this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the national care forum estimates that the number of deaths linked to coronavirus in uk care homes may be far higher than official figures currently show. reports the uk is looking to gradually lift some lockdown restrictions, such as re—opening schools and allowing some small social gatherings, are rejected by a government minister. protesters in several states in the us demand to go back to work, saying stay—at—home measures are too tough. millions of people across the orthodox christian world are marking easter weekend, and not all follow their governments‘ advice on social distancing. # i'm still standing. # yeah, yeah, yeah #.

and some of the world's biggest acts take part in an eight hour star—studded event broadcast around the globe to honour key workers. hello and welcome to audiences in the uk and around the world. we're covering all the latest coronavirus developments, both here and globally. there are fears that far more people may have died from coronavirus—related conditions in care homes across the uk than has been officially recorded. the national care forum, which represents not—for—profit care providers, estimates more than 4,000 elderly and disabled residents may have died. the last official figure for england was 217. the virus is continuing to spread rapidly, with more

than 2.2 million cases now confirmed in 185 countries. for the second day running, russia has announced another record 6,000 new cases in the past 2a hours, with more than 300 more deaths. hundreds of people have taken to the streets in a number of american states to demand an early end to the coronavirus lockdown. a star—studded online concert has been broadcast around the world to honour front line workers tackling the coronavirus outbreak. we'll have more on all these stories in a moment, but first, this report on the uk's deaths byjohn mcmanus. the faces change daily, so do the stories, but the heartbreak is the same. john coker, a detective constable for the british transport police, has left behind a wife and three children. retired paediatrician judith darmady, awarded an 0be after founding a children's charity. just two of the thousands of victims

of the coronavirus in the uk, and the numbers continue to grow. yesterday, it was confirmed that another 888 people had died in hospital from the virus, bringing the total to 15,464. but those statistics don't include deaths outside wards. now the national care forum, which represents adult care providers, says it has evidence that the number of deaths in care homes in one week was double those in the whole of the previous month. that's more than 4,000. the organisation says the care sector needs the same support as the nhs and has called for more personal protective equipment and comprehensive testing. if i have to hear another story about care home staff and organisations that provide support in the community having to reach out to nail salons and other parts of the community to get hold of vital ppe, or as the bbc reported yesterday,

staff having to resort to making their own scrubs out of curtain liners, ijust think it's an absolute disgrace, really. we are not the dad's army. the government has been under fire for weeks over the distribution of ppe. after previously insisting that supplies were reaching the nhs, it's now admitted that's not always the case. so far, serious shortages of equipment have only been seen in england. this consignment of facemasks and virus testing equipment landed in glasgow yesterday morning. labour says the government must work harder to guarantee continual supplies. meanwhile, downing street says it is giving local councils extra funding to deal with the crisis and it's also told them they must keep cemeteries and parks open, after some closed their gates in recent weeks. john mcmanus, bbc news. staying here in the uk, the cabinet minister, michael gove,

has said the government is not thinking of lifting the lockdown yet. newspaper reports had suggested that ministers had planned to open schools in three weeks, which mr gove denied. earlier, our political correspondent jonathan blake explained the government response. people are keen to know when we can get back to something like life is noble —— as normal at these lockdown restrictions might begin to be lifted. there are more talks of plans being drawn up, possible traffic light system by which there would be a phased return to life as normal, and specifically in the sunday times, claimed that schools could reopen in as little as three weeks. i have to say, that was denied by the education secretary, gavin williamson, first thing this morning. he was quick out of the blocks on twitter to say no decision had been taken and it would only been taken —— be taken when the

scientific evidence that it was right to do so. we have heard from the cabinet minister michael gove subsequently this morning, saying that eight of the 11th of may for some schools to reopen was simply not true. a bit more of an insight into the government's thinking around the lockdown and how it might end from him, saying that those businesses in the hospitality sector would be among the last to exit the lockdown, so we might not be popping to the pub for a pint for a good few months yet i'm afraid to say. mr gove also talked interestingly about the importance of testing and contact tracing, so that is the idea of somebody test positives for coronavirus you quickly establish or they have been in contact with and ask those people to isolate and an temp two contain the spread of the virus, something the government employed early on, but i see explained on the andrew marr programme this morning is now looking to restart as a way of ensuring the uk can get ready to

find its way out of the lockdown. we willm able to test people in the population and also track them through the use of technology. we are working with other countries to make sure that we will have a technology that enables us to detect if an individual has been in contact with others, and ensure appropriate testing is in place. but i think it's important and appropriate to take just one step back. there are a number of things that we need to do in order to be confident that we can relax measures overall. testing and contact tracing are very important. but we also need to make sure that our nhs capacity is as resilient as it can possibly be. and we also need to make sure that we have already reduced the rate of infection in the population and that the number of deaths is falling and it is only if we can be certain that we have all of those factors in place that we can be confident about relaxing some of the measures

