this is bbc news. welcome if you're watching here in the uk, on pbs in america or around the globe. my name's mike embley. our top stories: president trump claims infection rates and cases in some hotspots are dropping and that more us states will be in a position to reopen. these trends demonstrate that our aggressive strategy to battle the virus is working and that more states will soon be in a position to gradually and safely reopen. it's very exciting. slipping backwards — why japan is facing a renewed outbreak. the bbc gets rare access inside a japanese hospital. people think that the younger generations, if they suffer from this covid, the symptoms are not so bad. but that's not true.

many patients in the hospitals are in their 40s and 50s. here in the uk, according to the chief medical officer, social distancing will be needed until at least the end of the year. and we'll have more on iran's claim that it has successfully launched its first military satellite into orbit. hello to you. as some american states start to reopen from the coronavirus lockdown, president trump has claimed to the white house briefing that the us has flattened the curve of infections. the us has so far seen 10,000 deaths and nearly 850,000 cases. but, mr trump has taken issue with the director of the us centers for disease control and prevention, who's said a second wave of coronavirus in the autumn, combined

with seasonal flu, could be worse. the head of the world health organization has said the global pandemic will not be over soon. here in the uk, the chief medical officer has warned that social distancing measures could remain in place for up to a year. japan, at first one of the success stories in controlling the spread of covid—19, now has a developing epidemic, with nearly 3,500 cases in the capital, tokyo. more on that in moment. first, let's hear more from president trump. if it does, it's not going to come back on anything near what we went through. but you could have a mess where they come the same time. and if they come at the same time, the flu is not the greatest thing in the world, jeff. it's not the greatest thing either. if they come at the same time you have them both. but if we have embers of corona, coupled with the flu, that's not going to be pleasant. but it's not going to be what we've gone through in any way, shape or form.

the director of the centers for disease control and prevention was called in by the president to clarify what he'd been quoted as saying to the washington post. this spring that we just went through, february, we had a benefit of having the flu season ended, so we could use all our flu surveillance systems to say, whoops, this is coronavirus, we need to focus. next fall and winter we are going to have two viruses circulating. and we're going to have to distinguish between which is flu and which is coronavirus. and so the comment i made was that it would be more difficult, doesn't mean it would be more impossible, doesn't mean it's going to be more — as some people said, worse, itjust means more difficult because we have to distinguish between the two. and what i was wanting to do and what i want to do again here, is appeal to the american public to recognise they can really help like they did with mitigation, which they really helped. i need them to help now to best

prepare us by getting the flu vaccine and taking flu out of the picture. i spoke just now to our correspondent, david willis. as he said, despite the evident discomfort of the president, robert redfield there, essentially standing by what he'd said to the post. absolutely, mike. and confirming, in fact, the washington post had got the story correct. although mr redfield did take issue with the headline. but president trump then stepped up to say that this projection of a possible concurrence if you like, of the coronavirus and the winter flu season was the worst—case scenario and said that the coronavirus might not come back. although medical experts remain convinced that it probably will. as far as the cdc director, robert redfield, is concerned and his approach to that article in the washington post, he can't have been too displeased with it at the time, mike, because he retweeted the very same article. many people will have in mind, i think, this rather scary

statistic that apparently the 1918 global flu pandemic, killed 25 times as many people in the second wave as the first wave had done. obviously the president has no medical or scientific background. not for the first time, the science here is politically inconvenient? yes, it is. and of course he's somebody who wants to stress that this is an economy that needs to be reopened because the threat of the coronavirus is receding. and president trump's electoral fortunes may well depend on the economy bouncing back to the level that it was before the coronavirus, when the stock market was very buoyant and unemployment was not at the 22 million level that we see it at currently. but you are right, president trump has taken issue with a lot of these figures and he's said today that he was quite disconcerted, in a way, by georgia's decision to reopen some of its businesses. businesses such as gyms,

