this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the first human trials in the uk for a coronavirus vaccine are starting at oxford university today — a stage which can often take years to reach. uk government scienctific advisers look set to say the public should not wear medical face masks, but should feel free to cover their faces with scarves. the german chancellor angela merkel says germany should be prepared to pay more into the eu's budget to help foster economic recovery, as european union leaders prepare to thrash out a huge financial rescue package worth over half a trillion euros. president trump plays down concerns about a second wave of the pandemic. his experts contradict him,

warning it will come back. a nurse praised by borisjohnson for helping to save his life earlier this month says the uk's prime minister absolutely needed to be in intensive care. we take it very seriously who comes into intensive care. these patients who come into us, it is a very scary thing for them, so we don't take it lightly. and he absolutely needed to be there. as the global death toll from covid—19 continues to rise, there's growing concern about the impact the coronavirus will have on poorer countries, where medical resources can be scarce. and the grandparents getting to grips with technology to keep in touch with family. actress damejudi dench on embracing video calls and learning new skills during the lockdown.

good morning and welcome to bbc news. i'm annita mcveigh. a potential coronavirus vaccine being developed at oxford university here in the uk, is expected to be trialled on humans for the first time today — a stage which can often take years to reach. the plan is to test it on around 500 volunteers by mid—may, and if that proves successful, give it to thousands more volunteers. in other developments in the uk, the government's scientific advisers will present their findings to ministers on whether the public should wear face masks outside to help control the spread of coronavirus. and 20,000 households in england are being contacted to take part in a study to track infection and immunity levels in the general population. the eu will hold a video summit later today. leaders are expected to sign off

on a huge emergency fund worth esao billion for countries hardest—hit by the crisis. in the us, president trump has played down the dangers of a second wave of coronavirus cases later in the year, but he was contradicted moments later by his top expert in infectious disease, dr anthony fauci. and vietnam is easing its lockdown across much of the country after reporting no new cases for a week. our first report on the situation in the uk is from jon donnison. 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. this pandemic is causing lots of people to step up and step forward in ways they might not have done before. this just 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. 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's 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. jon donnison, bbc news.

european union leaders are expected to sign off on a huge rescue package for countries ha rdest—hit by the coronavirus crisis, when they hold a video conference later today. the 500 billion euros package was agreed after bitter debate between richer northern countries and weaker economies in the south, that have suffered most from the pandemic. while european leaders are set to discuss and approve this package, the german chancellor angela merkel told parliament that germany should be prepared to pay more into the european union's budget. translation: our consultations today won't yet be about nailing down details or deciding on the extent. but one thing is already clear. in the spirit of solidarity, we should be prepared over a limited period of time to make very different — meaning much higher — contributions to the eu budget because we want all member states in the european union to recover economically.

our correspondent in berlinjenny hill was listening to the german chancellor's speech and says merkel remains extremely cautious. the german government announced they had the outbreak under control. infection rates have really slowed, they got hospital beds to spare still. that is why it certainly strengthened their hand when they decided to ease some of the restrictions which currently govern daily life. but i get a miracle, over the last week or so, has appeared very, very anxious about the relaxation of those measures. and she reiterated her concerns today. if anything, she spoke about the more strongly. she has said time and again now that what she describes as germany's interim success describes as germany's interim success is very fragile. that the country is still on thin ice and by no means out of the woods. today again we heard her say this isjust the beginning of the pandemic. and

that it's far too soon to adopt a position of complacency. but i find very interesting about her speech is the fact that it's actually the leaders of the 16 german states to decide, region by region, how they are going to implement the relaxation of measures. so we have seen some schools gradually reopen their doors, some states opening certain shops and so on. she says while she doesn't want to interfere in the powers of those individual states, she is very, very nervous about this relaxation. she is really worried that the general public your will interpret that relaxation as, if you like, carte blanche to go about their everyday lives again. she says a return to normal daily life is simply not on the cards. just to pick up on one other very significant things he said. angela merkel has been very keen from the outset to say she wants society as a whole to tackle this outbreak. she doesn't want to see elderly and vulnerable people having to remain in lockdown, so that younger people can get back to a semblance of daily

