this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. i'm simon pusey. the uk government admits ppe is in short supply in england and that more needs to be done to secure stock. we've got to do more to get the ppe that people need to the front line. this is an extremely challenging situation. president trump insists that the united states is performing better than other rich countries in its response to the virus and can relax the lockdown soon. doctors injapan warn that the country's medical system could collapse amid a rising number of coronavirus cases. and police in hong kong arrest leading figures in the pro—democracy movement on charges related to last yea r‘s mass protests.

welcome to bbc news. we're covering all the latest coronavirus developments here in britain and globally. the virus has been spreading rapidly around the world, with more than 2.2 million cases now confirmed in 185 countries. at least 153,000 people have died, but the true figure is likely to be significantly higher. the us has the highest death toll in the world with more than 37,000. one third of those are in the state of new york alone. spain is the second european country after italy where more than 20,000 people have now died. the uk recorded 888 deaths in hospital in the last 2a hours, bringing the total to more than 15,000. we'll cover the situation in the states and across the world a little later, 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's hitting families across the country, but the really sad thing for people is when someone dies, they are dying alone. they are probably scared, and theirfamily are not able to console them, not able to know how it happens, and after all 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're being put at risk because of the 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 while staff could re—use 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 we need. we're trying to source more internationally. that is difficult at times, and there is a great deal of demand for it and the security of that supply can prove very challenging, 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 doesn't know how much ppe will be available. there are apprehensions

about what there might be and what might there not be and how much has deteriorated and changed, especially when we see news reports saying stocks might be close to zero, nationally, it is really worrying, especially being on the front line. and we have to do what we do and it comes with the job, it would just be good if 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, and in that situation, following world health organisation guidelines has to be the way that we go. they are saying that if other stocks are not available, then this is the way to go and this is safe to use. the new guidance only applies when ppe stocks are running low,

and the picture across the uk is mixed, but the patience of health care workers is also in short supply. dominic hughes reporting. in the united states, right—wing demonstrations against the restrictions aimed at preventing the spread of coronavirus are under way in a number of state capitals. there have been protests in ohio, texas, new hampshire and maryland. protesters say the current lockdown regulations are too harsh in states with relatively few covid—19 cases. but there's concern that lifting the restrictions too early could lead to more people becoming infected. on friday, president trump tweeted his support for protestors in three states. speaking at his daily news conference from the white house a few hours ago, he outlined the steps that some states were making towards reopening their economies. since we released the guidelines to open up america again — and this was two days ago — again — and this was two days ago—a again — and this was two days ago — a number of states, led by both democrat and republican

governors, have announced concrete steps to begin a safe and gradual opening. texas and vermont will allow certain businesses to open on monday while still requiring appropriate social distancing precautions, and i can tell you, the governor of texas, greg abbott, knows what he is doing. he is a great governor. he knows exactly what he is doing. montana will begin lifting restrictions on friday. ohio, north dakota and idaho have advised non—essential businesses to prepare for a phased opening starting may the first. i'm joined now by our north america correspondent peter bowes. any evidence for his claim that the us is doing better than other rich countries? well, the president gave a long list of reasons why he believes the united states is doing better than other countries, as

he put it, fewer deaths per capita. he emphasised the population of the united states being much bigger than certain other countries. he talked about ventilators, however because just a few short weeks ago governors around the country were crying around for more ventilators to be provided to them from the national stockpile. now he says there is indeed a stockpile of many thousands of ventilators, which this country will be providing other countries that are still in need of them. he mentioned specifically mexico. so the president is quite firm in his belief that the united states is doing well in the way that it has dealt with coronavirus and continues to. it's interesting that in that news conference he intensified his attack on china for the way it has dealt with coronavirus and perhaps shared information. indeed he went as far as to say there should be consequences if it is shown or eventually shown that china is responsible for the outbreak.

lots of protests and demonstrations spreading across the country. what exactly are people calling for? well, there is, it seems, growing unease amongst people all over the country. people simply want to get back to work. these protesters, largely right—wing groups, saying that in the states that they are protesting in, the democratic governors have gone too far or are proposing to go too far, and that is to continue to order people to stay home. they wa nt to order people to stay home. they want to see the social distancing guidelines, all that sort of thing, relaxed much sooner sort of thing, relaxed much sooner than the authorities in those states planned to do, and it seems the president from his tweets on what he has been saying that his news conferences supports these people. under very politically charged press c0 nfe re nce under very politically charged press conference earlier, donald trump looking ahead to the upcoming election and getting some early shots in. yeah, he mentioned the election several times, reallyjust yeah, he mentioned the election several times, really just a few months away now, and still very difficult to imagine for a

