the government comes under sustained pressure for failing to provide sufficient ppe for healthcare workers — supplies promised at the weekend have still not arrived. from the oldest to the very youngest, a special report from inside one hospital treating coronavirus patients. you think we're getting to grips with this and then you get another onslaught of admissions again, so every day, you think, "today will be a better day," but itjust never, ever comes. it's just constant. the number of people who've died in hospital with coronavirus in the uk reported in the last twenty four hours is 449, reflecting a steady drop over the last few days. also tonight... the government scheme to pay furloughed workers has begun today — 140,000 firms have

made claims so far. the road to recovery — from intensive care to some tender loving care at last with family. and private text messages between the duke and duchess of sussex and her father are made public in court. and in sport, cases of depression reported by professional footballers has doubled, according to the world players‘ union, since the sport shut down because of coronavirus. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. the government is under pressure about the lack of personal protective equipment with the lack of gowns for healthcare workers critical according to nhs providers.

a supply from turkey was supposed to be flown in over the weekend. an raf plane has set off in the last hour to go and collect it. it will be distributed across england. it will be distributed across england. the latest figures for the uk show there were 449 deaths reported in the last 24—hour period, reflecting a steady drop over the last few days. it means that the official number of deaths in the uk linked to coronavirus is 16,509. that number does not include deaths in care homes or in the community in england and northern ireland. tonight, we've a special report from inside university hospital wishaw, part of nhs lanarkshire, on how they're coping with the multiple challenges presented by coronavirus patients ranging from three weeks old to over 70. this from our special correspondent ed thomas and cameraman phil edwards. she's been unwell for about a week now. she's a carer who works with other cases in the community. look beyond the daily statistics. these are the lives changed forever.

that's you completely breathing on your own. listen, i'm a lucky one. i'm seeing my family tomorrow. from those trying to save the sickest. we've had three deaths which has totally floored the staff today. it's probably the most amount of death in one shift that we've had so far. to the eldest, most vulnerable, and the youngest. the last thing you want to hear when you pick up the phone is your baby has got coronavirus. hospital life has been transformed. normally it's full of parents all day. all day, all night, so it's difficult. mums and dads of babies kept in for observation can only visit for an hour a day. what was it like being away from your baby for 15 nights? i couldn't sleep. it was so hard.

but these babies are never alone, receiving constant care. what have the nurses and doctors been like here? honest to god, they have been, they've been amazing. they deserve a medal, every one of them. to contain the virus, the maternity ward is now divided. no one is allowed in. it's to isolate coronavirus right there. peyton is three weeks old and has the virus. i can't thank them enough for what they've done for her. she's always watched over. definitely privileged to have such a great team behind her, cheering heron. they've been brilliant. when you got your phone call saying your baby has got coronavirus, that's the worst thing, i can only imagine, but wejust need to power through and provide the best care we can give at this horrible time. tracy has now taken the decision to isolate with her baby. obviously staff, the now, are absolutely risking their life by looking after her. and let's not forget that.

as cute and beautiful as she is, she has tested positive, so the staff that are handling her, they are being put at risk. consultants now triage patients arriving at a&e. what we're doing in the front row is splitting patients. if they are possible covid coming in one entrance. we've kind of split them from the start. with separate paths throughout the hospital. suspected covid—19. all are seen quickly. she's been unwell for about a week now. and are you in painjust now, lyn? ijust feel really sore, quite breathless and very, very, very tired. week after week, lyn has been in and out of homes working as a carer. i work in the community. i've been on the covid—19 team. home care. we've been working really hard just to help the vulnerable stay in their own homes rather than...