life. she spoke rather movingly i thought about elderly people, particularly those in care homes, says he felt very bad about the fact that those people can't have visitors, all they see are care workers inside the homes. she said those people in their 80s and 90s are the germans who rebuilt the country, who made sure that the wealth germany enjoys today actually came about. they are germans and they must not be forgotten, she said. very important too that she mentioned the fact that as a chancellor the decision to restrict citizens' rights, which allow them to do whatever they want in daily life, has been one of the hardest decisions she has ever had to make as chancellor. as someone who grew up as chancellor. as someone who grew up behind the iron curtain, angela merkel has very strong feelings about personal freedoms and that came through very strongly today. that was jenny hill came through very strongly today. that wasjenny hill in burning. —— bites yer legs delyn.

we can speak now to professor anand menon, director of the uk in a changing europe. and oliver roepke, president of the workers' group of the eesc, the european economic and social committee, which is a consultative body of the european union. good morning to both of you. first of all to you, oliver. let's talk about this digital video meeting today of european leaders. how important is it that of sign off in a pretty agreed unanimous way to this rescue package? looking at european solidarity as we consider that question. good morning to london. you said it already. we are in an unprecedented crisis. this crisis requires unprecedented measures. i think first of all it is

important that this video conference today will send a clear message of solidarity, a clear signal of solidarity. this is at least what i expect and what is really needed at the moment. we know that we have already an agreement among the euro zone ministers about this modern 500 billion package, solidarity package, andi billion package, solidarity package, and i expect and i really hope that today the heads of states and governments will adopt swiftly this latest package to cope with the dire social economic consequences of the crisis. this latest set of emergency measures will make money available. it would support a business through the european investment bank. and last but not least, also to help member states in the field of unemployment with a new instrument which will help member states to

finance short time work. i think this is crucial to have a clear signal to the more than a0 million workers who are at the moment permanently or temporarily unemployed in europe. we need a clear signal that we don't forget them. and we want member states to finance those measures. is this meeting going to have any impact, directly or indirectly, in the uk? directly not so much, but indirectly, yes. remember, in or out of the european union, the european union is likely to remain our largest single trading partner. it is in our interest for them to re cover is in our interest for them to recover from the corolla shock at the same way that we want to recover. whilst the member states have been quite good at deciding on holding measures, if you like, things like sure, things like the european stability mechanism, what there is still disagreement about is there is still disagreement about is the scale of any rescue package to help recovery after the pandemic. i

think what we will see today is a rather bland holding statement. the devil will be in the detail as ever. that is yet to be fleshed out. we are hearing from president macron the suggestion of something in the order of a trillion, trillion and a half euros, to try to look to the longer term to get past that initial stage of keeping people in their jobs, looking after the self—employed and so on. add them to get onto the next stage of recovery. are we talking about sums of that order, do you think?” are we talking about sums of that order, do you think? i think, yes. i think, yes. i can't say any concrete figures, of course. but i think it is clear that we need in addition to those emergency measures, we need a recovery plan. we need a recovery fund. and this fund must be huge. there are different ideas on the table how to finance this. we have

ideas for a common european debt instruments. we have ideas to increase... to 2% of the eu gdp. and i think we have to combine all those measures. but it is important that we don't leave countries alone, especially those countries most affected by the crisis. so in terms of the idea of common debt, oliver, we have seen the strain showing between say italy, for example, and the netherlands. the netherlands not wanting the dead to be shared equally. some of the more southern european countries have been badly affected by the pandemic, looking for that, and sharing of debt. where is that conversation going to go? how much strain is there going to be at that point? i think we have to look forward to. we don't have to look forward to. we don't have to look back. it's not a problem how we call those instruments but we need common call those instruments but we need

