good morning. welcome to breakfast with naga munchetty and charlie stayt. our headlines: human trials for a coronavirus vaccine will begin. but there are warnings that an effective one will not be ready to use this year. if people are hoping it will suddenly move from where we are in lockdowns as it was before, that is a wholly unrealistic expectation. we are going to have to do a lot of things were really, quite a long period of time. a "nightmare process" and "too many refusals".

businesses tell breakfast the government's loan scheme is still not working despite 12,000 companies now getting access to credit. i'll explain what's going on. the government tell the premier league to consider showing games for free once the action resumes. so while the season, might finish behind closed doors, the public could still get to see the games. louise gets on her bicycle with 0lympic louise gets on her bicycle with olympic champion sir chris hoy for the bbc‘s big night in. and it is going to be a one week and whether there are —— it's going to be a warm week for our weather but there are signs of the few changes. it's thursday the 22nd of april. our top story: the first human trials of a possible coronavirus vaccine will get underway in oxford today. but the government's chief medical advisor, professor chris whitty,

has said we are unlikely to see an effective vaccine this year so life will not return to normal soon. at 8am we'll hear from two people who have signed up to take part in the vaccine trial. you've been sending in health questions which we'll put to a gp in half—an—hour. we'll also be talking to the northern ireland secretary, brandon lewis, at 7:30am. but first, jon donnison has this report on the search for a coronavirus vaccine. some of the faces of the now more than 18,000 people in britain who have lost their lives to covid—i9. behind each one, friends and families left behind. the so—called curve may be beginning to flatten now but doctors are wanting many more will die before it's over. key to ending the crisis will be the race to discover a vaccine. the government says a team at oxford university is due to begin human trials on one possible vaccine today, although the go—ahead is not expected to be confirmed until later this morning. and doctors are warning any vaccine or treatments are unlikely to be ready to be rolled out until at least next year,

meaning life will not return to normal anytime soon. this disease is not going to be eradicated, it will not disappear, so we have to accept that we are working with a disease that we are going to be with globally, this is a global problem, for the foreseeable future. if people are hoping that it is suddenly going to move from where we are in lockdown, suddenly into everything is gone, that is a wholly unrealistic expectation. we are going to have to do a lot of things for reallym a long period of time and the question is what is the best package? this is what we're trying to work out. one thing that could change as the advice on face masks. sage, the government's scientific body, will give its latest guidance to say today and is expected to stop short of saying the public should wear medical masks, fearing that could lead to a shortage of supplies for the nhs. but the body is expected to say the public should feel free

to wear home—made masks or scarves, not because it significantly lowers your chance of getting the virus, but because it does reduce your chance of passing it on. the government is expected to make a decision on face masks by the weekend. meanwhile, 20,000 households in england are being contacted to take part in a study to help track covid—i9 in the general population. it is hoped the information will help improve the understanding of the rate of infection and how many people are likely to have developed antibodies. jon donnison, bbc news. we're joined now from westminster by our political correspondent, chris mason. throughout this process politicians have been very quick to say we a lwa ys have been very quick to say we always follow the science, the medical advice. and today there is a representation in connection with mouth which is an issue a lot of people are talking about. —— with masks. just expand what this process

is? this is the stage committee committee scientific advisory committee scientific advisory committee that is exactly that of the government, it assembles evidence and present that evidence to ministers. sometimes it can make a recommendation but ultimately the decision is one for elected politicians. that committee will gather, it will look at the evidence on face masks, we have seen some compulsion, haven't we, introduced overseas in terms of the wearing of face masks when we go out and about on public transport, things like that. so the committee will gather. it will pass advice to ministers. they may be meeting today or tomorrow or over the weekend. it's not likely to say that people should be wearing medical masks, there is concern from scientists there are already limited stocks for people in medical settings without the rest of us medical settings without the rest of us to worry about when we're out and about. and it doesn't look like there will be any element of compulsion, we won't be told what to do. but it looks like there may be advised that we should be wearing some sort of do—it—yourself mask,

some sort of do—it—yourself mask, some sort of face covering, when we're out and about and that be something the scientists would recommend, but ministers will not compel us to do. and also this is something that came out of the press conference yesterday, wasn't it, chris, in relation to this new vaccine testing? today is an important ache in the beginning of a process , important ache in the beginning of a process, but politicians and scientists are very cautious about putting any timescale on this. incredibly cautious. and what they do say about these first human testing examples that are taking place today is that this has already happened at a speed that is com pletely happened at a speed that is completely unprecedented. but, from here to the point where you and i may be able to get a vaccine is many, may be able to get a vaccine is any, may be able to get a vaccine is many, many, many months off. yes, it is the autumn dissolution, but it is a long way off. chris, thank you. scotland's first minister, nicola sturgeon, will set out her strategy for exiting the coronavirus lockdown later. she's expected to make it clear that an end to the tough

restrictions isn't imminent — and that some constraints will continue for a prolonged period. heraim, she says, will be to achieve "some semblance of normality". european union leaders will meet by video conference later, where they are expected to approve a rescue package for countries worst hit by the pandemic. they will also consider common measures to lift the lockdown restrictions. 0ur europe reporter, gavin lee, is in brussels for us this morning. what's the picture across europe, gavin? good morning! yeah, i mean there are two areas of this. one is really problematic, one is straightforward. first of all, it has been called a roadmap to recovery summit, the roadmap to recovery summit, the roadmap is the first thing they will be much sign off, it is a commission to guide for all european countries on how to ease restrictions on lockdown. so three main factors: one, the spread level, the rate of infection increase has been going

down for a significant period. second, the level of intensive care capability has dropped so much that you can cope with what will inevitably be a second spike in cases across europe. and third, antibody testing is sufficiently in place before you entirely left restrictions. so think that will get signed up quickly. the second thing that will be signed off because finance ministers have spent 18 hours already in front of a computer screen, sometimes overnight on to sort out an immediate relief fund for 540 billion euros for workers, businesses, for governments, too. that will go through, we expect, pretty quickly. the bigger issue is they will need more than that and emmanuel macron, the french president said they could be one height —— 1— 1.5 trillion as a debt fund. soi height —— 1— 1.5 trillion as a debt fund. so i think that will be kicked into the long grass if not further

into the long grass if not further into the long grass if not further into the dense foliage, we should save for maybe another few weeks while they analyse the situation. —— we should say. that is the image for my morning. insert the foliage rather than dense grass. in the early hours of yesterday morning, a critically ill patient suspected of having coronavirus, was airlifted by raf helicopter from the isle of arran to an intensive care unit on the mainland. cameron buttle reports. callsign rider two preparing for takeoff. 0ne callsign rider two preparing for takeoff. one of the three puma helicopters stationed in scotland on the frontline of the coronavirus. they have been training all over the country for weeks, now fully operational. this is a familiarisation flight. the crews are getting used to their new massive areas of operations. it's

called aviation task force north and cove rs called aviation task force north and covers the whole of mainland scotland. the western isles, the northern isles, even the platforms in the north sea. this was the squadron‘s first callout, a suspected covid patient picked up from the bond market in the early hours was that we got a call at 1am, informing us there was a critically ill patient on the isle of arran. within 90 minutes we were able to get the whole team together and tra nsfer get the whole team together and transfer the patient to kill my neck hospital three hours after the call. four crews are still being regularly deployed to afghanistan it took some time for them to get used to the role. we are used to things with helmets and weapons and people in the back rather than surgical operations. so that has been a challenge integrating their equipment with ours and how they can

fly safely with us. specially trained ground crew decontaminated every pa rt trained ground crew decontaminated every part of the aircraft was not if their meticulous process and it can take up to two hours, but it is vital and has to be done before the aircraft can fly again. each time they fly, it's the same routine. but another puma is always on standby waiting for the cold. cameron bottle, bbc news. —— cameron buttle, bbc news. prince louis has been photographed making a colourful rainbow poster — a symbol of hope during the coronavirus lockdown — to mark his second birthday today. it's one of several photographs released by the royal family to celebrate the occasion. similar artwork created by children have appeared in windows across the uk. the photos were taken by his mother the duchess of cambridge in norfolk earlier this month. it's 6:11am. let's take a look at today's papers.

the daily mirror's headline is a "glimmer of light", picking up on mr raab‘s comments that the pandemic has peaked. imean i mean actually, i think what he said was we are in the peak, as opposed to the peak has passed. but it's interesting the way the people are interpreting the words. the metro leads on sir keir starmer‘s criticism of the government's response to the pandemic. speaking at his first prime minister's questions, the newly—crowned labour leader accused the government of failing to respond to uk firms who have offered to provide badly—needed protective equipment for nhs staff. the sun reports that the government is set to recommend that people cover their faces with something as simple as a scarf when at work, in shops or on public transport. will try and find out a little bit more about this story this morning. speaking to one of the cabinet — brandon lewis, who sits on the cabinet, so we'lljust try and find out a little more clarity on that because there is a representation from sage, scientists the government

—— to government, happening today. and one of the most read stories on the bbc website is about a man who scooped a £58 million win on the lottery and celebrated by having a beer with his brothers — at a two metre distance, of course. ryan hoyle from greater manchester said he first thought he had won £2.30 when he saw an e—mail from the national lottery on saturday. would have been quite pleased with that. good luck to him. £58 million of all times. £458 million. can't go on holiday, housing market, with being told to stagnate, you can't go away, no building works, what we do with that money? —— with 58 million. i guess he would wait. he thought it was £2 30. winning £5 is quite nice,

too. that's a nice little lift. are we looking at the insides? captain tom, it's his birthday next thursday and he is number one at the moment isn't he? you will never walk alone. he has inspired so many people and he has raised £28 million. what did he has raised £28 million. what did he want to raise in the first place? £1000? it was £1000. some brilliant tributes coming in. this balloon, this is craig and oliver may‘s artwork, a big balloon of captain tom with his walker, with his stroller as well and lots of other really beautiful tributes as well. some paintings that have been done of ca pt some paintings that have been done of capt tom moore. he has inspired a lot of people in from —— from all walks of life and just to raise some

money for the nhs charity. there is a lwa ys money for the nhs charity. there is always place for a bit of trivia, isn't there? so how about this one? we are onset ofjames bond and this is during the filming of the 2002 spy is during the filming of the 2002 spy thriller die another day. pierce brosnan is 77, halle berry is playing one of the female leads. they are filming a romantic scene, 0k? all ofa they are filming a romantic scene, 0k? all of a sudden halle berry, not quite sure where the figure came into the story, but it was in the storyline. i think she was seducing 007 with a leg. the figure got caught in halle berry's throat somehow and pierce brosnan does the heimlich manoeuvre onset and saves her life because the figure got stuck. and curiously the plot thickener here is, so it was an

on—set emergency but weirdly pierce brosnan was saved by robin williams using the same technique during the filming of mrs doubtfire. 0h, because he played the husband in mrs doubtfire. so pierce brosnan had previously been saved and use the technique during the filming with halle berry. the heimlich manoeuvre is something you would like to think you'd be able to do but you could probably do a lot of damage doing that if you had been... clearly him being pierce brosnan he knew what to do. i don't remember the fig involved in that scene. do. i don't remember the fig involved in that scenelj do. i don't remember the fig involved in that scene. i was a bit baffled by that as well. apparently there was a fig involved. halle berry says "i ended up choking on it and he had to get up and do the heimlich manoeuvre." her quote was" that's not so sexy". which is why it

probably wasn't included. being alive would be. it is a 60 minutes past six. matt will have the weather at 27 minutes past the hour. the holy month of ramadan begins this week, during which muslims fast for 30 days from sunrise to sunset. sharing a meal with family and friends and attending the mosque for prayers is usually something to look forward to, but the lockdown means it's going to be a very different experience this year, as amara sophia elahi has been finding out. to me, ramadan means having an opportunity to just slow down and to reconnect with my faith. it is the one month of the year that's unlike any other, where there is a real sense of togetherness and unity. after all, it is an opportunity to change your ways and come closer to god. i really look forward to the spiritual benefits that it bring our and i really use of this time of year to reflect on myself and how i want to improve as a person and also what i want to achieve from life.

ramadan is traditionally a time when muslims come together. people usually eat with friends and family in the evening once they have completed their fasts, and attend extra prayer sessions in mosques at night. but this year is going to be very different. this year, because of the coronavirus pandemic, the mosques are closer so we are not able to attend and meet our communities. and we have to stick to social distancing measures which means we are not able spend time with friends and families in person. we are also encouraging people to both attend and host a virtual iftars. many mosques are already streaming classes online. fasting is one of the central pillars of islam, which muslims undertake during the month of ramadan. muslims are meant to abstain from eating and drinking from sunrise to sunset, for 30 days. the time that muslims fast for each year varies, depending on when ramadan falls. this year muslims will be fussing for up to 16 hours but warnings that fasting during the coronavirus

pandemic could pose a danger to some. an unprecedented decision has been made to advise people in high risk groups not to fast. generally speaking, a person who is on a diet or a fussing for longer duration would be deprived from essential nutrients and be dehydrated and all these things would put the person at risk of higher complications if affected by coronavirus. what about muslim healthcare workers who choose to fast, are they at more risk of covid—19? henerally speaking, having ppe, and aspirator, for longer duration during the practice would have an impact on the hydration so overall it would have some negative consequences with general health. i have got type 1 diabetes at... nadine has decided not to fast.

