this is bbc news, i'm clive myrie. the headlines: as the number of dead in the uk due to coronavirus rises to more than 14,500, a leading health specialist predicts we could end up with the highest death toll in europe due to early errors in the pandemic. we have to face the reality of that, we were too slow with a number of things, but we can make sure in the second wave we are not too slow. the health secretary responds to concerns about a shortage of protective gowns, saying 55,000 will arrive today. i would love to be able to wave a magic wand and have ppe fall from the sky in large quantities and be able to answer your questions and when shortages will be resolved.

as china's economy slumps, the international monetary fund warns the global financial outlook could be far worse than many have predicted. the duke and duchess of cambridge speak to the bbc, about the need to protect mental health during lockdown, and their concerns when prince charles contracted coronavirus. i thought to myself if anybody's going to be able to beat this, it's going to be him. and actually he was he was very lucky, he had mild symptoms and obviously speaking to him made me feel more reassured that he was ok and he was through the worst of it. and the leeds united legend norman hunter has died at the age of 76. he'd been dignosed with the coronavirus.

hello and welcome to viewers on bbc one for this bbc news special, as we build up to today's coronavirus briefing from the government, which is today being led by business secretary, alok sharma. but first let's look at the day's latest developments. official figures show that slightly fewer people died in hospital from coronavirus in the uk in the last 2a hours, than those recorded on thursday. according to the department of health, the number has risen by 847 to 14,576. there were almost 5,600 new cases, taking the total number of infections in the country to nearly 109,000. in a stark warning, mps have been told there could be 40,000 deaths in the uk by the time the pandemic is over. and the country could have the highest death rate in europe, according to leading global health expert, professor anthony costello.

the health secretary, matt hancock, said that testing will be expanded in the coming days to the police, fire, and prison services, as well as some local authority workers. and in another major development, the chancellor has announced that the job retention or furlough scheme is to be extended until the end ofjune. 0urfirst report is from richard galpin. is one of the doctors here? despite the tireless work of doctors and nurses across the country, coronavirus has already left more than 1a,500 people dead and the numbers continue to rise. and there are concerns about the government's approach to this outbreak. welcome to this session of house of commons health and... so today's hearing, chaired by former health secretary, jeremy hunt, a chance for views to be expressed by politicians, health staff and experts and there has been strong criticism. the harsh reality and one of the reasons, and i hope i'm being constructively critical,

and also i believe we should not have any blame at this stage, we should have a no—blame audit, where were the system errors that led us to have probably the highest death rates in europe? and we have to face the reality of that, we were too slow with a number of things. but we can make sure in the second wave we're not too slow. and later he said this. we could see 40,000 deaths by the time it's over. another key issue the government faces is the supply of protective equipment, or ppe, which health and care staff need to prevent being infected by the virus. there are warnings some hospitals are now on the verge of running out of this equipment. i would love to be able to wave a magic wand and have ppe fall from the sky in large quantities and be able to answer your question about when the shortages will be resolved. but, given we have a global

situation in which there is less ppe in the world than the world needs, obviously it's going to be a huge pressure points. i mean, there is nothing that you can... there's nothing that i can say at this select committee that will take away the fact that we have a global challenge. the government's also under significant pressure on the roll out of testing people for the virus, a vital part of the battle to get the outbreak under control. at the moment, it's focussed on health and care staff and patients. the health secretary wants it to be ramped up to 100,000 tests a day by the end of this month. it is currently atjust 18,000. why the three—week gap between stopping community testing and the announcement of the 100,000 target? the overall project to ramp up testing has been going since day one. now the challenge is that, as the epidemic increased exponentially at that point,

in the middle of march, it meant that the incidence of the outbreak was broad and it meant that we weren't able to test everybody with symptoms, but i want to get back to the position, now that we have got the curve under control, i want to be able to get back to the position that we can test everybody with symptoms. the health secretary has now announced that testing will be expanded to include the police, fire service, judiciary and others. a senior health expert says he feels ‘ashamed' when nhs staff aren't able to access enough personal protective equipment. paul durrands asked the bbc to put him in contact with the fashion company burberry, which has switched production to make ppe for healthcare workers. the health secretary has admitted that the uk is running low on gowns for medical staff, but says another 55,000 are due to arrive later today. simon browning reports.

it is situation critical. nhs hospitals are running out of vital gowns to protect staff and patients. yesterday, one nhs doctor contacted me to say the situation was so bad at his hospitals could i connect him directly to factories who could make gowns. i'd seen on the bbc web—site that barbour were manufacturing gowns and my local health care system is very, very short of gowns and i wanted to get a name and a contact so i contacted you to see if you had a name of someone i could talk to get some gowns. paul durrands is a specialist in ppe, he has worked in government setting up supply chains before they were changed and this has caused problems. i think the sense of shame, if our staff turn up on shift and the ppe isn't in the cupboard, it isn't good enough. just this morning the situation experienced by dr durrands

and his hospital colleagues was acknowledged by the health secretary. we are tight on gowns, that is the pressure point at the moment. we have another 55,000 gowns arriving today and we're working on the acquisition internationally of more gowns. there's definitely been a shortage over the last few weeks and no one can deny that. we are on it. we are sorting uk manufacturers to make these products, but we're putting a supply chain together and that is going to take time. the demand to produce ppe here in the uk has revealed just how small and fractured the uk supply chain is and, after decades of moving production overseas to chase cheaper costs, uk factories that are left are doing all they can to help. barbour and burberry are two of the big uk brands approached by ministers to help with supply. the brands have been continually quoted by the pm and ministers when they have been pressed on the ppe shortages, but getting this brand—new supply chain set up has been complicated. private white in salford has been

working with the cabinet office to make gowns too. i think all parties have put their hands up desperate to help the national effort, been extremely disappointed about how long and how turgid it has been to get some traction and it doesn't feel like we're anywhere near where we need to be. this afternoon, burberry said it will work to produce what it can for the trust affected, but, as government admits, there are gaps in the system — urgent action and reaction is needed. 0ur political correspondent, nick eardley is at westminster. issues clearly with ppe, issues with testing as well. the fact is and we know this from seeing the example of south korea and switzerland, that if you are going to ease back on lockdown restrictions, you've got to have a serious testing regime in place. yes and matt hancock at that

hearing this morning said, yes, mass community testing was part of government strategy to try and lift some of the restrictions over the next few weeks and months. we have heard serious figures saying that for a while, to get to a point where we get anywhere near normality, you're going to have to have testing. we have heard the government say over the last few days, it wants to get up to the 100,000 figure. that still looks like a tall order. we have the capacity to do 38,000 tests a day. but something that's left people scratching their heads, we are doing fewer tests than even the 38,000 number. it is 28,000 a day. the capacity is up to 30,000. we are not