lot of americans that an election could take place. but this news conference was remarkable in that the president seemed to spend the first a0 minutes or so largely only talking about politics and framing the debate in terms of the successes that he and his administration have had in the fight against coronavirus. a lot of people objecting to him using the podium in the white house press briefing room to make what seemed to many to be like campaign statements. given the election is approaching and donald trump seems to be looking ahead to that, how are the democrats aligning themselves? the democrats and their candidate, joe biden, have a difficulty at the moment in that the lockdown continues. joe biden continues to do some television interviews from home, but it's not the same as getting out and meeting people and holding rallies. clearly he isa and holding rallies. clearly he is a candidate, as an individual, is attempting to show that he is being responsible in his behaviour, but the democrats, i also

sense, are getting itchy and to some extent impatient to get out of that and debate. the entire political season has just been shifted a few months back. 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 10,000 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—19 infection injanuary and, since then, the government has been criticised for not doing enough to prepare for an increase. now, two medical associations 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 medicalfacilities 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. reged ahmad, bbc news.

let's get some of the day's other news. the spanish prime minister, pedro sanchez, says he will begin to relax the rules requiring children to stay indoors by the end of this month. however, the state of emergency set up in response to the pandemic is to be extended by another fortnight. more than 20,000 people have died after contracting the virus in spain. orthodox christians have been celebrating easter in the middle east, transporting the holy fire from the church of the holy sepulchre injerusalem 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. 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 relate 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 1st 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. david campanale, bbc news. this is bbc news. the headlines: the uk government admits ppe is in short supply in england and that more needs to be done to secure stock. president trump insists that the united states is performing better than other rich countries in its response to the virus, and can relax the lockdown soon. vladimir putin has warned russians that as the number

of coronavirus cases rises, covid—19 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 5,000 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—19. 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's a political one too. in the 20 years he's been in power, vladimir putin has never faced the challenge of this magnitude. a virus, an invisible enemy that's not only 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 9 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. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow.

let's go to greece now. thousands of greek police officers have been deployed to deter orthodox christians from gathering to celebrate easter communally. drones are on patrol and road blocks have been set up to prevent the customary exodus to the countryside. plain—clothes officers are keeping watch on closed churches to prevent the celebration of midnight mass. the bbc understands that public health england is to start recording coronavirus cases and deaths by ethnicity. it comes after research suggested people from black, asian and minority ethnic backgrounds appear to be at greater risk of becoming seriously ill with covid—19. here's our community affairs correspondent rianna croxford. because, without him, you can do nothing... sylvia douglas was an 82—year—old pastor and grandmother from slough. she tested positive for coronavirus and died in hospital at the beginning of this month. they called me, video called me from the hospital on the thursday, so i saw her.

i prayed with her and prayed for her, and i said, "oh, you're looking really strong, aunt. you're going to come through this. i can see you're struggling to breathe, but you look really, really well otherwise, and very strong. so, you know, you will come through this." i was really surprised, shocked, to say the least, when a few hours later i was informed that she had actually passed. i did not expect that at all. research shows that people of black, asian and minority ethnic heritage are being disproportionately affected by coronavirus. only 1a% of people in england and wales are from these backgrounds, yet they currently make up 3a% of patients in critical care units. bbc news analysis of reports in the public domain show almost three—quarters of 51 health care workers who have died are from ethnic minority backgrounds. you have a higher proportion of bame population working in key roles such as transport, taxi drivers, bus drivers, shopkeepers, supermarkets, all of which are necessary in the lockdown to provide essential services,

and in addition, of course, care and health care workers. while there are many factors, it's clear more data is needed. the bbc understands that the government has asked public health england to start tracking coronavirus cases and deaths by ethnicity. can you confirm this, and will this data be made publicly available so that further deaths can be prevented? there does appear, as you say, to be a disproportionate impact of the virus upon bame communities in the uk, and we've also seen that in some other countries around the world as well. and it's for that reason that the chief medical officer commissioned work from public health england to better understand this issue. sylvia's family hope more answers will come soon. rianna croxford, bbc news.