we currently have in place. the government has also been on the defensive this morning over its early response to the coronavirus pandemic and investigations piece in the sunday times, hearing from various sources, that ministers were slow to respond and did not heed warnings from scientists early on. in particular, claimed that the prime minister was not sharing cobra meetings early on in the epidemic, which we knew at that time there will being chaired by the health secretary, matt hancock, and downing street said as much, but perhaps with hindsight, many asking the question whether the prime minister should have been in the chair at the time. mr gove rebutting several of the claims made in that piece, saying there were a number of things that were wrong, specifically though, on the issue of personal protective equipment, which we have heard so much about, did accept that the uk sent a consignment to china some weeks ago, but made the point

that the uk had received far more in terms of ppe in return than it had sent overseas. this is something that labour are keen to press the government on. they have been asking today for more assurances that firms in the uk who offered to manufacture ppe with supply levels so low have had those offers taken up at the government. this morning, the shadow chancellor anneliese dodds said that these sorts of issues about the things that labour has been pressing the government and for some time. certainly, the long—term issues around the provision of personal protective equipment and testing were areas that i was very much aware of and deeply concerned about, and couldn't have failed to be because of the reports that i've been receiving from the front line. i think that applies across the body of labour mps. we've been very, very worried about quite how far away we are from some of the targets that have been set up around testing and ppe in particular, that actually what was in that article wasn't revelatory. i mean, i think it's important that this is out

in the public now because, ultimately, we've got to have these issues dealt with. it is incredibly important and we have got to back up those on the front line. i have to say, there will be little time perhaps for ministers and others in government to look back in detail at the decisions that were made early on. there are pressing issues to deal with in the here and now. it michael gove did say this morning that all governments make m ista kes morning that all governments make mistakes and at some point in the future there will be an opportunity to look back, reflect and learn. disadvantaged teenagers in england will be able to borrow laptop computers to help them study at home when schools are closed during the pandemic. it will be up to schools or local authorities to decide who needs help with access to a computer and 4g routers to help families connect to the internet. an online academy offering pupils a range of lessons every week will also be launched to support remote learning. almost all of europe

is still in lockdown, and while some countries are beginning to ease restrictions, many others have extended the measures introduced to fight the virus. the impact is clearly visible, with empty streets being seen all across the continent, as the bbc‘s tim allman reports. this is madrid, one of the world's great capital cities, looking more like a ghost town. spain has been one of the ha rdest—hit countries with more than 20,000 dead. the prime minister says the state of emergency is to be extended for another 15 days. nearly 500 more fatalities in italy, but that figure is down from the day before, the death rate appears to be slowing. applause. in france, more positive news, this military field hospital is being partly dismantled as the city in the country improves. heading east, baku, the capital

of azerbaijan, where the streets are being sprayed with disinfectant. quarantine will last at least another two weeks. the country's borders remain closed. in lithuania, they have seen a record jump on the number of coronavirus cases, just one day after the health minister insisted the outbreak and reached its peak. the hotspot, this town just outside vilnius, military police stopping anyone getting in or out. translation: it's been decided to test all adult residents in town. tests will be carried out to not only find active cases of the disease, but also to try to identify residents who already might have immunity. this situation is indeed dangerous. in poland, the presidential election is due to take place next month, but how does a country of 40 million people vote in the middle of a global pandemic?

translation: the coronavirus epidemic is the reality for a couple of months coming, and a personal election will be possible in two year's time at the earliest. if the parties don't agree, the only secure form of conducting the presidential election is postal voting. this is istanbul, where europe meets asia, another place where the streets are deserted. a two—day curfew is in place, anyone younger than 20 or older than 65 has been told to stay home. the fight against the virus goes on. tim allman, bbc news. some more positive news now from south korea, which has reported only eight new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours. it's the first time in two months that the country has seen only a single digit increase in infections. as our correspondent laura bicker reports, the authorities in seoul have now announced they plan to ease restrictions on social gatherings.