sure why that is the case. the health secretary suggesting not as many people in the nhs are coming forward for testing and that is why you're seeing it rolled out to other front line staff like police and firemen and prison officers. so they're going to extend the kind of people who are being tested. what about care homes, is there any sort of suggestion that perhaps people working in care homes might be part of this new list? yes, we have seen the availability to care homes increased over the last few days. we know that the health secretary's told ca re know that the health secretary's told care homes they can have access told care homes they can have access to some of that spare capacity for their staff, we also know there was their staff, we also know there was the changes brought in this week which mean that any patients who are leaving hospital to go back to a ca re leaving hospital to go back to a care home setting they will automatically get a test to make

sure they don't have coronavirus, also more ability for people who are showing symptoms in care homes to be tested, the limit had been five, that will be increased to anybody. but you're right, there have been a lot of questions asked about whether the government increased capacity quickly enough and you heard anthony costello talk about that in the hearing today, where he was saying that some things hadn't been done quickly enough. i suspect that is a question that will continue, whether enough was done when parliament returns next week, i suspect that is something we will hear a lot from. mps about. the strategy for government now is to try and ramp that up quickly, to try and get different groups involved in the testing effort to make sure that that capacity‘s increased as quickly as possible and looking to other future things that need to be done, like making sure all that equipment

is there, making sure the nhs is ready and there is a strategy for a vaccine when that comes in and that is all in place for happening quekly in the future. —— quickly in the future. thank you. 0ur health correspondent jane dreaper is here. the numbers of deaths, the latest statistic, still over 800? that's right, 847 is the latest figures for the daily reported deaths in hospitals across the uk from the virus. some good news is the daily death totals haven't been growing. but we can by no means say we're over the worst of this. there is no sort of dip or plateau yet. the total for deaths in the sort of dip or plateau yet. the totalfor deaths in the uk in hospitals is 14,576 deaths. it is a big figure and behind each of those

is an individual tragedy. we big figure and behind each of those is an individualtragedy. we know the vast majority of those people who have sadly lost their lives tend to be people who did have underlying health issues? that's right and that is shown in the latest figures. in england, out of total deaths in england, out of total deaths in england, that have been reported today, just 30 out of 738 patients who died didn't have other health conditions, things like heart disease, that are a risk factor for how well you do if you contract coronavirus. any suggestion that the numbers of confirmed cases, the infection rate is still beginning to flatten ? infection rate is still beginning to flatte n ? we infection rate is still beginning to flatten? we have seen a bit of a trend over the last few days on that? that is looking a bit more steady. there are 109,000 cases of infection and certainly yesterday's briefing, yesterday afternoon, they we re briefing, yesterday afternoon, they were at pains to point out about this thing called the r value, the

rate of infection, the fact that they felt there was evidence that was now below one, so if you're somebody who has coronavirus, the chances that that will you infect fewer than one other person. that is good news, but you need to see a sustained level of that to be able to celebrate it and move forward in different ways in terms of lockdown measures and changing the situation that we are in. thank you. we brought you that one in from a leading scientist that the uk will see further waves of the coronavirus which could result in the deaths of 40,000 people, that was earlier today. professor sir michael marmot is the director of the university college london institute of health equity, and an advisor to the director of the world health organisation. thanks very much forjoining us on bbc news. that estimate of 40,000,

does that feel as if it is in the right ballpark for you ? does that feel as if it is in the right ballpark for you? the range is enormous, as you know, so, yes, it's in the ballpark. and a huge amount depends on how we affect the transition to opening up, and if we are ina transition to opening up, and if we are in a position to have testing, tracing of contacts and isolation, opening up the economy will be safer. if we are not in such a position, opening up the economy will be very risky. you penned a report, a review, on life expectancy recently, and it found overall the expectancy growth rate has stalled in the past decade. what effect will coronavirus have on that, do you think? well, it seemed like the major contributor to that shortening of life expectancy in the last decade was an increase in

inequalities. life expectancy was still improving in people who were better off but declining, particularly in women, in worst off areas. so it was the increase in inequality that was the problem, health inequality. and with coronavirus, there are three aspects with inequality. inequality of incidents of who gets the infection, and we don't know that because of lack of testing, the lack of diagnosis out in the community. the second is, if you have got other conditions, as jane dreaper was just reporting, you are overwhelmingly much more likely to have severe infection and possibly fatal infection, and we know poorer people are more likely to have conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, obesity and pulmonary disease. that's the consequence of lockdown

and societal change, and that will have a big impact on inequalities. we can see already the food foundation did a survey and found that 8 million adults have reported some food insecurity since the start of the lockdown. we know that the poorer you are the more likely you are to be working in an employment sector where you cannot work from home. and if we look for example at entertainment, hospitality and retail, these are all sectors that tend to be patronised by people who are richer and the work in those sectors is done by people who are poorer so closing down those sectors is kind of a reverse robin hood or sheriff of nottingham effect, taking money from poorer people who can't be working, and giving it to richer people who are not able now to spend

money in those settings. so the worry is this pandemic will reveal and amplify health inequalities. we will leave it there, thank you for joining us. my pleasure. the mayor of london, sadiq khan, says he thinks people should wear a facemask whenever they leave home. the government is considering the idea, but the chief medical adviser professor chris whitty, says the evidence about the effectiveness of masks is weak. a number of countries have, though, made wearing them compulsory, so could they be a way out of the current lockdown? here's our health correspondent dominic hughes. how to get out of lockdown and get these empty streets back to normal without risking a fresh coronavirus outbreak? that is the question experts at the royal society have been asked to address — how to safely ease social distancing, whether schools can start teaching again, is the virus less dangerous in the summer months, and could the widespread use of face

masks make a difference? the mayor of london thinks they can and should be part of the solution. by us wearing non—medical facial coverings — think of bandanas, scarfs, reusable masks — what it does is not make you more safer. you can still catch the virus, but what it does is if you are presymptomatic or asymptomatic and you cough and sneeze, it means the chances of passing it on to somebody else are reduced. the use of masks is common in southeast asia and china. it used to be rarely seen here. that's beginning to change. but not everyone is convinced wearing masks will make a difference. the transport secretary argues any decision on masks should be based on facts. rather than jumping to the incorrect conclusion and do more harm than good i think it is right to ask the scientists to provide guidance on it. it looks like it is quite a marginal case, but if the scientists come out and say, "yeah, this is actuallu what people need to do," then, fine,

we will absolutely ask people to do that. but until they do do that, and unless they do that, that isn't the message that we're going to be sending. ministers have said there will be three more weeks of lockdown, but the issue of how to safely end the restrictions is becoming more urgent. and labour's leader thinks the foreign secretary dominic raab, deputising for a still convalescing prime minister, is hesitating. i suspect, although i don't know, that dominic raab is just reluctant. he probably knows it is time for an exit strategy, but he's probably reluctant to sign it off without the prime minister. i think there's a bit of that in the mix. the government have not yet responded to sir keir starmer‘s demand for an exit strategy, but the debate of how we move on has begun. dominic hughes, bbc news. let's talk to conservative mp caroline johnson, who is also a paediatrician at peterborough city hospital and has been working during the outbreak. thank you for being with us. where do you stand on masks?”

