this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the number of coronavirus patients who've died in hospital in the uk rises to almost fifteen and a half thousand. it comes as the uk government accepts that some personal protective equipment is in short supply and says it's doing everything it can to bring in more. we've got to do more to get the ppe that people need to the front lines. you this is an extremely challenging situation. an extra 1.6 billion pounds for councils across england so they can protect essential services during the pandemic — there's also extra cash for scotland wales and northern ireland. doctors injapan warn that the country's medical system could collapse amid a rising number of coronavirus cases as coronavirus cases in moscow rise,

ambulances queue for more than nine hours to drop patients at hospital. and in the midst of the pandemic — police in hong kong arrest 15 high profile democracy activists and lawmakers — after last yea r‘s protests hello and welcome to audiences in the uk and around the world. we're covering all the latest coronavirus developments, both here and globally. first — more than 15 thousand people in the uk have died in hospital from coronavirus with 888 new deaths recorded in the last 2a hours. it comes as the communities secretary robertjenrick said, what he called, a very large consignment of personal protective equipment, or ppe, is due to arrive in the uk tomorrow from turkey.

that follows criticism from doctors unions over new advice, that some gowns could be re—used. mrjenrick also said local councils in england will be given extra funding of one—point—six billion pounds, to tackle the coronavirus pandemic. there will be extra funds for the other uk nations through the barnett formula. elsewhere, doctors injapan have warned that the country's medical system could collapse amid a wave of new coronavirus cases. and in spain, deaths from covid—19 have exceeded twenty thousand, making it the third country after the united states and italy to surpass the figure. but first, with the latest in the uk. here's our health correspondent dominic hughes. john coker, a detective constable for british transport police who leaves a wife and three children. retired paediatrician judith darmady, founder of a children's charity, awarded an obe, who dedicated her life to the care of others. two of more than 15,000

deaths caused by covid—19. it is hitting families across the country, but the really sad thing for people is when someone dies, they are dying alone. it is a bad way to go. they are feeling alone, probably scared, and their family are not able to console them, not able to know how it happens. and, as someone said, after all of this is over, there are going to be many stories required to be told by nhs staff who were the last people with loved ones as they died. more lives are being saved than lost, but medical staff are worried they are being put at risk because of a continuing shortage of personal protective equipment, ppe, especially gowns worn when treating the sickest patients. as hospitals face the possibility of running out of some kit,

public health england changed its guidance. some gowns could be reserved for the most high—risk procedures, or staff could reuse washable clothing. and today, a promise that fresh supplies are on the way. 84 tonnes of equipment, including 400,000 gowns. we are trying to do everything we can to get the equipment that we need. we are trying to source more internationally. that is difficult at times. there is a great deal of demand for it. and the security of that supply can prove challenging. but we are making progress bar. but we are making progress there. but medical workers are anxious about where this leaves them. a&e doctor nick works directly with covid—19 patients. back on shift tomorrow, he does not know how much ppe will be available. there are apprehensions about, you know, what might there be, what might there not be, or how much has deteriorated and changed. and especially when we see the news reports now saying that stocks may be close to zero, nationally, it is really worrying,

especially being on the front line. we have to do what we do, and it comes with the job. it would just be good if, you know, we were adequately protected. the new guidance is in line with world health organization advice, and hospital managers are facing a global shortage of ppe. we have to really focus on what we can do because there is a shortage of gowns. in that situation, following world health organization guidelines has to be the way that we go. they are saying that if other stocks are not available, this is the way to go and this is safe to use. the new guidance only applies when ppe stocks are running low. the picture across the uk is mixed. but the patience of health—care workers is also in short supply. doctors injapan are warning that the country's medical system could collapse because of a new wave of coronavirus cases. japan initially appeared to have the virus under control