because the hospital staff don't have the space for them, so... i don't know whether we're really appreciated. she's away, she's got her prescription. injust weeks, the hospital has created three specialist wards for coronavirus patients. terrifying, terrifying. i am indebted to the nurses and the doctors. i trusted them all, without doubt. without doubt. they're working in an environment that they've never worked in before and to get the results they're getting, it's unbelievable. and it's here, the icu, where staff face to the greatest uncertainties. how intense has it been? it's been overwhelming, to say the least. the staff have felt completely overwhelmed. some patients are spending up to three weeks here. you are, in fact, theirfamily,

because you're the only person that's here visiting them, so the staff are finding it really difficult. they're bereft when people are dying. in the time we were here, there was no reprieve. u nfortu nately, we've had three deaths, which has totally floored the staff today. injust weeks, this intensive care unit has quadrupled capacity. you think we're getting to grips with this and then you get another onslaught of admissions again, so every day, you think, "today will be a better day." the better day never, ever comes. the concern for andrea is how long they can keep going. everybody‘s working more than their normal working hours and everybody‘s willing to do thatjust now and my main worry as the ward manager is how long can staff sustain that? there is going to come a point where staff are going to have burned themselves out. but this is what sustains them. after 12 days in intensive care... amazing. guy heath is getting stronger.

made me feel absolutely helpless. have you ever felt like this before ever with any illness? never, ever. and i don't want to feel like this ever again. what you want to say to people? trust in our health service because they're going to see us through this. and i thank the doctors and everyone else who works here. bagpipes playing amazing grace and every thursday, our country echoes to the sound of thanks. thanks to the physiotherapists working 12—hour nursing shifts in intensive care, the nurse living apart to protect her three—year—old daughter.

that's you breathing completely on your own now. so kenny can finally breathe unaided. i love them all and thank you for all the support that they've given me since i've been in here. and once again, guy can be with his family. ed thomas with that report. leading health organisations have repeated their warning that a lack of protective equipment is putting lives at risk and have called for a clear strategy to ensure a sustained supply. as we heard earlier, a flight has at last set off to turkey to collect a consignment of personal protective equipment for health care workers in england. our health editor hugh pym reports. we have recently got these gowns made locally. 0ne care home's response to equipment shortages, get it made by local contacts. these are the supplies we had in head office. they are very limited. we have ten litres of hand rub. while supplies

are coming in, they are hard to get and staff look after residents with symptoms fear they may run out. these are some of the most selfless people i have met and we are putting not just our people i have met and we are putting notjust our residents at risk, but also our staff, and that makes us feel awful and it keeps us up at night. we are trying our best. first of all, we are putting our gowns on. for hospitals, specialist gowns and masks used in intensive care are in short supply. some, though not this one, say they are down to only a day oi’ one, say they are down to only a day or $0 one, say they are down to only a day or so of stock. usually staff put on new items every few hours, but the guidance has changed so they are allowed to wash and reuse gowns. front line staff are concerned about the situation. we work in the nhs because we want to help patients and we never expected we would be putting our own health at risk by doing that. not knowing whether you are going to be able to protect yourself is a worry we should not

have to have. one trust in lincolnshire made up of three hospitals has revealed how much protective equipment, or pte, they use ina protective equipment, or pte, they use in a single day. 39,500 surgical masks, nearly 11,500 gloves, nearly 1500 gowns and 4200 specialist masks. that is 72,000 items of ppe forjust one day. i raised the concerns about shortages in some areas at the downing street media briefing. are you ashamed as a government that there are so many nhs staff going into work who say they are worried about their safety because they say they fear their hospitals might run out of ppe. absolutely everybody working hard on the front line deserves to have the equipment they need to do theirjobs safely and we are working around the clock to make sure we can deliver on that. a billion pieces of ppe have been delivered, 12 million yesterday, and we are improving our

sourcing internationally and domestically to make sure we can get the ppe we need in what is a challenging international context. the chancellor said there were delays with the planned turkish consignment of ppe, but a shipment of gowns from myanmar had arrived. but the opening ceremony for qadir‘s new temporary hospital, the principality stadium, with room for up principality stadium, with room for up to 2000 patients, there was a message from the prince of wales. that is an amazing undertaking and that it should have been completed and the such short space of time is rightly a huge sauce of pride. i wa nt to rightly a huge sauce of pride. i want to add my voice to the tributes that have been paid to all those involved. elsewhere on the front line nhs staff gave one of own round of applause, a nurse who was leaving critical care. of applause, a nurse who was leaving critical care. our health editor hugh pym joins me. it is encouraging when you see