thank you for being with us. where do you stand on masks? i stand with the scientist, i think we should go on what the best scientific evidence is and if scientists suggest they should be worn then they should be worn. if it suggests they can be counter—productive then they should not be one. out for me it was as simple as that! the point is, there isa simple as that! the point is, there is a debate about whether they should be one. the mayor of london thinks they should be one. he feels they don't have to be medical grade, just something to protect the face. but the government's belief at westminster is that they may detract from people taking heed of other precautions during this pandemic, things like social distancing and washing their hands for instance. where do you stand?” washing their hands for instance. where do you stand? i think that is correct. may sadiq khan is responding to a comment article in the lancet yesterday when a group of

scientists was arguing for a cloth mask to be used. the truth is we have evidence to go both ways essentially, and we have to look at what the overall best thing to do is on balance. i know the scientific advisory group, the group of the country's very best scientists in this particular department are looking very closely at that and we expect them to advise the government very shortly on what the evidence has shown. which way do you mean? 0ne has shown. which way do you mean? one of the risks is, if you say to people, if you have the disease then wear a mask, you are not going to transmit it to people, or if people we re transmit it to people, or if people were to get that message, it might encourage people with symptoms to go out, and the message is very clear, if people have symptoms they should stay at home, and the rest of their household should stay at home, and we don't want that message to be deleted because we don't think we have reached the peak yet. that is

certainly what we are being told, we haven't reached the peak and we want to be beyond the peak before we start looking at measures to lift the lockdown. might also briefly suggested people if they see you in the street and you both have masks on, to keep a and keep social distance? it could work both ways. some people might be encouraged to go closer because they feel they are at less risk because they are wearing a mask, but at the same time it may also encourage people not to wash their hands as thoroughly and we know the disease can remain alive on surfaces. we will leave it there, carolinejohnson on surfaces. we will leave it there, caroline johnson mp, thank on surfaces. we will leave it there, carolinejohnson mp, thank you for joining us. now as we've been hearing, the government has urged more companies to volunteer to manufacture ppe amid criticism over shortages. but some industry figures say they have been desperate to contribute and that the government has instead focused on big brands, including burberry. let's speak now to yvette ashby who is ceo of the trade body, the professional clothing industry association worldwide.

hello and thank you for being with us. use say smaller companies who can help in the pandemic are being ignored. —— you say. can help in the pandemic are being ignored. -- you say. thank you for having me on the programme. as it saysin having me on the programme. as it says in the title, we are professional clothing and we look after the ppe industry. ifeel like we are being ignored. as far as i'm concerned, the government should have been in touch with us right at the beginning of this pandemic to find out who is the best people in our industry, the best companies, the best innovators, these people who know our industry inside out. alexander for instance has been going for more than 150 years. these companies are the ones that should be taking the lead and moving forward with this pandemic, not the retail industry. i'm sure they are

trying to do their best, but at the end of the day, they will come back to us to make the right decision, and make sure we have the right standards. we have to make those decisions. 0ver standards. we have to make those decisions. over half the uk population currently wears some sort of uniform and we are the industry that runs this. we are the industry that runs this. we are the industry that makes sure that you stay safe. everyone in this country stays safe. just a cut in, in effect, tell us about some of the manufacturers and suppliers. what kind of stuff do they make now? every bank, building society, police, fire, emergency services across the entire world, we

represent. and they make everything. this is what people don't seem to understand, the professional clothing industry is designed dot there are two ways of clothing. there is retail, and the professional clothing industry. the professional clothing industry. the professional clothing industry as a life—saving industry. it can't be taken life—saving industry. it can't be ta ken lightly. you life—saving industry. it can't be taken lightly. you can't in any way, shape orform taken lightly. you can't in any way, shape or form say, taken lightly. you can't in any way, shape orform say, we taken lightly. you can't in any way, shape or form say, we willjust make this up. everything has a purpose. so you and the people you represent can make this stuff. do you have any idea why the government hasn't come to you in order to deal with the shortfall that there clearly is in ppe? the reason why government hasn't come to us, it has not been

coordinating properly. those who represent the uk retail industry has been working with the government and liaising with myself on a daily basis. and therefore we are trying our best now to catch up. it's not too late if we coordinate this properly now. we need to coordinate it all properly now. i have spent the last week on the phone with companies desperate for ppe, because the government keeps saying that it is coming, it's coming. 0ur industry is coming, it's coming. 0ur industry is making sure it is coming, but it was too late. it was done too late. but they have contacted me and told me it is on the way. let's hope, all

ican me it is on the way. let's hope, all i can say at this point, is that eve ryo ne i can say at this point, is that everyone galvanises behind our industry, comes to us and tells us exactly what they want. and we asked the industry will put it together in a coordinated way and deliver it. ceo of the professional clothing industry association worldwide, thank you forjoining us. the government's daily briefing is due to start shortly, led today by business secretary alok sharma. ahead of that, let's speak to our political correspondent, nick eardley, who is in westminster. alok sharma is taking the lead so one suspects they will be a lot of talk about furloughing and the extension of this. a pretty big pledge from government and the last few hours to extend the furlough scheme by an extra month. when it was announced the chancellor said it would pay 80% of salary is up to

£2500 for workers whose companies wa nted £2500 for workers whose companies wanted to keep them in theirjobs but would not have them working throughout the crisis. this has been extended from the end of may to the end ofjune, so we will probably hear more about that. also the supply issues you were just talking about, be it on testing, why capacity is so much higher than the number of tests we are doing. 0n ppe, whether in a get out this weekend. the health secretary this morning would not completely commit to every hospital that needs it having downs this weekend. also on vaccines. that's another issue the government has been preparing for. —— having downs. and how the cove na nt —— having downs. and how the covenant will distribute... we will go straight to number ten and alok sharma. i'm joined by the government's chief

scientific advisors. before i talk about decisions made today, i would like to set out the steps we are taking to defeat coronavirus. 0ur step by step action plan is aiming to slow the spread of the virus, so fewer people need hospital treatment at any one time, protecting the nhs's ability to cope. we have been following scientific advice and we have taken the right steps at the right time. we are also taking unprecedented action to increase nhs capacity on the front line to give people the care they need when they need it most. this is why we are instructing people to stay at home, so we can protect our nhs and save lives. i can report that through the

government's monitoring and testing programme, as of today, a total of 438,000 people have been tested for coronavirus. that includes 21,000 tests carried out yesterday. of those, 108,000 have tested positive. that is an increase of over 5,000. 18,978 people are in hospital with coronavirus in the uk. and sadly of those hospitalised with the virus, 14,576 have now died. that is an increase of 847 fatalities since yesterday. we must never forget that behind every statistic is a family member, or a friend.

