader sir keir starmer has warned about government ‘limbo‘. he accused borisjohnson‘s stand in, dominc raab, of being "probably reluctant" to sign off an exit strategy without the prime minister. president trump has set out plans for a phased lifting of the us lockdown. officials in wuhan — the chinese city where the coronavirus outbreak began says the number of deaths was 50% higher than previously reported. they deny a cover up. the duke and duchess of cambridge have said nhs staff treating critically ill coronavirus patients are taking home the pain they witness every day. ourfirst report is from charlotte gallagher.

cheering and applause. for the fourth week in a row, millions of us, young and old, clapped for our carers, coming out to make a noise on our doorsteps, in bradford... applause. ..in stoke... pots and pans clang. bagpipes skirl. ..and a hilltop in the north—east of scotland — a national show of appreciation for the people risking their lives to save others‘. and for these nurses, doctors and carers to do theirjob properly, they need more than applause. cheering and applause. they need personal protective equipment — the gowns, masks and goggles that keep them safe. but a major nhs trust has contacted the bbc, requesting phone numbers for barbour and burberry to ask them for gowns. it fears it does not have enough stock to even get through today. it said other trusts were resorting to washing and reusing single—use gowns and masks. the department of health says it is working around the clock

to provide protective equipment where needed. the figures remain grim — a further 861 people have died from coronavirus in uk hospitals and there are 4618 new cases. the infection rate and fears of overwhelming the nhs has led the british government to extend the lockdown for at least another three weeks. if we rush to relax the measures we that 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 of the virus would bring and all the economic damage that a second lockdown would carry. the uk government will not be drawn on when the restrictions might end but opposition politicians say a plan is needed. now, an expert panel at the royal society is looking at how and when the uk

can ease restrictions, while scotland's first minister nicola sturgeon says she will set out a possible exit strategy within the coming days. but for the next few weeks at least, lockdown life continues. charlotte gallagher, bbc news. our political correspondent, leila nathoo is at westminster. locked out was extended last night and still no sign of a strategy of how it might be lifted? —— lockdown. ministers very reluctant to get into the details of discussions about how and when and what measures will be in place in the future. they are sticking to the line that this is the time to continue with what we are doing. what we heard yesterday was the transmission of the coronavirus in the community is coming down, thanks to the social distancing measures in place. quite considerably. but there was the acknowledgement that transmission was actually increasing in

some settings, notably hospitals and social care. so i think now the focus turns to testing, crucial part of the government strategy and we know they have got that target for 100,000 tests a day by the end of april but also, this delivery of ppe to nhs front line staff and care staff, given that we now know transmission is increasing in those settings. protective equipment for nhs staff has been a crucial issue, the government is under a lot of pressure on it. they maintain they are doing all they can come a billion pieces of protective equipment have now been delivered and there are blockages in the supply chain and it's basically a distribution and logistical challenge. here is what the transport secretary had to say about it, a little earlier today. i know this has been an unbelievably difficult logistical task. the army, who i'd like to thank for their work, have been helping with the logistics of distributing nearly a billion pieces of ppe,

i'm not going to pretend it's straightforward or had lots of difficulties along the line. it clearly has been. that is the nature of this global pandemic that we face and the work that's gone into trying to ensure everyone, including care homes, are getting the right pieces of ppe has been tremendous. clearly, protective equipment is going to be crucial to stopping the spread of the virus within hospital settings and care settings. but there is also the wider issue of going forward, how can transmission be suppressed in the wider community and there is now a lot of debate about the wearing of face masks. previously, the advice from the government has been wearing face masks out is not necessary. there is 110w masks out is not necessary. there is now more talk about it, as further scientific evidence emerges. now you heard from the mayor of london sadiq khan, calling for all londoners to wear a non—medicalfacemasks, khan, calling for all londoners to wear a non—medical facemasks, he says, when they go

out. the idea being that this stops the virus being that this stops the virus being spread, doesn't necessarily stop you catching it but this should be an additional weapon in the armoury, if you like in addition to social distancing measures and the advice to keep washing your hands. this is what sadiq khan says he has been lobbying the government for. it's really important that we are no longer an outlier here, it's really important we follow the scientific and medical advice. that's why i'm lobbying our experts and lobbying the government. the good news is, to give them credit, they have not closed their mind to this and to give them credit, they are looking at what i've sent to them because i'm quite keen to have an additional layer of protection. the government is saying at the moment about masks, it is an issue they are looking at actively and the scientific evidence and is evolving all the while. grant shapps sent this morning the evidence at the moment is mixed and they don't want to get into the situation of people wearing masks and getting lulled

into a false sense of security, they wa nt into a false sense of security, they want people to keep social distancing, wash their hands, do all the other measures the government is encouraging people to follow so lots of differences of opinion emerging. not least also, between the different devolved governments. we've heard earlier, last week, from the welsh government, for example, getting their advice early, the lockdown was not going to be lifted, they said that before the easter weekend. we had to wait yesterday for dominic raab to confirm that, we've heard from nicola sturgeon, the scottish first minister, saying she is preparing to set out a decision—making framework on the end of the lockdown. remember, this is something other countries in europe have also started to set out, a sort of timetable, stage by stage plan, for help lockdown measures could be lifted. the westminster government do not want to get into that, they say that is an unhelpful distraction from the message which is currently still stay at home and they say there's going to be crucial scientific work going on in the next