right from the very first case, which was 20th of january — remember, that's the same day as the united states announced its first case of coronavirus — the difference here was that within 17 days, this country had created a test and 100 laboratories ready to process those tests. right from the outset, they decided to go after this virus aggressively. way back at the end of february, when i was in the worst hit area of daegu, and there were around 100 ambulances lining up outside the hospital, i said to officials, "are you ever going to get this under control?" they said to me at the time, "yes, we are determined". now, just eight weeks later, here we are, and they have now announced eight new cases. the last six days, it has all been under 20 daily new cases. it is worth mentioning, reeta, that five of those eight new cases today come from overseas arrivals, where they are testing everyone at the airport and also demanding that everyone arriving undergoes 14

days' of quarantine. and what was it in south korea that gave them this efficiency and determination? had it been previous experience? south korea had been exposed to sars, hasn't it? yes. it's notjust sars, it was mers, middle east respiratory syndrome, back in 2015. south korea had the worst outbreak outside of the middle east, and at that time they realised that they couldn't trace where patient zero had come from and where he had travelled to. at that point, they recreated laws to try to track and trace those with the infection. so it means that, right now, if i had coronavirus, the government would track me using my phone. i would also be required to fill in details of how i was feeling each day. the minute that i went outside my quarantine area, the phone would ring. that's the kind of tracking and tracing measures that are used.

also at the time, i have been told that the day the first patient was diagnosed, they started to realise how contagious this virus was, so they realised they needed a test and they needed a test quickly. they told four laboratories that they needed a test and they had this partnership between private and public health, which allowed one laboratory to come up with a test within a week. four others came up with other tests. so that's how they had managed to do it quite quickly — experience, and also this kind of public—private partnership, which has allowed infectious disease specialists to come to the forefront. in the us, demonstrations have continued in several areas against lockdown restrictions imposed by state officials to try to stop the spread of coronavirus. donald trump has criticised state governors, saying they were getting carried away with imposing too many restrictions.

from new hampshire to minnesota, ohio to texas, these protesters want lockdown restrictions lifted. angry at how measures to control the spread of coronavirus have impacted on work and the economy. some have lost theirjobs, their livelihoods and their incomes. and say they would rather risk catching the virus and continue like this. president trump using saturday's white house press briefing to reaffirm that america will again be open for business. texas and vermont will allow certain businesses to open on monday, while still requiring appropriate social distancing precautions. montana will begin lifting restrictions on friday, ohio, north dakota, and idaho, have advised nonessential businesses to prepare for a phased opening, starting may the 1st. but there is concern that lifting

restrictions to early could lead to more people becoming infected and potential for a spike in the death rate. in new york, by far the worst affected state, a counter protest by this far smaller crowd who say the trump administrations measures haven't gone far enough and that the president is responsible for the deaths of thousands of americans. when the virus first hit america, president trump said the cure for the disease should not be worse than the disease itself. america is often referred to as a divided nation, whether it's on issues like health care or guns, or the environment, that division remains. even on an issue like this, with the death toll of more than 38,000 people in the world's richest nation. amongst fears that the nations wealth is now too injeopardy. all ahead of a presidential election due in november. rich preston, bbc news.

millions of orthodox christians are holding their easter celebrations under tight restrictions. officials in europe, the middle east and africa urged people not to attend services, fearing it would lead to a spike in coronavirus infections. but in the former soviet republic of georgia, orthodox leaders are at loggerheads with the government, over their decision to keep churches open and offer holy communion using a shared spoon. from georgia, rayhan demytrie reports. holy communion in the time of pandemic, taken from a shared spoon. georgia's orthodox church has refused to adapt the sacred ritual, despite the risk of spreading infection. translation: we parishioners come here in such high spirits that it is impossible to have doubts and fears.

holy communion is the greatest thing. under georgia's state of emergency gatherings of more than three people are banned, but last week on palm sunday in tbilisi's main cathedral there were no police to enforce it. these markings here indicate the distance that people should be keeping apart from each other, but unfortunately outside, and most importantly inside the cathedral, these rules are not being observed. inside the cathedral, worshippers are kissing icons with no disinfection in sight. some keep their distance, but it is difficult to maintain even in a building of this size. georgia's most revered man, the patriarch, ilya ii, has ruled that the easter services will go ahead.

this promo video shows the georgian police in action, issuing hefty fines for those not complying with the state of emergency. so, many people are questioning why the authorities have not penalised the church. they believe that the church is a chief political ally which they cannot alienate. they came to power in 2012 to a large extent because of the support of the church. the country's prime minister says his government has been trying to strike a balance. by keeping its doors open, the church says it is providing a much—needed spiritual relief to the nation. but with covid—19 infection rates going up, the country's health authorities are calling on people to listen to the science for the sake of their country.

some of the biggest names in music have joined forces to celebrate healthcare workers in a globally televised concert. lady gaga, paul mccartney and billie eilish were among the artists who performed songs from their living rooms and the rolling stones even managed to play together # when i saw her today at the reception. # a glass of wine in her hand #. it has already been dubbed, the living room live aid. many of the biggest names in music rocking where they reside for one world together at home, not a fundraiser, but designed as a celebration of front line workers tackling covid—19 around the world.