behind every statistic is a family member, ora friend. and behind every statistic is a family member, or a friend. and all our thoughts and prayers are with the families and loved ones of those who have lost their lives. these figures area have lost their lives. these figures are a powerful reminder to us of the importance of following the government's guidance. and as the foreign secretary outlined yesterday, the current social distancing measures will remain in place for at least the next three weeks. and there are five tests that must be satisfied before we will consider it safe to adjust any of the measures. first, we must protect the measures. first, we must protect the nhs's ability to cope, be confident that we are able to provide sufficient critical care and specialist treatment right across the uk. second, we need to see a sustained and consistent fall in the daily death rate from coronavirus, so we can be confident that we have moved beyond the peak. third, we

need to have reliable data showing the rate of infection is decreasing across the board. we need to be confident the range of challenges including testing and ppe are in hand, with supply able to meet future demand. fifth and most importantly, we need to be confident that any adjustments to the current measures will not risk a second peak of infections that overwhelm the nhs. the worst thing we could do now is ease up too soon and allow a second peak of the virus to hit the nhs and the british people. so i wa nt to nhs and the british people. so i want to thank each and every person across the uk who is following and supporting the government's advice to stay at home in order that we protect our nhs and ultimately save lives. i know we have asking you to make —— we are asking you to make

sacrifices and it is challenging, but we need to keep going. working together we will defeat this invisible enemy. but now is not the time to let up. the risks still persist. not only for yourselves, but for the people around you. so we must stay vigilant. but of course the point we hope to get to, one of the point we hope to get to, one of the ways that we can defeat this virus, is to find a vaccine. just as edward jenner developed the smallpox vaccine in the 18th we need to apply the best of british endeavour to the search for a vaccine. i can announce the government has society up a set up the government has society up a set upa the government has society up a set up a vaccines —— set up a vaccines task force towards the goal to develop a vaccine. this task force

is up and running. and aims to ensure that a vaccine is made available to the public as quickly as possible. the task force reporting to me and the health secretary is led by sir patrick and professorjonathan secretary is led by sir patrick and professor jonathan van—tam. it secretary is led by sir patrick and professorjonathan van—tam. it has representatives from government, industry, academia and regulators. members include sirjohn bell and astrazeneca. the task force will support progress across all stages of vaccine development. it will back britain's most promising research, positioning the uk as a leader in vaccine testing and manufacturing. the task force will co—ordinate with regulators to facilitate trials which are rapid and well supervised and it will work with industry in the uk and internationally so we are

ina the uk and internationally so we are in a position to manufacture vaccines at scale. this will build on the prime minister's announcement last month of a further £210 million for the international fund to find a vaccine. i can confirm that the government has green lighted a further 21 research projectses to help find coronavirus. in total these projects will receive £14 million from the 25 million government research investment and include backing the development of a vaccine at imperial college london. this follows support for six projects including vaccine development at the university of 0xford. this is already carrying out trials and with government support will move to a clinical trial phase. and we're looking forward. when we make a break through, we are ready

to manufacture by the millions. 0ne tool in this fight will be the uk's first vaccines manufacturing innovation centre. a project that will help build our capacity to develop and mass produce vaccines in the uk. the government will be accelerating the building of this facility. the bioindustry association is working closely with our task force and bringing together a whole range of businesses keen to use their expertise to mass produce vaccine as soon use their expertise to mass produce vaccine as soon as one use their expertise to mass produce vaccine as soon as one is ready. i wa nt to vaccine as soon as one is ready. i want to pay tribute to all the scientists and researchers working on these projects. yet, even with all their efforts, we should be under no illusions, producing a vaccine is a colossal undertaking. a complex process that will take many months. there are no guarantees. but

the government is backing our scientist, betting big to maximise the chance of success. i'm proud of how again and again, britain has stepped up and answered the call to action. an enormous challenge. where problem solvers from science, business and governmentjoin forces to bet this invisible killer. we cannot put a date on when we will get a vaccine. but we live in a country with a rich history of pioneering science and with the government back our scientists we have the best chance to do this as quickly as possible. could i... can i have the fist slide. —— first slide. this is the slide of transport use and you can see the dip in transport and using vehicles.

we main very well placed in terms of the efforts that everyone has made to try and reduce their contacts. there is one point i want to make, when we look across the country, there is a little bit of unevenness, particularly in some areas where there haven't been many cases of disease yet and i would urge everybody in every area to really apply the social distancing measures that are in place and don't think, just because you haven't seen it where you are it may not be there. it is very important we all do it. next slide, please. this show it is cases, as i have said it doesn't show all the cases, it show it is cases that have been tested. the blue bars are the patients in hospital. you would expect this to bump up and down, depending on the numberof bump up and down, depending on the number of tests done. this has become flat and we would expect this

to decrease in term of total number of cases. the orange bars show the numberof of cases. the orange bars show the number of critical care workers who have been tested and you would expect this to go up over time. the next slide is the most important that really show what is is happening in terms of number of patients in hospital beds. here you can can see a gradual decrease in london, a flattening in most other areas, some decreases in some other areas, some decreases in some other areas as well. this is exactly what you would expect from the social distancing measures that we have all taken beginning to feed through into the numberof taken beginning to feed through into the number of patients in hospital and in turn the number of patients in intensive care units. it is here also that some of the work that is already under way, not in vaccines, but in treatments, is really

beginning to take hold. i heard this afternoon that the studies that are under way afternoon that the studies that are underway in the afternoon that the studies that are under way in the uk have now enrolled over 5,500 people in clinical trials, trying to work out whether medicines that we have already got can work, have some effect, in this disease and we should start to get answers from these studies over the next weeks. so the numbers are not only at a plateau, but starting to come down in some areas. that will translate into fewer people intensive care. but it won't be a sudden drop. there will be a plateau, it will take a while for the numbers to come right down. that is why it is important that we continue with the strong social distancing measures that we have in place and continue to do so for the next three weeks and need too do so across the country. the la st too do so across the country. the last slide. as the secretary of

state has said, unfortunately, deaths continue to occur from this disease. 847 in the last 24 hours. this is obviously a tragedy. i expect unfortunately this number to continue at a plateau for a little while and then to start to come down slowly after that. we are not through this yet. we are heading in the right direction, the measures being taken are making a difference and you can see it in the numbers and you can see it in the numbers and we need to stay firm in the terms of actions we are taking. patrick, thank you. we will move to the questions. the first question is from the bbc fergus walsh. thank you. 21,000 tests were carried out yesterday, how are you going to get to 100,000 tests by the end of the month with just 13 days to go? thank you for that fergus, the capacity is

38,000 tests a day and you have seen ana 38,000 tests a day and you have seen an a announcement in terms of testing key workers. we are continuing to work to make sure that we get to that 100,000 a day by the end of the month. we have got now 26 testing centres in terms of drive through testing centres, two of the la bs through testing centres, two of the labs that are processing the swabs are up and running. the third one will be coming online shortly and of course astrazeneca are setting one up. we are doing everything we can to make sure that we have the capacity available and making sure that we reach that target of 100,000 tests by the end of this month. i don't know whether yvonne you wanted to add something? this has been closely tracked and it is on track.