as a diabetic i am more at risk of catching the virus and if i were to catch the virus, i am more likely to get more severe symptoms but the fact that we have this coronavirus pandemic at the moment, that definitely means i would not consider fasting because it is just too risky. in islam there are exemptions divesting if you are unwell, elderly, or pregnant. and muslims who can't fast can instead make charitable donations. amara sophia elahi, bbc news. she's known on the small screen, the big screen, and now your phone screen. damejudi dench has been using lockdown to get to grips with technology and regularly posts on tiktok with her grandson, sam. she's not the only one using her time indoors to learn new skills and keep in touch with the younger generation, as breakfast‘s john maguire has been finding out. why do you tell an actor to break a

leg? because every play has to have a cast. from mto various atms, dame judi dench is one of ourfinest a cast. from mto various atms, dame judi dench is one of our finest and best loved actors. the star of the state, the small, and the big screen, she has now taken to the tiny screen, making short tiktok videos with her grandson. tiny screen, making short tiktok videos with her grandsonlj tiny screen, making short tiktok videos with her grandson. i thought it would be a good love to get us both involved, as we are so close but not together, which is really, really ha rd. but not together, which is really, really hard. and it'sjust but not together, which is really, really hard. and it's just something both of us didn't know anything about. and so with both chucked ourselves in at the deep end. dean duties as she is learning new skills and loving the times bent, although to distance, with herfamily. and loving the times bent, although to distance, with her family. -- damejudi. we are living through such a strange and unprecedented time and it is difficult to know how you approach each day, i think. i

have found, and i'm not at all technically minded, but i have found that the laptop, when you can get yourfamily on that the laptop, when you can get your family on face time it makes an enormous difference. and then you see them and you feel as if you've actually had a quick visit, which is wonderful. and i've also learned from my grandson about tiktok, which is something kai didn't know about, so i've been having to rehearse my so—called dance with him and we recorded it. and they enjoyed it enormously, enormously. and so why encourage all grandparents, if you can at all, just try, somehow, and learn something new and, especially if you can, about technology, because it opens a door to you. and face time has really saved me. how is she doing this?! eye would be

terrified to director or tell her what to do. she is game for anything. if they come to her one day with one trend she tries to do that trend. we try and filming. i tried to teach dancers. i have face time like this, it's really, really difficult but she likes a bit of a challenge and at the moment she's got, i don't think she's got any scripts that she is learning or anything so she can kind of chuck herself in as much as she wants. which is lovely. i'm absolutely loving doing it with her and seeing the response from people. it's great. anthea was well. nice to see him. is he behaving himself? he is. when he was born a month ago he came home from hospital to a very different world, one where his pa rents, different world, one where his parents, natasha and scott, were cut off from family support, at least physically, anyway. for me it has

been absolute torture, really. i'm very close with my mum, so on a usual we could see her most days and when you do something as big as this the first thing you want to do is show your mum. but it's been really hard. ithink show your mum. but it's been really hard. i think it's been harder knowing they are so close by and you still can't go and see them. it's just not the same. we are lucky to have the technology so we can do a lot. but she is desperate for a cuddle. so we decided to have a family reunion with natasha's pa rents family reunion with natasha's parents and sister and, after that increments that are such a large pa rt increments that are such a large part of daily life now, were joined by scott's mum. you've seen him, not had a chance to touch him yet, what has that been like? horrible. very heartbreaking. absolutely. i just can't wait. it's very frustrating. it is, isn't it? we can be thankful for the modern technology that we

have been able to watch him develop over the last month on whatsapp. without that we would be lost. not only that, we have long—awaited this young man. she is a first great grandchild and nephew and so all the family can't wait to meet the little man. gosh, he is not going to be wanting for cuddles is he? so who have we got online now, scott? that is great grandad jeff and great pat. and theo's greg ramm has joined is great grandad jeff and great pat. and theo's greg ramm hasjoined in. for many, doctor would have been much harder without this technology, so we might not be able to touch, dicus, too hard, but in the meantime, we are able to smile and to laugh and to share. john maguire, bbc news. plenty of our younger viewers are missing their grandparents this

morning. here are just a handful of messages we've been sent on twitter. great nanny, june, great nanny and p0p great nanny, june, great nanny and pop snowden, wanted to say hello and we miss you and we can't wait to argue when we see you next. i'm miss you. they miss you grandpa. granny, jan, and nanny. we love you. hope to see you soon. jan, and nanny. we love you. hope to see you soon. our grandparents live in leicestershire, grammy and grabs and grandma and grandad and we really love them, so we need a hug. this is for nanny and grandad and grandma and grandad. and i love you so grandma and grandad. and i love you

so much. tell you what, if those grandparents haven't already seen that until they just saw grandparents haven't already seen that until theyjust saw it grandparents haven't already seen that until they just saw it and. .. so lovely. so lovely. lots of people missing each other. very sweet messages. we promise to the weather at 27 minutes past six. it is just that time now. here is matt. good morning. could you, always prompt. morning. bang on today. a very good morning to you. thursday morning, of course, and a fine start. i think you know the story roughly by now. this is a view from vicki's window in chesterfield, derbyshire at the moment, just noticed there is a little bit of high cloud that that will do nothing more but we can sunshine a touch. for most it is another blue sky day. we start with mist and fog patches, south of scotla nd mist and fog patches, south of scotland and north—east england, they were clear in the first few hours of the morning and as i've said it is a great day for the vast majority stop the high cloud which is the sunshine hazy most likely through northern ireland parts of southern scotland and northern england. with winds later than yesterday it will be the warmest day

of the week, it could hit 25 celsius to the west of london. low 20s around the western coast of england, 80s to the west and northern ireland. down through eastern england and eastern parts of scotland, like recent days commerce temperatures in the low teens for the vast majority. that will help to keep tree pollen levels down there. for most of us it is another day in which pollen levels will be soaring to high in most parts of the country. as we finish today and go into tonight we will see some more in the way of mist and fog developed through eastern parts of england. temperatures, like recent notes, will drop down quite a bit to give a cool night, may a touch of frost is of scotland, north—east england, most frost free as we go into friday morning. the big difference for tomorrow morning as it could be a good deal grey across eastern parts of england, especially. there could be dents fog patches as well. that will gradually live denture. the sun is strong at the moment and it will clear by mid—morning the most. then it is as you were, blue go through

most of the day. temperatures not as high as today for most of you, although a little bit higher through parts of western scotland and northern ireland as we go into tomorrow afternoon. temperatures peaking at 20— 21 celsius. then the weekend is upon us, of course. it is a weekend we will to see a few changes to our weather. it will gradually and i mean gradually turn a little bit cooler. there is an increasing chance of just a little bit cooler. there is an increasing chance ofjust one or two showers around, particular across the north. could finish friday and go into the weekend with an isolated shower or to to was the south—west of england and south wales. very few of england and south wales. very few of those in the forecast. most dry again on saturday with good long sunny spells. more cloud to the far north and north—west of scotland late in the day. this is where we introduce showers, north—westerly breeze, temperatures dropping relative to the next few days. still above where they should be for the time of yearforup above where they should be for the time of yearfor up as we go into sunday a greater chance of the showers developing more widely across scotland, northern ireland,

can't rule out the odd shower further south. many gardeners will probably appreciate that at the moment. at this stage there is a little bit of uncertainty tied to exactly who will see the showers and who isn't. what will happen is we will see temperature 22 in the south—east corner. it will feel cooler further north. south—east corner. it will feel coolerfurther north. 0verall, south—east corner. it will feel coolerfurther north. overall, the dry and mostly sunny story continues for many. thank you very much. this is breakfast with naga munchetty and charlie stayt. it's 6.30. we'll bring you all the latest news and sport in a moment, but also on breakfast this morning. we'll find out more about a new app, that is designed to let people know if they've been in contact with someone infected with coronavirus virus. you may remember this video of bbc weatherman, 0wain wyn evans, who filmed himself playing the drums to the bbc news theme tune. we'll speak to him later and hear his latest performance, which includes the help of some viewers. we'll catch up with louise

and sir chris hoy ahead of their 100 mile static bike ride to support the bbc‘s the big night in appeal. that, of course, is taking place tonight. good morning. here's a summary of today's main stories from bbc news. the first human trials for a possible coronavirus vaccine will begin in oxford later. it's thought two people will be given the drug today, with more to follow. the chief medical advisor professor chris whitty says the chances of a vaccine being rolled out before 2021 are incredibly small. he also said it's likely the uk will have to live with social distancing measures until the end of the year. meanwhile, the government's scientific advisers are expected to resist pressure to recommend that we wear face coverings to stop the spread of coronavirus. there have been calls for the government to reconsider its guidance on masks after some european countries, including germany and austria, have made them compulsory in places where social distancing can't be maintained.

london mayor sadiq khan is among those who have called for masks to be used more widely in the uk. 20,000 households in england are being contacted to take part in a study to help track covid—19 in the general population. it's hoped the information, from a representative sample from across the uk, will help improve understanding of the rate of infection, and how many people are likely to have developed antibodies. scotland's first minister, nicola sturgeon, will set out her strategy for exiting the coronavirus lockdown later. she's expected to make it clear that an end to the tough restrictions isn't imminent and that some constraints will continue for a prolonged period. heraim, she says, will be to achieve "some semblance of normality". the earliest "realistic" point at which schools in england could start to re—open would be firstjune, according to the leader of the head teachers' union. geoff barton said the priority should be years 10 and 12, who are part—way through gcses and a—levels, and year 6,

where children are about to move to secondary school. education secretary gavin williamson said no date was set for returning to school, quashing speculation about an imminent return. at this point of the day we get to your questions that you have been sending into us over the week to a gp to try to get some answers. we are speaking to doctor gail alsop, a gp from derbyshire this morning. good morning to you. how are you? i'm good, thank you. i'm up early this morning but i'm off to work for my 12 hour shift today, so i'm getting prepared, doing this first and then i will be sought in the family out before i go to work. i'm glad you took some time out for us. just so people can get a sense of a gp's day, i presume there's a difference is around the country, so what is your day like today?|j difference is around the country, so what is your day like today? i can't hear you. can you hear me now? it's

charlie in the studio here. hopefully you can hear me? we have lost that for a moment. interesting, just take a bit of time out, 12 hour day. still got to get the family ready, but she is well and it's good we do well, and we ask the gps how they are because we get an insight into their lives, as well. we were going to ask some more things, we really were. we will come back to gail because technology is challenging, maybe our end, may her end. a lot of people doing that thing, is it me or is it you? is it my end or your end? with me, it's a lwa ys my end or your end? with me, it's always me. we can talk to mike, though. the technology in the building is working just about. these things happen, thejoy building is working just about. these things happen, the joy of live television. they do, and i certainly have that effect on technology. at

least we are just two floors apart so hopefully this should work. we are talking about the idea of showing premier league matches for the public on tv for free. the government say they've asked the premier league to look at finishing their season, with games being shown live on television for free. if, as expected, any remaining games are played without fans inside the stadium, broadcasters could show the games. the current deals are restricted to "paid for" tv packages, but culture secretary 0liver dowden, says, "it wouldn't send the best signal, if they were one of the first major sports to resume behind closed doors, and the public at large couldn't have access to it." uefa, the governing body for football in europe, meets today to discuss the calendar, when sporting action resumes. it will consider both national team and club competitions, while the play—offs for next year's euros, are likely to be held in the autumn now. that has prompted michael 0'neill,

to officially end his time as northern ireland manager. he'd been in charge for eight years, and had hoped to oversee their play—off with bosnia herzergovina. but now he will now solely focus, on his job as stoke city manager. win or lose, you know, ithink we gave our role in every game. we weren't out—played very often. and we played against the best nations in the world and the best nations in europe. so those are what i'll take away from it. you know, as i say, it's important going forward that we hold on to those types of nights. you know, the national stadiums are very... it's a great place to play football and i hope that continues to be the case. phil neville's future, as england women's manager, is also being discussed by the fa today. his contract runs untiljune 2021, which would have been after the women's euros, but they have been delayed by a year, to avoid a clash with the tokyo 0lympics.

now premier league players have been keeping busy at home with an e—sports competition to raise money for the national health service. some of the biggest names in football have been taking part. 0ur sports correspondent natalie pirks reports. i am decent. i can hold my own. it has been more than six weeks since they kicked a ball in real life competition but, in a virtual world, rivalries have been resumed. raheem... it's great build—up play. and it's a great goal. vamos! some of the premier league's biggest names are representing their clubs in a knockout tournament, playing fifa from their sofas and clearly players are taking this seriously. my heart is beating for no reason. football fans have been starved of action, with no end in sight. yes! but video game sales have soared since lockdown began. watching esports is the next best thing while we wait for the real action to return. i think it's really important, especially at a time like this, for people to...

notjust in esports and gaming but for people who are fans of sport and entertainment to still be given something that they can watch and they can also get involved in. when you see your favourite footballer kind of crossing into this virtual world, i can't imagine anyone not being happy with something like this taking place. well, lockdown is clearly the perfect time for some of these players to hone their gaming skills but this isn'tjust about bragging rights, the prize fund from this tournament will all be donated straight to the players together initiative. that was the brainchild of liverpool captain jordan henderson, who brought together players from all other premier league clubs to generate funds for the national health service charity. everton's andre gomes played today, he claimed to be rusty but 8—0. it's hard to stay at home for a long... basically, it is our point of view to try to help people isolated, who are away from their families.

it is really good for us. at least we are all together for one cause and that cause is to help everyone. sport, like all other industries, has been badly hit by coronavirus. by going virtual, it has shown it is able to adapt the new normal. the question is, for how long? natalie pirks, bbc news. yeah, it gets a big audience too, doesn't it? and finally, the heptathlon world champion katerina johnson thompson has found a way to maintain her competitive edge during lock down. steve cram takes up the commentary. taking on her dash hounds, chorizo and bronz in all seven events that make up the heptathlon, starting with the 100 metre hurdles, over a box and a cushion which has the face andrew pozzi, fellow athlete on it. then it was the high jump onto the bed. a bit high for the dogs that one. then shotputting a sock into a draw. very neatly done. the dogs got another run out in the garden in the 200 metres

around the shrubbery, before she set a personal best in the long jump, albeit on the carpet with a standing start while the kitchen and a paper aeroplane made up the javelin, and there was drama at the end of the 800 metres, as kjt claimed victory, but only after she was blocked and taken down by chorizo and bronx. but she crossed the line just there. idid but she crossed the line just there. i did enjoy that. actually, a great way if you are tiding a room, and it got to put your socks and pants like in the drawers, turn it into a shot put competition and keep active in the same time as making the room are nice and tidy. it's brilliant, so the shot put into the draw, the javelin into the recycling bin. perfect. give the dog is a bit of a run around, get some exercise. i love the high jump and not something

we can practise at home. well, be careful. 0k. wise words. thank you, we will talk to you later this morning. technology is back on our side and we will get another go at talking to our doctor this morning. dale, hello again? listen, let's give that one up. i apologise to her because clearly that's not working. she has a practice in derbyshire, and as you probably know by now, every day by now we try to talk to a gp to get a sense of their working days and what people are concerned about and how it's working out for them. i'm sorry we can't do that. there has been a lot of discussion of course, challenging the promising emergency loans worth an estimated £2 billion. lots of businesses asking when they actually going get this money. are still having a nightmare accessing the scheme and

thatis nightmare accessing the scheme and that is what nina is taking a look at today. so much criticism about this and so many desperate businesses, as well? yes, it's crunch time for many businesses at the moment and this line are still working, that's a relief. remember earlier this week, we talked about how the furlough scheme where the government pays 80% of wages got off to a flying start — 140,000 successful applications in the first day. less successful a start is this — the coronavirus business interruption loan scheme, which does just that — gives loans to businesses via high street banks. and not big businesses — small and medium—sized, so hairdressers, cafes, cleaning companies, bars — companies that need the cashflow at the moment. but they're not getting it. here's how it works. 0n offer loans, overd rafts and finance worth up to £5 million for up to six years. the government guarantees 80% of the loan, so it isn't

the bank but the taxpayer that takes on the majority of the risk. the government also covers some of the interest and fees involved. the idea then being that banks are encouraged to lend and reduce the burden on businesses. the scheme was criticised early on, so the government made some changes — banks are no longer allowed to ask business owners to sign personal guarantees on the smallest loans. and the banks should also be offering these special loans over their own products. last week, uk finance, which represents the lenders said just 1/5 of applicants were successful. this week the chancellor said 12,000 loans worth 2 billion of credit had been approved but that's nowhere near the amount intended. so if the government wants to lend and the businesses need the cash — where is the blockage? lots of businesses have been in touch with us saying the banks are asking for the impossible — to make predictions about the future of their businesses, which they can't do at the moment.