common instruments. solidarity instruments. i think there is a broad consensus also among economists from countries which are quite reluctant to those instruments. i think it is more about future investments than pulling off a new member state debts. to finance this recovery plan, this recovery fund, we need common plan, this recovery fund, we need common instruments of solidarity and if we don't find an agreement here, then i have to say europe and european democracy is in a poor state today. in terms of that short medium and longer term recovery, how crucial is it to the uk that that economy for the eu is a successful one? and in the short—term, might the uk needs to contribute financially to any of the aid that

oliver is talking about? no, there is no question of us contributing financially partly because, as oliver was saying, a lot of the thinking now is about trying to foster recovery via the long—term budget of the european union, which they have to agree this year. we will be part of that. particularly if the government, as is its stated intention, ends transition at the end of this year. nevertheless, what we want to see everyone to keep trading with the european union is the european union coming out of this world with a strong recovery. so it is in everybody's interest. trade is one of the drivers of growth in all our countries. even a few months ago when the european union was discussing its budget before corona, a budget about half the size of what they are talking about now, they could not agree. there is plenty of hard negotiating yet to come in brussels before countries decide they are willing to “ pay countries decide they are willing to —— pay for recovery. it is a big political ask. ok. we will be watching it closely. thank you both.

thank you very much, stay safe. the headlines on bbc news: the first human trials in the uk for a coronavirus vaccine are starting at oxford university today — — a stage which can often take years to reach. uk government scienctific advisers look set to say the public should not wear medicalface masks, but should feel free to cover their faces with scarves. the german chancellor angela merkel says germany should be prepared to pay more into the eu's budget to help foster economic recovery — as european union leaders prepare to thrash out a huge financial rescue package worth over half a trillion euros. as we've been hearing, 20,000 households in england are being contacted to take part in a study to help track covid—i9 in the general population. it's hoped the information, from a representative sample of people across the uk, will help improve understanding

of the rate of infection, and how many people are likely to have developed antibodies. meanwhile, government scientists are expected to advise ministers that people shouldn't wear medical face masks to combat the spread of coronavirus. but they'll say scarves or other homemade items could be used. our assistant political editor norman smith joins me. norman, hello. germany is one of the latest countries to say it is compulsory for people going outside to wear face masks. compulsory for people going outside to wearface masks. other countries around the world are saying the same. but we are expecting the advice here to be different. why is that? i think there are a number of reasons. one is the paramount concern in government circles is to make sure the nhs can cope with all circumstances. and the fear is that the government says two people, you will need to wear face mask and we will need to wear face mask and we will all go out to buy facemasks and

there will be enough to go round the nhs. that is one reason. the other reason is they have taken the view the medical advice is not conclusive. if you look at the latest who report, they say they are helping people. there is no real evidence that facemasks are beneficial. and the third reason is just what they are hearing from behavioural scientists, that if people wear face masks get a full sense of security, they note don't bother with social distancing, washing their hands etc. it can curiously even be counter—productive, which broadly means, i think, counter—productive, which broadly means, ithink, that counter—productive, which broadly means, i think, that scientists are going to come down against any sort of compulsion or obligatory scheme. instead i suspect what we will get is guidance about the circumstances in which may be it would be useful to use some sort of face covering. so when you can't socially distance. so, for example, if you are in a shop, if it is looking busier than

you would like, then yes, it could be sensible to pull up a face mask. similarly, if you live in busy parts of the country, inner cities, you are out and about, the streets are busier than might be desirable, again, facemasks might be a good idea. they might also be advice for older people, people suffering from asthma, people who are vulnerable, for then perhaps facemasks could be beneficial. when we actually get the advice to do this, i think it is a moot point. it could be delayed until the next stage of the lifting, if there is a lifting of the lockdown on the review on may the 7th. and all the sort of mood music we are getting out of that is pretty cautious, i think. we are getting out of that is pretty cautious, ithink. certainly listening to the chief medical officer yesterday saying no lifting of the social distancing measures until the end of the year. and though that of course really hinging on the development of a vaccine.