we have more capacity than is being used and the important thing is those now in social care and other key workers are enabled to use the capacity. we are confident that it is there for them and it is important in social care they do acce pt important in social care they do accept the testing and getting that organised and acceptable locally is the next key. thank you, is there anything else, fergus? a question for sir patrick, when we have a vaccine, how do you prioritise who gets it first? first of all we have to get a vaccine. that isn't two days or two months away. making a vaccine is a difficult and complicated process. it doesn'tjust have difficult and complicated process. it doesn't just have to work, it difficult and complicated process. it doesn'tjust have to work, it has to be safe, and for a disease like this it has to be very safe to use it right across the population. there is a lot to do before we are in that position. i think industry

has stepped up and is looking at really big manufacturing capacity. i think it's going to be important we vaccinate in the way you normally do for these diseases, which is to make sure the most vulnerable are protected and then roll out to wider vaccination, but that is some way off. i think the next question is from itv anglia, emma hutchinson. first of all to the secretary of state, can i ask about the tourism industry. this morning the transport secretary said he would not book a summer holiday. in the east of england the tourism ministry is worth billions of pounds. and sir patrick, the norfolk and norwich hospital has opened up 170 extra beds today. do you expect a further surge of cases in the east of it good? the first thing i want to say is that i speak to businesses and

business representative organisations every day and i know how tough it is for a lot of businesses. that's why we have put in place the measures that we have in terms of supporting businesses and in particular in terms of hospitality and leisure and retail, as you know those businesses have a business rates holiday for one year and infact business rates holiday for one year and in fact for smaller businesses in those sectors, they will get a grant, and many of them have started to receive a grant of £25,000 as well. additionally you will have seen today the chancellor extended the furlough scheme to the end of june which will again help businesses. i completely acknowledge this is a very tough time for very many businesses. the key thing we wa nted many businesses. the key thing we wanted to do throughout this whole process is to make sure we provide that support so when we come out of the other side those businesses can bounce back because those employees are still in place. i expect the numberof are still in place. i expect the number of cases are still in place. i expect the numberof cases in

are still in place. i expect the number of cases in the community to come down. i think the r value is below one across the country and that takes awhile to feed through. most hospitals are showing a plateau of cases now and you expect to see the same thing going into the intensive care units. the nhs has worked very hard to make sure they have extra capacity. we said at the beginning this is a mixture of how much demand there would be, which i think it is now hopefully being damped down by the measures being taken and how much supply the nhs has and how it has concentrated on building up that supply. we are confident the nhs will not have capacity breached in this period and we are now looking at a time when we would expect to see a gradual decrease. it might occur at different times across the country. 0ne different times across the country. one final thing to say, and i have said this before, as we get a decrease in the community, it is also important to recognise we have

cases where the r might be above one in certain places like hospitals and ca re in certain places like hospitals and care homes where there is still infection ongoing. emma, anything else? i want to know when businesses get back to normal. you have spoken about plans for a vaccine today. nadine dorries said this week the only way we can exit full lockdown is with a vaccine. is that the case? what is certainly the case is that we are taking scientific advice from sage and it's very important we have done that throughout this process. asa done that throughout this process. as a result of that you will have heard yesterday the foreign secretary say we are extending for at least three more weeks the current measures. everyone watching this at home will understand why we are doing that and i want to thank the british public and people across the british public and people across the uk who have responded in the last three weeks. we have seen that in the statistics sir patrick has been showing us. they have taken the advice, they are staying at home and they understand this is about protecting the nhs and ultimately it

is about saving lives. we have put in place a whole set of measures to support business and we want to make sure they are able to access that money. in terms of the grants, we have made sure that £12.3 billion is now with local authorities. the latest stats, and i had a conversation with a range of local authorities yesterday, £3.7 billion has been paid out to small businesses so almost 300,000 properties have benefited from that, but we need to make sure we accelerate that and get that support to them. ultimately this is about making sure we are saving lives so we will always be led by scientific advice. thank you, emma. we will go to sky and thomas moore. oxford scientists behind vaccine trials starting next week have said today that they are so confident it will work that they will manufacture 1 million doses while those clinical

trials are still under way and they hope they will be ready for september. secretary of state, what is the government doing to secure that supply and then sign contracts to make sure britain is at the front of the queue for the supply of that vaccine or any other to protect the tens of millions of people in the uk? and can i also ask sir patrick, how do you balance the rapid developed of a vaccine to save lives and exit the lockdown while at the same time making sure it is safe?|j think you are talking about the general institute and the work going on there. in the last few days i have spoken to the folks who are leading that work and as i have said we announced last month funding for that and we are looking to see how we can continue to support vaccine development. you are absolutely right, a key element of this is also manufacture. that is why we have announced the bringing forward of the development of the vaccine

centre, but also working with the bio industry as well. if i can put it like this, we are supportive of the vaccine work that is going on at 0xford at the general institute, but also at imperial and we are stepping forward as required to support those efforts. but i completely get, this isn't just about getting efforts. but i completely get, this isn'tjust about getting a vaccine, it's about making sure we manufacture it in some scale.|j think they have done a greatjob manufacture it in some scale.|j think they have done a great job to get to where they are, and kudos to the researchers involved at both the oxford and imperial groups and others as well. there are something like over 100 vaccine projects across the world at the moment. at least three are in the clinic, two for certain and! least three are in the clinic, two for certain and i think a third one as well. we will see more going to clinic. to put some realism on vaccine development, each single project does not have a high probability of success. so although everyone goes out with great

enthusiasm and we hope they work, it is never the case that you know you have a vaccine that will work. that's the first thing we need to be sure of. the second thing is safety, and it's incredibly important these vaccines are tested properly, which is why it takes time to get to clinical trials and understand the potential unwanted effects of a vaccine. and only when that is done can this be used widely across the population. those are the stages we need to go through. thomas, did you wa nt to need to go through. thomas, did you want to come back on anything? britain is perceived to be late on tests a nd britain is perceived to be late on tests and late on ventilators. surely we can't afford to be late on vaccines as well, that would not be reassuring for the population? just a focus on vaccines, i think that has been the point of setting up this task force, so there is full focus on vaccine development but also on therapeutic treatments as well. looking at the 27 projects we

are backing, some are vaccines and some are therapeutic treatments. as well as the work we are doing in the uk and the projects we are supporting in the uk, we have also put £250 million into the international body looking at this, and the ceo of that group sits on the task force as well as being a member of that. this is an international global effort. as sir patrick said, there are more than 100 of these projects online and i hope they will deliver success and we will get a vaccine as soon as possible. and we should be clear, the vaccine could come from anywhere. we have a domestic vaccine discovery programme in the uk that is being supported absolutely as fa st is being supported absolutely as fast as we can go, but the vaccine could come from anywhere. gsk and sanofi have announced they are working on a vaccine together, which is good news. there are many companies working on this, but we

need to back many horses to access a vaccine when it occurs. that's why organisations like sepi are so important so the world sees this is a way to get a vaccine and we all need to be part of the same approach to get as many vaccines as we can, and we might need more than one vaccine. we can go to talk radio and charlotte ivers. last week matt hancock announced there would be investigations into nhs workers who have sadly passed away from covid—19. i am aware you will not be able to give me details on individual cases, but can i ask if there have been generalfindings from those investigations and whether any changes have been made in the workplace as a result? can i firstly pay tribute to all our nhs staff and all those working in social care settings as well. of course, every death is one too many.