but there has been a recent surge and there are now more than ten thousand confirmed cases. reged ahmad reports. a much quieter tokyo in the wake of the state of emergency declared by the government. japan had its first recorded covid—i9 infection injanuary and, since then, the government has been criticised for not doing enough to prepare for an increase. now, two medical association say the outbreak is reducing japan's ability to treat other serious medical emergencies, even strokes. it is understood one patient with a fever was turned away by 80 medical facilities before he was accepted by a tokyo hospital. like many countries, doctors are complaining of a lack of protective equipment too. critics have taken aim at the prime minister, saying he has delayed restrictions in favour of the economy. shinzo abe says he is trying

to effectively reduce people—to—people contact. translation: people out on weekdays in city areas like shibuya in tokyo have been reduced by about 60%. in umeda in osaka, it's been reduced by about 70%. but we have not yet reached our target level. japan is facing a new wave of infections, and with it, a push to increase relatively low testing levels. it now remains to be seen if the country has done enough quickly enough to protect its medical system and head off a major outbreak. councils across england will receive anotheri point 6 billion pounds in additionalfunding from the government as they continue to respond to the coronavirus pandemic. the announcement from the local government secretary came after council leaders warned they may have to consider "extreme" measures to cut costs. this report from our political correspondent, nick eardley.

closed, like many parts of the country. councilfacilities have been shut, starving local authorities of cash, just as they face extra pressure to pay for things like social care, and to support vulnerable communities through the crisis. this afternoon the government said it would make extra money available for councils in england. today, i'm providing an additional £1.6 billion of new funding to support councils. we are backing councils to make sure vital services such as adult social care, children services, support for the most vulnerable, and waste collection, continue, despite the increased pressures. there will be extra cash to spend in scotland, wales and northern ireland, too, but money is being spent quickly. council leaders say a similar amount of emergency funding announced last month has already gone.

everyone will have spent the first tranche of cash in one or two months, and i don't think anyone thinks this crisis is only going to last a certain amount of time so councils will start to either go bankrupt or will have to start heavily rationing services. this is another reminder of the massive economic impact the shutdown is having, both on individuals and communities, and the bill the government is facing is mounting, with huge amounts of money already promised to businesses and to try and keep people injobs. but with those extra pressures on local authorities, and fears that some won't be able to pay their council tax compounding the funding problem, some fear the extra money announced today will not be enough. the streets being cleaned this afternoon may be quieter but important local services continue. in one way or another they have to be paid for.

well we can speak now to leader of greenwich council danny thorpe. how is your council coping and where would you use the new funds that the government is allocating? but we wa nt to government is allocating? but we want to encourage is the same as any. protect the vulnerable people in our communities so we can make sure that the nhs is protected and we can make sure that those essential services are being provided and have come under incredible strain in these past five weeks. we also trying to support local economies that we know are really struggling with the impact of this crisis and trying to get that money out to support them as quickly as possible so that we can save jobs and boost local economies. this is great news today that this money is coming, but this means we can keep going for another couple of weeks and where we can see up and down this country is so essential we are

fighting back against this crisis. germs across the country, was the situation in greenwich we have homes to he may care homes, and we support the effective discharge of patients out of the hospital and ensured that the impact on the local hospital is as minimalas the impact on the local hospital is as minimal as possible and obviously haveissues as minimal as possible and obviously have issues with supplies and protective equipment. we have businesses that help us with that immediately and i think clearly we are working with everyone in the system to make sure that everyone is doing their bit and we know that testing remains an issue and my colleague is doing a lot of push forward and getting testing right in getting that in significant numbers really help the wider sector. it's

got one's because parks was subject to fund extra enforcement patrols when there is good weather? absolutely. for someone who does not have a garden or balcony, i've been making use of my local parks and i've been out in the park and last weekend in the hot weather, we had a significant enforcement operation in place to help with the social distancing. if at the close off parts of the river path, which we do not want to do at all. but in this crisis and to ensure that social distancing is maintained that pressured does not build on the nhs, we had to do that and clearly, warmer weather and we will see more of that and there's a whole range of services that we have also been involved in providing just this week alone, packages are to families in greenwich, valley community hub centre in the past five weeks along to the community hub in greenwich and a 20,000 phone calls of people