few weeks that will inform the next review period. and they do not want to pre—empt that. but nicola sturgeon, the first minister of scotland, saying she wants to treat the public like grown—ups and is preparing not to announce any sort of dip in a bid end of lockdown measures but is preparing to set out measures but is preparing to set out measures for her decision making framework. she had to say this earlier. we are all going through this incredible challenge. for most of us, the most difficult circumstances we've ever lived through. none of us have all the answers, i certainly don't have all the answers. but i do think as first minister, in these difficult times, i've got a duty to try to be as open with people asi can, be about what i do know, don't know, but what we are trying to do to find the answers to the questions that we don't yet have. so it's about being open about the process but i'm not going to be going next week to set out all of the answers or the timescales or the milestones. but i think as much of this needs to be discussed in an open way with

the public. clearly, up until now, there has been quite a unified response from all the nations. but i think this is quite an interesting area to see that from now, are we going to see some sort of divergence between the approaches of devolved governments, that they take, compared to the decisions taken in westminster? the moment, thank you. let's take a closer look at those continuing concerns over personal protective equipment provisions. one nhs trust has told the bbc they fear they don't have enough gowns to get through today, while another says they have been forced to reuse single—use masks. clothing brands like burberry and barbour are manufacturing garments for healthcare workers to help with demand, but there are still problems with distribution. the government says it's working round the clock to get frontline staff the equipment they need. saffron cordery is the deputy chief executive of nhs providers — which represents health trusts in england. she joins us from basingstoke good morning and thank you very

much for joining good morning and thank you very much forjoining us. how much supply is there in the system for trusts in england, when it comes to ppe?” think what we need to do is look at different parts of ppe because we know for some elements of this, that supply is bare and we've had some challenges getting that to the front line but i think the real issue that we are talking about today is gowns and we know that the supply of gowns, surgical grade gowns, is nearly running short and i know and i think that's why our trust leaders are telling us that they are really concerned about this. so it's not about all ppe, it's about gowns, and that's what's been focused on today. and i know there is medical grade fabric and non—medical grade fabric, you've got to have the right sort but why is the distribution and supply of gowns in particular a problem? it's a problem because we

don't actually have a long lasting stock of this in the country now. at the beginning of this pandemic outbreak, lots of orders, we understand, were placed for traditional dance but the main manufacturers of those gowns are outside country, in china, we know china has been faced with its own problems over coronavirus and its exports are onlyjust opening up and that means liveries have come in fits and starts, those deliveries have arrived they haven't always been literally what they have said on the tin they are, so you open up a consignment and it turns out to be masks, not gowns, for example. also, some of them haven't passed the stringent testing regime we have here. there are all sorts of elements which are confounding the really focused effort to get gowns into the country. that's an explanation, doesn't help trusts on the front line and when we talk to

leaders, they are really concerned about this. but it does give a reason why we don't have that continuous supply of gowns. another thing to be really clear about here is that lots of our ppe, we've been using from a pandemic flu stockpile and that included items such as masks, gloves, aprons and other items but it didn't include gowns, the decision was made not to include gowns in a pandemic flu stockpile. so we've been using that stockpile but gowns weren't part of it. it's quite baffling, isn't it, we've been talking about this now four weeks. when surely the government sought what was coming down the track, the call went out, over a month ago, to different types of manufacturers, how can you help, be it with ventilators, masks, gowns, ppe, there was a massive response and yet, here we are, with a shortage

of supply. why is there at that mismatch, if a cult goes out, the government should then respond to those offers of help? well, i can't speakfor the those offers of help? well, i can't speak for the government here, i'm reflecting back what we are hearing from trust leaders in the front line. —— if a call goes out. trying to deal with this shortage of supply. i think it's fair to say that national leaders have been doing everything they can to get supply in. but, the issue is there is global demand for this we aren't the only country, we are in a pandemic, not in an epidemic in this country, pandemic, its worldwide, therefore everyone is after the same stock and our understanding is that it's the situation that is being phased in other european countries, in the united states, across all parts of the world. so therefore, it's not just us parts of the world. so therefore, it's notjust us wanting to order and get deliveries of these pieces of equipment. it's across the world and there that global demand

but there aren't as many manufacturers as we need to actually deliver. and i think what we've got to remember on this, is that it's notjust about delivery of generic items. this is about medical grade gowns so this is about medical grade gowns so this is about micro repellent, water repellent, not retardant gowns and there are very few manufacturers of that great of textile and so, these are the things that we are grappling with at the moment. but from an nhs trust, hospital, their health care providers perspective, we want to see this resolved as quickly as possible. thank you very much for talking to us today. thanks. the headlines on bbc news... the boss of an nhs trust has warned his staff could run out of protective gowns this weekend, despite assurances from ministers that there are enough to go round. the mayor of london says people

should wear facemasks whenever they leave home — but the government's chief medical adviser says the current evidence to support wearing a mask is "weak." ministers have set out five key tests before lockd own restrictions might be eased, including a sustained fall in daily death rates. china's wuhan city — the original epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak — has increased the official number of deaths recorded there by 50 percent, after admitting inaccuracies in the initial count. the revised figure was revealed after the government in beijing dismissed claims that it under—reported the fatality rate. let's talk to our correspondent stephen mcdonell in beijing. what are they saying now and find out? i'll give you the figures. i mean, you say its 50%, people at home can only take out their pens and added up themselves, it's so close to 50%.