nail and hair salons and so on. the georgia governor, who's been a staunch ally of president trump, saying that those businesses will be reopened as soon as friday and that other businesses, restaurants and cinemas, et cetera, will be reopening there on monday. president trump said he strongly disagreed with that decision — it was too soon for this to happen. although, of course, he has called on states to reopen their economies, mike, as soon as possible. david willis for us there. until recently, japan had been one of the success stories in controlling the spread of covid—i9. in february and march, the country succeeded in suppressing early cluster outbreaks, and in keeping total infections in the hundreds. but now, japan's capital tokyo appears to have a developing epidemic, with nearly 3,500 cases. 0ur tokyo team have been inside one hospitaljust south of the capital. this is our red zone. right. so, in this room are

negative pressure rooms. inside the st marianna university hospital in kawasaki, dr shigeki fujitani shows me the new covid unit, built from scratch in the last two weeks. this is their new control room. this is the airlock through the window, here? this is the green area. this is green zone, this is the airlock, and that goes into the red zone in there? yes, yes, yes. from here, dr fujitani and his staff can monitor the patients from a safe distance and preserve their dwindling stocks of protective equipment. this hospital has 1,000 beds. but the covid unit has just 15, and already 11 of them are filled with very sick people. dr fujitani says if the outbreak in tokyo isn't controlled soon, these beds will not be enough. because tokyo is a pandemic, with sick patients. and the number of icu beds are kind of limited, compared with other countries. so we are reaching the limit, especially in tokyo.

0n the monitors, we see nurses attending to an extremely ill patient. all of the patients here are men. all are under 60. dr fujitani says too many people in japan still think this virus will not get them. people think that the younger generations, if they suffer from this covid, the symptoms is not so bad. but that's not true. many patients in the hospitals are in their 40s and 50s. but out on the streets of tokyo, lots of people don't seem to be getting that message. when you come out onto the streets of tokyo, like this now, it is very strange. because it is still very busy. so are the parks, so even the beaches. why don't japanese people have more fear of this virus? why don't they think it could get them? well, part of the reason is the number of deaths from covid—i9 here are still — relatively speaking, very low. but the other is that

the japanese government's communication about the threat from the virus has been very confusing. when he called the state of emergency, prime minister shinzo abe made it clear it would not be a european—style lockdown. life would go on. and so it does. there is no two—metre rule here. no one in, one out at the supermarket. many here believe wearing a mask will be enough to protect from the virus. medical experts say that is a huge mistake. we need a further concrete message to stay home, and don't go out, and keep the distance of two metres away if you have to go out. these messages are not very effectively delivered, and a lot of people believing in wearing a mask is a solution. which it is not. japan has been attempting to control the virus, while keeping the economy open.

the result is a health system that is now struggling to cope. rupert wingfield—hayes, bbc news, in tokyo. let's get some of the day's other developments: in italy, the number of patients being treated has fallen for a third successive day. the daily number of deaths recorded has fallen by almost 100 to 437. the death toll in italy has topped 25,000, with millions locked down. spain's lockdown has been extended until may the 10th — parliament approved a request from the prime minister. spain is one of the worst—hit countries, with more than 21,000 deaths. people there have been under severe restrictions for more than five weeks. all german states have announced plans to make face masks compulsory. bremen was the last federal region to back the regulations. masks will be compulsory on public transport throughout germany, and nearly all states will also make face coverings mandatory when shopping. south africa is to deploy

70,000 troops to help keep order — it's been struggling to enforce a lockdown, and a ban on alcohol sales. south africa has almost 3,500 confirmed coronavirus cases. the british government's chief medical officer, chris whitty, has warned that social distancing measures to limit the coronavirus could remain in place for up to a year. mr whitty said the chance of a highly effective vaccine being found within the next year was incredibly small. 0ur science editor, david shukman reports. we've been warned repeatedly of a long haul, that the momentous restrictions to try to contain the virus cannot be lifted soon. and now we're learning more about what that really means. everything hinges on a massive research effort to try to develop vaccines, to create immunity, and also drugs to manage the disease. and, at the moment, we don't have either.