investigations have started and are ongoing. if yvonne doyle would like to comment further. sadly we have a numberof to comment further. sadly we have a number of health care workers who have died during this epidemic. although the number of deaths is relatively small, each of those deaths is important to investigate correctly and fully. that work is under way. there is also work under way which you may be alluding to around certain groups perhaps in patients and in the workforce who might be more at risk, particularly the signal that black and ethnic minorities might carry a risk that is evident from these signals. that work is also under way. in both cases it is very important in both that we actually come up with the right answers. there will be a lot of speculation as to why people die and what may be the factors, but in fa ct and what may be the factors, but in fact some of these factors are quite complex and they are being investigated correctly and we are

doing that. charlotte, did you have a follow—up? doing that. charlotte, did you have a follow-up? can i ask if there is a sense of when these results and preliminary findings might start to come back? i know if somebody died in my place of work i would be very anxious to hear as soon as possible. not all will be workplace deaths. that's the first thing. and importantly, to investigate what are the factors that led to a death. certainly, as soon as that is clear, that will be done. i think they will be investigated and then communicated in the appropriate way at the right time. i think it's much more important to get this right than to rush it. but it is seen as very important. both these investigations are very important. we can turn to the telegraph, gordon rayner. you told the cbi earlier today that businesses and employees

would have to get used to a new normal and things will not go back to the way they were even when the lockdown is lifted. can you explain what you mean by the new normal and which restrictions would have to do is stay in place until there is a new vaccine, which as sir patrick says, is a long way off. to talk a little bit about the workplace, we have been clear we are asking people to stay at home to protect the nhs and save lives. very large numbers of our population are doing that. we have also said in terms of work, if you are able to work from home you must absolutely do that and employers are supporting people to do that. i think that's very welcome. there are certain work settings, so you might be in the manufacturing or construction sector where it is not possible to work from home and you have to go in. what we have said is that in those circumstances people can go into

work, however it is also incumbent on employers to make sure they are following the public health england guidance in terms of working safely in the workplace. in the conversations i have had with employers, employer organisations, i know that's what they are doing. they are adapting and that's what i mean about the fact that where there isa mean about the fact that where there is a work setting and those workplaces are open and people are going to work, we have to adapt the way we are working and we do that in a safe way and keep employees safe. i don't quite understand whether what you're saying is you expect people to carry on working from home until there is a vaccine or whether you are saying you expect people to go back to work normally butjust to have social distancing. let me clarify. i apologise if i have not been clear. the measures that have been clear. the measures that have been put in place were renewed yesterday and we have made very clear that the message to the public

is for at least the next three weeks to follow the guidance we have put out, which is you must stay at home, to protect the nhs and ultimately it's about saving the lives of individuals as well. there are certain exceptions to staying at home. and one of those is where people who are not able to work from home and are well and have to go to a work setting can go into work, but what has been with individual sectors, business representatives and organisations and individual businesses, is to emphasise people must be following the public health england guidance in terms of safe working. i think that's absolutely vital that it happens and i know from my conversations that employers are responding well to that and working to make sure they keep employees safe. we now move to the daily mail and dan martin.

the government talked about using the lockdown and strengthening it in others. where could the lockdown be strengthened. are we talking of different sectors or different demographic groups. it is important not to muddy the waters with taking about an end to the current measures. we are clear and the foreign secretary was clear, the measures will continue for three weeks and we would require people to follow that and we will be guided by the scientific advice. there are five tests that will have to be met before we can look at easing the current measures. and those five tests are based on the advice we are getting. do you want to comment on this? the key thing we need to focus on is maintaining the measure to drive the r and the numbers down. in

term of what happens after that, i think there are a number of options, you can see what is happening in other countries as to how they're approaching this and how you may think about which measures to release first and how to do that across a range of possibilities. it is too early to be talking about that, we need to be concentrating on getting numbers down and making sure that the extraordinary measures that have been taken to get us to where we are today, with an r below one, continue to drive that down further and get these numbers down. do you wa nt to and get these numbers down. do you want to come back? siddique khan said he would like to see face masks on public transport. just to say the phe guidance is masks should be used ina nhs phe guidance is masks should be used in a nhs or social care setting.

clearly there is a review that sage is carrying out and of course they will make recommendations. but sir patrick? we are looking at it now. i mean, the evidence is quite variable around masks, it is not easy to get around masks, it is not easy to get a firm position on some of it and there are not very good trials of masks. we are looking at evidence now and will look at it again on tuesday and hope to make some advice about whether any changes are needed. at the moment we are in the line with the who recommendations. the difference between this disease and others is the presymptom spread which adds to where masks may fit into this. one thing that is clear and the chief medical officer has been clear, it is crucial that the masks are available in hospitals and in other settings which are a high risk of transmission. that is where

the evidence is strong that they do work. thank you, dan. the next question is from left foot forward. thank you. as you know, care workers and nhs staff are putting their lives on the line each day to get us through this crisis, was is it a mistake for your government to brand those as low skilled. and thousands of medics only have access to the £96 sick pay. many workers can't afford to take time off when they have symptoms and feel pressurised to come into work. do you recognise this as a threat to public health.” wa nt to this as a threat to public health.” want to pay tribute and you will find everyone in government is united on this, we want to pay tribute to the work going on in the nhs and the social care sector and the way the country is coming

together to deal with this. we need together to deal with this. we need to make sure that we provide support to make sure that we provide support to those who are supporting us and thatis to those who are supporting us and that is why you've seen the work that is why you've seen the work thatis that is why you've seen the work that is going on in terms of testing, in terms of making sure that ppe gets to the front line and we will continue to do that. so, i wa nt to we will continue to do that. so, i want to be clear on this, is that the nhs and nhs workers are vital us to. we support them, because they support us. and i'm gratefulfor everything that they do. the front line are the health heroes in this. and it is very important that our guidance has been clear on this. if you're not well, you shouldn't work. i understand what you're saying, about people who feel they have to for various economic reasons, but it is really not in their interest, it may delay their recovery and it may put those around them at risk as well. therefore it is important that

they get the equipment they need and they get the equipment they need and they accept testing. particularly if they're feeling unwell. there is now as we said, more capacity for testing than is being used and the front line are the priority for that. so that is what i would like to see, is that they accept that. josh did you want to come back? yes, you said that you value the workers in nhs and care workers, many care workers are on the minimum wage, would you commit today to ensuring they have full pay and full sick pay too? well, firstly can i say in terms of testing, we have had a 66,000 nhs staff and social care staff and their families tested, when it comes to making sure that support is provided, there is a range of support that we have provided to individuals and businesses, particularly in terms of the furlough schemes and grants, so