listening to the cabinet office minister brandon lewis today, he was also been pretty cautious about how quickly we are going to get a vaccine. it is really good news those have started in this country today. but we are not going to see a vaccine available, proven and tested and ready to go, in the next few weeks. it's going to be somewhere down the line. it's good news it's happening. but we have to continue to focus on what is working in terms of flattening the curve, and dealing with this virus right now. and that means continuing, wherever possible, to stay at home and work from home where people can, and follow the government guidelines. listening really to all the scientists, does seem there is no easy way out of this until and u nless we easy way out of this until and unless we can develop a vaccine or effective antiviral drugs. although people in oxford and imperial are hopeful we will get there, but it looks like there is a long way to go yet. norman, thank you very much.

norman smith. 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 bejune ist, 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. the government of vietnam is starting to lift lockdown measures imposed across much of the country after no new cases of the virus were reported there for a week. the country's measures have been

lauded as one of the most effective. it reports only 268 infections and zero deaths. let's speak now to the bbc‘s giang nguyen. tell us more about what exactly is being announced today? what are the details? well, the announcement was made two days ago. but of this morning, 11 big cities and provinces had lifted the lockdown. to walk down the street, to have a coffee, as usual. the atmosphere was very, very interesting. some people have stopped wearing facemasks. it may cause concern to the government. but i have to say vietnam has been very successful in what do you say,

containing the outbreak from day one. from late january where the two patients from china, tourists from china, arrived in the south of vietnam were detected that they were infected with the virus. so why have there measures been so effective?” think there are two things here. first, the government used draconian measures to lockdown whole communities north of hanoi when just one person got the virus. so 20,000 people were in lockdown for two months. that was until march. i have to say some districts in vietnam, especially in the north on the border with china, is still in lockdown. but hanoi, people are free to go out. they have to keep this social distancing for a while. they have to take turns to go to the office, especially in the workplace

and government offices. small businesses are slowly, gradually, being reopened. we have seen a scene in hanoi this morning. are we confident that the official numbers are accurate? well, i have to say we have interviewed a number of doctors in hanoi and abroad. the peak may be just ahead of vietnam, they believe. the numbers are very low. but still vietnam, which is bordering china, and of the virus is still in the north of china. cases from the uk led say coming back to vietnam a few months ago... life in vietnam, as far as we know, is not back to

normal just yet. we far as we know, is not back to normaljust yet. we will have to keep the social distancing. to keep a two metres away from each other on the buses, which is quite difficult for vietnam because the life there is very busy. people move around a lot. so we will see what happens next. and we're looking just at the video again now of the song that was released, this sort of carotene showing people how to protect themselves. is there any sense, because every single country is looking at what other countries are doing as a possible way forward, is there any sense that what is happening in vietnam could be a model for any other countries? absolutely. i think the vietnamese, they are patient to wait for the government to give further instructions. i observed from afar

of course, my nieces in hanoi draw things to make things better and more fun in the lockdown. i think the vietnamese are very good people in coping with this kind of situation. thank you very much. i had you in vietnam when in fact you are in london, not very far away from me. thank you very much. as the global death toll from covid—i9 continues to rise, with more and more countries affected, there is growing concern about the impact the coronavirus will have on poorer countries. hundreds of thousands of people already die every year from preventable diseases in the developing world, where resources are scarce. so how will they cope with a health challenge on a truly global scale? secunder kermani and anne soy have this special report. coronavirus has left the health care systems of some of the world's richest countries barely able to cope, so what will happen in the developing world, where tens of millions of people already face a struggle

just to survive? in italy, one of the countries with the highest death toll is in the world, they started with about 80 ventilators for every one million people, and that they are trying to increase that number. here in kenya, it is thought to be around five for every one million people, but it is even worse elsewhere in africa. in nigeria, it is about 0.8 for everyi million people. in the south asia right now, countries are racing to try and buy more ventilators. at the moment in pakistan and afghanistan, there are less than ten per million people, whilst in india, there are around 11 per million. italy struggled to find enough ventilators for coronavirus patients but these countries have far fewer. you get the sense of the challenges coronavirus presents here when you take something as simple as hand washing. in the western world, this is something everyone has access to. but here, in kibera, community groups have come together to set up hand washing facilities, and even in africa's