as one construction business owner said to me this week, "they're applying all the old rules and treating this like a normal loan. these are anything but normal times. this is louise. she runs a small vegan food business, which she says is a solid business model that was flying in january and february. she applied on the very first day she could. here's what happened. we had our growth plan, a five year projection business plan, everything coming out of our ears, so we literally put in our application for £250,000 on the first day. we waited and waited on them three weeks later, we finally got a call from the bank and it was just a blanket no, and the reason was affordability. that was a laugh out loud moment for me really because i honestly can't see how any business can bejudged honestly can't see how any business can be judged on honestly can't see how any business can bejudged on affordability in this present situation, obviously we are closed, zero income, we need help that takes that into consideration. as you can imagine, we are

consideration. as you can imagine, we a re pretty consideration. as you can imagine, we are pretty disappointed now that without liquidity which we could urgently need now, we are seriously wondering how we are ever going to be opening again. you can see, nina, how devastated louise as they aren't so many businesses will be when they thought they had a chance of getting some help but are being turned down once they have applied? that's right and the british chamber of commerce who represent thousands of businesses across the country, a tiny percentage of their members have been successful, 2%, who have applied and told us the process is far too complex and there are too many delays, too many rejections. the federation of small businesses told breakfast that this has been "a nightmare" for some businesses and so there is evidence some banks are making it easier than others for land and they want all the information to be made public so people can decide which banks to apply for. uk finance which speaks on behalf of the banks told us that front line staff have been working incredibly hard, twice as many loans we re incredibly hard, twice as many loans were given out last week as the week

before so they say the trajectory is strong and the treasury reminded us that these are unprecedented times, and they say they do want to land on they are putting pressure on the banks to make the process easier. they also reminded us that there is lots of other support furloughing staff, business grants, rate suspensions, but that isn't enough for some businesses like louise. as ever, we would love to hear your experience of applying for coronavirus business interruption loa n coronavirus business interruption loan schemes, how are you getting on, get in touch in the usual way. nina, thank you very much for taking us to do that. very worrying for very many businesses but we will keep an eye on it. spain and italy are slowly beginning to ease restrictions, but world health officials have warned that any changes should be slow and only if there is capacity to isolate infected people. let's speak to two british families living in europe. adele fox is in the italian city of varese with her family

and louisa dubickas and her daughter are in madrid. thank you very much to both of you for joining thank you very much to both of you forjoining us. adele, you are with evie. what has lockdown been like for you both? it has been really tricky. we feel here in the lombardy region of italy it has been quite restrictive, we have possibly been the most restricted area possibly in the most restricted area possibly in the world because we are currently in our fifth week of full lockdown. we have not been able to leave our house in our garden to go for a walk. it has been quite difficult for the last nine weeks now, particularly the last four or five weeks. so you have not been able to leave the environs of your house at all. one person per family is

allowed to go to the supermarket with a mask and gloves to a supermarket or to a pharmacy. 0ther than that, that is just one of us. 0ther than that, that is just one of us. other than that we are not allowed to walk out onto the streets. the children had been literally in the confines of the house and garden for the past five weeks. evie, how have you found it? it has been difficult really. i find things to do every day and there is school work to do every day. it feels like the day is getting slower now and the hours getting slower now and the hours getting longer because you are really limited. let's pick up with louise and her daughter, who are in madrid. lovely to see you this morning. we know restrictions have

been very tight also in spain. tell us what it has been like day—to—day for yourfamily. us what it has been like day—to—day for your family. pretty much what adele said that we are going into week six now. exactly the same, really strict measures. we cannot leave our house. 0nly really strict measures. we cannot leave our house. only one family member can leave at a time, to go to the supermarket or the chemist. apart from that we are not allowed out. we are so lucky that we have a garden and the children can go and play in a garden but there are so many people who live in small flats without a gardener who are com pletely without a gardener who are completely confined just to a house. —— a garden. it is horrible. at the beginning it was more doable but now it is six weeks, we are alljust really feeling it. cabin fever has com pletely really feeling it. cabin fever has completely set in. we can completely understand it. am i right that some

kind of change begins today. what is it? as of sunday, children will be able to leave the house to go for a walk but there is quite a lot of controversy because a few days ago the government announced that children would be allowed out that he did not know exactly how. he said details will come in a few days. two days ago, the government comes on and says children will be allowed out and they will be allowed out to the supermarket with you when you do your shopping. parents like me were like, what? we were assuming our children would be allowed out on their bikes are allowed out on a walk. we do not want to take our kids to a supermarket full of other people and the virus can spread. children do not want to go to a

supermarket. there is outrage. the government listened. five hours after the initial announcement, the government came back on the television and said, ok, we have listened to the people and we are now going to allow children to go out for a walk. again, we don't know the exact conditions. we don't know if children are going to be allowed out for ten minutes, half an hour. we don't know if families will be allowed to go for a walk together or it will be one child to one adult. cani it will be one child to one adult. can ijust it will be one child to one adult. can i just ask your daughter, tell me, what is the thing you are missing most at the moment?” me, what is the thing you are missing most at the moment? i miss a lot of my friends and i miss my school a lot too. did you hear that? she misses her friends school a lot too. did you hear that? she misses herfriends and her school. once upon a time no one would have expected a child to miss school. i suppose we want to learn from what you are going through. the

uk as from what you are going through. the ukasa from what you are going through. the uk as a couple of steps behind. we have been tracking particularly, adele, what has been happening in italy. 0ne adele, what has been happening in italy. one of the debate here is not to ease lockdown too quickly because you do not want another peak of the virus or another intensity of infections. what has been your experience as to whether people have been measured or not when it comes to easing restrictions? we have not really had any easing of any restrictions yet. since the full lockdown five weeks ago, the numbers in italy have started to decrease. so whether that is just circumstantial, the regular process of the virus or whether it is because of this full lockdown, we have to take some confidence in the

choices made by our government here that may be that is the answer to make a big difference. we look to italy and we have seen horror stories, awful stories and tragedies in italy. it has almost been put up as the example of what we do not wa nt to as the example of what we do not want to be. has it been scary being pa rt want to be. has it been scary being part of it, being in the country?m has to an extent that we have not been affected by it. we have no friend here and we do not know anybody who has been affected. we feel a bit removed from it, which i suppose is a positive. it is a massive problem. it has been catastrophic for the country and i think it will take quite a while to re cover think it will take quite a while to recover from this. people are looking very closely at what is happening elsewhere. given what you and yourfamily happening elsewhere. given what you and your family have happening elsewhere. given what you and yourfamily have had happening elsewhere. given what you and your family have had to happening elsewhere. given what you and yourfamily have had to endure and yourfamily have had to endure and the locking and much tighter restrictions than we have had here, louisa, what advice can you give to people here, thinking, it seems a bit tough but nowhere near as tough

as you have had. i think you guys are so as you have had. i think you guys are so lucky. to be able to do what you can do. the fact you can go out foran houra day you can do. the fact you can go out for an hour a day for exercise sounds absolutely heavenly. the fact families are allowed to go out together in groups, all of that sounds amazing. i am hoping that is the next step here. first of they let children out and then i hope they will let adults out as well. it is ok if you had a child, if you have a dog you can take your dog out, those adults without a child or a dog, they are still stuck in our houses. hopefully the next step is to allow adults out for an hour's exercise a day. my advice to you guysis exercise a day. my advice to you guys is to stick to restrictions because she didn't want to end up like as. adele says, in italy, the numbers in spain are going down now

andl numbers in spain are going down now and i am so happy about that and hopefully now we can start to go out a bit more but obviously taking precautions, being careful, keeping distance because the last thing we wa nt distance because the last thing we want is the numbers to shoot up again and to be completely confined to our houses again. so we will see what happens. can i ask both of you, what happens. can i ask both of you, what we have seen here in the uk, there has been a change in community spirited people doing things for each other much more than might have expected, have you seen that played out where you are? not really. we cannot do anything. you cannot go to

friends and family and drop a parcel. we literally cannot leave the confines of our home and garden. we arejust video the confines of our home and garden. we are just video calls and positivity in messages and face calls, just to try and keep each other going but we are desperate for a hug from friends and to be able to meet. we have friendsjust a hug from friends and to be able to meet. we have friends just a a hug from friends and to be able to meet. we have friendsjust a mile down the road. we cannot wait to get together and had a face—to—face conversation, so we have not had any community. we are doing things online, we are trying to do classes together and fitness staff to but thatis together and fitness staff to but that is really it. no increase community spirit because we cannot do anything. louisa, i see you nodding as well. one of the highlights for us, one of the lovely things for us is how humanity has almost just flourished and things for us is how humanity has almostjust flourished and it does not seem you are seeing evidence of that bear. it is hard because we are, we are completely confined to our houses, we cannot leave. what we can do we do online. my daughter will have what's up chats with her friends where two or three friends will chat together. —— what's app

chats. 0ne will chat together. —— what's app chats. one thing that brought me to tears is a lot of peoples decided to make videos for teachers so every single child in a class would give a message to the teacher. we love you and miss you. i put all the videos together with music in the background. we sent back to her teacher and to the teacher of my other daughter and it brought the teachers to tears. what a great idea! 0n the saying hello to people think that we are finished for time with you. it has been lovely catching up with you. i don't know what family you have in the uk but

feel free to give them a big wave because lots of people are watching. it has been lovely talking to you all. two lovely families. good luck to you both. thank you for giving us an insight into what life is like where you are. for a lot of the time sometimes you think it is not great here and it is tough but it could be tougher. and the sun is shining. sunshine again today. this is the view in ballycastle, northern ireland where the sun coming up. high cloud across northern ireland and southern england will turn the sunshine hazy today. a few fog patches which will clear. foremost, i think you know the story, and

other dry and sunny day. the wins a lighter and it will be warmer. st george's day and we will see temperatures across central and southern england hit 25 degrees. cooler further east. in southern england hit 25 degrees. coolerfurther east. in northern ireland, north—east scotland and eastern parts of northern england as well. pollen levels will be down at low to moderate. high levels with tree pollen across most parts of the country today. tonight, a dry night for many. more in the way of mist and fog developing across parts of eastern england. temperatures could get close to freezing. foremost, another frost free night to take us into friday morning. into tomorrow, there will be more clout in eastern areas of england. that will shift, the mist and fog with it by mid—morning. the small chance of one

or two showers in the channel islands and the south—west of england later in the day. not as warm as today but plenty warm for the time of year in the sunshine. it will turn cooler this weekend. more on that in half an hour. the headlines up next. good morning. welcome to breakfast with naga munchetty and charlie stayt. 0ur headlines. 20,000 households in england are being recruited to help track covid—19 in the general population, as the first human trials for a vaccine are expected to begin. but there are warnings that any effective treatment is unlikely to be available this year and some form of social distancing will continue. if people are hoping that it suddenly going to move

from where we are now in lockdown suddenly into everything has gone, that is a wholly unrealistic expectation. we are going to have to do a lot of things for a really quite long period of time. government science advisers look set to say the public should not wear medical face masks but should feel free to cover their faces with scarves. the grandparents getting to grips with technology to keep in touch with family. damejudi dench embraces new skills. i've also learned from my grandson about tik—tok so i've been having to rehearse my so—called dance with him. the government tell the premier league to consider showing games for free once the action resumes, so while the season might finish behind closed doors, the public could still, get to see the games. it's thursday 23rd april. our top story...

the first human trials of a possible coronavirus vaccine are due to get underway in oxford today. but the government's chief medical advisor, professor chris whitty, has said we are unlikely to see an effective vaccine this year so life will not return to normal soon. 20,000 households in england will take part in a study to see who has developed antibodies to covid—19. we'll speak to the northern ireland secretary brandon lewis in around half an hour. but first, jon donnison has this report on the search for a coronavirus vaccine. just some of the faces of the now more than 18,000 people in britain who have lost their lives to covid—19. behind each one, friends and families left behind. the so—called curve may be beginning to flatten here, but doctors are warning many more will die before this is over. key to ending the crisis will be the race to discover a vaccine. the government says a team at oxford university is due to begin human trials on one possible vaccine

today although the go—ahead is not expected to be confirmed until later this morning. and doctors are warning any vaccine or treatments are unlikely to be ready to be rolled out until at least next year, meaning life will not return to normal anytime soon. this disease is not going to be eradicated, it is not going to disappear, so we have to accept that we are working with a disease that we are going to be with globally, this is a global problem, for the foreseeable future. if people are hoping that it suddenly going to move from where we are now in lockdown suddenly into everything has that is a wholly unrealistic expectation. we are going to have to do a lot of things for really quite a long period of time. the question is what is the best package and this is what we're trying to work out. one thing that could change if the advice on face masks. sage, the government scientific advisory body, will give its latest guidance today. it's expected to stop short of saying the public should wear medical masks, fearing that could leave a shortage

of supplies for the nhs. but the body is expected to say that the public should feel free to wear home—made masks or scarves, not because it significantly lowers your chance of getting the virus, but because it reduces the chance of you passing it on. the government is expected to make a decision on facemasks by the weekend. meanwhile, 20 , 000 households in england are being contacted to take part in a study to help track covid—19 in the general population. it's hoped the information will help improve the understanding of the rate of infection and how many people are likely to have developed antibodies. john donnison, bbc news. we're joined now form westminster by our political correspondent, chris mason. good morning to you, in westminster. chris, this thing about masks, the guidance, there is a meeting today, a lot of speculation on the front pages saying we will have to wear

masks or we would definitely won't have to wear them, it's more nuanced than that, isn't it? here is the best sense of where we are on this. the sage committee, the scientific advisory committee for the government, will meet, and itsjob is to advise, not its job to tell, it's up to ministers, elected ministers, to make a decision as to what the rules should be. and we expect, what ministers are likely to say is if you want to put on a do—it—yourself face mask when you are out and about, that is fine, but it will not be obligatory and it will not be the case that they want us to wear medical masks because there is an awareness from the scientists there is a real risk given all the stories we've been telling on breakfast about the limitations and supply of ppe for medical staff, if we all start demanding the same kind of masks they are wearing them supplies will be even shorter still. but it looks like there might be an encouragement, particularly as we get towards the stage where there

might be in the coming weeks some more loosening of the margins of the lockdown measures, that, yes, in certain circumstances wearing a mask might be worthwhile but it's quite striking when you look at the world health organization advice, i've been looking at the latest advice online this morning, it's pretty ambiguous. there's a downside wearing masks as well. if you don't put them on properly you could be touching your face put them on properly you could be touching yourface a put them on properly you could be touching your face a lot, put them on properly you could be touching yourface a lot, and put them on properly you could be touching your face a lot, and they can also give a false sense of security, so that's why i suspect the advice will be pretty nuanced. it's an interesting word to use at the moment and clarity is what we are all after obviously but we have to ta ke are all after obviously but we have to take what we get. chris, thank you very much. a study of nhs staff tested for coronavirus found that the rate of front line workers contracting the infection is no different to those in non—clinical roles. a team from newcastle university analysed the results of 1,000 tests carried out on staff at local hospitals in march. the researchers said the results were "reassuring and suggest that ppe is effective".