we will continue to provide that support and we have said when it comes to sick pay we will support smaller businesses as well for a two—week period. there is a lot that i think the government has done. but i want to be clear, we value the heroes that we have across our country within the nhs and of course in the social care sector. we will continue to do that. could i move to the express and star. thank you. two questions for all of you. to start with parts of west midlands have a high number of cases, do you know why some areas have been hit worse than others and some hospitals have said they're running low on ppe supplies. you promised to boost supplies, you had a meeting and the west midlands mayor said what was

promised was not delivered. will your hospitals be better stocked after next week's deliveries. can i firstly say i understand that people will be worried if there are shortages and i'm aware of the supply issues that are being raised. there is of course a global supply issue, everyone is trying to get access to ppe and you will have seen the health secretary announce a plan that we have in terms of more manufacturing in the uk and i want to pay tribute to those businesses such as burberry and ineos and others who are stepping forward to help in that effort. butjust in terms of numbers, the local resilience forums have been getting supplies and in the west midlands over two million items have been delivered by the lrfs in terms of ppe items. but you're right we need to be on top of it that is why we

are working night and day to procure more ppe and expands the manufacture here in the uk itself. secretary of state, i was going to answer your question about why certain places have more cases. i think this has changed over time. initially, we saw cases coming from travel and that has changed now to very widespread distribution. so it has hit the cities. we would have expected london to be early on in in this and thatis london to be early on in in this and that is what happened and then the midlands, because of the concentration of populations. but there are other factors that may also drive this at this point, because as sir patrick has said, community transmission is beginning to decrease and we would look to where care homes or whether there are... there is transmission within the health care system. that is something that has been closely

watched every day as to where these hotspots in a sense are. i don't think we have yet seen the end of this particular phase, which is why it is important that we continue with the advice on people taking this and social distancing. i would expect to see this in other parts. the midlands we would have expected because of the population nature and the density. did you want to come back? can i ask you secretary of state, a different question, we have seen forecasts of damage that coronavirus will do to the economy, bearing in mind the treasury's coughers are being emptied and will continue to be so, why are you proceeding with hs2 which estimated to cost a hundred billion. wouldn't

it be prudent suspend the project?” wa nt to it be prudent suspend the project?” want to pay tribute to the businesses that are working and the people who are working from home and those who are going into work settings where they can't work from home and it is important we do everything we can to keep the economy going. but you're right, there is a... major impact on our economy and globally as a result of this pandemic and that is why we have put in place these schemes and you have heard the chancellor announce today extending the furlough scheme by another month. the reason we have done this is so that when we come out the other side, businesses are ready and the employees are in place and they can bounce back and that is vital. you know, you talk about the construction sector and manufacturing, it is important that we support that and we continue where people are able to work safely to do so. as i said, for me, it is

vital that we keep the economy going where we can. but this is not a trade off. people understand that the reason that we are asking them to follow the measures we have and the reason we have extended the measures is a about saving lives and by that we protect businesses and jobs. thank you very much for all of the questions. may ijust end by saying that i know it is difficult forfamilies, for saying that i know it is difficult for families, for individuals and we are asking people to make sacrifices. but ultimately this is about people's individual safety and i want to thank everyone for what they're doing. so please continue to follow the very clear advice the government has set out, which is stay at home, protect the nhs, because this is about saving your life and the life of someone you love. thank you so much. the

business secretary, alok sharma, bringing toa business secretary, alok sharma, bringing to a close today's downing street briefing on the coronavirus. he was at the podium with sir patrick vallance and professor yvonne doyle. here is a reminder of the main points from that briefing. latest figures show that close to 850 people have died in uk hospitals having tested positive for coronavirus. that brings the total number to more than 14,500. the business secretary announced that the government has set up a vaccine task force, to back development of a new drug. but alok sharma warned that there are "no guarantees" that a vaccine can be produced quickly, it could take many months(ani)and it's impossible at this stage, to put a date on when a treatment might be ready. our political correspondent, nick eardley is at westminster.

i suppose the stand out announcement from the business secretary was this vaccine task force. the government has set up. it will involve ministers, scientists and people from academia. the suggestion from one person was perhaps the uk has been late on testing, perhaps the uk has been late on ventilators, but it could get ahead of the game with vaccines? i think that's what the government is trying to do here. to say, we have a plan for vaccines, we will speak to experts and scientists and be in speak to experts and scientists and beina speak to experts and scientists and be in a place whenever a vaccine comes ready to, to produce it by the millions and make sure we get it out to as many people as possible. that said, there was a heavy dose of caution thrown in. we had from

business secretary alok sharma and from chief scientific advisor patrick vallance that this will potentially take a long time. there are no guarantees it will work. there are numerous different projects to try to develop a vaccine happening at the moment. clearly both of them trying to say to all of us, don't expect this to happen anytime soon because it is extremely complex and there is no guarantee of success. really interesting that the issue of testing came up again. the government now has the capacity for 30,000 but only has 14 days to get to the 100,000 it has promised. i am not sure we got any light on that, to be honest. i don't think we got any further forward on what the government is doing in other areas other than vaccines particularly on the area of testing and it's hard to see how they reach that target within the next couple of weeks. indeed, because there is now capacity to do more testing. it's

around 30 odd thousand or something at the minute, but they haven't reached that level per day. why is that? excellent question, and i have to admit some of us are scratching our heads here about that as well. the capacity as of today according to the government is 38,000 tests per day, but yesterday there were fewer than 22,000 tests actually done, so the health secretary was asked about this earlier when he appeared before a committee and the argument he made was that the demand in the nhs actually hasn't been as high as they expected it to be for tests. they are going to expand it to health care workers, there are numerous new groups who have been brought into that priority testing category today, people like police officers, fire men and women, the judiciary, some elements of that, prison officers in there as well. the idea is to say to more people,

you have the ability to come and get tests if you want, but it seems strange that the country is increasingly talking about testing being a way out of the current restrictions, and out of the present lockdown. the capacity is increasing, albeit slowly, and albeit far less still than the government wanted to get to. and even then, that 38,000 figure, we are not using them all. nick eardley at westminster, thank you. the duke and duchess of cambridge have been speaking about the importance of protecting people's mental health during the coronavirus lockdown. in an exclusive interview with the bbc, prince william said there was an "ever—increasing need" for people to know where to access help and support. the royal couple spoke to tina daheley. tina, hi. i can't see you. hello. we can see and hear you. i've got you, on a different screen. hi! hello. there may be many who are experiencing mental health challenges for the first time during the lockdown. what can we do to help them

and help each other? like you said, a lot of people won't necessarily have thought about their mental health, maybe ever before. and, suddenly, this environment we are in catches up on them quite quickly. i think the most important thing is talking. social media, again, it can be... it is providing a lot of relief, connectivity for a lot of families, a lot of people. i think as well, sort of... there has been a lot of focus on all the physical well—being and going out and making sure everyone's got enough food supplies and things like that, and, whilst that is hugely important, we mustn't forget our mental well—being as well. you have spoken about traumatic call—outs you have had to deal with as an air ambulance pilot tipping you over the edge. nhs front line workers are being exposed to things that would be very difficult to deal with. what would you say to them, based on your own experience?