so, at today's government briefing, the chief medical officer for england said that social distancing would have to continue while we wait for those vaccines and treatments. until we have those, and the probability of having those any time in the next calendar year is incredibly small, and i think we should be realistic about that, we will have to rely on other social measures, which of course are very socially disruptive, as everybody is finding at the moment but, until that point, that is what we will have to do, and it will have to be the best combination that maximises the outlook, but it's going to take a long time and we need to be aware of that. professor whitty pointed to this graph to show that even though the rate of deaths is falling in britain, and in other countries, it's a very slow process. this disease is not going to be eradicated or disappear so we have to accept that we are working with a disease that we will be with globally for the foreseeable future. if people are hoping that it's suddenly going to move from where we are now,

in lockdown, suddenly into everything is gone, that is wholly unrealistic. we will have to do a lot of things for really quite a long period of time. the question is, what is the best package, and that is what we are trying to work out. what that means is learning to cope with the disease, rather than trying to beat it. and mass testing is a vital step to doing that — to know who's got it, and where it's spread. using apps to track people's contacts will help work out how the virus is being transmitted, so any future outbreaks can be isolated. for the moment, the scenario of quiet streets is set to continue and the government's challenge is that every option for easing restrictions carries the risk of a resurgence of the virus so right now it's hard to see when or indeed if we will get back to normal. for businesses, large and small, this means more anxious times. this chain of bars in

manchester has a 600 staff, almost all now furloughed. it will be pretty disastrous for our restaurants if we open them. i think they would barely be profitable and, with our bars, it would be impossible. the capacity of the bars and restaurants have been reduced so much by social distancing measures that i think it will cause us to be closed rather than open and then we will lose less money being closed than being open. tonight among the public, disappointment but also a sense of resignation. it's not nice but we have to do it because otherwise the virus is going to be bad for people, you know? i think we have to do what we have to do. if you have parents or grandparents, you have to look after them. it seems a bit extreme, but if it's necessary, maybe we have to go that way. the struggle against the virus is exacting a very high price. vaccines and treatments can't come soon enough,

but no—one can predict when we will get them. david shukman, bbc news. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: lifting spirits during the lockdown — the two women from new orleans who've combined their talents for some musical relief. the stars and stripes at half—mast outside columbine high. the school sealed off, the bodies of the dead still inside. i never thought that they would actually go through with it. one of the most successful singer songwriters of all time, the american pop star prince, has died at the age of 57. ijust couldn't believe it, i didn't believe it. he was just here saturday. for millions of americans,

the death of richard nixon in a new york hospital has meant conflicting emotions. a national day of mourning next wednesday sitting somehow uneasily with the abiding memories of the shame of watergate. mission control: and lift-off of the space shuttle discovery with the hubble space telescope, our window on the universe. welcome back. good to have you with us on bbc news. the latest headlines: president trump says infection rates and cases in hot spots are dropping — and more states will be in a position to reopen. after initially being one of the success stories in controlling the spread of covid—19, japan now has a developing epidemic. iran's revolutionary guard says it has successfully launched its first military satellite into orbit. the guards say the satellite — named ‘noor‘ or ‘light‘ — took off from the central

desert region and reached an orbit of 425 kilometres. the mission is likely to increase iran's already tense relationship with the united states. shortly after the launch, the us secretary of state, mike pompeo, said tehran should to be held accountable. i think today's launch proves what we've been saying all along here in the united states, the irgc, a designated terrorist organisation, launched a missile today. i think every nation has an obligation to go to the united nations and evaluate whether this missile launch was consistent with that security council resolution. i don't think it remotely is. and i think iran needs to be held accountable for what they've done. mike pompeo there. bahman kalbasi, un correspondent for the bbc persian service, based in new york, explained why iran has launched its satellite now.