there were 2579 deaths in wuhan city. just added another 1290. 3869. some analysts are suggesting this all seems a bit neat. these figures have possibly been put together in response to the criticism of china, that it's underreported it's deaths and its infections during the coronavirus crisis. that's not what officials are saying, officials in wuhan city are saying, officials in wuhan city are saying, officials in wuhan city are saying there's been no cover—up, it's just that they've had more time to have another look at the numbers. and they've added people in who really should have been counted, thatis really should have been counted, that is maybe they didn't go to hospital, they died at home. had the sort of symptoms of the coronavirus, or even if some people died in hospital, perhaps they had symptoms of coronavirus but in the early

stages, there weren't enough testing kits and some people want tested officially for the coronavirus but they think they probably did die from it. and so, that's what they are saying, they've just had more time to add these numbers in but you know, it's interesting, the timing of it has been quite incredible. there was a press conference this morning, giving out the new gdp numbers. it's the first time ever since gdp was recorded here, that china has gone into negative territory. and that these two things would be, sort of, released at the exact same time, all these analysts are scratching their heads and wondering, is one of these and attempt to bury the other or is it just a coincidence, really, that they were released at the same time? either way, i think there is still going to be lots of questions about china ‘s figures, the veracity of those. however, i mean, whati china ‘s figures, the veracity of those. however, i mean, what i think others would suggest though is the important thing is the trend. even

if these figures are added on now, it doesn't necessarily mean that the trend, the curve is not instructive. that is, there may have been ten times as many deaths and infections in china but as long as the curve is right, we are at the position that we are at in china either way. that the real—life evidence would seem to suggest that this crisis is coming under control. even if those earlier cases were underreported. stephen, thank you very much. donald trump has set out his plans for lifting coronavirus restrictions across america. at a white house news conference he said governors would be allowed to tailor their approach to meet their states‘ individual needs. but critics say the us president is being over—optimistic about how soon the crisis will pass. our north america correspondent david willis reports. he wanted a sudden, more dramatic end to social distancing guidelines.

in the end, president trump settled for a more gradual reopening of the american economy, one that will vary from state to state. we are opening up our country and we have to do that. america wants to be open, and americans want to be open. president trump said it would be up to individual state governors to decide when to relax the existing guidelines. he unveiled a document called opening up america again, a three—phase plan for easing the current lockdowns. in order to move from lockdown to phase one, for example, the guidelines say there should be a downward trajectory of coronavirus cases over the course of two weeks and a fall in the number of people testing positive. hard—hit areas such as new york are expected to be subject to social distancing guidelines for quite some time. but the president said other states would be in a position to reopen soon, possibly very soon.

those states that are in great shape already, they will be able to go literally tomorrow, yes. they've met all the guidelines. the administration's guidelines don't include provision to increase testing for the coronavirus, something that democratic lawmakers regard as key to controlling the spread of the virus. business leaders content without more dry through testing centres like this one in texas, people won't feel safe to return to work. the speaker of the house nancy pelosi described the president has met measures as big and inconsistent and said they did nothing to make up for the president ‘s failure to distribute national rapid testing. with more than 20 million americans now out of work, a growing number are reliant on food hand—outs. the coronavirus has wiped out nearly all the job growth here since the great recession more than a decade ago. president trump was forced to shut down the world's

largest economy just as he was about to ramp up his bid for re—election in november. little wonder, then, that he is eager to get things back to normal. what sort of normal that will be remains to be seen. david willis, bbc news. the parole board has told the bbc that they're struggling to assess some of england and wales' most serious criminals for release during the covid pandemic. it says of the 2,500 hearings that were due to happen between march and june, only 350 have been able to go ahead. and that means many more prisoners in jail than usual. over half of prisons in england and wales have confirmed coronavirus cases, and the government recently announced that 4,000 low risk inmates were being released early. those prisoners don't need a parole board hearing. i'm joined by martinjones who's the chief executive of the parole board thank you very much forjoining us. you deal with the prisoners injail

for the most serious crimes. tell us how is the process of assessing and releasing prisoners being affected by the lockdown? good morning. let me explain the way in which we work. a huge number of our cases take place via a review of the case physically in the prison. with members of the parole board sitting ina room members of the parole board sitting in a room with prisoners and witnesses to assess that risk. to determine whether imprisonment remains necessary for the protection of the public and obviously, since the 23rd of march, those hearings in prison have obviously been postponed until obviously the situation improves. tell us then what the impact is on victims in particular? because a lot of people watching will be more concerned, rightly or wrongly, with victims, rather than the prisoners themselves. the impact of that uncertainty about when and ifa of that uncertainty about when and if a prisoner is going to be released? i regularly speak to

