this is bbc news, with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the uk government says it's working to ensure that a shipment of protective equipment reaches healthcare workers in the coming days, after it emerged that the delivery from turkey has been delayed. we're doing absolutely everything we can to bring as much ppe in right from across the globe. we recognise it's a big challenge. the uk's education secretary also said he was unable to give a date for when schools will reopen, four weeks after they were shut to curb the spread of coronavirus. while spain looks towards relaxing lockdown measures by allowing children to go outside from next monday, italy is still

considering its next move and the number of daily fines for illegal outdoor activity is on the rise. india enters its fourth week of coronavirus lockdown. doctors tell the bbc a lack of tests mean they don't yet knowjust how serious the situation is. from what i'm hearing from hospitals here, some of them are getting full—up and are having now to turn patients away. and what part has the loss of natural habitats played in thejump of the virus from wildlife to humans? we'll be hearing from two experts in california. hello and welcome to audiences in the uk and around the world. we're covering all the latest coronavirus developments, both here and globally. the uk government says it's doing all it can to get as much personal protective equipment as possible — from around the globe — to frontline healthworkers here.

it comes as a further 596 people have died in the uk from coronavirus, taking the total number of deaths tojust over 16,000. over 120,000 people have tested positive for the virus. a delivery of vital protective equipment for healthcare workers to the uk has been delayed. the government said it was working to ensure the shipment from turkey — which includes 400,000 gowns — would reach frontline staff in the coming days. the education secretary has said that he cannot give a date for when schools in england might re—open and argued that maintaining lockdown was the best way to save lives. and the government has defended the prime minister's leadership as ‘focused and determined', following reports that borisjohnson did not attend several emergency meetings on coronavirus in the build—up to the crisis. elsewhere, south korea has reported just eight new cases

of coronavirus in 2a hours. the country had a major outbreak in february, but has since managed to control it with aggressive testing and tracing measures. restrictions on social gatherings will now be eased. frontline workers in india have told the bbc that they don't know the true scale of the coronavirus outbreak, as the country is not carrying out sufficient testing. and new york's governor, andrew cuomo, says the coronavirus outbreak there is ‘on the descent‘. new york is the epicentre of the epidemic in the united states. we'll have more on those stories in a moment, but with the latest in the uk, here's our health editor, hugh pym. a vital consignment of masks and other personal protective equipment arrives from china at prestwick airport, near glasgow, this weekend. it's ready for distribution to health and care workers around scotland, at a time when the kit — known as ppe — is in short supply in different parts of the uk. some hospitals in england have warned they're down to the last few

days of supplies of gowns used in intensive care. a planeload of equipment due in from turkey didn't arrive as expected today. shortages of ppe have been reported by frontline staff for several weeks now. i raised the issue at the downing street media briefing. can you comment on reports today that stocks of ppe were allowed to run down in the couple of years before the pandemic, and why was more not done to get hold of more ppe in march and early february, including using british companies? it is important to remember that although there may be elements of distribution problems across the uk at different times and in different places, this is a huge pull on services which we have never seen before. and we have managed, actually — despite signalling many potential shortfalls — to continue to supply, going forward. we're doing absolutely everything we can to bring as much ppe in, right from across the globe.

we recognise it's a big challenge, we recognise that we have got to be supporting the people who are supporting our nation in terms of the health service. but labour argues that the government should do more to find supplies in the uk. every mp's inbox, certainly my inbox is awash with small firms across the country saying they have tried to help the government with ppe, they have tried to tell the government they can manufacture a ppe, and they hit a brick wall, they don't get anything back from the government whatsoever. stephen was a mental health nurse who had worked for the nhs for 30 years. he died with coronavirus last weekend. other members of the family were infected. his daughter made this plea to the public. please stay at home while you can. i mean, my dad couldn't, and he lost his life. so, if you can, i know it's horrible, no—one wants to be stuck

at home 24 hours every day, but it's what we need to do right now, and if it saves one life by staying in the house, then it's absolutely worth it. with social distancing in force and empty streets, speculation and debate about when the lockdown will be eased intensifies. there have been reports today that some schools might reopen in the middle of may. the reporting in today's newspapers today that schools will reopen on 11th may, that is not true, we have not made that decision. and the other inference in your question, which is that areas in hospitality will be among the last to exit the lockdown, yes, that's true, they will be among the last. and at the new nightingale hospital in london's docklands, their first patient to be successfully treated for covid—i9 was moved to another hospital to continue his recovery. there was applause from the staff who had volunteered to move to work there. hugh pym, bbc news. with me now is faisal islam, our economics editor.