asking for help. so it is really is asking for help. so it is really is a phenomenal response that we are seeing but it demonstrates how important local councils and local properly funded public services are to this country. they also talked about the importance of allowing families to attend funerals. is that something that greenwich is already able to organise? absolutely yes. in relation to our services, like many other councils, we have at the limit the number of mourners to five. if increase that to ten and recognise that this is a really awful consequence of this whole pandemic and restraint of thinking greenwich will become out of this, what we may do and to properly honour and pay respect to those people who have not been able to have that ending in the appropriate way. it is the simplest things. what about rubbish collectors ? things. what about rubbish collectors? was able to go to work oi’ collectors? was able to go to work or do you have to hire in

volunteers? our waste services still functioning in the thing that i really love about this is just how well—received they have been. we have residents leaving notes in rainbows and signs on their bins and i hope it continues because as the secretary of state said today, it is oui’ secretary of state said today, it is our work forces locally, those council workers that are the unsung workers of this crisis and of course, we have staff absence issues in the same way that everyone is experiencing it up and down the country as more people contract this virus, but i'm really proud that we kept the services going and i'm really proud of just kept the services going and i'm really proud ofjust how valuable they proved to be the residence and greenwich across the country. thank you so greenwich across the country. thank you so sure greenwich across the country. thank you so surejoining us. vladimir putin has warned russians that, as the number of coronavirus cases rises, covid—i9 continues to pose a high risk to his country. russia has seen its biggest daily increase in the number of confirmed coronavirus cases,

up nearly 5 thousand from yesterday. our moscow correspondent steve rosenberg has this report. rarely has moscow felt so calm. bells chime. so quiet. so empty. in lockdown, a city of 12 million people so peaceful. but not everywhere. on the edge of moscow, ambulances queue outside a hospital that's treating covid—i9. the crews had to wait more than nine hours to bring in their patients. this is a health system under pressure. at another facility, doctors are preparing for their shift in the coronavirus ward. with moscow the epicenter of the outbreak, the hospital is already overcapacity. but its head doctor is used to emergencies — he was a paramedic in chernobyl.

translation: the pressure on us has increased. we're getting around 150 new patients every day. we're not at breaking point yet, but we're getting close. when georgiy got sick with suspected coronavirus and was struggling to breathe, twice he called for an ambulance, but none came. the system was overloaded. translation: when i did get to hospital, it was like watching a conveyor belt — ambulances constantly coming and going, bringing in new patients. the strain on the system is close to catastrophic. i decided to go back home. most of the patients were sicker than me. but coronavirus isn'tjust a medical challenge. it is a political one too. in the 20 years he has been in power, vladimir putin has never faced the challenge of this magnitude.

a virus, an invisible enemy that is totally threatening lives, but the entire russian economy. and with it, the image that vladimir putin has been keen to cultivate, mr stability. the epidemic has already forced the president to postpone the annual may ninth victory day parade on red square. huge celebrations for the 75th anniversary of the end of world war ii now on hold. and in moscow, the lockdown is tightening. to use a car or public transport, you now need a digital permit. the aim, to slow the spread of the virus by keeping more muscovites off the streets. now away from coronavirus — 15 prominent members of hong kong's democracy movement have been arrested for organising illegal protests last year, in what's being seen as a fresh

attack on anti—government activists. britain has expressed its concern over the arrests, calling the right to peaceful protest fundamental to hong kong's way of life. earlier this week beijing's most senior official in the city called for a new security law to deal with dissent. david campanale has more. it's the biggest crackdown on the democracy movement since the outbreak of mass protests last year. those detained in a coordinated swoop by the police include several who have, for decades, been important figures in hong kong's campaign for greater freedom. among them, the 81—year—old barrister martin lee, known in the territory as the father of democracy. translation: i am proud to have had the chance to walk along our road to democracy with hong kong's excellent young people. the publishing tycoon jimmy lai was also arrested. he runs the apple daily newspaper which is frequently