victims about the parole process, you are quite right to say the uncertainty is a huge issue. we have changed our guidelines in the last few weeks to ensure that victims can still contribute to the parole process , still contribute to the parole process, can still make a statement whilst hearings are taking place remotely. during this current crisis, licence conditions can still be requested. i think it's also important to say of the people who appear before the parole board, less than 25% of the people we review are actually released stop 75% of the people we review remain in custody for the protection of the public so we only release people where we are satisfied that release can be managed in the community. and of course, as you say, that's very difficult at the moment for a whole range of reasons but the impact on the inmate, him or herself, where there is an expectation that this process will happen. how did they react? well i think it's really important to be clear that these people have served the period set for punishment by the court, the

job of the parole board is to look at whether they remain a risk and it's really important for hope, for people, if you've worked to rehabilitate yourself in prison that you have a chance to be considered for release and indeed, the parole board is the mechanism by which we ensure that the tension remains lawful. so the parole board has been working extremely hard in the last four weeks to ensure that we can progress those cases, wherever possible and indeed we have made more than 1000 decisions in the last four weeks so certainly, it isn't grinding toa four weeks so certainly, it isn't grinding to a halt, we are progressing cases in different ways, via remote hearings and intensive paper assessments. how concerned are you there might be legal challenges down the line from prisoners who aren't released but perhaps should have been? i guess my message would be we are trying our absolute damnedest to ensure cases can progress wherever possible and some cases are easier than others and all the things we are trying to do is identify cases that can progress during this pandemic more quickly.

obviously there are some complicated cases and cases where perhaps a prisoner would not be able to follow a hearing via telephone or video hearing which may need to wait for a few more months before we can get them on but we are reviewing cases individually to make as much progress as we possibly can. but of course making sure we make the right decision, critical decisions for the protection of the public, the victim and the prisoners themselves. thank you very much for your time. the first 150 romanian workers have arrived in the uk to help pick fruit and vegetables amidst the coronavirus pandemic. the outbreak has cut off the supply of farm labour from abroad, and not enough british workers have come forward to meet demand. our business correspondent sarah corker reports. in eastern romania, farm workers bound for the uk arrive at iasi international airport. they're boarding the first of six special flights chartered by british farmers to fly in the fruit and vegetable pickers they urgently need.

some here, though, were wary of travelling in the middle of a pandemic. translation: we're going because we have no jobs here, no income and we have to find work somehow. because here in romania, we have nothing left to live on. translation: yes, we are afraid but we have to do this regardless of fear. we have no options here. if it is meant to happen, it will happen, here or there, regardless. before boarding, all 150 passengers have their temperature checked by a thermal scanner and complete health questionnaires — all to combat the spread of the virus. there's an estimated shortage of 70,000 seasonal workers. farmers have warned that crops could rot in the fields this summer. why are some british

farmers flying in foreign workers in the middle of a global pandemic? they were offered jobs back in october and november last year. the borders remain open and they're able to travel. many are returnees who are skilled at the job and understand exactly what's involved. they are just a small part of the workforce that is so critically required to make sure that we are able to harvest those crops which have been grown in the field, and ultimately get them into the supermarket and onto people's plates. recruiters say that for the first time in a generation, british workers have applied for farm work. it's helping feed people who are in need. manchester university student zoe is one of them. it's offering accommodation to go out and work on a farm and pick fruit and veg for a period of weeks. i wanted to help out really because i felt quite useless. i thought it would be quite a good opportunity to feel like i'm doing something. but thousands more are still needed. at stansted airport, the romanian flight was one of the only planes

in the air. these new arrivals are heading to cambridgeshire, where they'll soon be picking this lettuce crop and helping to train up 500 british workers. farmers say flying in foreign pickers is a last resort to help keep the nation fed. sarah corker, bbc news. we just want to bring you the latest development in the fundraising effort by 99 year old war veteran captain tom moore. he's been walking laps of his garden to raise money for the nhs and look at this — the latest total is more than £18 million. this time yesterday, when he was approaching, in fact, this time yesterday, when he was approaching, infact, he had this time yesterday, when he was approaching, in fact, he had done his 100th lap, it was 12 million. put on over £6 million and 2a hours, just amazing, he is carrying on,

still going, so we can carry on donating. good man! now it's time for a look at the weather with sarah. hello. it's another largely dry day for much of the british isles. it has been a very dry first half of april. things are changing across parts of southern england and south wales. we have got some rain on the way through today but away from the south, most of us sticking with the dry theme. some of these showers in the south—west of england, south wales, down towards the south—east through into the afternoon could be on the heavy side. the chance of the odd rumble of thunder. to the north of the m4 corridor, we are looking at mostly dry weather continuing. temperatures in the mid—teens but a bit cooler along the east coast, where there is more cloud and breeze coming in from the north sea. further heavy showers rattling in from the english channel and across southern england into the midlands and south wales through tonight. you are likely to hear the odd rumble of thunder in the south. things remaining dry further north. quite a cloudy day for most on saturday with showery rain across england and wales which should fizzle out later in the day. clear skies further north

