or in the community in england and northern ireland. we start tonight with this extended report from inside the university hospital in wishaw managed by nhs lanarkshire on the pressures of dealing with coronavirus patients from the very young to the elderly. tonight at ten, the battle to save patients with coronavirus, the report is by our special correspondent ed thomas, 00:00:17,482 --> 2147483051:36:53,456 producer noel titheradge, 2147483051:36:53,456 --> 4294966103:13:29,430 and cameraman phil edwards. from the elderly to the new—born. a special report from lanarkshire on the range of patients affected and the pressures on the staff caring for them. you think we're getting to grips with this and then you get another by looking after her. onslaught of admissions again, and let's not forget that. as cute and beautiful as she is, so every day, you think, she has tested positive, "today will be a better day," but it just never, ever comes. so the staff that are handling her, they are being put at risk. it's just constant. across the uk there are still urgent consultants now triage calls for supplies of protective equipment as ministers claim that patients arriving at a&e. every effort is being made. what we're doing in the front row is splitting patients. we are improving our sourcing if they are possible covid internationally and domestically coming in one entrance. to make sure we can get the ppe we've kind of split them from the start. we need but in what is a very with separate paths throughout the hospital. suspected covid—19. challenging international context. all are seen quickly. we'll have the latest on the crisis she's been unwell as government experts say the numbers of people testing for about a week now. and are you in painjust now, lyn? positive for the virus are "pretty much stable and flat". ijust feel really sore,

also tonight... more than 140,000 firms apply quite breathless for government help to retain jobs and very, very, very tired. the grants should help pay the wages week after week, lyn has been in and out of homes of more than one million people. working as a carer. as demand collapses, the price of us oil has turned negative for the first i've been on the covid—19 team. home care. time in history. we've been working and why harry and meghan are taking on the tabloids really hard just to help vowing not to cooperate the vulnerable stay with the biggest titles. in their own homes rather than... and in sport... arsenal's first team squad and head because the hospital staff don't coach mikel arteta become the latest have the space for them, so... in the premier league to agree a pay cut, following "positive i don't know whether and constructive discussions". 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 good evening. and to get the results they're we start tonight with a special report illustrating the range of challenges faced by nhs staff in the fight getting, it's unbelievable.

against coronavirus. during the day ministers have again promised they're addressing and it's here, the icu, where staff face the greatest uncertainties. the shortage of protective how intense has it been? equipment, and the it's been overwhelming, government's deputy chief to say the least. scientific adviser said that the number of new infections the staff have felt across the uk was pretty much stable and flat. completely overwhelmed. the prime minister has expressed some patients are spending up caution about relaxing the lockdown too soon because he fears it to three weeks here. could lead to a second peak. you are, in fact, theirfamily, the latest figures for the uk show because you're the only person there were 419 deaths reported that's here visiting them, in the last 24—hour period reflecting a steady fall so the staff are finding over the past few days. it really difficult. they're bereft when people are dying. in the time we were here, the official number of deaths in the uk linked there was no reprieve. to coronavirus is 16,509. 00:02:37,876 --> 2147483051:38:03,652 but that number does not include 2147483051:38:03,652 --> 4294966103:13:29,430 deaths in care homes 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 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. have you ever felt like this before ever with any illness? what you want to say to people? 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. and guy can see his family. ed thomas with that report. leading health organisations including the faculty of intensive care medicine have repeated their warning that a lack of protective equipment or ppe is putting lives at risk and they've called for a clear strategy to ensure a sustained supply. an raf aircraft has flown to turkey

to collect a shipment of 400,000 clinical gowns — the delivery was expected yesterday and it's still not clear when it will happen. public health england has admitted the lack of ppe is a concern, as 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. 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. josie was a nurse for 30 years, she

died with the virus on easter monday. she told herfamily died with the virus on easter monday. she told her family she thought the protective equipment was not the best. i feel like they should protect those on the front lines because they are kind of sending them over there naked. i feel like without the proper protection, then more families will lose a loved one. the trust where she worked said they had implemented national guidance on protective equipment. 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 or so of stock. usually staff put on new items every few hours, but the guidance has been changed so they are allowed to wash and reuse gowns. front line staff, though, are concerned about the situation.