to anyone watching these daily news conferences, it is not straightforward to understand exactly what is happening with ppe, but on social media, you have isolated it to a few key points. well, i think it can be both true to say, as the government is saying, that hundreds and millions of items of ppe have been distributed up and down the country. and it can also be true to say that some nhs trusts or gps or sit true to say that some nhs trusts or gps orsit in true to say that some nhs trusts or gps or sit in the care home settings have not got the ppe that they need, oi’ have not got the ppe that they need, or they are assessed as needing. and it isa or they are assessed as needing. and it is a separate issue of what they wa nt it is a separate issue of what they want as well because some individual doctors and nurses look at the guidelines and say, well, we want to be more protected than the guidelines say. that starts to explain where you are getting yes on the one hand, hundreds of millions items distributed, and on the other hand, a regular flow items distributed, and on the other hand, a regularflow medical professional saying, we need more or

we need a slightly different take. and so, yes, there were also big stockpiles that emerged from flu planning. and also, no—deal brexit planning. and also, no—deal brexit planning. and also, no—deal brexit planning. and the real question is how quickly are they being used day to day? and how much are they being replenished? so you can say there arei billion items that replenished? so you can say there are i billion items that have replenished? so you can say there arei billion items that have been released, but what is the rate, what is the flow of that into the system? because the first thing to say is that this is not a flu pandemic, it isa that this is not a flu pandemic, it is a coronavirus pandemic and coronavirus has been shown to be more contagious and potentially will be more long—lasting than a flu pandemic would have been, so you would need more. we don't have that data on the usage except for the fa ct data on the usage except for the fact that actually, a government minister just fact that actually, a government ministerjust this fact that actually, a government minister just this afternoon fact that actually, a government ministerjust this afternoon has tweeted out an individual, one hospital's usage statistics which i tweeted out. this is the united

hospital trust of lincolnshire. it gives you an idea ofjust how much ppe is required. in a setting where covid is less spread than the capital city or birmingham or whatever. it is usage per day in the middle column, 72,000 items per day for hospital trust and that is a lot of ppe. and you scale that up. the scale that up across the nhs and the uk and you are obviously talking about millions of items of ppe a day. and suddenly, hundreds of millions over 50, 60 days doesn't look quite a significant as it might otherwise do. so you need to know how much is being used. we have only got scarce data for that of the example i have just got scarce data for that of the example i havejust given got scarce data for that of the example i have just given you, got scarce data for that of the example i havejust given you, but one also needs to take into account the fact that it is difficult to

replenish. so you have this demand you have supply problems because the whole world wants it, and that is where you get the problem of lots of distribution, but also the fact that people on the ground are telling us incessa ntly they people on the ground are telling us incessantly they can't get enough. 0n social media, you call that set of statistics gold dust we get figures from elsewhere in the country? it is unclear. the medical director of public health england at the press c0 nfe re nce was of public health england at the press conference was saying we wa nted press conference was saying we wanted a grown—up debate about this and you can't lump all the figures together. so i think what we hear backs for medical professionals and they want to have confidence. so in this case in lincolnshire, although there are some of those items in short supply, a couple of days left, it does show confidence that flow there if you can show it at a national level. we have not heard...

it would be helpful to know what was in the stockpiles or not as they are run down. we have now seen the government notjust go to turkey to try and get supplies, we have also seen, you just have to look at the uk ambassador in china's twitter feed to see the number of planes they have now restarted, passenger planes, just to transport ppe. michael gove, the cabinet office minister, telling the bbc this morning that 25 million items of ppe have been secured by the uk ambassador in china. there is a globalfight on ambassador in china. there is a global fight on for supplies of this stuff. no doubt, it is difficult. there was a pandemic stockpile, there was and stockpile as well, but there was and stockpile as well, but the use of this is really, really quick. i think the statistics would be helpful in assessing the situation, but i think people also need to prepare for the fact that as we wait for a vaccine which may be a few months or a year, this sort of