and temperatures in the region of 9—17 degrees. goodbye for now. hello, this is bbc news with martine croxall. the headlines. the boss of an nhs trust has warned his staff could run out of protective gowns this weekend, despite assurances from ministers that there are enough to go round. the mayor of london says people should wear facemasks whenever they leave home, but the government's chief medical adviser says the current evidence to support wearing a mask is "weak." ministers have set out five key tests before lockd own restrictions might be eased, including a sustained fall

in daily death rates. officials in china have revised upwards by 50% the number of people who've died after testing positive for covid—19 in wuhan, the city where the pandemic started. president trump has outlined proposals for a phased lifting of coronavirus restrictions across the united states. the duke and duchess of cambridge are fronting a new campaign encouraging people to look after their mental health during the coronavirus outbreak. the royal couple have spoken exclusively to the bbc about the need to talk and the vital role nhs staff are playing on the front line. here's our royal correspondentjonny dymond. this is how we talk, this is how the royals talk these days. dina, hi! notjust to bbc news. william revealed that the rather dispersed royal family is chatting away on video calls.

but it was mental health of the nation that william and kate wanted to talk about. they both have been talking to staff across hospitals over the past few weeks, and what they have heard has left an impact. i think the scale and the speed of what's going on in hospitals, bearing in mind also the isolation — a lot of these patients are sadly dying with no family members around them. i think for the nhs front line workers, that is... that is very difficult because they are there, right next to the bedsides, you know, looking after and caring for each and every patient who's in a critical condition. william is no stranger to loss and his advice to those in need was simple — talk. people are going to feel angry, they're going to feel confused, they're going to feel scared. that is all normal feelings and that is, unfortunately, all part of the grieving process. but i think do not underestimate, again, the importance of reaching out, the importance of talking to your family and friends about it. and from kate, a bit of guilt — not too much — about telling fibs to

the kids. ..home—schooling, which is challenging. yeah, home—schooling's fun! chuckles. don't tell the children — we've actually kept it going through the holidays. i feel very mean! jonny dymond, bbc news. i know they are not the only parents who have done that! archie wilks is a four—year—old boy from newport with a rare form of cancer. he was diagnosed with stage four neuroblastoma in january 2019 and is currently undergoing chemotherapy and immunothera py. the secondary effects of the cancer treatment are similar to those of the virus— a cough, runny nose and fever — so the family initially put his symptoms down to the cancer treatment. in fact, archie was diagnosed with covid—19, from which he has now recovered and he is now back with his family spreading positivity and hope across the country. archie lives with his dad, simon, mum harriet and twin brother henry. they can alljoin us

now. hello! hello. lovely to see you all. harriet, firstly, how did you know there was something wrong other than there was something wrong other than the side—effects that are she has to put up with from his treatment? well, we didn't, really, it was such a shock that his test came back positive for coronavirus. the symptoms of it where very similar to his symptoms that he gets with his treatment. so we kind ofjust put the coughing down to his immunotherapy, the coughing down to his immunothera py, because he the coughing down to his immunotherapy, because he gets a cough with it every time that he is on it. wejust put cough with it every time that he is on it. we just put it down to cough with it every time that he is on it. wejust put it down to him being on treatment but obviously... it wasn't, so it was a big shock to us, actually. i am sure it was. the last thing any of you needed! simon, you were in hospital with archie for six days, what was it like. yes, we we re six days, what was it like. yes, we were quite used to hospitals, but we

we re were quite used to hospitals, but we were shut in a room together for six days, we were not able to leave the room at also it was a slightly different experience. the nhs staff, they all made it really helpful, they all made it really helpful, they made it as easy as possible for us and the nurses were doing everything they could, checking on us through the day, making sure we we re us through the day, making sure we were ok, not just us through the day, making sure we were ok, notjust food and drink but making sure we were mentally ok and they came in with toys and things to play with archie and made it as easy as possible, really. it is obviously as possible, really. it is obviously a very hard and worrying situation but it really made it as bearable as possible. well looked after. well looked after, probably your experience every time you have to go in. archie, and you hear us all right? archie? look this way. hello, darling. maggie blow he can't see you. of course he can't. how is it being home, what do you like about it? i go green singing. singing! you like playing with henry, don't

you? yes. it is nice to be home. it must be very hard for them, being twins and that closeness that we all know they have so how has henry reacted to having archie back, well, you all back under one roof? yes, it is always... in the house for the first three days, you would be quite stressed out normally, but he... lots of emotion. he is coping very well, archie's treatment has been going on for every so it is quite ha rd going on for every so it is quite hard for henry as well, dealing with the emotional side because he is used to spending time with archie, having fun and then we are spending all our time with him in hospital so whenever we come back home, he is quite rightly emotional, and it takes some time for them to settle backin takes some time for them to settle back in and play together as they usually would do. let me ask him, henry, what is your favourite game to play with archie? probally what is your favourite? have you gone or shy? is your favourite? have you gone or s hy ? lots