we want to treat 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. 0ne trust in lincolnshire made up of three hospitals has revealed how much protective equipment, or ppe, they use in a single day. 39,500 surgical masks, nearly 11,500 gloves, around 1,500 gowns and 4,200 specialist masks. that is 72,000 items 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 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, i think 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. with the new temporary nhs in glasgow ready to take patients, the government said it was working at pace to improve the supply of ppe. the opening ceremony for qadir‘s new temporary hospital, the principality stadium, with room for up to 2000 patients. the prince of wales. there was more uplifting news at the east sussex trust, as staff gave one of their

own round of applause today. a nurse who was leaving critical hugh pym, bbc news. the government's declared deadline to be testing 100,000 people a day for coronavirus is less than two weeks away and some experts say it's almost impossible to see that target being met. and it's confirmed that yesterday just 19,316 tests were carried out across the uk. in cardiff, the welsh government has now abandoned its target on testing after failing to come close to the 5,000 a day figure set for mid—april. the first minister of wales mark drakeford says there were 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. our health editor hugh pym joins me. when they say today in downing

street that the numbers of new cases are flat and stable, are they, in effect, saying that we have passed the peak? i think they are saying we are at the peak and the likely direction now for all the indicators is downwards, new infections has been flat for a little while. the daily reported death toll, tragic though it is, is the lowest in two weeks, below 500. now, let's remember that is largely hospital deaths and of course it follows a weekend when there may have been fewer registration so we need to watch the next few days. and then there are the data on patient numbers in hospitals with covid—19 and that charge was shown at the media briefing today so let's take a look at that. that is important, you see london, that line has been falling for seven days in london that led to the rest of the uk in terms of the number of cases. the north—west having gone up a bit has

now flattened, scotland and wales is down, the east of england is the only one, we picked a few, the only one pointing upwards, so all this is seen as positive, they need a bit more time to assess the data but they don't want to give the impression to the public the lockdown is about to be lifted. they are worried largely by the wrong signals being put out and also worried by the possibility of a second spike sometime later in the year. thank you very much, hugh pym, oui’ year. thank you very much, hugh pym, our health editor. the government scheme that will help pay the wages of staff during the pandemic has gone live and by late this afternoon 140,000 firms had made claims. thejob retention scheme allows staff to be furloughed where they stay on a company's payroll while the business isn't operating and will cover 80% of a person's wages up to £2,500 a month. it's one of a number of schemes as our business editor simonjack explains. 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 from peterjackson... a godsend for businesses like this jewellers's, 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 the scheme. so, the fact it is 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, colleagues i can keep in touch with, the fact i can keep my house, i can keep my bills going. it doesjust mean everything. it means everybody has that added comfort, which i know for a lot of people they haven't actually got that in place at the moment, so i do find myself very lucky. the scheme should cover over 8 million employees

who are on the payroll as of march 19. it'll pay 80% of employee wages to a cap of £2500 a month and run until the end ofjune and could cost the government, the taxpayer, as much as £50 billion. this is a direct grant to employers, unlike the £330 billion in government backed loans. so far, just 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 government offers an 80% guarantee to the lender. there has been mounting pressure on the chancellor, including comments from the bank of england, to increase that to 100%, as other countries have done. i'm not persuaded that moving to 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 have obviously cut business rates for a large number of businesses. if people are asking the question will that help speed up delivery of the loans, then 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 that without additional government help, airline virgin atlantic may not survive. as 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. in the usa the price of oil has collapsed to a record low as demand dries up and storage runs out. the price of a barrel of west texas intermediate the benchmark for us oil today traded as low as minus 40 dollars

a barrel the first time the price has turned negative in history. it led to a day of chaos in the oil markets. our business correspondent michelle fleury is in new york. essentially, producers are paying to off—load the oil, michelle? essentially, producers are paying to off-load the oil, michelle? yes, this is unprecedented what you are seeing in the oil industry, cowes that has not existed as far back as people have been recording the price of oil. what has happened is that with all of us staying home, not driving around and not getting on planes demand has essentially vanished. the result around the world, there is too much crude oil. and, so, today what we saw is a drop in the price of a key us benchmark, west texas intermediate, to below zero. again, this has never been seen zero. again, this has never been seen before, and what it means as traders are essentially paying to

get rid of this oil but there is so much that is being stored because people just are not buying the oil, refineries are not taking this oil, that they are saying, well, we don't wa nt that they are saying, well, we don't want any new deliveries in the month of may. we are not expecting to see any of may. we are not expecting to see a ny recovery of may. we are not expecting to see any recovery until there is a pick—up in demand. and, of course, that will depend on how this health crisis unfolds. michelle fleury, thanks very much, in new york. around the world some countries are confident they have reached their highest number of infections and passed the peak so they're starting to ease restrictions and move towards ending their lockdowns. new zealand today announced that rules on local travel will be relaxed, this follows some easing in germany and denmark too. what happens next is likely to be keenly watched by governments around the world, 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 will 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 the 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. it is maybe more important for the small businesses. but what's happening injapan shows the 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. the prime minister is still at his country residence chequers recovering from the effects of coronavirus he is said to be getting daily updates on the government's response. downing street said today borisjohnson's priority was to prevent a second peak of coronavirus and he's said to be very wary of relaxing the restrictions too early. let's go live to westminster and our political editor laura kuenssberg. what is your latest reading of the government's response? as you