need for ppe will continue for some months to come. and i think that thatis months to come. and i think that that is where you are seeing the government now using the trade department and other departments to go and hunt for it all around the world. the problem is every other country is doing exactly the same thing, at the same time. economics editor faisal islam, thank you so much. spain's prime minister says he hopes to relax some rules of the country's lockdown so that children can go outside. weeks of stringent measures for the country are set to continue despite a drop in daily deaths. other parts of europe too are considering the way forward out of lockdown, as reged ahmad reports. nurses at la paz hospital, in madrid... paying tribute to their chief of surgery, who died from covid—i9, after being infected at his own hospital. as heavily protected intensive care nurses give a thumbs—up, it's a stark reminder of the sacrifices made and the toll

the coronavirus has taken on european health systems. it's also why the decisions around how to reduce lockdown measures are so important and difficult. although spain believes it's over the peak of infections, the prime minister is seeking to extend the country's lockdown for now, with an exception. translation: from the 27th of april, the spanish government will take measures to alleviate the lockdown — if i can call it that — of our children, so they can go out and benefit from those statistical improvements that we are seeing in the evolution of this pandemic. france, too, says it's seeing a slow improvement in the number of serious cases, although the health crisis remains. even so, the french president has already set a may date for the end of lockdown. italy, though, is still considering its next move.

entering its seventh week of strict measures, with the highest death toll in europe, the country is seeing fines for illegal outdoor activity increasing, as people are wooed by the warmer weather. for some, though, the journey through this pandemic may bejust beginning. russia has registered another sharp rise in infections. officials say it's due to an increase in testing. president putin said the situation was in hand. translation: all levels of government are working methodically, smoothly and responsibly. the situation is under complete control. perhaps a sign of germany's improved situation — as it prepares tentative steps out of lockdown, the country took some unaccompanied migrants from greece. 0verall, virus cases in greece remain relatively low, but some mainland refugee camps have had to be quarantined.

and pope francis, too, showed a small sign of emerging from lockdown himself, delivering mass at an empty church away from the vatican for the first time in more than a month. his message was that selfish indifference was worse than the virus, warning that the recovery from covid—i9 should not leave anyone behind — words many may consider, as europe ponders its next steps. reged ahmad, bbc news. in the uk, in normal times, children would be about to go back to school at the end of the easter holidays, but the latest government briefing from downing street gave no timeframe on when that might be possible in england. 0ur education editor, bra nwen jeffreys, reports from staffordshire. the streets in stoke are empty. the schools are closed. but for how much longer? i want nothing more than to see schools back. get them back to normal, make sure that children are sat around learning and experiencing

the joy of being at school. but i can't give you a date. carl ward runs four schools and a college — he can't see them opening anytime soon, not least because of staffing. i had about 40—50 members of staff that had self—isolated because they're vulnerable themselves, or they've taken government advice and they're looking after vulnerable people. so, i anticipate when i open, that may well be the same. so, i think that's going to be a real difficulty to get over, but it will take some time to go through that process. before schools can even think about reopening, ministers know that parents have to be convinced their children will be safe coming back to school, and teachers confident that they wouldn't be risking their lives by coming to work. for parents, it is challenging, with the worry that kids

are missing out on learning. i think we've got to put the safety of the students and the safety of the teachers and other staff that are working in schools first. i think it would be very difficult to space the children out. i mean, children don't space themselves out, they're together, aren't they, really? yeah. if you select on it and open up the document... co—op schools were getting pupils ready to move online before lockdown. now, they're buying 1,000 laptops to help vulnerable families. in england, ministers are now promising more devices and 4g to help. they will be targeted at year ten pupils from poorer families. it's a little bit funny, isn't it? it's the beginning of the summer term, and we aren't all in our own schools. a new online school is launching, backed by some big academy schools in england. but this new digital world of learning risks leaving some of the poorest kids falling even further behind. branwen jeffreys, bbc news, staffordshire.