largest economy, nigeria, only four out of every ten people have access to basic hand washing facilities at home. whilst in pakistan and india only six in ten do. that's around 600 million people without access to basic hand—washing facilities at home, in those two countries alone. there's been some suggestion the warmer climate here will mean the coronavirus won't spread so quickly, but there's no conclusive evidence of that yet. others hope that, because the population in the developing world is generally younger, people here won't be as badly effected by it, but people can be vulnerable for different reasons. here in south asia, there are high rates of diabetes and lung disease and there are plenty of other factors to bear in mind too. like overcrowding in urban areas. it is common here for whole families to live in a single room. malnutrition rates are also among the highest in the world. a lot of it comes down to a lack of spending in health care.

hello, this is bbc news. the headlines. the first human trials in the uk for a coronavirus vaccine are starting at oxford university today — a stage which can often take years to reach. uk government scienctific advisers look set to say the public should not wear medicalface masks — but should feel free to cover their faces with scarves. the german chancellor angela merkel says germany should be prepared to pay more into the eu's budget to help foster economic recovery — as european union leaders prepare

to thrash out a huge financial rescue package worth over half a trillion euros. president trump plays down concerns about a second wave of the pandemic. his experts contradict him, warning it will come back. a nurse praised by borisjohnson for helping to save his life earlier this month says the uk's prime minister absolutely needed to be in intensive care as the global death toll from covid—i9 continues to rise there's growing concern about the impact the coronavirus will have on poorer countries, where medical resources can be scarce. president trump has played down the dangers of a second wave of coronavirus cases later in the year — saying there could only be the "embers" of the outbreak left by the autumn. he was contradicted by his top expert in infectious disease, dr anthony fauci. here are the two speaking

at the white house daily news conference. and if it comes back, it won't be coming back in the form that it was, it will be coming back in smaller doses that we can contain. but what the doctor was saying, and i spoke to him at great length, he was saying if it should come back together, you have the flu and the embers of corona, but in my opinion, from everything i have seen, it can never be like anything that we have witnessed right now. we will have coronavirus in the fall. i am convinced of that. because of the degree of transmissibility that it has, the global nature. the head of the american agency overseeing the development of a coronavirus vaccine says he's been removed from his post for opposing the use of two malaria drugs promoted by president trump as promising covid—i9 treatments. doctor rick bright said

this was politics was being put before science, risking the lives of americans. our north america correspondent david willis has the details. this is doctor rick bright, a man who spent his entire career in vaccine development, and he has taken issue with president trump's assertion that this drug, hydroxychloroquine, is a potential cure or treatment, if you like, for the coronavirus. president trump has repeatedly asserted that, even saying that he might think about taking it himself. well, doctor bright, in a statement today, said that there had to be much more rigorous vetting of hydroxychloroquine before it was accepted as a drug or treatment for this virus. and he believed that it could actually prove dangerous in the treatment of patients who are suffering from covid—i9. he said that science, and not what he called politics and cronyism, should determine the way ahead in the fight against the coronavirus.

now, president trump was asked about this apparent dismissal at the white house briefing today, and he said he had never heard of doctor rick bright. 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 slow down, to reconnect with my faith. it is the one month of the year that is unlike any other, where there is a real sense of togetherness and unity. after all, it's an opportunity to change your ways and come closer to god. i really look forward to the spiritual benefits it brings out, and i really use 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 closed. 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 to spend time with our friends and families in person. we are also encouraging people to both attend and host 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 fasting for up to 16 hours. but there are warnings that fasting during the coronavirus pandemic could pose a danger to some. the british islamic medical association has made the unprecedented decision to advise people in high—risk groups not too fast. generally speaking, a person who is on a diet or fasting for a longer duration, they would be deprived from essential nutrients, they would be dehydrated. all these things would certainly put the person on to higher complications if they were to be infected with the coronavirus. what about muslim healthcare workers on the front line who choose to fast? are they at more risk of covid? generally speaking, having ppe and especially the air aspirator for a longer duration during the practice would have an impact on dehydration. so, overall, it would have certainly some negative consequences on general health.