somebody leaving hospital. the official death toll from coronavirus is still horribly high but encouragingly it's the lowest it's been in weeks. the lowest daily reported death toll, below 500, the lowest since early april. but a couple of caveats. it is monday and there are sometimes delays in registering debts over the weekend, and these are hospital deaths and they do not include deaths in the community and ca re include deaths in the community and care homes and we will get more sta rts care homes and we will get more starts tomorrow as it happens. let's have a look at the figures for hospital patients with covid—19. we have selected different parts of the uk, not all of them, and in london you can see the figures have fallen consistently, the seventh day in a i’ow. consistently, the seventh day in a row. more patients are leaving, having recovered, then coming in. the north—west having spiked up a little bit has flattened. there was an issue with data that they are apparently. scotland and wales are broadly similar. the east of england has gone up a little bit. the

overall picture is a flattening in the number of cases. you could tell officials at the media briefing were saying it was encouraging and that this was all moving in the right direction, but certainly the message remains no talk of lifting restrictions at this stage because they want to be absolutely certain with all their tests that they will not be a second spike if they left these restrictions too early. a government scheme has begun today to keep staff on the payroll, even if the pandemic means they can't work. by this afternoon 140,000 firms had made claims. under the coronavirus job retention scheme, the government will cover 80% of workers' wages, if they're put on leave, up to a value of £2500 a month. but it's a huge undertaking as our business editor simon jack reports. lockdown britain, streets deserted, shops closed, workers at home. but due to a government scheme that went live today, nearly 10 million of them will be paid by the government to stay there. i'm peterjackson...

a godsend for businesses like this jewellers who has 40 staff across four closed stores. it's a lifeline. it's always been my wish that we would be able to look after all our team and continue to pay their wages, but while we have so little income coming in, we simply wouldn't be able to do that without this scheme. so the fact that it's there means that everybody can stay on our books. his employee, gemma, has just moved into a new home and feels grateful she will have money coming in. i've got a job to go back to, i got colleagues i can keep in touch with, the fact that i can keep my house, keep my bills going. it does just mean you've got that added comfort which i know for a lot of people, they haven't actually got that in place at the moment. the scheme should cover over 8 million employees who were on the payroll as of march the 19th. it will pay 80% of employee wages to a cap of £2500 a month

and it will run until the end ofjune and could cost the government as much as £50 billion. this is a direct grant to employers, unlike the 330 billion in government—backed loans. so farjust over 2% of that money has been approved with many businesses finding themselves unwilling or unable to borrow their way out of a crisis. the treasury says take up is accelerating and also say they are deferring 30 billion in vat to protect company cash flows. currently the treasury offers an 80% guarantee to the lender. there has been mounting pressure on the chancellor to increase that to 100% as other countries have done. i'm not persuaded that moving to a 100% guarantee is the right thing to do. i think if you take a step back and look at the sum total of everything we've done to support business, we've done a lot of direct cash support in the form of cash grants that are going to businesses, we've obviously cut business rates for a large number of businesses. people are asking the question will that help speed up delivery of the loans? i am very sympathetic to that and i also want to see that. the state stepping in like this

to pay workers' wages is unprecedented in its scale and its cost, but the alternative, mass unemployment, would turn a recession into a depression, which would cost more and be felt for longer. also today there was a reminder of how some of britain's most famous business names are not being spared. sir richard branson said without additional government help, airline virgin atlantic may not survive. but the chancellor has admitted not every business can be saved, not every worker protected. the list of economic casualties will be a long one. simon jack, bbc news. the welsh government has abandoned its target on testing for coronavirus after failing to come close to the 5,000 a day figure set for mid—april. the first minister mark drakeford says there has been problems with sourcing chemicals from abroad, but there are also hundreds of unused testing spaces every day. the welsh government has called on military planners to review its testing system, but a new target will not be set. across the world, other countries

are taking the first tentative steps towards lifting lockdown restrictions, as the rate of infection appears to slow. in germany some small shops have re—opened, while denmark and norway have begun opening their schools. new zealand has today announced that rules on local travel will be relaxed. what happens next is likely to be keenly watched by governments globally, as our science editor david shukman reports. even when the worst seems to be over, the virus remains a threat. in china, the authorities are still on their guard — checking forfever, a common symptom of covid—19. every government is now trying to work out what to do next. new zealand is held up as an example of a country that's got it right so far. it cut itself off from the rest of the world. an extreme lockdown was introduced rapidly and cases of deaths have been kept unusually low. so, the prime minister has announced the first cautious moves to open up. we believe that