is your favourite? have you gone or shy? lots of toys. lego? how strictly are you having to maintain the lockdown and the isolation of time? yes, well, we took henry out of school a week before the school is closed and we went into complete isolation six weeks ago, now, nearly. so we have been really strict, we have not left the house apart from hospital appointments, when we took archie to the day unit and we literally checked in and went and we literally checked in and went and sat outside in the garden and only went in for his treatment in isolation. we have been very strict on it. it is only in the house, in the car to go to hospital, and stopping right outside the hospital and just going in for the treatment and just going in for the treatment and then leaving immediately. that is the only contact we have had from other people apart from family and friends leaving food on the doorstep for us, we have not had much other face—to—face interaction with anyone. harriet, the fact archie has recovered from covid—19 of course is immensely good news for you, when it is such a troubling

time generally. yes. what would you say to other families who are finding lockdown quite tricky? yeah, i mean, especially having a child classed as extremely vulnerable, we were really worried about how he was going to cope with it if he got it. so it is definitely... it is definitely a weight lifted off, knowing that he has coped quite well. yeah, he's just kind of enjoying the time together, really. —— it isjust kind of. being able to be at home as a family. obviously, it is quite hard when you have got kids and you are stuck in the house all the time! but you have got to try to make the best of it. well, we are delighted to share your good story, simon, you need to be like an octopus to cope with two wrigley twins! thank you so much to us for talking —— so much for talking just today, much to us for talking —— so much fortalkingjust today, simon, harriet, archie and henry wilkes.

thank you for having us. thank you very much. millions of people took to their doorsteps, windows and balconies last night to show their appreciation for the key workers on the front line of the fight against coronavirus. it's the fourth week that the clap for our carers has taken place. graham satchell has been finding out how people all over the country said thank you. just before eight o'clock, and in a quiet cul—de—sac in luton, a weekly ritual is about to start. applause and cheering. come on, the magpies! the nhs are doing a brilliantjob. and it's good that everyone is showing appreciation for them. they're putting their lives on the line every day. absolutely brilliant. it's an opportunity for us to support the nhs and just show how much we're behind them. we just want to

stand together and be as united as possible. for us to be doing this and to show our support, i know it makes all of us feel emotional, so for them to see that, i mean, that mustjust be, hopefully, a little feel good to spur us all on. among the residents, mark and amanda webb and their daughter phoebe. i work in the emergency services division at university college hospital. at the moment, due to the covid—19 pandemic, i've been working on itu helping them to maintain their levels of essential itu stock and supplies. amanda normally works in a&e but she's been moved to the intensive care department. part of herjob — to make sure doctors and nurses have the right protective clothing. i thought a&e was busy, but it is nothing compared to itu. hats off to the staff who work in itu, because, i mean, they are just amazing.

there is sadness and a lot of fear. a lot of them have got families and a lot of them are still coming into work. but for the most part, those coming in are doing theirjobs and they are doing it with good humour. they keep each other going. mark works at the royal london hospital in a&e. a fortnight ago i was off for seven days with covid or symptoms of covid. thankfully i fully recovered as i had very mild symptoms. i did hear this week that one of our porters had died after catching covid. that does put a much more... terrible. yeah, a different perspective on it. but we feel safe in the knowledge that if we're wearing the right ppe and we have got the right protection in place and the right training, then we will get through this. mark and amanda's daughter phoebe isjust 13. are you worried about them? um, yeah.

when i thought my dad had covid, i got really scared. but then i knew that things, they are going to get better, you just don't think they are. and i know that everyone is at risk and that people are putting their lives in for other people and so i'm pretty proud of everyone. cheering and applause. pride and thanks and much—needed support. it is really heart—warming and really, really humbling. it's slightly awkward, because i'm just not used to having this appreciation. i'm just completely overwhelmed by it. it makes you feel really bonded. it's a proper kind of morale boost, isn't it? yeah, i think it is. i think you need that in these times. and, in a time of isolation, this weekly applause has

become a vital moment of national togetherness. stay safe, take care. graham satchell, bbc news, luton. now on bbc news, it's time for your questions answered. thousands of you have been writing in with your questions about the coronavirus, and its impact onjobs and the economy. we've got two experts with us to help answer them now. felicity hannah is a finance and consumer affairs journalist, and michelle ovens is the founder of small business britain. thank you forjoining us. . anthony says, "i have a distributional company, the government to cover us for 80% of our wages in a worst—case scenario but our monthly overheads are only 45% wages scenario but our monthly overheads are only 4596 wages so we need to come good. we'll there be enough support for those other expenses? "

michelle, maybe that is one for you to answer. thank you, 0k, michelle, maybe that is one for you to answer. thank you, ok, so thinking about where those other expenses are, if you are thinking about things like rent or mortgage payments, there are may be things that you can do. you can defer mortgage payments for three months. i'm guessing as a dispersion company, a lot of the expenses are vehicles and that kind of cost —— as a distribution company. the only option you are looking at at the moment is the loan scheme, the business interruption loan scheme and you have not mentioned whether you have applied for that or not. there have been some challenges, businesses have got some challenges accessing the loan scheme but there have been changes to that in the last couple of weeks so if you applied at the beginning, i would encourage you to reapply, but also it would be worth having a chat with a business coach to help you be as successful as possible with that application. look at places like enterprise nation that have business