scotland's first minister, nicola sturgeon, will set out her strategy for exiting the coronavirus lockdown later. she's expected to make it clear that an end to the tough restrictions isn't imminent and that some constraints will continue for a prolonged period. heraim, she says, will be to achieve "some semblance of normality". a 540—billion—euro rescue package for the countries worst hit by the pandemic is expected to be approved by eu leaders when they meet later via video conference. they are also expected to agree to three conditions before further lifting the lockdown — a sustained lower infection rate, a health service ready to deal with a possible second wave, and sufficient testing capacity to identify new patients. the earliest "realistic" point at which schools in england could start to re—open would be firstjune, according to the leader of the head teachers' union. geoff barton said the priority should be years ten and 12, who are part—way through gcses

and a—levels, and year six, where children are about to move to secondary school. education secretary gavin williamson said no date was set for returning to school, quashing speculation about an imminent return. prince louis has been photographed making a colourful rainbow poster — a symbol of hope during the coronavirus lockdown — to mark his second birthday today. it's one of several photographs released by the royal family to celebrate the occasion. similar artwork created by children have appeared in windows across the uk. the photos were taken by his mother the duchess of cambridge in norfolk earlier this month. that's very meticulous, the way he has painted the rainbow on his fingers and been able to do it without smudging. really clever. nice. i think you would be in a very

small minority if you didn't want to know when things were going to return to normal. yesterday, the chief medical officer made it clear it could be many months before lockdown restrictions can be lifted. experts say a vaccine is the best way to bring coronavirus under control. breakfast‘s tim muffett has been looking at how long it could take to develop. what normally takes years or decades is being attempted in months. a vaccine harmlessly shows viruses or bacteria to the immune system. the body's defences recognise them as an invader and learn how to fight them. researchers at oxford university have put small sections of the genetic code of the coronavirus into a harmless virus that affects chimpanzees. they hope they have developed a safe virus that looks enough like the coronavirus to produce an immune response. we have used this vaccine technology before. we have seen it perform very well, so we think it is the best thing to use and that is why we are making the vaccine the way we are doing. we think it gives us the best chance. what we have to do

though is test it. we have to test it in people to look at the vaccine safety, to look at the immune response we get and finally to see if it actually protects people against the coronavirus. around 80 groups around the world, including major pharmaceutical companies, are trying to develop a vaccine. but how can trials be conducted so quickly while still being safe? all of the normal approaches to safety testing of the vaccine, the very careful, controlled manufacturing of the vaccine, all of that is still being done. normally you would do one piece of work, get the results, then apply for some funding and move onto another piece of work. that's not happening this time. we are doing everything at risk. that is not at a safety risk, it means we start paying for work before we know that the first part has been successful. many believe that finding a vaccine is the only way our world can return to normal. even with unprecedented global cooperation, how long will it take to produce one? 18 months is about what we would expect. we are doing everything we can.

we will write cheques for those factories faster than governments can and they will come along. it definitely should not be money limited. the bill gates foundation has pledged more than $200 million to help develop a coronavirus vaccine and treatment. this is the whole world working on probably the most urgent tool that has ever been needed. scientists at imperial college in london are looking for volunteers to start testing their vaccine injune. they are realistic, yet optimistic. a challenge like no other but the response from scientists the world ever has also been unprecedented. tim muffett, bbc news. we're joined now from epsom by charlie weller, head of vaccines at the wellcome trust, which is a medical research charity. you have a lot of expertise in this area although we are saying you are not directly involved in the vaccine is being developed at the moment. so can you, in layman terms, we

understand these trials are due to start today, human trials, so what does that actually mean? what is the first step in this process? firstly i want to say it is absolutely remarkable b got a vaccine candidate that i can go into a clinical trial today. and that first critical step is with a small group of people giving the vaccine to understand if there is any major or large safety worries. now this vaccine has been into many other people in other trials so the data is already there to suggest that we are not expecting any sort of major safety signals but it's always the first step to giving the reassurance that this vaccine is safe in a small group of people. ok, so take us through the steps. the vaccine exists, someone who hasn't got coronavirus is given the vaccine and then what? then the person is

monitored, sometimes the immune response is looked at to understand if the vaccine is inducing a similar immune response you might see in a natural infection, so to see if it's mimicking the immune response, and also to understand there is a redness on the application side, swelling, when you have an injection, or any other signals that you have a headache or other mild symptoms or anything more severe. forgive me if these sound like simplistic questions, but i'm trying to fully understand, so they are given the vaccine, someone who hasn't got coronavirus, they are then monitored to see how they respond and their response is contrasted with the response of people we know how to coronavirus and then recovered? how do we know

whether it works? there is a very, very long and complex process. we arejust at very long and complex process. we are just at the very start of this process , are just at the very start of this process, so there is the initial safety studies, in a small group of people, and then you move into a larger study to understand more about the immune response and the dose of the vaccine, and then you move into the larger efficacy trials to understand whether that vaccine can be protective in a group of people, usually thousands of people. so this is a process that sarah gilbert was explaining it is usually donein gilbert was explaining it is usually done in secret, for safety, and that's phase one and in phase two is looking at the immune response in phase three is looking at protection and efficacy. at that point, hopefully which will be towards the end of this year, that's looking at a vaccine candidate and at that point we will know whether we have a vaccine candidate that is safe and effective but that's reallyjust

vaccine candidate that is safe and effective but that's really just the starting point. if we think about the scale of this problem, we really need doses, billions and billions of doses, and in order to do that we need to really focus on how we can manufacture those numbers of doses at scale. the key point, as you say, you clearly outlined the procedures that have to take place, but the line you use there is efficacy, and that in layman terms is whether it works or not. that clearly... whether it protects or not. how is that part determined? so, what we need to remember is that this time last year no one in the world was aware of covid—19. it wasn't... it was four or five months old now and we are learning every day about what natural infection looks like, can you recover from it, natural infection looks like, can you recoverfrom it, and whether you can be reinfected? these are all questions are still outstanding and we just questions are still outstanding and wejust don't questions are still outstanding and we just don't know the answers yet

but science is catching up and we are trying to understand that. so we do have indications that what a protective immune response looks like in covid—19, but also from other viruses, other viral infections and antibody responses and t cell responses, these are the different indicators of whether you can elicit a protective immune response and get protection from a vaccine. given what you have told us about the various procedures, we are told to be cautious at a time line and the closest we have got to anything andi the closest we have got to anything and i am cautious in saying this is what the government advisers have said, not in this calendar year. from what you know of this kind of work, is that the kind of trajectory we would be talking about? yes. there are absolutely no guarantees

that we can develop a safe and effective vaccine. i am really optimistic. we are putting ourselves at the best chance of developing a vaccine. if we look at the other members of the coronavirus family, mers ans sars, vaccines are being developed for these over the last few years and we have not yet seen an effective vaccine. there are no guarantees and we need to look at all options, vaccines and therapeutics and drugs and testing. with vaccines, timelines, the best case scenario with vaccines, timelines, the best case scenario as sara with vaccines, timelines, the best case scenario as sara gilbert has said, towards the end of the year we will have a good indication as to whether this vaccine candidate is safe and does look like it can protect. the really positive thing is we have four vaccine candidates in the early stage of clinical trials. we have more than one shot on goal. we have more vaccine

candidates being developed. we need this variety of different options, variety of different methodologies, the variety of partnerships to have the variety of partnerships to have the best chance of developing a vaccine. one last thing, in connection with if and when, and those are two big questions you have rightly pointed out, a successful vaccine is produced, about than getting it out to people, about whether their production, about whether their production, about whether there is the infrastructure in place to rapidly make enough. what do you know about that?- in place to rapidly make enough. what do you know about that? at the end of this year we will know whether we have got the safe and effective vaccine. we hope, fingers crossed. that is the start, on a small group of people. we will have some doses but not on the scale we will need, we will need millions of doses or stop what they will need to doses or stop what they will need to do is look at manufacturing options. it depends which approach we will

take, which will be effective and what type of setup we will need. we will need to start doing that in parallel to clinical trials rather than after in sequence. 0therwise parallel to clinical trials rather than after in sequence. otherwise we will not be able to get the vaccine, the number of doses we need in the time that we want, which is as thin as possible. this will potentially be at financial risk. we might have to set up multiple manufacturing facilities and maybe one or two or three may ultimately fail. the vaccine candidates may not be successful, so that would be at financial risk. the other thing that is important is we do have manufacturing through routine —— immunisations in the world. that will affect other vaccines like diphtheria which could lead to other

outbreaks of measles and other diseases. it has been very interesting speaking to you this morning. thank you for your time. charlie balla, head of vaccines at the welcome trust. —— charlie weller. so many questions. a new tracing app, that could prove vital in helping the uk emerge from lockdown, is currently being developed and tested. it's designed to let people know if they've been in contact with someone infected with the virus. here's how it works in theory. once you've installed the app, if you come within a certain distance of someone else who has also downloaded it, both your phones make a record. then, if you tell the app that you have symptoms of the virus, it sends an alert to everyone you've been in contact with over the past two weeks, telling them they need to self—isolate.

there will be lots of questions around how this app is working. our technology correspondent rory cellan—jonesjoins us now from london. always good to see you. best of all, do want to go through the hopes that this app is providing? the hope it is providing in terms of what it will with. yes, good morning. there isa will with. yes, good morning. there is a lot of hope around the app. the tea m is a lot of hope around the app. the team within the nhs by the nhs digital division and a whole bunch of scientists advising them i really hope this can do two things will help us emerge from lockdown and help us emerge from lockdown and help to control the spread of the epidemic. a lot of people are outside with a lot of serious questions about that. an enormous amount of effort going into it. it is already being tested in an raf base and a very controlled conditions. it now faces a much bigger test in a controlled section

of the population. the bigger thing about it is for it to work properly, something like 60% of the population will need to download and install it, that is something like 80% of smartphone owners. you are going to hear a lot of messages about this over the coming weeks because they know if lots of people do not download it, do not bother, it really will not work. the first question came to my mind, and call mea question came to my mind, and call me a cynic, how comfortable that i feel having the app on my phone because someone feel having the app on my phone because someone else knowing if i had had coronavirus and how people would react to me? if you are on the cheap, commuting on the train. the previously questions our very current. —— tube. when you tell the

app you have the virus, it informs eve ryo ne app you have the virus, it informs everyone you have been in contact with. it does not say who you are, it does not inform then it is you. they are very keen to stress that the information is very controlled, it is anonymized but questions are being asked about what they will do with the information byjust how anonymous it will be. i think they know if it is to work and they are to get the huge take—up, there is a huge issue of public trust which they need to self that there is a lot of pressure from people who frankly want to get out and if they think this is the answer to easing restrictions, maybe they will be keen to take it up. the indications from singapore, where a very similar app on which this is based has been tried, is mixed. fifth of the population downloaded it. there are

issues with it. it drained the battery and was a bit clunky to use. the team at the nhs reckons it has solved lots of those issues but there is still testing and improvements to go. you make the point by lots of people want to get out so they want to at least try a new technology. thank you for taking us through that. we have had various stories relating to the science and medicine. but we're also doing our best to lift your spirits and bring you stories of those people who have survived coronavirus. they include firefighter steve landon who was taken into intensive care three times but thankfully returned home on monday and had this message for the nhs workers who helped him. a massive thank you to the nhs staff, who have been my family when i have not been with mine. sorry. i mean, if it were not for them, i can honestly say i would not be here.