they are keen to demonstrate that the us's pressure policy is not only a failing to bring iran back to a table that the united states left but will not limit its activity, what it sees as integral to its defence strategy, which are these missiles. but also, generally speaking, saying that these pressures will not stop us from continuing to have a strategy to deter america from any attack on iran and missiles, ballistic missiles, have been central to iran's defence. they have, in a sense, put a 2000 kilometre range, self—imposed, now with this test they can push that as high as 5000 kilometres. so they are demonstrating that trump's policy of violating the nuclear deal, leaving it and putting these crippling sanctions are not working, in fact they are backfiring. while you are on we should ask

you about the situation with the coronavirus in iran and whether it's possible to get a clear picture. it is very difficult to get a clear picture. of course the official numbers show a sense of decrease in the curve. we now have less than 100 deaths a day. that does not — that is not a reflection of reality, because many of these numbers are doubted by most people even inside iran, including some iranian government officials. but the real test now is, given that half opening has happened and people are going back to work, we will see — will we see a new wave of coronavirus patient? that is a question we would have a clear answer to in the coming weeks, regardless of what iranian officials' numbers are. we have to talk to hospitals, as we will, and see if there is a resurgence of people being admitted. so it is a very, very tense time to see whether this experiment of sending most of the workforce back to work will work or not.

from new yorkjust now. bahman kalbasi there. many are getting their information about coronavirus on social media. but not everything that's shared online can be trusted. here's our reality check correspondent chris morris with the latest health claims that you should definitely ignore. countries around the world are in lockdown, but dodgy claims about coronavirus still spreading fast across the internet. so here are a few more that are worth checking. claim number one, five g mobile networks transmit coronavirus. well, 56 networks transmit coronavirus. well, 5g was a favourite target ofa well, 5g was a favourite target of a conspiracy theorists long before the new coronavirus appeared stop now the myths have just been to bed. some claim 5g can suppress the immune system, others that the

mobile technology somehow transmits the virus. for the avoidance of doubt, scientists have told the bbc that both claims are absolute rubbish. 5g radio waves are nowhere near strong enough to affect immunity and the idea that the technology can transmit the virus is biologically impossible. claim number two, stea m impossible. claim number two, steam inhalation can cure coronavirus. a social media post about a doctor who allegedly recovered from over 19 after inhaling steam has been widely shared. now, people do inhale steam to deal with wings like a block knows, but there is no evidence that it works as a treatment for coronavirus stop high temperature steam cleaning of services is used to kill viruses in places like hospitals, but any attempt to inhale industrials being —— stea m inhale industrials being —— steam that hot would be incredibly dangerous. claim number three, skin colour can protect you from covid—19.

there have been persistent suggestions on social media about skin colour and the resista nce about skin colour and the resistance it might give you two falling ill with covid—19. there have been rumours in africa that people with black skin can't catch coronavirus. but it just isn't skin can't catch coronavirus. but itjust isn't true. medical professionals a re but itjust isn't true. medical professionals are adamant that skin colour makes no difference and black people have been catching the virus and dying from it. claim numberfour, vaccines to combat covid—19 are already available. no, they aren't. loads of scientists are working on a vaccine but it will take a long time to ball—up, test, and distribute one. at the moment there is no vaccine to prevent covid—19. in the world health organisations as products claiming to be a vaccine, often found on unregulated websites, should be considered fake and they may pose a significant risk to public health. so beware claims that offer quick fixes or

remedies for coronavirus. many of them are probably too good to be true. and think twice before you show them. chris morris from our reality check team. a violinist and a pedicab operator wouldn't usually have a lot in common, but during the coronavirus lockdown two women from new orleans have combined their talents to help lift spirits. 0ur reporter freya cole takes a look at their creation. through the streets of new orleans on a custom—made set of wheels, a violinist and her friend are spreading musical cheer. and it's working. i mean, i heard before i saw it. i thought it was out neighbours blasting music. i'm like, you play instruments now? what is this? and then i saw and i'm like, oh, breathtaking. this is definitely what i need. sarah grant has a pedicab operator and anna roznowska is a street violinist. together the duo created the mobile music box when theirjobs were impacted by the stay—at—home orders.