coaches, you can chat to them for free and help you get that through. to be honest, that is probably your best route at the moment, i know a lot of businesses don't want to take on additional debt. but once you have allayed as many cost as you possible can, that is probably the best route for you. let's ask felicity to help us with this, "i'm a self—employed hairdresser now, not working for four weeks with no financial help. it is easy for ministers to stay on tv that i will get help in june ministers to stay on tv that i will get help injune but what ministers to stay on tv that i will get help in june but what about ministers to stay on tv that i will get help injune but what about now? " how do you shore things up for the next few weeks? it is a really difficult position that lots of self—employed people are in. currently as it stands, we expect to hear whether self—employed people will hear hopefully in may whether they qualify under the scheme, not everybody does, and then payments will be made injune. but as you say, so many people between now and then with no income, trying to keep things going, keeping the show on the road until that point. there are things you can do to ease your

financial situation. any nonessential bills, any nonessential services that you are paying for, give those companies ring and see if you can pause payment. people are being very understanding. if you have a mortgage, you can ask your lender for a mortgage holiday of up to three months. interest will continue to accrue during that time but it gives you a bit extra breathing space. if you rent, you can talk to your landlord. they don't have to help you but they can in turn ask for a mortgage holiday on their buy to let mortgage so they might be able to give you an easing off and then take the rent payments over a longer time and give you that breathing space now. also it is worth talking to your bank, if you have got any loans that you have used in the past, you should be able to pause most of those payments. the rules have been updated today to include things like payday loans and car credit, that kind of thing. you can freeze a lot of your debt at the moment. you will keep paying interest and accruing it but you give yourself a bit of extra time to

concentrate on essential bills like groceries. felicity, this is for you as well, susan says, "my partner, who's worked all his life and pay taxes, started a newjob on the 25th of february this year. as the date for being furloughed was the 28th, we thought he would be getting help but his firm have called him to say that they have had new information that they have had new information that he needed to have been paid on hmrc books and because he had only just started, it does not sound like he has been." where does he stand? this is such a nightmare for so many people. initially, the cut—off date was the 28th of february. if you are on somebody's books by then, they could apply to fellow you, but that excluded all of these people who we re excluded all of these people who were new starters who had changed jobs after that and then could not qualify, new employers cannot fellow them and quite often old employers who could have furloughed them would not do it because they'd already left. this was updated just this week to try to bring more people under the scheme. so they

pushed the date back that you had to have been on your company's books by a much later date, one in march. the idea was that this would help an extra 200,000 people. what it has actually doneis 200,000 people. what it has actually done is because a lot more confusion. your new employer has to have reported your imminent pay to hmrc before the new cut—off date and that means that yes, some people who appear to have got a fight under the old scheme no longer qualify under the new clarification. i am personally waiting to hear more about this. the whole point of updating this scheme was to bring more people underneath it. i can't believe that the government intends that people who previously were included will now be excluded but we are going to need to wait and hear for more clarification. it is a really anxious time. i would recommend he has a look at some of the facebook groups that have been set up for people affected by this issue, where they are sharing a lot of information on the kinds of conversations they've had with their

employers. two questions wrap together for you, michelle. employers. two questions wrap togetherforyou, michelle. first, mark says, "what support is there for the self—employed and what are we supposed to do with no work, no money and no government or bank help?" amy goes onto say she opened her pub in july last help?" amy goes onto say she opened her pub injuly last year and it was closed but because she has had her business for less than a year, she gets no help as a self—employed person. what would you advise them to do? 0k, slightly different things, there, felicity made some really good points about the self—employment cutting down as many of those courses you possible can. the other thing to bear in mind, and this applies across lots of industries, is with the self—employment grant, you can still work but he will maybe have to think about how you pivot your job for a while. —— you will. for exam, we've spoken to a lot of hairdressers, like the example before, who have thought about what they can do and what their customers are doing, the customers are at home and they are feeling a bit like they need a bit

of pampering so think about how you can serve them, think about how you can serve them, think about how you can maybe create packages of things they can do at home. you can reach out to them and engage with them and actually try to find a way to generate income and keep your business going. that is quite an important thing about the self—employment grant, you can continue working at the same time. on the point about the pub, i see the point about the self employed but also remember that pubs are able to apply for the grant scheme so small pubs with a rateable value, and i'm assuming that as a pub, it has a rateable value, and if you openedin has a rateable value, and if you opened injuly last has a rateable value, and if you opened in july last year, has a rateable value, and if you opened injuly last year, you would definitely be on your local council system, so less than 15,000 rateable value, you can apply for a loan of 10,000, and between 15—51 rateable value, you can apply for a loan of £25,000 and we are hearing that the money is coming through to businesses already and people are getting it into their accounts or any. that is good news. david asks,

and felicity, you may be able to help with this, "many people are facing the prospect of being made redundant today as the end of the fellow period is 45 days away." given the lockdown has been extended, how likely is that timescale to be extended, do you think? it is a really difficult situation for employers and employees. yes, they have this time, they have to give a certain amount of notice if they are going to make someone redundant and obviously, they don't know what is going to happen with the scheme. the government has said the furlough scheme is going to be extended if it is needed. now that the lockdown is going to continue for a further three weeks, and potentially longer than that, we know that government has tried to reassure businesses that it will extend it as is required to keep the economy going and to protect the jobs that we will need businesses to be able to rely on once we reopen and once the economy starts up again. i don't have a specific answer on the 45