well, first of all, the experiences that front line workers are going through now is like nothing anyone has ever seen. i think the scale and the speed of what's going on in hospitals, bearing in mind 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 very difficult because they are there right next to the bedsides looking after and caring for each and every patient in a critical condition and i think they take away that pain and sometimes that fear and loneliness that these patients have to go through, they are the ones who absorb that and take it home to their families. we are not superhuman, any of us, so to be able to manage those emotions and that feeling is going to take some time after all this is over as well. do you think this will fundamentally change who we are and what we value? because at the moment we have some of the lowest—paid people doing the highest—valuejobs in society. i think it will dramatically change how we all value and see our front line workers. they do an extraordinaryjob. it goes unrecognised daily. and now i think all of us

as a nation can really see how hard they work and how vital their work is. how did you feel when you found out your dad had the virus? i have to admit, at first, i was quite concerned. he fits the profile of somebody, at the age he is at, which is fairly risky, and, so, i was a little bit worried. obviously, speaking to him made me feel more reassured that he was ok, through the worst of it. i think the hardest thing he found was having to stop and not being able to get a bit of fresh air and go for a walk. he is a mad walker, loves his walking, so i think he found it quite difficult, especially also with his mental health, being stuck inside and not being able to go for walks. and, obviously, ithink very carefully about my grandparents who are at the age they are at and we are doing everything we can to make sure that they are isolated away and protected from this. but it does worry me, what is going to happen to a lot of the vulnerable people and the high—risk people who are going to have to potentially

isolate away for quite some time. how have the past three weeks been for you? how have you both been coping? it's been, yeah, ups and downs, probably, like lots of families, but also spending lots of time at home. lots of home—schooling, which was challenging. yeah, home—schooling's fun! don't tell the children we've actually kept it going through the holidays. i feel very mean. what's the exercise regime, if there is one, like? we've been for the odd walk and the odd bike ride as well. so, you know, keep the children busy and active and healthy. we haven't quite done thejoe wicks workout that everyone else seems to be doing, but we're not far off that and it will happen at some point. really good to talk to you both. tina, very nice to chat to you too. thank you. look after yourself, stay safe. bye, tina. bye. president trump has outlined proposals for a phased lifting of coronavirus restrictions in the us. he says each state can decide when it wants to ease the rules,

now that the country has passed the peak in new cases. our north america correspondent david willis reports. he'd 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 1, 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. because 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 contend that without more drive—through testing centres such as this one in texas many won't feel safe to return to work. the speaker of the house nancy pelosi described the measures as vague and inconsistent, and said they did nothing to make up for the president's failure to distribute rapid national 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 economyjust 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. china has reported a 50% increase in the number of people who have died of covid—19 in wuhan, the city where the virus originated. news of the amended death toll came shortly after state media reported china's economy had contracted by a substantial 6.8% — the first contraction there for 30 years. the former leeds united and england footballer norman hunter has died. he was 76 and was taken to hospital with coronavirus a week ago. norman hunter won two league titles during a 14—year first—team

career at elland road. our sports correspondent joe wilson reports. norman hunter said he enjoyed his nickname. commentator: brought down by hunter, quite blatantly. bites yer legs was light—hearted, he reckoned. bodycheck by norman hunter. but his reputation was tough. a foul by hunter. this certainly is no place for boys. hunter played for leeds united for 15 seasons and helped make them the best team in england. a reputation for being one of the hardest tacklers in the game. he was a league cup winner, fa cup winner, as well as a league champion. some players are paid to score goals, others to stop them. hunter was one of the towering defenders of his era, and it was some era. hunter! a goal! hunter has scored! norman hunter represented england 28 times, largely because jack charlton and bobby moore stood in front of him. hunter was in the 1966 world cup squad. he had to wait over 40 years

to receive a winner's medal. at the time, only the starting 11 got one. norman hunter played over 100 times for bristol city before he retired. he was a manager, too, in the ‘80s, at barnsley and rotherham. but he will be forever associated with leeds, a team which won matches and not always friends. between hunter and lee, and it looks to me as if it has broken out again. but make no mistake, norman hunter earned wider respect. hunter! when england's professional footballers presented their first—ever players' player of the year award, it was norman hunter who won it. norman hunter, who's died aged 76. now it's time for a look at the weather with alina jenkins. another day when there has been a good deal of sunshine across parts of scotland, northern ireland and northern england, and east anglia,

particularly this morning. this was fife earlier this afternoon. for others, finally some rain has arrived in two parts of southern england and wales that has been slowly tracking north through the afternoon. all tied into this frontal system, this area of low pressure to the south—west of the uk maintaining high pressure to the north and east and that will become more dominant as we go through the second half of the weekend. back to tonight, we still have a band of rain working slowly northwards, tending to weaken as it does, but behind it some heavy and thundery showers putting up from france to the south of england, parts of wales and may be as far north as the midlands by the end of the night. further north, dry and the clearest skies will stop the further west you are, could be a touch of frost across rural scotland, milder further south under cloud and some showers. still showers around tomorrow morning, heavy and thundery across central and southern england and wales. may creep further north through the day, into the far south of northern england, but showers further between is the day wears on. the best of us in the further north

you are. a noticeable easterly breeze are so eastern coasts are cooler but sunshine across north—east england and eastern scotla nd north—east england and eastern scotland compared to friday. further south, temperatures in the low teens with a lot of cloud around and all those showers. the showers will go for a time through saturday evening but they will slowly start to fizzle out as this area of high pressure becomes more established as we go through sunday. this extends further south and west. a fair amount of cloud around on sunday. particularly in the morning. gradually as the day wears on that cloud will recede westwards with increasing amounts of sunshine from the east so by the afternoon holding on to more cloud across parts of wales, south—west england and northern ireland. a dry and slightly warmer day with temperatures in the mid to high teens, still cooler to the east coast with a breeze from the north sea. the breeze and strengthening through the early part of next week, high pressure to the north—east of the uk and still the dominating feature but we will see stronger

when developed through monday, tuesday and wednesday, particularly for the eastern coasts. when we lose the rain across central and southern areas on saturday, things once again looking mainly dry.

as another 847 people lose their lives. while hospitals are being transformed to cope with the pandemic, there are warnings tonight about the impact it's having on other people. it's likely there are people who are having heart attacks, who are then subsequently not getting the treatment they need and could be dying as a consequence of this. scientists in oxford are hoping for a million doses of a coronavirus vaccine by september, as the government sets up a taskforce to find one. confusion over whether to wear a mask or not, but the government says it won't be recommended in the uk unless its scientists say it is necessary.

demand for help from foodbanks soars, as many people whose income has suddenly disappeared