but, awesome. steve and his wife beckyjoin us now from wrexham. steve, first up, well can. good morning to both of you. good morning. you are in your hospital bed you are back home. things are much better than they were. bed you are back home. things are much better than they werem bed you are back home. things are much better than they were. it is definitely good medicine being at home with my wife and kids. it was the best experience ever and kids. it was the best experience ever, coming home to see them and being still quite breathless, struggling to walk more than 12 metres. my wife isa to walk more than 12 metres. my wife is a nurse and i am getting really good care at home from her, so it is all good. your family has an extraordinary story. becky, just tell people, you also have been l.” had the symptoms first full four, five days and i got better then

steve had the symptoms but he did not get better. what we should make clear as well, as a firefighter, 39 yea rs clear as well, as a firefighter, 39 years old, i hope you do not mind me saying your age on national television, you are fit. when you do all the exercises and drills, you are fit, physically fit. both that he must have been surprised how hard it hit here. as a firefighter, with the crew i work with when we train almost every day. me and my life where saying, we were saying, if we get it we will be fine. we are both fit. we do rock climbing, go walking in the mountains. we were like, if we get it, we will be fine. 0bviously, we get it, we will be fine. obviously, it was not the case. we get it, we will be fine. obviously, it was not the casem was a shock. i kept thinking, it cannot be, it won't be, it willjust

bea cannot be, it won't be, it willjust be a cold. he was in the intensive ca re be a cold. he was in the intensive care unit for 15 days and on the board for eight days. they you given any indication as to why this affected steve so badly compared to how it affected you, becky? no. they do not know why. some reason, it does affect people like this and others had hardly any symptoms at all. in they sadly do not know. or they could say is because of his fitness that is why he left hospital, that is what saved his life. so i am very grateful to have him here. lets turn to the other pa rt him here. lets turn to the other part of the story, the family at home. you have four children. both of you work in the front line. you are the people for whom we have huge respect and you are used to dealing with maybe other peoples trauma. lo and behold this happens to you and

yourfamily, the and behold this happens to you and your family, the four kids at home. how do you go about explaining things to them and dealing with the situation, which must have been pretty difficult? it was difficult. even though we could not see him will be with him, we had so much support from family, friends and collea g u es support from family, friends and colleagues which helped us to get through. with their children, i did not tell them everything. i told them he was sick and in hospital. i did not tell them how poorly he was because they are young and i do not think they needed to know that filter every day my little boy would wa ke filter every day my little boy would wake up and say, is daddy coming home today? i would say, not yet but soon home today? i would say, not yet but soon he will. my mind did wander but i had to keep bringing my mind back and saying, he can do this, he is a fighter. he has fought it. how other children now? how did they think you

yet? you started the interview saying you are still quite breathy. we are mindful to let becky answer some questions as i say you can catch your breath, so to speak.” have lost three stone in weight. i am quite slim anyway. my daughter... all my kids were quite shocked but my daughter did mention how thin i let. and how frail i was. they are used to seeing me big and strong, i am in the garden chopping wood, doing pull—ups and press ups in the garden to someone who is at the moment quite frail and weak. that was quite a shock to them. but they are so was quite a shock to them. but they are so glad to have me back. especially my youngest, seth. he hugs me and sits on my labs and talks to me. out of all of them i think my youngest probably felt it

the most. —— my lap. iam so thankful to be home, to be honest. say many things to say. you say physically weak, mentally strong. that is what i say. people will be full of respect for you. i know what firefighters are like. you take the mickey out of each other all of the time. that goes hand in hand, doesn't it? even when i was in hospital, all the guys from the station by sending me messages, some i will not repeat and it was just encouraging. the fire service is a big family and we look after each other. when one of us takes a hit, we'll take a hit. i got massive support from the north wales fire and rescue service. it is amazing how people just come together in a time of need and it really shows

there are a lot of good people out there. it is a privilege and an honour to be able to talk to both of you, a delight to see you well again. becky and steve kerr front line workers. there will be a lot of affection for you from the viewers this morning and also when the clap tonight happens, i will be thinking of both of you. so pleased you are back to health. make sure you listen to the nurse as well. she does keep telling me to rest. get baking. definitely. lovely talking to you both. it makes you feel good, i'm so pleased he is on his way to recovery. a little bit late coming to you, but these are tales we need to you, but these are tales we need to hear, aren't they? exactly, what

wonderful tales, as well. all the best. hgppy happy st george's day, by the way. a little bit chilly for me to be opening the windows to the outside butjohn in hampshire, the weather watcher, certainly has, undera butjohn in hampshire, the weather watcher, certainly has, under a warm appear quite nicely through the day but elsewhere we have missed in low cloud across parts of north—east england, south—east scotland which will clear but more high cloud across southern scotland, northern england today so the sunshine a little bit on the hazy side. away from that, skies are blue once again and with the wind lighter the lighter last few days it will be 25 celsius, the warmest day of the week. above where we should be for this time of year. into the 20s across england and wales but the exception across the eastern coast, east of northern ireland, although in the western areas we could hit 18-19. in the western areas we could hit 18—19. those areas will see low to moderate pollen levels but for many of you, if you suffer from hay fever, the tree pollen is at its highest again today. as we go through this evening, overnight, what we will see as most of us

staying dry, clear skies to begin with but mr fogg developing to take this into friday morning across the eastern parts of england. a chance ofa eastern parts of england. a chance of a fast, limited to scotland and northern england, frost free, though, as we go into friday but it could be a bit of a murky, misty start across england. that mist and fog will clear within the first few hours of the morning and then for most of us, it's as you wear, dry, sunny, blue skies, more cloud towards the channel islands, down towards the channel islands, down toward the south—west with a small chance of a shower. temperature is not quite as high as today and we could see temperatures into the low 20s across many southern and western parts of the uk. another update in half an hour. back to both of you. thank you very much, matt. good morning to you. let's bring you up to the main stories. the first human trials for a possible coronavirus vaccine are due to begin in oxford later.

it's thought two people will be given the drug today, with more to follow. the chief medical adviser, professor chris whitty, says the chances of a vaccine being rolled out before 2021 are ‘incredibly small‘. he also said it's likely the uk will have to live with social distancing measures until the end of the year. meanwhile, the government's scientific advisers are expected to resist pressure to recommend that we wear face coverings to stop the spread of coronavirus. there have been calls for the government to reconsider its guidance on masks after some european countries, including germany and austria, have made them compulsory in places where social distancing can't be maintained. london mayor sadiq khan is among those who have called for masks to be used more widely in the uk. 20,000 households in england are being contacted to take part in a study to help track covid—19 in the general population. it's hoped the information, from a representative sample from across the uk, will help improve understanding of the rate of infection, and how many people are likely to have developed antibodies.

thanks very much for being with us this morning on breakfast. no football, but we can go to see, but doesn't mean it's not going on. mike can explain. good morning. yes, we have some breaking news regarding the england women's team at this hour. it will be confirmed with an official announcement later today that phil neville will leave his role as england women's manager next summer. neville, has been in talks with the football association for several weeks and his contract runs untiljune 2021. originally that would have been after the women's euros, but now they have been delayed by a year to avoid a clash with the tokyo olympics. neville led england to a first shebelieves cup title in 2019, before a fourth—place finish at the world cup that summer but since last year's quarterfinal win over norway, the lionesses have lost seven of 11 games.

the government say they've asked the premier league to look at finishing their season, with games being shown live on television, forfree if, as expected, any remaining games are played without fans. inside the stadium, broadcasters could show the games. the current deals are restricted to, "paid for" tv packages, but culture secretary oliver dowden says, "it wouldn't send the best signal, if they were one of the first major sports to resume behind closed doors, and the public at large couldn't have access to it." and finally, if you're looking for ways to turn your house into a competitive sporting venue, maybe take inspiration from, the world heptathlon champion, katerina johnson thompson, in lock down, taking on her dachshunds, chorizo and bronz, in all seven events that make up the heptathlon, starting with the 100 metre hurdles, over a box and a cushion which has the face andrew pozzi, fellow athlete on it. then it was the high jump onto the bed. a bit high for the dogs that one. then shotputting a sock into a draw.

very neatly done. the dogs got another run out in the garden in the 200 metres around the shrubbery, before she set a personal best in the long jump, albeit on the carpet, with a standing start hile the kitchen and a paper aeroplane made up the javellin, and there was drama at the end of the 800 metres, as kjt claimed victory, but only after she was blocked and taken down by chorizo and bronx. but still finished top to claim the gold medal. we have enjoyed that this morning. an inspiration on how to clean up our bedrooms with shot putting a stock into a draw there. you have been really good at these videos, mike. are you going to try to do something similar? i've got to be disciplined tonight because i'm taking part in the big bike in with louise. i'm going to wear a helmet

because on a roller i've never been on one of those before and i'm worried if i do come off i could hit my head on the side table. there is someone my head on the side table. there is someone in the studio who can give you advice on that. all i would say, michael, if you're planning on falling off the bicycle in a situation, please make sure it's on camera so we can see it. situation, please make sure it's on camera so we can see it. i definitely will take every precaution so i don't. you know me and my reputation being a bit accident—prone but it should be great fun but i'm not used to cycling indoors. i've never done it. charlie has done it on a rolling bike. yes, i have. can ijust say, mike, i remember from bike. yes, i have. can ijust say, mike, i rememberfrom the olympics, use a shot putting. i remember this one before. it was one of my quirky things, was it? shot put. we will chat later, lovely to see you. thank you, mike. nina is taking a look at

lots of business have been in touch because they are struggling to get access to these emergency loans which were promised by the government. nina, very frustrating not to say the government isn't giving them out but some businesses are finding that they simply don't qualify for them frustratingly. yes, so qualify for them frustratingly. yes, so frustrating. we are talking about the coronavirus business interruption loan scheme. snappily titled. launched exactly a month ago today, here is what they offer. £5 million to small and medium sized businesses — hairdressers, cafes, cleaning companies — who're having serious cashflow problems. the applications go through the banks, and the government guarantees 80% of the loan to take the pressure off the banks and businesses. the problem is that the last official figures from the banks showed just one fifth of applications were successful. where is the blockage? thank you so much, loads of you have

beenin thank you so much, loads of you have been in touch. this is an e—mail from mike and carol who run an 11 electronic company in great yarmouth and say even though they've been asked to make respiratory equipment for the corona crisis, the bank is clearing their figures from years ago. tim on facebook says they provided all of the evidence requested by the bank, each time they do, another roadblock is put on they do, another roadblock is put on the way. it seems to be computer says no. michelle in london's run is a production company and says she still hasn't heard back from her bank weeks on. just want to stress that the scheme does keep being reviewed and kept being changed by the banks and the government, so good news forjames who said he'd asked for a small loan but was rejected because it was under £25,000 and james, some banks on now revealing that policy is what might be worth giving it another go from the beginning of next week. brian applied to the few weeks bank and he said they were not involved in the scheme but they are now. and it's worth saying if you did apply early

on may do give it another try because guidance around guarantees has changed and the federation of small businesses says it really does va ry small businesses says it really does vary depending on which bank you apply to so it might be worth shopping around. nina, it's also about the banks, isn't it, and whether or not the process of applying for these loans is made easy enough by the banks or businesses? how are they responding or being seen to help or not? well, does look like it's getting easier. the chancellor said on monday, the latest numbers were around 12,000 loa ns latest numbers were around 12,000 loans which is double the number of the week before which was double the number of the week before that, so the trajectory is really positive, even though the numbers are still quite low. banks are asking us to remember they are finding their feet on this and still facing the same issues all of us are, staffing, sickness, distancing, it's a difficult time but they say it will get easier in the coming weeks. just to end on a positive, barry makes children's playgrounds to end on a positive, barry makes child ren's playgrounds and to end on a positive, barry makes children's playgrounds and said it

was an easy process which has made him feel a lot more confident about the future. let's hope there are many more barrys out there when we get the latest figures at 9:30am. nina, thank you very much for that. let's speak to brandon lewis right now. thank you for your time this morning. a number of things we want to get through today. firstly, one or two of the front pages of newspapers, the sun newspaper, talking about masks. they are saying wea talking about masks. they are saying we a mask. the government is prepared to urge britons to wear masks, to avoid spreading coronavirus. i know there is a sage meeting today with the government. can you just give us clarity which is what people want, is it true that this advice will be forthcoming from the government? well, i can't tell because sage is meeting today but we haven't yet had that advice as

ministers yet but what we do is make the decisions on the advice we get, the decisions on the advice we get, the best advice we can get, from sage, the scientific advisers and once we had the meeting, once they've taken the view then we will have a look at it and make a decision. i don't want to get ahead of ourselves and prejudge what might come back because i simply don't know yet. we got to let them do their work and they will put their advice to government in due course. as of today, there is no change in the government advice in relation to the government advice in relation to the use of masks for the general population going about their daily lives? that's absolutely right, yes, no change at the moment. if there is different advice coming from sage, as we go through this, we are always assessing what is right at any given point in time, as we learn more, and things develop, and we take advice, but as we sit here today, there is no change and we will make any decisions on that public as soon as they are made after sage have met

and takena they are made after sage have met and taken a view. i want to ask you about the vaccine trials which are due to get under way today. two separate trials. in terms of a timeline, there has been a lot of caution over what people should expect but nonetheless, you will understand the moment people here area understand the moment people here are a vaccine is starting, the development of starting, there will bea development of starting, there will be a lot of questions. what can you tell us about what we should expect? i think that's absolutely right, and also to signal of a further light at the end of a tunnel but a vaccine may be coming down the line, but i have tojoin the may be coming down the line, but i have to join the chief medical officer in urging some caution about that. it is really good news of the trials are starting in this country today, but we are not going to see a vaccine available and proven and tested and ready to go in the next few weeks. it will be some way down the line. good news is happening but we got to continue to focus on what is working in terms of flattening the curve and dealing with this

virus right now, that means continuing wherever possible to stay at home work from home where people can and follow the government guidelines. we will come back to that point in a moment. we were speaking to charlie weller earlier who has a great deal of experience in the production of vaccines and one of the points she made very clearly was, as the research into this vaccine goes ahead, it is hugely important that in parallel, whilst this technology is being looked at, that production is looked at, so that as and when a vaccine is proven to be effective we have production available, so currently, is the government looking at practical ways of manufacturing and already making preparations for that? i've not personally been the most conversations by nova department of health, they are working with our suppliers around the world could also here in the uk.

we've seen this with testing facilities with the private sector has come together working of the government to upscale dramatically very quickly the amount of tests we can do, so as we very quickly the amount of tests we can do, so as we move very quickly the amount of tests we can do, so as we move through this period of working on a vaccine, yes, absolutely there will be focused on making sure when we get to the vaccine that works, we can get that into production as quickly and safely and efficiently as possible but, at the moment, we've got to bearin but, at the moment, we've got to bear in mind the key focus has got to be on doing what we can today to make sure we continue to manage this virus and that means continuing to follow government guidelines. are you concerned that people may be slipping in that adherence to government guidelines on social distancing as weeks go by? there is a lwa ys distancing as weeks go by? there is always a risk. many people, particularly living alone or in a flat with limited access to outside space, it is really difficult and frustrating. we need to look at the success

frustrating. we need to look at the su ccess we frustrating. we need to look at the success we have had in flattening the curve. we have lost too many lives. we do not want to lose any more lives than we can. the nhs needs the capacity to cope, to protect lives. it is about following guidelines will do what i would say is when you follow the guidelines commit when you stay at home and work at home, you are doing something directly personally literally playing a part in saving lives and we had to keep that at the forefront of our minds. that is worth repeating. i am mindful that the demands you are making of the public, there is a payback. people should expect the government to fulfil its pledges. it becomes more and more important than more demands that are made of the public. we have, what is it? just over a week

now until the testing number should reach 100,000 a day. that was the pledge by matt hancock. maybe you can bring us right up to date on what the latest numbers are today, yesterday, as to how many were done. i think this is one of the challenges we have seen over the last week or so, the gap of 20,000 a day being completed with capacity up at 40,000. we are confident. matt hancock has done a greatjob of originally. this virus had no tests originally. this virus had no tests originally. it went to 2000 and then to 40000 and going to 100,000 by the end of the month. we are opening up a man to people who can get access

to the tests, trying to get demand up to the tests, trying to get demand up to meet the capacity. getting testing to people at home, getting the number of test centres up from 27 to 50. -- the the number of test centres up from 27 to 50. —— the amount of people. you are saying we have a capacity to do 40,000. the pledge is that 100,000 tests will be done in less than a week, not the capacity for 100,000, the pledge is that 100,000 would be done. what can change in the intervening days to make sure that pledge to complete 100,000 tests a day will be met? what they have been focused on is getting the capacity app. we want to get up to having 100,000 people tested today by the —— today. we need capacity to have that level of demand and we had

seen have that level of demand and we had seen at growing exponentially. it has risen from zero to 2000 an hour to 40,000, upscaling to 100,000 by the end of the month. to have 100,000 people a day being tested, we are expanding the number of test centres, it will need from 27 to 50 by the end of the month. looking at how we can get the testing, the swa bs, how we can get the testing, the swabs, to people at home and expanding it so it goes beyond front line and nhs workers. movement to ca re line and nhs workers. movement to care home workers, residents and front line emergency staff as well. getting a demand up to meet the capacity. i want to ask briefly about ppe. people will have seen the absurd situation and that is the best description of it, that there are warehouses in the uk where shipping ppe out of this country to other countries within the european union. does the government concede

thatis union. does the government concede that is an absurd and really alarming development? no, actually, we had to get this clear in context. it isa we had to get this clear in context. it is a global challenge. we are bringing ppp in front other places around the world. over a billion pieces of ppe have been sent out over this period. over seven and a half million in the last week. to get a good example in the uk, we ship 5.5 million pieces a ppe to northern ireland. at the end of last week northern ireland sent quarter ofa week northern ireland sent quarter of a million pounds to main and gb because they have the capacity, sports fans transferring grounds over. there are different levels of supply and you will see variations like that. it is understandable with the complexity of what is available and what people require full ppe.