the rolling stones had filmed their parts individually on mobile phones and then been edited together to look like a rock and roll zoom call. indeed, this was not a live concert. due to the reliance on the internet, each act's song for the two hour event had been recorded in advance. there was a beatle via broadband, sir paul mccartney. # oh, i'm still standing betterthan i everdid. # looking like a true survivor #. feeling like a little kid!# and sir eltonjohn's piano had been

wheeled into his garden — # smile, even though it's aching #. the event had been curated by lady gaga, who opened the show with a charlie chaplin classic. # you will get by #! # sunny! # thank you for the smile upon your face #. billie eilish played a cover of the 19605 standard, sunny. in the uk, a version of the event will be shown on bbc one tonight, with extra british performances added. calling it a wi—fi woodstock may be a bit of a stretch,

but they won't be many more occasions when a beatle and the stones play on the same bill. colin paterson, bbc news, his living room. with athletes having a lot of time on their hands at the moment, it's interesting to see what they are all getting up to. now, what do you think british diver tom daley might be doing? well, he posted this video on instagram — of him knitting. it says "robbie is napping, so that means i get some knitting time. he made this poncho for his son, which apparently also fits him. the tag says "made with love by tom daley".

well, you wouldn't get lost wearing a poncho like that, would you? you're watching bbc news. president trump has said the us states of texas and vermont will allow certain businesses to reopen from monday. at the daily white house briefing, mr trump said there were signs that the virus had passed its peak. in major cities around the country, demonstrators have been demanding an end to the stay—at—home orders. to speak to us about when the us could reopen and the effects of easing lockdown, is professor bhramar mukherjee, who is a bio—statistician and professor of global health and epidemiology at the university of michigan. thank you so much forjoining us. i've very difficult question to a nswer i've very difficult question to answer this, but in your opinion, when might be the right time to

start thinking of easing the lockdown in the us? thank you for having me. iwant lockdown in the us? thank you for having me. i want to filter out the political bias and agenda from the conversation. what i am working with is my colleagues in economics so we can get back to normal. we have just slowed down in our case count, we have not turned the corner in many places. there are new peaks coming up. it would be quite short—sighted to open in a hasty way and really undo the social distancing work that all of us have done together. humans are finally ultimately beating the projections, but we have to be really careful when we reopen. we need to go through stabilisation, then reactivating the workforce. that is my own opinion. it is not a question of the number of cases, but we need to look around and see are

we need to look around and see are we ready to follow the three principles of test, trace and treats. then work on the viral control and the economic recovery simultaneously. what happens if an individual state has relatively few cases, should they be allowed to ease the restrictions?” cases, should they be allowed to ease the restrictions? i do think that if you look up the whole world is going through a series of experiments. we have seen in other parts of the world if there is free mobility and cases can move from one state to another, that is not the optimal solution. also, ithink state to another, that is not the optimal solution. also, i think we have made a mistake of posing this problem as an economic and public health pitted against each other. we are all working towards a solution which reduces human suffering and loss, which is conducive to human flourishing. any strategy will have

to balance between these two goals, and controlling the virus is the most important thing. then we need to have some form of strategies to work with forms of suppression in place, so we are all working towards a common goal. it has been quite marked in the united states that covid—19 has hit certain parts of american society much harder than it has others. yes. actually, this is something that is very important that covid—19 outcomes has underscored the structural inequities that exist in society. i am more than committed to work with my colleagues on resolving this issue. i am completely with you on that. we will have to leave it there. thank you so much for talking to us. join us at 2.30pm when we'll be answering your personal finance—related questions in your questions answered, with our financial experts jasmine birtles and annie shaw.

now it's time for a look at the weather with louise lear. hello, they are. it is a dry, settle story for many but there is an exception. some stubborn cloud across northern ireland, wales and south—west england at the moment. elsewhere, lots of sunshine coming through. a fresh easterly breeze along that east coast, but that should hopefully put some of the backlight further west. northern ireland may well stay over because throughout the day. elsewhere, in the sunshine, we should see values of 18 degrees. there is an area of high pressure centre to the north—east of the uk. it will stay with us for a couple of days, but a few more isobars to the south of that high, so the winds will continue to strengthen. monday will bea continue to strengthen. monday will be a largely fine and dry story, may be a largely fine and dry story, may bea be a largely fine and dry story, may be a few isolated showers in the

extreme south—west. winds gusting in excess extreme south—west. winds gusting in excess of