days problem. i wonder if we might see some clarification from the government on that today. i know there are a lot of businesses saying, this is a real cut—off time for us, we need to make a decision right away. keep an eye on the news. we could well see further clarification today. and perhaps also, get in touch with your mp. let yourmp also, get in touch with your mp. let your mp know the struggle you are having as a business or as an employee. then they feed that back and can increase the pressure for more guidance. we are seeing unprecedented scheme is rolled out incredibly fast. there are going to be gaps and it isjust making sure that they understand, the government understands where the gaps are so they can respond to business and employee concerns. felicity, iwill direct this one d but michelle may be able to have as well, someone who does not want to give their name, "both my partner and i are key workers but i want to be fellow to look after our son who cannot go to school because he i risk. i have been denied furlough. what are my

rights?" this is a really complex and interesting and problematic question. your employer is allowed to furlough you because of childcare reasons. even if you could still be doing yourjob from home or you could still be going in and doing yourjob in the workplace, your employer is allowed to use the fact you have a childcare crisis as a reason to furlough you. but whether or not they furlough you is entirely up or not they furlough you is entirely up to your boss. you don't have an automatic right to being furloughed. in fact, we are seeing some people who could be furloughed simply being fired. it is up to the employer whether they do it. in terms of the childcare issue, you also has a —— asa parent childcare issue, you also has a —— as a parent have a right to take time off to deal with emergency childcare but that was never anticipated to be four months, potentially. that is because of snow days or school strikes or children being sick. it is a difficult position. your employer could furlough you. it is a question of trying to encourage them to make that happen in your situation,

perhaps going back to them and explaining your problem. i would really recommend getting in touch with acas at this point. they might be able to liaise with your employer. they might be able to give you some advice on how to go about explaining your situation to your employer. you don't have an automatic right to furlough. but your employer needs to treat you flexibly as a parent. we'll need to show a bit more forbearance in this very weird, very unusual time. michelle, if i may, we have heard today that people who have taken out high cost credit or car finance will be able to take advantage of a payment rate if they are facing financial problems because of coronavirus, there should be no attempt to repossess any vehicle involved. i imagine that might be of huge benefit to people with small businesses just briefly. huge benefit to people with small businessesjust briefly. absolutely, and lots of businesses have business vehicles, whether it is cars or vans or delivery vehicles. i think that is very reassuring, it

is, bear in mind for small businesses, it is still a huge stress, and the same could be said of the rules that were brought in with regard to rent, so you can't evict a small business or not paying their rent, we are not suggesting you don't pay your rent but we are not suggesting it might be evicted for that either. these are welcome things and they take away the worst case scenario, but there is still a huge amount of stress for small businesses who do have that cost base to cover. felicity, hannah, finance and consumer affairs journalist, and the founder of small business britain, we are grateful to you forjoining us to answer all of those questions and we are very grateful to our viewers for sending them in. thank you. you are watching bbc news and just a reminder that at 10am, we will be joining the health and social care

select committee. they will be asking quite a few questions of the health secretary, matt hancock. stay with us for that. it is on from 10am at 11am. now it's time for a look at the weather with sarah. hello. it's another largely dry day for much of the british isles. it has been a very dry first half of april. things are changing across parts of southern england and south wales. we have got some rain on the way through today but away from the south, most of us sticking with the dry theme. some of these showers in the south—west of england, south wales, down towards the south—east through into the afternoon could be on the heavy side. the chance of the odd rumble of thunder. to the north of the m4 corridor, we are looking at mostly dry weather continuing. temperatures in the mid—teens but a bit cooler along the east coast, where there is more cloud and breeze coming in from the north sea. further heavy showers rattling in from the english channel and across southern england into the midlands and south wales through tonight. you are likely to hear the odd rumble of thunder in the south. things remaining dry further north. quite a cloudy day for most on saturday with

showery rain across england and wales which should fizzle out later in the day. clear skies further north and temperatures in the region of 9—17 degrees. goodbye for now.

this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the boss of a uk nhs trust warns his staff could run out of protective gowns this weekend, despite assurances from ministers that there are enough to go round. with a number of countries changing their advice on facemasks — the mayor of london calls for people to wear them, whenever they leave home. british government ministers set out five key tests before lockdown restrictions might be eased, including a sustained fall in daily death rates. chinese officials revise upwards — by 50 per cent — the number of people who've died, after testing positive for covid—19 in wuhan — the city where the pandemic started. president trump outlines proposals for a phased lifting

of coronavirus restrictions across the united states. and the duke and duchess of cambridge on life in lockdown, and prince charles being diagnosed with coronavirus. at first i was quite concerned. he fits the profile of somebody at the age he's at, which is very risky and so i was a little bit worried but i thought to myself, if anybody is going to be able to beat this, it's going to be him. hello and welcome to audiences in the uk and around the world. we're covering all the latest coronavirus developments, both here and globally. as the uk enters another three weeks of lockdown, the head of one nhs hospital trust has asked for help finding more protective clothing and equipment, despite uk government assurances