brandon lewis, thank you for your time this morning. my pleasure. many of us have been showing our gratitude to the key workers keeping the country running but the situation has also brought out the worst in some. research from the union of shop, distributive and allied workers suggests that almost two out of three shop workers are suffering verbal abuse during the pandemic and it says abusive incidents have doubled in the past month. let's discuss this with clare saunders, a supermarket worker and union rep and with dr mike holmes, a gp who has seen an increase in abuse towards staff at his surgery. professor mike holmes, lets start with you. really? people are coming m, with you. really? people are coming in, they are sick with a need to

help, and they think it is ok to be abusive. what is happening? the first thing i will say is support from the public has been amazing. there had been a handful of incidents with one of the practice nurses where patients have refused to see her and asked to see other staff and thought she was increasing their risk of infection because of their risk of infection because of the perception around her heritage. what is her heritage and what are the perceptions? she is british-born but herfamily the perceptions? she is british-born but her family comes from kong and there was a perception that people felt there was an increased risk with her. she was upset and we have asked patients about the death to try encounter this sort of behaviour. that is really tricky.

what does it look like and are you standing in support with her if a patient says i do not want to be treated by this person because of their heritage, what do you say to we understand in unprecedented times like this people are worried. that is no excuse for discrimination. we feel nhs workers should not be discriminated against on any basis, whether race, gender, age, class. what we want to do is work with our patients to respect diversity in the nhs and in society to talk about this, to raise awareness that this happens, to reflect on it and actually ask people if they do see it, if they come across it, let's call it out, let's challenge it and together we can try to reduce the amount of times it happens. claire, you work in a supermarket and you area union you work in a supermarket and you are a union rep. what have you seen first hand ? obviously, are a union rep. what have you seen first hand? obviously, especially when the initial panic buying started, we saw customers verbally

abusing ourselves and verbally abusing ourselves and verbally abusing each other because they could not get what they wanted. they did not want to queue and anxieties we re did not want to queue and anxieties were high, as is everyone's at the moment and they were taking out on us because we obviously were limiting what they were buying, everyone had a fair chance of getting what they needed. i found especially easter weekend as well was quite tough and because obviously the weather was nice and people were having to queue. they did not want to queue, they wanted to get what they wanted. there were still shoplifters coming in abusing us as well now. personally myself i have been told if i come close to shoplifters, they may spit at me and give me coronavirus. with anxiety and anything they want what they need. they are scared as well which i understand. obviously, myself, colleagues and every shop worker in

the uk is putting themselves at risk to provide a vital service to local communities. we do not deserve to get any disrespect and in some cases physical abuse whatsoever. what kind of protection have bosses and management offered you? that he can tear described with a shoplifter, somebody threatening to spit at you and say they have coronavirus, that is terrible. in some cases it is ha rd to is terrible. in some cases it is hard to avoid if someone is determined to behave like that. what back—up are people getting for management and bosses?” back—up are people getting for management and bosses? i am lucky. i work for a company that is very supportive. we have a fantastic response team and we get mental support we need as well. with protection, we have got what we need, as far as i can see, protection, we have got what we need, as faras i can see, i do protection, we have got what we need, as far as i can see, i do not we can get any more. we had masks,

screens and hand gel. shoplifting, theissues screens and hand gel. shoplifting, the issues were, before this even broke out, which is something i am working with the union and anyway, i am lucky i work for a retailer that gets me support i need to be able to deal with these the correct way and not put myself at risk. speaking to other people when i have been doing research, they have not been getting the same from their companies. it is something the government does need to address. there needs to be harsher penalties for shoplifters and customers who are abusing and physically assaulting shop workers. really interesting to hear both your experiences. we wish you both well and we hope it stops. it is a small minority back enough to upset you, so we minority back enough to upset you, so we wish you all the best. thank you. i was in the supermarket the other day and i spoke to the women on the tail. you know they are now putting up screens on the idea is,

if there is someone in front of you, you wait till they had gone before you wait till they had gone before you go down there. someone called heran you go down there. someone called her an idiot because she tried to enforce that. she could not have had a more lovely nature and she said, they think it is ok to call me an idiot. they arejust they think it is ok to call me an idiot. they are just doing their jobs and doing the best they can in a difficult situation. the vast majority of their time, goodwill abounds but when it happens it is ugly and it is not good. here's matt with a look at this morning's weather. a fine start to the weather for thursday. st george's day and this is the scene in whopping with blue skies and a son about the river thames. there is mysterious in north—east england. —— in wapping.

sunshine is more hazy and the skies are more still warm for the vast majority. 25 degrees possible for london. high teens to the west of northern ireland, west of northern ireland, east of the country still cooler with the onshore breeze. here pollen levels not as high as they will be elsewhere. again it will be high with tree pollen levels for hay fever sufferers throughout the day. overnight more in a way of mist and low cloud. more widespread tonight across eastern parts of england. another cool night, particularly in the north of the country. the east of scotla nd the north of the country. the east of scotland and north—east england, may be close enough for a touch of frost. that will disappear under sunny skies tomorrow. it could be cool to start friday morning but that will clear. a bit more clout in

shetland and the channel islands and the south west of england with the small chance of a shower. not as warm as today for many but still warm as today for many but still warm for the time of year. into the weekend it will turn cooler gradually for all and that is the forecast. good morning, welcome to breakfast with naga munchetty and charlie stayt. our headlines: thousands of households in england are being recruited to help track the spread of covid—19, whilst the first human trials for a vaccine are due to start today. but there are warnings from the chief medical adviser that any effective treatment is unlikely to be available this year, and some form of social distancing will continue if people are hoping that it's suddenly going to move from where we are now in lockdown into, everything is gone, that is a wholly unrealistic expectation. we are

going to have to do a lot of things for a long period of time. government science advisers look set to say the public should not wear medicalface masks, but should feel free to cover their faces with scarves. the grandparents getting to grips with technology to keep in touch with family. damejudi dench embraces new skills. i've also learned from my grandson about tik—tok so i've been having to rehearse my so—called dance with him. good morning. phil neville will leave his job, as england women's manager next summer. details will be given later today, but it means he won't now take england, to the next euros which have now been put back until summer 2022. good morning. it's thursday, the 23rd of april. our top story. the first human trials of a possible coronavirus vaccine are due to get under way in oxford today. on breakfast earlier, the northern ireland secretary, brandon lewis, urged caution around the testing, echoing the thoughts

of the government's chief medical advisor, professor chris whitty, who said we are unlikely to see an effective vaccine this year, so life will not return to normal soon. jon donnison reports. just some of the faces of the now more than 18,000 people in britain who have lost their lives to covid—19. behind each one, friends and families left behind. the so—called curve may be beginning to flatten here, but doctors are warning many more will die before this is over. key to ending the crisis will be the race to discover a vaccine. the government says a team at oxford university is due to begin human trials on one possible vaccine today, although the go—ahead is not expected to be confirmed until later this morning. and doctors are warning any vaccine or treatments are unlikely to be ready to be rolled out until at least next year, meaning life will not return to normal anytime soon.

this disease is not going to be eradicated, it is not going to disappear, so we have to accept that we are working with a disease that we are going to be with globally, this is a global problem, for the foreseeable future. if people are hoping that it suddenly going to move from where we are now in lockdown suddenly into everything is gone, that is a wholly unrealistic expectation. we are going to have to do a lot of things for really quite a long period of time. the question is what is the best package and this is what we're trying to work out. one thing that could change if the advice on face masks. sage, the government scientific advisory body, will give its latest guidance today. it's expected to stop short of saying the public should wear medical masks, fearing that could leave a shortage of supplies for the nhs. but the body is expected to say that the public should feel free to wear home—made masks or scarves, not because it significantly lowers your chance of getting the virus, but because it reduces the chance of you passing it on.

the government is expected to make a decision on facemasks by the weekend. meanwhile, 20 , 000 households in england are being contacted to take part in a study to help track covid—19 in the general population. it's hoped the information will help improve the understanding of the rate of infection and how many people are likely to have developed antibodies. john donnison, bbc news. we're joined now form westminster by our political correspondent, chris mason. good morning. two real stories for today. vaccines and masks. first of all, these trials are due to get under way today. lots of words of caution around what people should expect in terms of the timetable? yeah, good morning. there is a lot of caution and there is a lot of pride as well, because what we're

hearing regularly now from the scientists and politicians is that to get to this stage so quickly is extraordinary, to get to the stage of human trials on the timeline of this virus, is incredible. for and it isa this virus, is incredible. for and it is a massive boat, this is the start of a very, very long process. as the chief medical adviser said yesterday, it is likely to be a year before you or i could go to the pharmacy or the doctor and get a vaccine. but the process is coming along as quickly as they possibly can. there are lots of different trials taking place all around the world. here is the cabinet minister brandon lewis in the last half an hour. i have tojoin the chief medical officer in urging some caution. it is really good news those trials are starting in this country today. but we are not going to see a vaccine available and proven and tested and ready to go in the next few weeks. it would be somewhere down the line.

good news that it is happening but we have to continue to focus on flattening the curve and dealing with this virus right now. that means continuing, wherever possible, to stay at home and work from home when people can come and follow the government guidelines. that is why there is going to be this constant focus on the guidelines and exactly how we should conduct ourselves out and about, because the reality is a vaccine or a drug that fights the worst effects of this virus, are the only guaranteed way is out of this. and we know they are not guaranteed and they are a long way off. another of those things that has been talked about a lot is masks. people ask, should i be wearing a mask using public transport, for example? they have been looking for some kind of clarity from the government with medical advice. and today part of that process is taking place, isn't it? yes, the sage committee, the

scientific and that advises ministers on the science around all of this, is going to present its findings to ministers. it will be up to ministers to decide the advisors just advise. what we expect they are going to say, and it is pretty nuanced,is going to say, and it is pretty nuanced, is that if you are out and about and you choose to have some sort of diy face covering, go for it. but if they're not going to say it. but if they're not going to say it is compulsory and they are absolutely not going to say that you should wear a medical style mask, because as we know from all the reporting we have been doing, there isa reporting we have been doing, there is a premium when it comes to personal protective equipment for people in a medical setting, those who are particularly vulnerable in terms of catching this in their day—to—day interactions. they don't wa nt to day—to—day interactions. they don't want to make it any worse in terms of the supply of them. there is also a recognition in the advice the world health organisation has published that there are downsides around mask usage. that you are going to be touching your face a lot more as a result of putting on some

sort of mask, and it might give you a false sense of security. all of the advice comes back to the fact that social distancing, staying at home when you can, is absolutely still the key. chris, thank you. a consultant geriatrician at doncaster royal infirmary in south yorkshire, has died from covid—19. dr medhat atalla was described by his colleagues as "a truly gentle man and a very special human being, who practised medicine across three continents throughout his career. he has been described as hugely popular and respected. the hospital has said that the doctor became a full—time member of the trust in 2014. he arrived in britain from egyptin 2014. he arrived in britain from egypt in the early 2000. the statement said, "we would like to ta ke statement said, "we would like to take a moment to thank colleagues who cared for the doctor during his illness and he did all they could to ca re illness and he did all they could to care for and support him as he

bravely battled covert." this is a co nsulta nt bravely battled covert." this is a consultant geriatrician at doncaster royal in in south yorkshire, who has died after treatment for covid—19. scotland's first minister, nicola sturgeon, will set out her strategy for exiting the coronavirus lockdown later. she's expected to make it clear that an end to the tough restrictions isn't imminent — and that some constraints will continue for a prolonged period. heraim, she says, will be to achieve "some semblance of normality". nhs england has said everyone should consider taking vitamin d supplements during the lockdown as it's unlikely we're getting enough sunlight. officials say 10 micrograms a day will help keep your bones and muscles healthy. this is usually only advised during the autumn and winter. with the subject of the suntan, matt

will have the weather 27 minutes passed. the earliest "realistic" point at which schools in england could start to re—open would be 1st june, according to the leader of the head teachers' union. geoff barton said the priority should be years 10 and 12, who are part—way through gcses and a—levels, and year 6, where children are about to move to secondary school. education secretary gavin williamson said no date was set for returning to school, quashing speculation about an imminent return. medical experts have made it clear that a vaccine is our best hope of bringing coronavirus under control and research is underway, with human trials starting in oxford today. in a moment we'll speak to two people who've volunteered to take part. but first, the uk's chief medical adviser explained why a vaccine is so important at yesterday's downing street briefing. the exit from this is going to be one of two things, ideally. one of which is a highly effective vaccine and there are a variety of ways vaccines can be deployed — they can be deployed for pandemics,

they can be deployed to protect vulnerable people. and highly effective drugs so people stop dying from this disease, even if they catch it, or which can prevent this disease in vulnerable people. until we have those, and the probability of having those any time in the next calendar year are incredibly small, and i think we should be realistic about that, we are going to have to rely on other social measures which, of course, are very socially disruptive, as everyone 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 back, but it will take a long time. let's speak to two people who've volunteered. lydia guthrie and andrew lines will both take part in the trial. theyjoin us from oxfordshire. let's talk to you both. shall we start first of all with why? why are