well, let's take a step back for a bit. one explanation given for how the current coronavirus infected the human population is that it may have come from bats — possibly via another wild animal. two scientific studies this month say that the way we are changing natural environments — such as rainforests — makes it more likely that viruses will jump from wild animals to humans. the most recent study, looking at virus spill—over risk, from the university of california — davis, cautions that this has serious implications for global health. it says the risk of pandemic is connected to habitat loss, exploitation of wildlife and species extinction. the study suggests infectious diseases emerging from wildlife are increasing faster than ever. the scientists conclude that beyond covid—19, new thinking on land management, animal resources and the environment could help reduce the risk of the next pandemic, or even prevent it altogether.

joining me from davis in california is lead author of that study professor christine kreuderjohnson, who is director at the predict project into emerging pandemic threats. also from california, we're joined by environmental scientist, laura bloomfield, who's also published research this month, looking at increased human contact with non—human primates, caused by habitat fragmentation in africa. thank you to you both. professor christine kreuderjohnson, starting with you, please. he said spill—over of viruses from animals is a direct result of our actions involving wildlife and their habitat. this pandemic is not a fleet, it is humanity's fault? yes, in many ways, humans are at the core of how we are increasing the risk of emerging infectious diseases from animals. we lifted all animal viruses that have crossed over to infect humans over

centuries and we found important trends that can inform on what we need to inspect —— expect in the future. such as? first, we found it scales up with the increasing of other species. so we found for example domestic species are incredibly abundant worldwide and they share a lot of viruses with people and we already knew that, so we we re people and we already knew that, so we were interested in what is happening from wildlife because the majority of emerging infectious diseases come from wild animals. and there are some wildlife species that have increased in abundance as well and adapted really well to the way humans have change the world. and the species, mostly rats and mice and a few bats and primates, have shed a lot of viruses with people. but most importantly, we have learned a lot about the wildlife that have not adapted as well. in fa ct, that have not adapted as well. in fact, more than 20% of animals are endangered or threatened with extinction and the vast majority are declining drastically in abundance and it is the reason for these

declines shed a lot of light on what underlines the increase in emerging infectious diseases. laura bloomfield. you have done fieldwork on this subject, spill—over from wild animals to humans, in uganda. what did you learn? my work was conducted in uganda and what we found was that land—use behaviours, the way in which people use their land by collecting small trees for consumption or searching for food in the forest and the degree of forest fragmentation near households significantly increased the likelihood of physical contact events between wild primates and people. you have said we are going to be very bad at being able to predict when and where the next infection is going to come from. the rippling field, why is that? well, i think we are looking at very complex systems, the world is changing in many ways. people's behaviours are responsive to that changing environment. what i really focus on

is trying to understand the context of that initial outbreak. the fact is at the stage where a virus passes from an animal to a person. and i believe the best way to combat a future pandemic is to prevent infections from animals and humans in the first place, so really mitigating and trying to intervene from humans and wild animals having these contact events. professor christine kreuderjohnson, do we know enough about how this particular virus might have started? we are still learning about this virus and that is very typical. typically, we don't know the actual source of an emerging infectious disease until months or sometimes yea rs disease until months or sometimes years after, disease until months or sometimes yea rs after, after a disease until months or sometimes years after, after a lot of research is done. we ideally detect the animal that has got this exact same virus and that requires a lot of surveillance work. but we can say that more than likely, some wildlife, especially bats, were involved as the actual reservoir. and based on our work and

exploitation of wildlife through hunting and capture, especially high risk and it is animals sold in markets where animals and people next and it is really crowded and there is a lot of close contact. that is the perfect setting for viruses to jump between diversities and eventually infect humans. that is definitely the most plausible underlying cause of this outbreak. go ahead. ijust want underlying cause of this outbreak. go ahead. i just want to underlying cause of this outbreak. go ahead. ijust want to put underlying cause of this outbreak. go ahead. i just want to put that to laura. you have heard what professor christine kreuderjohnson said and the plausible explanation for the outbreak, is that what your investigation says, it does that's unlikely to you ? investigation says, it does that's unlikely to you? i think that sounds right andl unlikely to you? i think that sounds right and i think the more fragmented animals become animal probability and possibilities for people and wild animals to come into contact, people and wild animals to come into co nta ct, we people and wild animals to come into contact, we are creating those context in which multiple animals, domestic animals and people can share viruses. back to professor christine kreuderjohnson, you talked about deforestation being a