i have got type i diabetes. nadim has decided not to fast this year. as a diabetic, i am at more risk of catching the virus, and also, if i were to catch the virus, then, i am more likely to get more severe symptoms. the fact that we have this coronavirus pandemic at the moment, that definitely means that i wouldn't even consider fasting because it isjust too risky. in islam, there are exemptions to fasting if you are unwell, elderly or pregnant, and muslims who cannot fast can instead make charitable donations. let's look at this more. we can talk to zainab gulamali from the muslim council of britain, which has issued guidance to help people cope with the restrictions. and i'm alsojoined by muad oudeh from the ahmadiyya muslim community of israel.

good morning to both of you, thank you forjoining us. first of all, with communal prayers and sharing of meals very much part of ramadan in usual times, what do you think ramadan will look like and feel like this year? it is going to feel very different but that does not necessarily need to bea but that does not necessarily need to be a bad thing. there are so many ways in which we can harness the power of technology to still engage socially and spiritually with ramadan. we have seen a number of mosques in the uk live stream their programmes, a number of mosques will be having sermons on youtube and facebook, and also having daily recitations of the koran bite social media which is really great. a number of organisations are organising virtual if does and people are hosting virtual if does to spend time with their families and loved ones. the communal meal after sundown.

this is ramadan at home, that is the message. absolutely. this is a different year for us, for muslims. ramadan is gathering of family and friends together, breaking the fast, or in prayers. this year we are different. most will be in their nuclear family with people having, breaking their fast with their own family. we are having lots of social media things to be involved in the spiritual aspect of ramadan and in prayers, broadcasting prayers so each family will pay at home but it will be communal prayers. here, we have a broadcast of prayers so people can follow in the mosque. from home, we

can follow in the mosque. from home, we ca n follow follow in the mosque. from home, we can follow the prayers. do you have any concerns that some people might be tempted to break the advice on social distancing, and if so, what message do you have for them? i think everyone is taking the government guidance really seriously which is great, and i think everyone knows the seriousness of the situation we find ourselves in. we are so situation we find ourselves in. we are so lucky to have things like the internet to still have a spiritually uplifting and socially fun ramadan. but our message is really simple, this year, fast and pray at home, thatis this year, fast and pray at home, that is the best way we can continue to worship god. do you think that the essence and the meaning of ramadan can be maintained during the lockdown? absolutely, i think the essence of ramadan is also to give others, that is what we do also, that we have

food from food banks that we send to people. unfortunately, we have that to send to people. that is the spirit of ramadan. also, it is a spiritual month. to feel the need of those people who have no food. is there any special advice for eating with regards to people who perhaps are recovering from symptoms of coronavirus, or who develop symptoms of coronavirus, but are well enough to stay at home? is there a relaxation on guidance of —— on fasting? every year, on fasting? every yea r, regardless on fasting? every year, regardless weather we are ina every year, regardless weather we are in a pandemic, individuals who are in a pandemic, individuals who are unwell, physically or mentally, the elderly orfrail are

are unwell, physically or mentally, the elderly or frail are exempted from fasting. particularly with a pandemic it is important for those who are feeling unwell or who feel their health might be at risk, to ta ke their health might be at risk, to take the necessary precaution and abstain from fasting. that is advice you are giving as well? absolutely. that is what god also said, if someone is sick, or on medicine, or on advice from doctors do not fast or pregnancy or anything where you cannot fast, you are exempt from fasting. thank you very much. let's get some of the day's other news. the governor of california has ordered a state—wide check back to december to see if there are previously undetected covid—i9—related deaths.