decisive action — going hard and going early — give us the very best chance of stamping out the virus. and it has. we have done what very few countries have been able to do. we have stopped a wave of devastation. in europe, germany is seen as a model for how to hand it as a model for how to handle the virus. it's leading the way in testing. in munich, this team is checking a thousand people for antibodies, to discover who's been infected. right from the start, mass tests were seen as vital and now, like in new zealand, there is a first step to re—opening. julia runs a shop in heidelberg. closed for weeks, she's now got permission to start again, this time from behind a protective screen and with only one customer allowed in at a time. do you think it's the right time in germany for shops like yours

to re—open? yes, i think so, because if we couldn't do that it would be very, very difficult to take this. very, very difficult to exist. it is maybe more important for the small businesses. but what's happening injapan show it is risk of easing measures too soon. controls were introduced, but then relaxed, only for cases to rise sharply again. and the world health organization is warning countries against moving before they're fully prepared. please make sure you have got the defences in place at the community level. please make sure that everybody knows what their responsibility is. please make sure that older people are given special care and attention. please make sure that hospitals are got ready. japan's hospitals are now struggling. they're short of personal protective equipment. the government there is accused of assuming they had got the outbreak under control. david shukman, bbc news.

let's get more from our political editor laura kuenssberg. interesting to see how other countries are dealing with this. the government coming under pressure for the lack of ppe. yes and i don't think in government they expect that to disappear any time soon, because it is probably not an issue that can be fixed overnight, because of the international demand for that kind of kit and the fact it takes some time to get people here in the uk producing it at the kind of rate that it producing it at the kind of rate thatitis producing it at the kind of rate that it is needed in hospitals, care homes, gp practices around the country. also this stuff is delivered on what is called the just in time basis. the way it is co—ordinated is to give hospitals what they need for a couple of days, rather than magicing up the supply that last for months. i don't think anyone expects this to suddenly disappear. there is a real concern

for people working on the front line, trying to help patients who are going through this. when you talk to officials and ministers about how they have been handling this, it is true some say privately they acknowledge on some elements, maybe they could have gripped things more firmly at an earlier stage. across the board the government rejects the idea that they were not taking this seriously enough and on the two big issues they're confident they have slowed the spread of the disease. we see the figures day—by—day, which seem to suggest thatis day—by—day, which seem to suggest that is the case. and second of all, stopping the nhs from being com pletely stopping the nhs from being completely overwhelmed. we know that the nhs still has capacity, despite the nhs still has capacity, despite the difficulties, but the government is confident on those two fronts they have achieved what they set out to do. that doesn't mean there are not problems or they won't get any

flak, but those are the do things the government believes they have made significant progress on. thank you. parks in middlesbrough are to remain closed, despite government advice they should reopen. the town's mayor says it has "one of the highest rates of coronavirus outside london" and it would be "dangerous" for people to use the parks. but locally some are angry saying they need them reopened for exercise and their mental health. 0ur north of england correspondent, danny savage, reports. a sunny day, perfect for a walk in the park, but not in middlesbrough. parks have been closed for weeks because the elected mayor here says it's not safe. we saw people wrestling and messing about... this weekend the government made it clear that parks should be open, but the mayor says he is not budging. do you know better than the government? about middlesbrough i know better than the government, absolutely right. we have a fragile economy, we have a covid vulnerability that is higher than anywhere else

in the country and if in the middle of a crisis some people have to walk around the park or come here and walk instead of the park, that is a price worth worth paying. and some people do understand his view. there is a lot of coronavirus around here, so the best way is to keep people self—isolated away and self— distancing and parks are the ideal place for people to congregate. but the decision to close parks has infuriated others. this man has already written to the mayor to complain. it's absolutely terrible that people who live in a poor area are not allowed to do what i think is a basic human right, get outside. at albert park you can do laps around the perimeter fence, but can't go in. regulars soon stopped us for a socially—distanced chat. parks in the areas that are open outside middlesbrough, why is middlesbrough shut?