course of increased contact between humans and animals. of course, that isa humans and animals. of course, that is a by—product, that increased contact. wild animal markets, that isa contact. wild animal markets, that is a deliberate choice by some people to put wild animals in contact with human beings. how much ofa contact with human beings. how much of a priority when you look at all the factors should the abolition of those kind of wildlife markets be?” think we really need to take a very close look at the live animal wildlife trade and that needs to be heavily regulated, and we need to do it in heavily regulated, and we need to do itina heavily regulated, and we need to do it in a very careful way that looks out for people's livelihoods, especially some of the poorest people. we should remember the people. we should remember the people in contact with these live animals are the most often times exposed themselves. i mean, they are routinely getting diseases that transmit from those animals to them. it is only once in a while that one actually emerges that is human—to—human that affects all of us, but they are affected more regularly than we realise. laura bloomfield, last question, going to

be this once is bad enough, having to do it again would be really difficult. what should the world do to prevent this from ever happening ain? to prevent this from ever happening again? yes, i think there are a lot of ways we can support local communities and is bad enough, having to do it again would be really difficult. what should the will do to prevent this from ever happening again? yes, i think there are a lot of ways we can support local communities and as contact events in the future. and i have a lot of this research can inform policies that help prevent the next pandemic. laura bloomfield, environmental scientist at stamford university and professor christine kreuderjohnson at the university of california davis, thank you both so much for that scientific explanation. let me recall some of the figures we are dealing with today. there have been 596 new deaths in the uk which brings the uk total to 16,060 total deaths and we will

continue off—course to investigate all the angles around the world looking at new york and germany as well. you are watching bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with nick miller. much of the week ahead is looking dry and sunny, an easterly breeze at at times makes it feel cooler. and there is enough of a breeze around overnight to stop temperatures falling as low as they would otherwise. largely clear, a bit of cloud toward southern england. the channel islands may squeeze out an isolated shower. temperatures will fall below freezing in the coldest parts of highland scotland, may be down to —5 and a touch of frost in the coldest parts of northern england especially further north. for much of the uk, if you degrees above freezing tomorrow. any cloud, above freezing tomorrow. any cloud, a chance of the shower towards the far south—west, disappears. it a chance of the shower towards the farsouth—west, disappears. it is just about across the uk a sunny

day, but the brisk easterly breeze makes a difference. average speeds, gusts will be higher, particularly in england and wales, around 30 to 40 in england and wales, around 30 to a0 mph. that holds temperatures back along the north sea coasts. ten to 12 degrees. elsewhere, the mid—to—high teens.

hello, this is bbc news with james reynolds. the headlines... a huge consignment of ppp —— ppe is delayed. the uk government says it's working to ensure that a shipment of protective equipment reaches healthcare workers in the coming days, after it emerged that the delivery from turkey has been delayed. we are doing everything we can to bring as much ppe in from right across the globe. we recognise it is across the globe. we recognise it is a big challenge. the uk's education secretary also said he was unable to give a date for when schools will reopen, four weeks after they were shut

to curb the spread of coronavirus. while spain looks towards relaxing lockdown measures by allowing children to go outside from next monday, italy is still considering its next move, and the number of daily fines for illegal outdoor activity is on the rise. india enters its fourth week of coronavirus lockdown — doctors tell the bbc a lack of tests mean they don't yet knowjust how serious the situation is. from what i am hearing from hospitals here, some of them are getting full up and are having now to turn patients away. now on bbc news, it's time for dateline london. hello, and welcome to dateline london. i'm carrie gracie.

this week, a world divided by hope and fear as some countries tentatively emerge from the shadow of the epidemic and others go towards it. even when lockdown is being lifted, other sorrows are just beginning as we all begin to absorb the scale of the economic damage. but death and destruction do not stop great power politics. the president of the united states has announced a cut in funding to the world health organization, accusing it of going soft on china. my guests on socially distanced screens — isabel hilton of china dialogue and stephanie baker from bloomberg news. welcome to both of you. and here in the studio we have the bbc‘s chief international correspondent, lyse doucet. welcome to you. let us start with the who developments. stephanie, is that defunding from president trump a symbol