now, sports fans around the world may not be able to watch their favourite player or club in the current climate, but one team in taiwan is being watched by more than 500,000 baseball fans around the world. and despite playing behind closed doors, there's not an empty seat in the stadium. russell trott explains. they take their baseball very seriously in taiwan. so when coronavirus caused most professional sport to be postponed or cancelled, the monkeys decided the show must go on. translation: the shouts and cheers from the fans help us get excited about the game so when there is no audience, we still had to deliver the performance that we are expected to show no matter if it is to be the attitude. so we have the same feeling as if there was an audience. the

cardboard cutout fans here com plete cardboard cutout fans here complete with the obligatory facemasks may seem a little less tha n facemasks may seem a little less than enthusiastic as they watch their heroes warmup for the big game against the guardians. but for the players, there is plenty to play for. for the first time in 30 years, baseball games from taiwan are being broadcast and streamed online for free to a global audience. with no other baseball currently played, officials the chance to highlight taiwanese baseball abroad. i think we have a mission to bring the comfort or bring the excitement orjust bring, to provide a way out for people out there, watching from the states, in europe or maybe in australia. i think they are looking at us, i believe they enjoy the game. that also helps the people to go through this very tough time. and even the

cheerleaders are getting in on the act. this woman says it is a chance for some light relief from the worries over the pandemic and she hopes the cheerleaders enthusiasm encourages her team. it may not be as famous as the north american orjapanese leagues, but so far, more than 600,000 baseball fans have logged on to watch the games worldwide in a packedif watch the games worldwide in a packed if slightly quiet stadium. there's to be no gun salute on queen elizabeth's 9ath birthday next week because of the virus. a buckingham palace official has said her majesty decided it wouldn't be appropriate at this time. it's thought to be the first time in her 68—year reign that there will be no salute, which usually takes place at hyde park and the tower of london. finally, 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's been announced that the £25 million — that's $31 million — raised by captain tom will be used to buy food parcels and counselling sessions for national health service staff, as well as electronic tablets to allow patients to talk to their families. a reminder of our top story. president trump has said that texas and vermont will allow some businesses to reopen on monday. he said the virus was now past its peak. in several states, right—wing demonstrators, supported by the president, have demanded to go back to work, saying that stay—at—home measures are too harsh. but health experts and some state governors warn that lifting restrictions too early could result in a new wave of covid—19 infections. that is just about it from me for now. you can reach me on twitter —

i'm @sipusey. you can also get more information on our website. for now, in watching, andrew stay tuned. —— thank you for watching, and do stay tuned. hello. if you saw a bit of rain on saturday, sunday is looking like a brighter day, and plenty of dry and at times sunny weather to come in the week ahead. sunday is looking dry for most, still a bit of cloud across southern and western parts of the uk, but even through this, there will be some sunny spells coming through. this produced a bit of rain, this weather front on saturday, it's dying away. high pressure is building back in across the bulk of the uk, and that's going to give several days of settled weather. this is how it looks temperature—wise to start sunday. there will be a few spots in scotland down to —a, maybe —5 in the highlands. there may just be a touch of frost across the coldest parts of northern england as well. there is plenty of sunshine to come during sunday,

increasingly so across the eastern side of england. that cloud toward southern and western england, wales and northern ireland breaking a bit. we will keep a fair amount of cloud in northern ireland, even into the afternoon. now, there is a freshening easterly breeze, that pegs the temperatures back a bit along north sea coasts, whereas further in land, to the west, a few spots could be as high as 18 degrees celsius. as we go on through sunday night and into monday morning, again, we could see a touch of frost, parts scotland and northern england, and the chance of seeing some heavy showers pushing in towards the channel islands and the far south—west of england. there's a lot of uncertainty about that, but the potential is there for a weather disturbance coming in as we go into monday. whereas for most of the uk, it is high pressure, so it is dry. but there is a brisk easterly breeze. with these showers, again, a lot of uncertainty about where they'll exactly be, but the chance of seeing some in the channel islands, cornwall, isles of scilly, whereas elsewhere, there should be plenty of sunshine around. the arrows indicating that brisk easterly breeze,

these are average winds, gusts will be higher, around 30—a0mph in places, especially across parts of england and wales. it does pegs those temperatures back along these north sea coasts, may be just around ten degrees in some spots, whereas further west, getting to around 19. temperatures head up a little bit more as we go through the week, as the easterly breeze starts to ease. just a selection of locations here, but you get the idea. with that area of high pressure around, there is a lot of dry weather in the week ahead. there's lots of blue sky and sunshine on the way as well for a bright weather view, a bright look through your window at the weather outside.

this is bbc news. the headlines: the uk government has admitted that more needs to be done to get personal protective equipment to health workers. a00,000 new gowns are due to arrive from turkey later on sunday. it comes as the uk recorded another 888 coronavirus deaths, taking the total number of hospital deaths to over 15,000. president trump has insisted that the united states is performing better than other rich countries in its response to the virus. at his daily news briefing he said there were signs that the virus has passed its peak and that the lockdown could be relaxed soon. doctors injapan have warned that the country's medical system could collapse amid a rising number of coronavirus cases. two medical associations said the extra burden caused by virus infections meant emergency rooms were refusing to treat some people, even those suffering from strokes and heart attacks.