you deciding to take part in these trials? morning, naga. speaking for myself i saw the advert on twitter, which was advertising for potential participants. i made quite a quick emotional judgment based on participants. i made quite a quick emotionaljudgment based on a belief that it's really the right thing to do. we just heard from the chief medical officer how important it is for the whole community that we develop a vaccine as quickly as possible. and it's something i'm able to do. this pandemic is causing lots of people to step up and step forward in ways they might not have done before. thisjust feels like i can take a small well—managed risk to be part of this big team that are working so hard to find a vaccine. this is what people will be hearing, lydia. a small, well—managed risk. this is going into the unknown, isn't it? tell me if i am incorrect, your husband has also been in a trial before, i think? so you've had

some experience of what this can involved and the risks involved. but you have a family and this is a risk? yeah, it's very true. the expert scientific team know a lot about vaccines. but they don't know about vaccines. but they don't know a lot about how this particular vaccine will operate in humans and how the human participants might react. so there is a degree of the unknown. i have a lot of trust in this vaccine team. i know it's very well regulated. it's been through nhs ethics panels, through oxford university ethics panel. this pandemic is causing us all to have a very different relationship with risk. everyday activities like going to the supermarket are risky in ways they weren't before. so not doing anything is also a risk. this virus is affecting everybody. it is affecting my parents. i benefit too. it is not a selfless act. i am part

of the community. and if we find a vaccine then we all benefit. so it's a small, well— managed, vaccine then we all benefit. so it's a small, well—managed, well regulated risk that i feel able to take. let's say good morning to andrew as well. thanks for chatting to us. my first question is, who are you, andrew? tell us about you first.” work in the humanitarian sector for oxfam and i am a member of the board for amnesty international. have you got a family? yeah, i've got five children. they are all watching. wow. so you've got a lot of family. five children. tell us about your motivation? what was the driver? presumably you saw the ad as well. what were the thought processes you went through? i think you put your health at risk and therefore the future well— being of your family health at risk and therefore the future well—being of your family in order to benefit everyone. but that

argument isa order to benefit everyone. but that argument is a circular one that doesn't come to any conclusion. you have to involve your whole family in that decision making. and i did and they were supportive. i would also make it clear it wasn't me who brought the idea of the vaccine trial into my household, but we made a decision as a household that we would support it. i was the obvious choice to put forward for the trial. what did they tell you about... ? i'm concentrating on the risk. this is about the greater good, as you both point out. one on a personal note, people listening to you both will be maybe a little bit worried about you and thinking, what have you been told about what you are doing at the potential risk, as there always is? first of all i think the vaccine study is being run with real professionalism. that is pa rt of with real professionalism. that is part of the decision—making i had to make going into it about how it was being put to me. the risks are put front and centre and explained in clear ways. there is a strong sense of safeguarding with lots of

supportive things go wrong. you are not made to feel alone. i feel privileged to be working with such an amazing clinical team on the trial. that said, i would be disingenuous if i said i don't go into this with some trepidation. but as lydia pointed out, everyone is facing some worry and anxiety at the moment, be it household finance, worried about their family or health or friends. some are worried about their family or health orfriends. some are more worried about their family or health or friends. some are more at risk than others. god forbid about bereavement and loss. i don't think the rest of the trial are significantly greater or more alarming than any of the reality is we all face. it is certainly a pragmatic approach. lydia, you are going to be vaccinated next thursday? yeah. what does that involve ? thursday? yeah. what does that involve? how do you prepare, what have you been told to expect in terms of side effects if there are any, or how you would feel? yeah, i really echo what he said, the clinical team are taking really good

ca re of clinical team are taking really good care of participants. that is one of the reasons i agreed to take part. they took a really good care of my husband 20 years ago when he took pa rt husband 20 years ago when he took part ina husband 20 years ago when he took part in a trial. we have had a full consent form which asks and answers lots of questions. there are risks that any participant might have an allergic reaction to the vaccine. there is a risk that they don't exactly know how it will operate in human subjects because of the urgency some of the usual animal testing steps have been skipped out. so that this vaccine can be made more quickly. so the scientists, and the whole team, really honest with us that they don't quite know exactly what the impact is going to be. but they have reassured us that this virus is built out of building blocks that are very well researched. so they don't have any reason to think there will be particularly harmful side effects. so andrew, you are getting euros on wednesday, the day before lydia. what a preparation, physically,

wednesday, the day before lydia. whata preparation, physically, if any, have you been told to do, mentally, eating wise? absolutely nothing other than what the standard recommendation is to everyone, which is to socially isolate and basically look after yourself and put yourself into a good mental and physical state going into the trial. once you've taken the vaccine do you then isolate as well? is that part of the process ? isolate as well? is that part of the process? you carry on under basic guidelines that everybody does. really interesting to talk to you both this morning. wish you well. liddy -- both this morning. wish you well. liddy —— lydia, your wallpaper is lovely. and andrew, you need to tidy up lovely. and andrew, you need to tidy up the area in the back. honestly! good luck to you both. are we allowed to talk to you during the process. ——? we are? allowed to talk to you during the process. --? we are? wejust carry on with our lives and they follow us up. yeah, we can carry on keeping in

touch with you. we wish you both very well. thank you. good luck. andrew being vaccinated on wednesday and liddy on thursday. we will keep in touch with them to see how they are doing. wish them all the best. she's known on the small screen, the big screen — and now, your phone screen. damejudi dench has been using lockdown to get to grips with technology, and regularly posts on tiktok with her grandson, sam. she's not the only one using her time indoors to learn new skills and keep in touch with the younger generation, as breakfast‘s john maguire has been finding out. why do you tell an actor to break a leg? because every player has to have a cast. from m to various hms, damejudi dench is one of ourfinest and best loved actors. star of the stage, the small and the screen, she is now taking to the tiny screen making short tik tok videos with her grandson. i thought it would be a good laugh to get us both involved as we are so close but we are not together.

it's really, really hard. and it's just something both of us didn't know anything about and so we both chucked ourselves in it at the deep end. dame judi is learning new skills and loving the time spent although, at a distance, with herfamily. we are living through such a strange and unprecedented time and it's difficult to know how to approach each day, i think. i have found, and i'm not at all technically minded, but i have found that the laptop when you can get your family on facetime, it makes an enormous difference and then you see them and you feel as if you've actually had a quick visit, which is wonderful. and i've also learned from my grandson about tik tok, which is something i didn't know about, so i've been having to rehearse my so—called dance with him and we recorded it and i enjoyed it

enormously, enormously. i'd be terrified to direct her or tell her what to do. i mean, she's game for anything so i'm like, if i come to her one day with one trend, she tries to do that trend. like, we try to film it. i try to teach her dancers on facetime. it's really, really difficult. but she likes a bit of a challenge. at the moment, i don't think she's got any scripts that she is learning or anything, so she can kind of cut herself as much slack as she wants, which is lovely. i'm absolutely loving doing it with her and kind of seeing the response from people. it's great. and theo, as well? nice to see him. is he behaving himself? he's very good. we were lucky, really. when theo was born a month ago, he came home from hospital to a very different world, one where his parents, natasha and scott, were cut off from family support at least physically anyway.

for me, it's been absolute torture, really. i'm very close to my mum. on a usual week i would see her most days. and when you do something as big as this, the first thing you want to do is show your mum. of course. so we decided to have a family reunion with natasha's parents and sister and, after the gremlins that are such large part of daily life now, we were joined by scott's mum. you've seen him. not had a chance to touch him yet. what's that been like? horrible. very heartbreaking. absolutely. ijust can't wait. it's very frustrating. it is, isn't it? yeah. we can be thankful of the modern technology that we can watch him develop over the last month on whatsapp. without that, we would be lost. not only that, he's long—awaited, this young man. it's hell for both families. our first great—grandchild.

nephew. all the family. can't wait to meet the little man. gosh, he's not going to wanting for cuddles when this is all over. so who have we got now, scott? great grandad jeff and great grandma pat. and theo's great—grandparents join in. for many, lockdown would have been much harder without this technology so we may not be able to touch, to kiss, to hug, but in the meantime, we are able to smile and to laugh and to share. john maguire, bbc news. interesting seeing how people are adapting. you've got to adapt. plenty of our younger viewers are missing their grandparents this morning. here are just a handful of messages we've been sent on twitter.

hi, great nannyjune. great nanny and pop snowdon. just wanted to say hello, and we miss you, and we can't wait to hug you when we see you next. i miss you. i miss you, grandpa. missing grannyjan and nanny. we love you. hope to see you soon. our grandparents live in leicestershire, nanny, gramps, and grandma and grandad. and we really love them, so, we need a hug. granny and grandad. this is a mesage for nanny and grandad, and grandma and grandad. i miss you loads, and i love you so much. everything looked lovely about that. blue skies, garden. blue skies do

make it feel better. for me anyway. matt will have more in five minutes. jenny mcgee was one of the nurses who cared for the prime minister when he was being treated in intensive care at st thomas's hospital earlier this month. borisjohnson said she was one of two nurses "who stood by my bedside for 48 hours when things could have gone either way". ms mcgee, who is from new zealand, has been speaking to tvnz. he mentioned you stayed by his bedside for 48 hours. what were you tasked with? so, it wasjust normal ca re tasked with? so, it wasjust normal care duties. i'm not going to go into specific tasks, which is normal observations, normal things we do. can you give us an idea of responsibilities at all? we are a lwa ys responsibilities at all? we are always asked to constantly observe, to constantly monitor. we are co nsta ntly to constantly monitor. we are constantly tracing therapies and

feeding it back to the doctor. but we also have a lot of autonomy as well. what was the toughest part of yourjob? all shifts are tough for whatever reason. i think there was a lot of media interest about him being in hospital. to be honest, that probably was the toughest thing of the lot. he was just another patient we were trying to do our best work. it was business as usual. see you want even a little bit nervous? no, i honestly don't think i was. when i got in the car after work each night i would hear things about boris johnson on work each night i would hear things about borisjohnson on the news. that was very surreal because i thought, wow, i havejust been looking after him. but i really wasn't phased by looking after boris johnson. and what about in terms of, do you think they lowered the bar just because of who he is? no, everyone, we take it very seriously

when people come into intensive care. it's a very scary thing for these patients. we don't take it lightly. he absolutely needed to be there. talk to us about how he found out you were a from new zealand? we just chatted away and it naturally came up. yeah, he was interested in where i came from, what my story was. we spent a lot of time together. yeah, we talked away about new zealand. you have been loaded not just by britain's new zealand. you have been loaded notjust by britain's prime minister, but also by the new zealand prime minister. what went through your mind? so, the night it all happened i actually had to turn my phone off because it was overwhelming. and when i turned my phone back on in the morning people we re phone back on in the morning people were like, you need to look at your facebook. i was being called a snob for not responding! —— bites yer legs for not responding to jacinda ardren! i had a message from her.

she is a hero of mine. i think she's amazing. she said how the country was so amazing. she said how the country was so proud. it so heart—warming. something i will never forget. did he respond to the prime minister? yes, i responded and she messaged back immediately. a little bit of banter, which was again surreal. a couple of migs. just very surreal. what are the biggest challenges or issues that nurses are facing today? right now in the pandemic? it is so tough out there at the moment. we are being asked to look after more patients than we normally do. and it's tough. these patients are quite complex when they come in. covid is not just affecting the complex when they come in. covid is notjust affecting the lungs, it is affecting many systems in the body. we are overwhelmed by patients. we

arejust doing our we are overwhelmed by patients. we are just doing our best to save as many lives as we can. so we're putting in the hours, we are working long hours and we are physically exhausted. but it is also taking an emotional strain on us as well. but the great thing that is coming out of all this is the wonderful sense of all this is the wonderful sense of spirit and teamwork in the nhs. the team i work with, everyone is stepping up. we come together. there is camaraderie. we are going to do this. we will not be beaten. you just touched on emotionally. what do you mean by that? so we arejust seeing some really tragic situations. as i said, covid is affecting people badly. by the time they get to intensive care. but there are really tragic stories of more than one person dying from a family, or we're nursing other

nurses, other doctors, other bus drivers, people doing what we are doing. that's very scary. and, you know, it's unsafe for some of our visitors to come in at the moment. some people are dying without their loved ones around. so is much as we can hold their hand, should be their family and that's heartbreaking to watch. one of the nurses who helped to look after borisjohnson. whenever you talk to a nurse or medic, that reflective moment when they talk about the reality of what they are doing, the practicalities of a patient alone in hospital, their work is remarkable. when you say thank you to them, how are you, are you worried? their first thought is for their collea g u es first thought is for their colleagues and patients, never themselves.

let us give you an image of what is for a lot of people a lovely day today, the sun is shining, that shot over a very quiet central london as it should be. it is worth looking at those images even though we are saying to stay at home. this was the view in london yesterday. i thought this was lovely. the sunshine will continue, there's headlines. did i hear that april is going to be one of the hottest on record? the temperatures have been above average. it will be one of the warmest and one of the driest. very little rain around st george's day has started under blue skies again, some wispy cloud. that will be present for some

time. most likely across southern scotland, northern england and the west, high cloud. another blue sky day for most. the winds are lighter. temperatures are up, probably the warmest day of the week, 25 possible in the west of london, 20 or more across england and wales. cooler along the eastern coast. high teens or low 20s. with the onshore breeze, it is keeping pollen levels down. this evening and overnight, it will be dry. later tonight, some mist and fog developing in eastern parts of england. another cool night, a touch of frost. tomorrow morning, more mist and fog across eastern areas,

taking a few hours to lift. then, another dry day for the vast majority. the biggest change, a bit more cloud for shetland, the channel islands, devon and will come at the outside chance of a shower. most places will be dry, not as warm as yesterday, into the 20s. the weekend, dry on saturday, turning a little cooler on sunday with a chance of showers particularly in the north. enjoy st george's day. you are watching breakfast. let us bring you up—to—date with the main stories. the first human trials for a possible coronavirus vaccine are due to begin in oxford later. it's thought two people will be given the drug today, with more to follow. on breakfast earlier, the northern ireland secretary brandon lewis urged caution around the trials and said social—distancing rules will remain in place.

meanwhile, the government's scientific advisers are expected to resist pressure to recommend that we wear face coverings to stop the spread of coronavirus. there have been calls for the government to reconsider its guidance on masks after some european countries, including germany and austria, have made them compulsory in places where social distancing can't be maintained. london mayor sadiq khan is among those who have called for masks to be used more widely in the uk. a consultant geriatrician at doncaster royal infirmary in south yorkshire has died from covid—19. dr medhat atalla was described by his colleagues as "a truly gentle man and a very special human being who practised medicine across three continents throughout his career". scotland's first minister nicola sturgeon will set out her strategy for exiting the coronavirus lockdown later. she's expected to make it clear that an end to the tough restrictions isn't imminent —

and that some constraints will continue for a prolonged period. heraim, she says, will be to achieve "some semblance of normality". there are some remarkable stories of people who have recovered from coronavirus. they include rob thomas from gloucestershire who spent almost three weeks in hospital separated from his wife viv. now, they're back together and join us from their home in gloucestershire. this good morning, welcome to breakfast. rob, how are you? hello. i am feeling very good now. a slow road to recovery because my lungs took a hammering. it is such a nice boost to make it through it and come home to make it through it and come home to viv and the family. you were discharged on sunday

afternoon. it must have been such a joyous moment for you, viv, one can only imagine how worried you must have been. yes, it was a wonderful day. to think that we last saw him off in the ambulance, it was so lovely to see him back. a worrying three weeks. we are looking now, i am not sure you can see it, that is a big hug i am looking at. where were you when that took place? icame that took place? i came off of the ward, my last recovery step, my oxygen levels were 0k to recovery step, my oxygen levels were ok to be discharged, but were not brilliant. the nurses clapped me off the ward when i came out which was emotional. i lost a bit of breath. i

came on to the landing of the ward. blake, selena, my son and daughter we re blake, selena, my son and daughter were there to greet me. we were in a tower block, i went down the left. viv was outside. by the time i got there, i couldn't speak, i was trying to deep breathe. it was such an emotional moment, it was unreal. so lovely seeing it. thank you to yourfamily for sharing so lovely seeing it. thank you to your family for sharing it, it really matters to see these moments and for people to know that you can come out of this. viv, for you and the family, rob is home which is great but we were talking to a fire fighter earlier who was recovering, he was talking about shortness of breath. you clearly will have to be careful with him for a little while.