critical of the hong kong and chinese communist leadership. the detentions relates to a series of anti—government protests last year. the first of these was attended by 1.7 million hong kong citizens. the authorities have not said why it is the high—profile figures, among them former members of the legislative council, who have been targeted for detention. peaceful protest is protected in both the joint declaration between britain and china and the basic law. but hong kong police maintain that the rounding up of the suspects is simply the impartial application of the law. translation: they were arrested on charges of organising and participating in unlawful assembly at hong kong island and kowloon on the 18th of august,

the ist of october and the 20th of october 2019. before the coronavirus outbreak, hong kong had witnessed almost weekly demonstrations for greater democracy and less control from beijing. over recent days, chinese officials seeing the city have been making increasingly belligerent noises. some think beijing is worried about losing ground in local elections later this year. in this climate, it is hard not to see this coordinated series of arrests as anything less than a warning of beijing's's intention to tighten its grip on hong kong. a global concert to support frontline healthcare workers and the world health organisation to raise funds for equipment to help fight the spread of the coroanvirus

is being televised and live—streamed around the world. the one world together at home features a range of musicians performing from their homes. the pre—show for the gig, which has been pulled together by lady gaga, is currently underway, while the main event takes place later. among the artists who will perform are the rolling stones, stevie wonder, billie eilish, paul mccartney and the concert pianist lang lang, who spoke to us earlier. the musicians we're talking about, they‘ re absolutely the best of their field. and to be with them, it's a really... i think it's not hard to find the position because piano has some sort of a good bridging effort. you can really fit into all sort of instrument and voice. and to get more on this concert, earlier i spoke to our entertainment correspondent colin patterson. this is not a fundraising event, this is about trying to boost morale, as they see it, and also to raise awareness to the work that front—line workers who are working against covid—19, those in health care, those

who are working in the care sector, those who are working in shops, are doing it for the public in general. i've just looked away from the tv set, i've watched the first hour and 20 minutes for you of the warm up show. i've already seen just members of one direction to solo tracks. two solo tracks. right, now, these concerts, when we see them they usually require huge live audiences to give them some kind of atmosphere. i'm talking, showing my age, about live aid in the mid—805. you must remember that as well. how can this really work without a massive audience that they can serve for and enjoy? i do not think that it will have the lasting residence of live aid. when you think of live aid, you think of freddie mercury. you think the whole of that picture of wembley doing radio gaga all at the same time. tonight, this is very intimate. the most interesting thing, looking at people's living rooms. where are people going to perform? jennifer hudson, the big american oscar—winner and singer, very boldly went to sing memory from cats, despite the

critical mulling it got. she performed in a guitar room with guitars behind her, whereas adam lambert, who sings with queen, seems to be singing a cover version of mad world from the middle of his plant collection. now one thing we have realised in the last few weeks, and i may be wrong, we don't want new songs, we want to belt out the old favourites, the ones that have been our friends for years and years and years. are they doing us that favour? liam payne from one directionjust uttered the dreaded words, "here's my new single." then you do get that cover version from lambert of mad world. big names are going to be later in the night. he mentioned some of them. one in the morning, uk time, it's live on us telly across all three major networks, the rolling stones, sir paul mccartney, sir eltonjohn. i don't think they are going to be going "here is my new single..."

no experimental tracks. one suggestion from the team here, don't stand so close to me by the police. colin, you know music, any suggestions from you for the playlist? oh, dear. hopefully no one will do you'll never walk alone. i've heard enough of that this week. if you're in the uk and miss the concert, the bbc is showing a special highlights programme. it will air on bbc one from 7:15pm british standard time on sunday. it will include extra performances from british artists like little mix, sir tom jones and rag ‘n' bone man and additional footage will also be available on bbc iplayer. now let's take a look at some of the main stories around the world. spain's prime minister pedro sanchez says he will begin to relax the rules ordering children to stay indoors by the end of this month. but he will also ask for the state of emergency set up in response to the pandemic to be extended by another fortnight. more than twenty thousand people have died after contracting the virus in spain — and officialfigures suggest one person in every 250 has been infected. the governor of new york, one of the states worst affected by covid—19 in the us, has said that the number of patients