i love playing music and i really believe in music. and at a time like this, yeah, we definitely need music, more than anything else. they're happily accepting small tips, but they say their main aim is to bring the community together. it's amazing and uplifting, and, you know, live music is what we miss most right now. it's, you know, it brings everyone out and makes everyone, you know, feel like it's a beautiful day again. freya cole, bbc news. now, the boston marathon was meant to happen this week. of course, it was delayed, so what's an eager runner supposed to do? well, laps on the roof, of course. stephen england completed the 26.2 miles by running circles on the top of his

manhattan apartment building. 1098 laps to be precise, over 5.5 hours. it was all for a good cause. a diabetic himself, stephen raised money for a diabetes centre at columbia university. and for more on the pandemic head to our website. there's plenty of reaction and updates from around the world — plus our live page will keep you up to date with all the latest developments — that's all at bbc.com/news — or download the bbc new app. and you can get in touch with me and most of the team on twitter — i'm @bbcmikeembley.

hello there. wednesday was a completely dry day across the uk and in the sunshine we had temperatures into the low 20s in southern england. 23 degrees in dorset. but thursday is likely to be the warmest day of the week. mind you, we get off to a bit of a chilly start, 11—5 degrees, typically. maybe, again, a touch of frost in the scottish glens. and a bit more of this mist and low cloud affecting southern scotland, northern england, perhaps into the midlands as well. but it won't last long. it's going to be a dry and sunny day. the sunshine a little bit hazy at times for the northern half of the uk. but the winds on thursday will be even lighter. it'll feel warmer and temperatures may be a bit higher as well. it could reach 25 degrees, somewhere like hampshire into 0xfordshire or berkshire. and widely 19 or 20 for england and wales. a little bit cooler around some

of those north sea coasts. but even across western scotland temperatures may reach 20 or even 21 celsius. but away from scotland we've still got some high pollen levels on thursday. it's tree pollen, of course. and at this time of the year we're looking at the oak tree in particular. into friday, we start with the mist and some low cloud, mainly for the eastern side of england. again, it will burn off very quickly in the sunshine. maybe a little more cloud towards the far south—west, threatening a shower. but it will probably be a dry day. a fair bit of sunshine again. another very warm day for the time of year. temperatures peaking at 21 or 22 celsius. now, into the weekend, a couple of things that we can be pretty sure about, temperatures are going to drop away a little, although it's still one for the time of year. the winds will remain light but there's the chance of showers. a lot of uncertainty about those, particularly on sunday. let's look at saturday first of all, and we're looking at more towards wales in the south—west. and this is where we're more likely to catch a shower or two. although there will be more cloud coming into the north—west of scotland.

elsewhere a good chance it's going to be dry, with a lot of sunshine around. still very warm. temperatures around 19—20 towards the coast of scotland, 20 or 21 in the south—east of england. but it's during sunday that there's much more uncertainty. because now it looks like the shower band could move its way further south into england and wales, with a cluster of showers and returning into a more northerly breeze across scotland. there'll be some sunshine around, but those temperatures in northern parts of the uk back down to around 1a or 15 degrees, could make 19 or 20 still, perhaps in the south.

this is bbc news. the headlines: president trump has claimed cases of coronavirus in american hot spots are dropping and that more states will be in a position to reopen. he claimed the us has flattened the curve of infections but there is concern about a second, even more serious, wave of infections in the autumn, combined with seasonal flu. american fatalities have doubled in a week, exceeding 116,000. the world health organization has warned of a worrying upward trend in coronavirus cases in africa, latin america and eastern europe. it said most of the epidemics in western europe now appeared to be stable. other countries were now seeing a surge. here, in the uk, the chief medical adviser, professor chris whitty, has said the policy of social distancing will be needed until the end of the year. he said the chance of a highly effective vaccine being found within the next year was incredibly small.