0h, careful with him for a little while. oh, yes, definitely, he will get a lot of tlc. a lot of rest. we will ta ke lot of tlc. a lot of rest. we will take great care of him. for us, this is to thank gloucester royal for everything they did for him, and to give other people hope as well. you can beat this virus, this is living proof that it can be done. rob, we should just say, it is willing you are back home, but there is still recovery for you. there are still problems. you have lost weight. the fire fighter we spoke to earlier lost three stone. and you still have to take care of your lungs. they did a ct scan on my lungs because i did not actually want to, when i contracted the virus, i had

no sore throat or cough. the virus basically took my lungs. and i do have blood clots, quite a few small blood clots on my lungs which is restricting the function of my lungs. so, i am restricting the function of my lungs. so, lam on restricting the function of my lungs. so, i am on medication for that. that is for a couple of months. and hopefully, that will naturally disperse and clear. but i am finding my breathing, again, it is by controlled breathing, each day, i do that little bit more, and deep breathe, and it is improving every day. my every day. my advice to you, something tells me outside a certain house in gloucestershire, there will be very enthusiastic clapping for carers tonight, but you take it easy because you need to be relaxed, i think. good luck. thank you. thank you. thank thank you. thank you.

thank you. thank you. take thank you. thank you. take care. lovely to see a recovered couple, rob doing well there, a little way to go but doing well. thousands of cancer cases are being missed every week because patients are staying away from gp surgeries due to the coronavirus. that's according to cancer research uk, which says referrals by doctors for urgent hospital checks has dropped by 75% in england since the start of the pandemic. we're joined now by deborahjames, from the podcast you, me and the big c. deborah, lovely to see you, how are you, are you well? iam, thank you, are you well? i am, thank you. these figures are quite worrying in terms of people who, understandably, are reluctant to bother their gp, especially when they are hearing about the toll the coronavirus is taking. really alarming, actually, it almost cou ntera cts really alarming, actually, it almost counteracts the really good but that has gone on in the last decade

saying, don't leave anything, no stone untouched, if you are concerned about anything, go straight to yourgp, concerned about anything, go straight to your gp, know your body. unveiling the mask of cancer. suddenly, everyone has gone back into their cave and they don't want to get their symptoms are checked. it is the difference between life and death. i know we have bigger things to worry about but actually we don't want to come out of this and be left with the collateral that might be cancer. we must make clear you were diagnosed with incurable bowel cancer in 2016 but you are now in a cancer in 2016 but you are now in a cancer free place. i cancer in 2016 but you are now in a cancerfree place. i spoke cancer in 2016 but you are now in a cancer free place. i spoke to you cancer in 2016 but you are now in a cancerfree place. i spoke to you in january, i rose —— i raised a glass to you that evening. thank you. i suppose it is notjust looking or checking for example for dance if you are thinking about breast cancer or testicular cancer,

but the issue of not wanting to by their gps initially. absolutely. the message loud and clear from gps is absolutely. the message loud and clearfrom gps is we absolutely. the message loud and clear from gps is we are open for business, we do have the capacity. we know that screening has been put on hold but we do know that the number of people that are being referred for urgent referrals has dropped by 75% which is saying that people are not going. for me, like you say, i use the term, still living with cancer. i am in a really good place, i have gone from metastatic bowel cancer to just managing my cancer through still having treatment. i am in the hospitalfor some having treatment. i am in the hospital for some blood tests because it is necessary to stay on top of that. but i think it is recognising every single day in the uk around 1000 people will be told

you have cancer which is a scary place to be in. for something like bowel cancer come april is bowel cancer awareness month and i am somebody who will dress up to raise awareness to get people talking about their bowels, not be embarrassed if they have a change of bowel habits. 44 people are still dying every day from bowel cancer. it is the second largest killer in the uk of cancer. we still need to talk about it and not be embarrassed. i get that the climate is changing but we still need to address it. iam address it. i am getting an image of you dressed up i am getting an image of you dressed up in the outfit, it is the big night in today. louise is doing her bike challenge and you are doing

that, are you going to be wearing said outfit while cycling? i wasn't going to but that is quite a good suggestion. we are actually doing it as a family already so we decided to cut up the 100 miles between us. louise is back in 100 miles. i said that i would join her on instagram live later, about it 15 pm. me and my family, my husband is next to me, he is on the screen, i would move the camera but he is covered in sweat at the moment! we are at 30 bike miles. you have started already? we have started, let me show you. he won't mind, i'm sorry. that is my husband there. i have done 15 miles already this morning. my husband has made it up, we are now at 35 miles. i have

to run to the hospital for a up, we are now at 35 miles. i have to run to the hospitalfor a quick blood test. we will do 100 miles to join in to support louise and the group. we will talk to louise now. thank you to your husband! we are so looking forward to seeing you dressed up as a to! look after yourself, see you later. louise is already on your bike. i can't believe she has already started, she is amazing. i haven't started, she is amazing. i haven't started but i am sitting here to show you. i am going to start at 5pm, you can stop whenever you want. the idea is to cycle at home, donate

if you want to. i know you love to see this, what i have prepared! i have all my drinks, cashew nuts, bananas, other chocolates, i have just had my porridge. these are my favourite when i am feeling low. add the most important of all! i am hot already, so a towel. that is how i am preparing. these snacks are the most important pa rt these snacks are the most important part of everything. these. they are very light, you know! that is why i have four packets but i probably need 12. i haven't made my savages. a stack of savages —— sandwiches. who is doing the camera for you? it

is dodgy! you know exactly, it is my husband david! standing behind the camera. that is what i love about what we are doing. deborah is getting her family involved. people are getting theirfamilies family involved. people are getting their families involved, cycling around the garden. we are in this together. i thought i would be on my own today. i know hundreds of people are joining own today. i know hundreds of people arejoining in which is brilliant. we need to talk to a proper cyclist! olympic gold medallist sir chris hoy. are you in the garden? where is the bike? the bike is in the garage ready to go. i will be cycling with the kids to get some miles in before we start. then i will be joining louise at 5pm on the indoor bike. we have been talking to mike bushell our sports correspondent who will

join in and he is worried about staying upright on the roller. charlie refused to give him tips, have you got any tips? this is the danger. it depends on his setup. rollers, there is no fixed set up to keep the bike fixed, that will be tricky for 100 miles. a turbo row that is fixed. if he falls off that he is doing something severely wrong! ifan doing something severely wrong! if an accident happens, mike bushell will find it! can you guys hear each other? did you want a little chat? you won't be able to be together but you will be on a joint venture. that is what is so exciting, you, sir chris hoy, sarah storey, gareth thomas, said many people from lots of different disciplines. chris, 100 miles sitting in one position, what

is your advice for everyone and me? it will be tough but i would suggest, indoor cycling, you get hot very quickly. open the window, try and geta very quickly. open the window, try and get a fan to cool yourself down. have a towel. keep drinking from an early point in the ride. try and stand up and sit down regularly to relieve the pressure on your undercarriage. like that! maybe you might struggle with 100 miles because you normally only do a couple of laps! exactly. i used to race a minute maximum. for me, this is quite a challenge. i write for fun. for longer rides. 100 miles for anybody is difficult. you can keep it steady, take your time, is difficult. you can keep it steady, take yourtime, or is difficult. you can keep it steady, take your time, or you can blast it and try and finish it as quickly as possible. we wish you well, thank you. good

luck. we will be watching tonight. don't over it now! i am getting in the mood, preparing my things. thank you so much to all the people taking part, thank you for the support. 5pm louise is starting, along with a host of others. perhaps that has inspired you to do some exercise during exercise but you don't need to do 100 miles. perhaps you have tuned intojoe wicks. what an extraordinary time this is, so what an extraordinary time this is, so difficult for so many people. no taking away from that. what you are doing and what people are doing for themselves as well as responding in some cases in the best possible way,

and you have help with that. iam and you have help with that. i am really proud with what i have achieved, i am trying to make it fun, engage families, people chaining togetherfor fun, engage families, people chaining together for the first time. spot the difference, fancy dress, quizzes, wild trivia. millions are tuning in every day which is fantastic. what is happening today —— world trivia. iam nota trivia. i am not a comedian by trade but i have a little sketch in there, a cameo. we have some amazing comedians and amazing musicians. we will raise some money while having fun. tune in. iam will raise some money while having fun. tune in. i am filming will raise some money while having fun. tune in. iam filming my will raise some money while having fun. tune in. i am filming my own sketch here in my living room. hopefully you will have a chuckle. i am not sure if it is up to tv standards. we always enjoy looking at people's living rooms. iam

we always enjoy looking at people's living rooms. i am seeing a laptop, tripod, lights, guitar. do you play? i am going live in seven do you play? i am going live in seven minutes so i have my laptop and camera. i am learning the acoustic guitar, and electric guitar which i love to play for my little daughter. on my work—out, it isjust fitness and trivia. you are encouraging people to take exercise. i am encouraging you to get back it up and show us how the training on the guitar is going, how about you give us a little something. ican something. i can try but i have wires in my hand. he is running back, of course! cant you see this? i will give you a few chords, —— can you see this? tunein few chords, —— can you see this? tune in today! good strumming, joe. see you at 9am,

monday to friday. i might get a radiojob out of monday to friday. i might get a radio job out of that! you might or you radio job out of that! you might oryou might radio job out of that! you might or you might not! lovely to talk to you. thank you for taking pa rt to talk to you. thank you for taking part in the big night in, it will be a great night and we appreciate your effo rts a great night and we appreciate your efforts as well. tune in, it will be brilliant. have a great day. he has so much energy. straightaway he is off doing stuff. you can donate to louise's big bike in, at the link you can see on screen. if you're after a sunny disposition, then, look no further than bbc weatherman 0wain wyn evans. this morning, i have to be honest, this is the first time i have seen this, the drumming weatherman. the presenter became an online sensation after posting a video of himself ending a forecast with an impromptu

drum solo to the bbc news tune. and he is good. well, now he's drafted in some help, and has a new performance to share with us. all will be revealed in a moment. but first, let's remind ourselves of how he took the internet by storm. that's the forecast. stay safe, and i'll see you soon. music: bbc news theme.

brilliant. he made it so much better. as someone who has listened to that tune for years, it is so much better. 0wainjoins us now from leeds. first of all, brilliant achievement, well done on taking the internet by storm. secondly, smartest drama i have ever seen in terms of sartorial smartness and you have dressed up for us this morning, beautiful. thank you. drumming is quite restrictive. it isa restrictive. it is a physical activity, that's why you see drummers sweating and shaking their heads around. have you had any feedback, i personally think we should have that version as our

bbc theme tune whenever we are doing the rounds on the news. any feedback on that? that would be amazing. iam any feedback on that? that would be amazing. i am available every morning to play for you life. it has been really interesting. people seeing the weather forecast, they are not expecting me to play that rocked up version of the music. the feedback has been phenomenal, so many views, i can't believe it. you clearly did not come up with those skills overnight. you have been drumming fora those skills overnight. you have been drumming for a while. yes, i have been drumming since i was eight years old, i was in loads of school bands playing rock music. then i got semiprofessional by the timei then i got semiprofessional by the time i was 18 or 19. as i had a full—time job, time i was 18 or 19. as i had a full—timejob, the time i was 18 or 19. as i had a full—time job, the drumming time i was 18 or 19. as i had a full—timejob, the drumming became a hobby. now, ijust use these for fun. it is nice to play them again and use their skills once more. we are not here just to talk about how good you are at drumming but

what you have done as part of the make a difference campaign set up to help communities in the current crisis. we will show our viewers a little bit about that. music: bbc news theme. viewers play and sing t0 bbc news theme. as we are watching some of this, there are lots of people getting involved, explain what was going on. this has been brilliant. off the back of that original video we

launched an opportunity for everyone to play a part. it has been about connecting committees. it has been great to see so many people get involved whether you play an instrument or not —— connected communities. as you can see in the video, people have loved it. david lowe who composed the theme tune, even he is involved. he is, he is in the video. he loves it which is brilliant. that theme tune is iconic. it has been really great to do this thing with it and add something extra. you know all about timing is, we have 12 seconds, get back on the drums, get the sticks. my drums, get the sticks. my neighbours don't know about this, everyone.

thank you so much. that's how you finish bbc breakfast! a good work—out apart from everything else. that's all from us for today. we'll be back tomorrow from 6am. goodbye.

this is bbc news with the latest headlines. the first human trials for a coronavirus vaccine are starting at oxford university today. government scienctific advisers look set to say the public should not wear medicalface masks, but should feel free to cover their faces with scarves. thousands of people in england are being asked to provide regular nose and throat swabs for a study tracking spread and level of immuity to the virus. a nurse praised by borisjohnson for helping to save his life earlier this month, says the prime minister absolutely needed