being treated for the virus there is continuing to fall. andrew cuomo says there are now almost 350 fewer people in hospital compared to a day earlier. but he stressed that the trend did not mean ‘happy days' were back. the governor of new york, one of the states worst affected by covid—19 in the us, has said that the number of patients being treated for the virus there is continuing to fall. andrew cuomo says there are now almost 350 fewer people in hospital compared to a day earlier. but he stressed that the trend did not mean ‘happy days' were back. orthodox christians have been celebrating easter in the middle east — transporting the holy fire from the church of the holy sepulchre in jerusalem, to bethlehem. the ceremony, which is considered as a miracle in the religion, took place despite the lockdown, which prevented any crowds from gathering to watch. captain tom moore will be the guest of honour at the opening of a new nightingale hospital in yorkshire next week. the 99—year—old war veteran will appear by video—link. it was announced today that the twenty—three—million—pounds raised by captain tom would be used to buy food parcels and counselling sessions for nhs staff. the chairman of nhs charities together said the money would also go towards electronic

tablets to allow patients as the outbreak continues to affect all parts of the uk — we've been hearing from frontline health workers — about the challenges they face. our health correspondent catherine burns is keeping in touch with a range of staff — and has asked them to keep video diaries. today — we catch up with alice pallot, a nurse in intensive care in southampton. she's worked in intensive care for a year so alice pallot is used to looking after some of the very sickest people, but says at the minute every shift feels like a double. coffee, essential. i've got my lunch for the day and i'm ready to go. she has had a few days off so is feeling and ready. walking up to the entrance now, id at the ready, and find out

where i'm going to be. walking up to the entrance now, id at the ready, and find out where i'm going to be. this is the paediatric unit which we are now using for adult beds. mask on, visor at the ready. the patients alice is caring for all have coronavirus so when she comes out of the intensive care unit she has to take her personal protective equipment or ppe off very carefully so she doesn't contaminate herself. she has to remove it in a certain order, washing her hands at every stage. it takes about six minutes in all. now time for a tea break. after her cuppa, she has to start all over again. this effectively becomes your skin for however many hours we are in there. alice is helping to look after three people on this shift. they are all under 60 years of age. two are on ventilators, heavily sedated so the machine can breathe for them. i've been in full ppe for the last three hours, feeling a bit hot and a bit tired,

so ready for a cup of tea now. a positive end to this shift is that the patient i've been looking after today has actually done so well that he's probably going to be heading to a ward in the next couple of hours and from there they will be able to start thinking about discharging him home. the nicest part of the process today is that he was able to call his wife himself. i want people to know that in intensive care we don't look after numbers or statistics. we look after people that have names, people that have family. i think it's so easy to become numb and desensitised to the statistics that we're seeing and i think it is just important to remember that at the heart of all this it's people, its human relations. alice says she is feeling under pressure at work but knows it is not

going to carry on forever. now it's time for a look at the weather with nick miller. hello. if your weather view today has been a cloudy one, it's likely that tomorrow it will be brighter. now, we will though keep a fair amount of cloud through much of england, wales and northern ireland overnight. now, we've seen a bit of rain in some spots today. a lot of that will fade away, but we will keep a few showers running in towards east anglia maybe lincolnshire, parts of yorkshire and the midlands. a lot of clear skies over scotland, and that will mean temperatures will fall lower than this in more rural spots, we will end up with a frost in a few places here, and indeed, maybe one or two spots in northern england, where there will be plenty of sunshine to start sunday. where we have the cloud across parts of england, wales and northern ireland, a lot of that will thin, allowing some sunny spells to come through. in fact, a lot of places will be able to see the sunshine during the afternoon. one or two early showers towards cornwall, they will fade away. there will be a freshening easterly breeze, particularly across parts of england and wales. it will hold temperatures down along some north sea coasts, but, for many, we are exchanging cloud

for sunshine, it will be warmer out there. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines: the number of coronavirus patients who've died in hospital in the uk rises to almost 15,500. it comes as the uk government accepts that some personal