and the likes of stockton are open? give it a try. stephen is a local volunteer for the mental health charity mind. we talk regularly about the importance of your physical well—being, getting out into nature, walking, and the fact that andy preston has sort of withdrawn that, people are suffering with it. the mayor is aiming to have parks reopened in the coming days. for now, though, this town remains out of step with nearly everywhere else, but at least it allows the wildlife to nest undisturbed. danny savage, bbc news, middlesbrough. 19 people have have been shot dead by a gunman disguised as a policeman in the canadian province of nova scotia. the attack — which took place in portapique about 60 miles north of halifax — is the worst mass shooting in ca nada's history. the gunman's motive is not clear. he was reported to have been driving what was meant to look like a police car. a policewoman is among the victims. private text messages

between the duke and duchess of sussex and her father have been revealed in court as part of the couple's claim against associated newspapers. harry and meghan have also told the uk's tabloid press they are ending all co—operation with them. in a letter, they accuse the mail, the sun, the mirror and the express groups of publishing "distorted, false or invasive" stories. 0ur royal correspondent nicholas witchell reports. it's just six weeks since they walked away from britain and now harry and meghan are stamping out the rules of their new, non—royal life and rule number one, it seems, is having nothing to do with britain's tabloid newspapers — the mail, express, sun and mirror. the couple insist that they're not trying to avoid criticism and they do believe in a free press, but they will not engage with papers which publish things which they say are distorted, false or invasive. harry has had a difficult relationship with the tabloids for years. it's a dislike which he seems

unable to turn away from. they, early on, have been so prickly with the press. they've almost encouraged them to misbehave. to be honest with you, i would say that their better judgment was that they should simply ignore it, ignore it and if the papers are not getting a rise out of them, they will not continue to do it. the couple's relationship with the tabloids was soured further when the mail on sunday published extracts from a private letter meghan had sent her estranged father, thomas. she is suing the newspaper for breach of privacy. the sussexes' lawyers have now disclosed some of the text messages the couple sent to try to help mr markle. in one text, harry said, meghan and harry are now concentrating on new opportunities. she was heard on us television today talking about a disney film she has narrated about elephants.

and if we had more of an awareness about the obstacles they're facing, i think we would take care of each other, this planet and animals in a very different way. two months into their new life and harry and meghan are doing their best to navigate a new course. supporters will applaud them taking on the tabloid press. detractors will question theirjudgment as the world wrestles with more pressing matters. we return now to coronavirus. and across england it's a varied picture, in terms of the rates of infection and the number of people who've died from it. we've been speaking to our health correspondents across the regions, starting with sharon barbour in the north east, an area which has recorded more than 1,800 deaths. it was to newcastle that the first two confirmed cases of coronavirus in the uk were brought. since then, hospitals and medical teams have dramatically transformed to cope with the crisis. there have been concerns over ppe, with doctors turning to vets

for surgical gowns and to schools for visors, but the real concern now is the news coming out of care homes. one in county durham's reported 14 dead and the organisation representing care homes fears that coronavirus maybe in up to half of them. the midlands was hit early and hard with a cluster of cases in wolverhampton. since then this hospital in birmingham has been converted into a giants intensive care units. the trust which runs four hospitals across the area has seen more deaths than any other. in the east midlands there are fewer cases, centred mainly on derby. 0verall admissions to our region are beginning to slow. here in the north—west, doctors are worried that fears about coronavirus may be stopping some people with other conditions from visiting the region's a&e and the most recent figures show a drop of 30% from this time last year. historically, parts

of the north—west have much worse than normal health outcomes and there are particular concerns that minor strokes and heart attacks may not be being picked up, leading to further problems in the future. the south west currently has the lowest number of coronavirus deaths in england, but it may not last. health bosses are planning for a possible peak injune. so, unusually, tourism bosses are asking people to stay away and there is hostility from locals towards any second home owners who are isolating here. another issue here is dental treatment. although local urgent treatment centres opened last week, appointments are limited and some people have told us they became to desperate, they pulled out their own teeth. jenny walrond, ending that report there. last week we featured a story about tim hall, 37 years old and seriously ill in intensive care with coronavirus. well, we're pleased to say tim

has now been discharged