suggest, this overriding caution across government of starting to twea k across government of starting to tweak or lift any of the restrictions too early because at this stage it seems that would be a risk not worth taking, a risk of a second deadly spike that would not just have a cause of loss of life but also would in time create more disruption for the economy and, of course, for the country in terms of being able to climb out of this anytime soon. and the government is experiencing a lot of pressure especially on the issue of protective kit for people and hospitals and care homes those caring for the and insiders acknowledge perhaps they should have grappled and tried to grip up this particular issue earlier on. but what people in government absolutely are adamant about is any suggestion they were not taking this seriously until recently. they say they are now working absolutely flat out to try to make sure that everything is in its place and beyond concerns

about protective equipment or about the speed of testing not being ramped up quickly as many people would desire. the two big games the government set out at the beginning, slowing the spread of the disease. we know from the reasoning flattening of the numbers that seems to be happening. and stopping the nhs from being completely overwhelmed. that, too, has been avoided, it seems, and a few short weeks ago it wasn't inevitable either of those things would happen. laura, many thanks. laura kuenssberg in westminster. as we've heard, the price of us oil has collapsed as demand falls because of the crisis. and unemployment has rocketed with more than 22 million americans filing for unemployment benefits in the past month. protesters have ta ken to the streets in states across the us demanding an end to stay at home measures and the reopening of the economy as our north america editorjon sopel reports. like wildfire a series of demonstrations has erupted across the country...

usa! ..to protest at the stay at home order. to protest at the closure of the us economy. to protest at what these people see as unacceptable government interference in their lives. and they don't seem much interested in maintaining social distancing. this person carries the placard, "give me liberty or give me covid—19." he may end up with both. now i think it's time for the government to allow us adults to make the decisions of what businesses they want to open. if they want to open, open up. we should open up yesterday. it never should have closed. it's a hoax. it's the facts of life. we live and we die. so to shut down the economy because of that is insane. fuel for these protests was provided in a series of tweets by the president, urging citizens to liberate their states from overzealous governors. the governors are aghast that,

in the midst of coronavirus, they're now having to deal with protesters. this is not the time for protest. this is not the time for divisiveness. this is time for leadership that will stand up and and provide empathy, that will understand what's going on in this country of ours. please go ahead. but when i spoke to the president, he was unconcerned. if there were groups of people planning to protest tomorrow against the government shutdown, what would be your advice? they're allowed to protest. i mean, they feel that way. i watched the protest and they were all six feet apart. it was a very orderly group of people. but, you know, some governors have gone too far. some of the things that happened are maybe not so appropriate and i think, in the end, it's not going to matter because we're starting to open up our states and i think they're going to open up very well. as far as protesters, you know, i see protesters for all sorts of things and i'm with everybody. i'm with everybody. a twist, though. in denver, colorado,

health workers on the front line of the fight against coronavirus tried to stop the protesters who see themselves as the vanguard for individual liberty. four weeks of lockdown and tensions are building. jon sopel, bbc news, washington. the lockdown has already changed important aspects of millions of lives and one of the main impacts according to campaigners is that we're facing an unprecedented emergency in mental health which could go on for years. charities say helplines are dealing with an overwhelming increase in calls with millions of people also downloading advice from websites offering support. 0ur correspondentjon kay has been speaking to people in bristol to find out how they're coping with life in lockdown. another day over. but we face more weeks of lockdown. the aim is to protect our bodies. but what's the impact on our minds?

along the bristol channel, we found people only too aware of the strain on mental health. it is just a fear of you getting it or a loved one getting it. you know, it is hard even to talk about it! just loneliness, i think. that lack of not being able to have face—to—face conversations is a really big deal. i'm not sleeping that well, put it that way. i just feel totally useless. what can you do? you've got to try and pick yourself up, keep yourself motivated doing stuff. if you just sit there and just watch tv, it'll grind you down. we've spoken to some of the uk's largest mental health charities, some of them help veterans, others support young families or people with financial problems. and they have all told us that there has been an unprecedented increase in demand for help over

the last month. whether it is grief and anxiety, isolation or loss of control, charities say people of all ages and all backgrounds are asking for support. many of them have never thought of themselves having mental