it comes after officials confirmed the first death from the disease in the united states took place there in early february but was mistaken for flu. china has reported a sixth consecutive day of no new coronavirus deaths. there were ten new positive tests in the last 2a hours — that's down from 30 on yesterday's total. and china also says it found just six new imported cases — from people coming to china from overseas — that's compared to 23 on the day before. jenny mcgee was one of the nurses who cared for the uk 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 his bedside for a8 hours when things could have gone either way". ms mcgee, who is from new zealand, has been speaking to tvnz about her experience. there was a lot of media interest about him being in hospital and to be honest, that is probably almost

the toughest thing of the lot. as a unit, he was just another patient who we were trying to do our best for, so it was business as usual. so you weren't even a little bit nervous? no, i honestly don't think i was. when i got in the car after work each night and i could hear things about borisjohnson on the news, that was very surreal because i thought, well, you know? i have just been looking after him. but i really wasn't fazed by looking after boris johnson. and what about in terms of icu? everyone, we take it very seriously who comes into intensive care. these patients who come into us, it is a very scary thing for them, so we don't take it lightly and he absolutely needed to be there. talk to us about how he found out you were jenny from new zealand. well, we were just chatting away and itjust naturally came up.

yeah, he was interested in where i came from, what my story was and we spent a lot of time together, so yeah, we talked away about new zealand. being lauded notjust by britain's prime minister, but also new zealand prime ministerjacinda ardern. jacinda ardern. what went through your mind? so on the night that it all happened i actually had to turn my phone off because it was just so overwhelming. when i turned my phone back on in the morning, people were like, you need me to look at your facebook! and i was being called a snob for not responding to jacinda ardern. but it is very surreal. to have a message from jacinda, she is a hero of mine, i think she is amazing and she just said how proud she was of me and that the country were so proud. it is so heart—warming and something i will never forget. and did you respond to the prime minister? yes, i responded and she

messaged back immediately. a little bit of banter, which was, again, so real. a couple of emojis, so yeah, just a very, very surreal experience. what are the biggest challenges or issues that nurses are facing today? right now, the pandemic. it is so tough out there at the moment. you know, we are being asked to look after more patients than we normally do and it is tough. these patients are quite complex when they come in. covid is not just affecting the lungs, it is affecting many systems in the body, so they are complex, very, very unwell patients that are coming through and we are overwhelmed by patients, and we are just doing our best to save as many lives as we can. so we are putting in the hours, we are working long hours in there. we are physically exhausted, but it is also taking an emotional strain on us as well.

we arejust we are just hearing the business secretary in the uk has said he will be shortly announcing measures to protect high street businesses from what he calls aggressive rain demands during the covid—i9 pandemic. appearing before mps on the business committee, he said, i am aware sudden vandals are putting undue financial pressure with aggressive debt recovery tactics, i will look to introduce temporary measures to ease commercial rain demands and protect the uk high street. asked if he would make the announcement about the details within the next week, he said, i hope, even sooner than that. the headlines on bbc news. the first human trials in the uk for a coronavirus vaccine are starting at oxford university today — a stage which can often take years to reach. uk government scientific advisers look set to say the public should not wear medicalface masks — but should feel free to cover their faces with scarves. the german chancellor angela merkel

says germany should be prepared to pay more into the eu's budget to help foster economic recovery — as european union leaders prepare to thrash out a huge financial rescue package worth over half a trillion euros. phil neville is to step down as the england women's manager next summer which means a replacement will be needed for the postponed euro 2021 tournament now taking place in 2022. let's get more details from our sports reporterjo currie. he has had a really successful time in charge of women's england football team, why is he going, what has he been saying? we are expecting the fa to announce phil neville will leave at the end of his contract next summer. originally that would have included leading team gb to the summer olympics and england to the home

euros. both tournaments are pushed back and neither fit within his remit now. it appears phil neville now wa nts remit now. it appears phil neville now wants to move on to other challengers so we be looking for a new managerfor challengers so we be looking for a new manager for team gb challengers so we be looking for a new managerfor team gb in the olympics. he may stay on to do that. we need more clarification in an hour. we are suddenly looking for a new manager to the european championships in 2022 and woke up in 2023. who might replace him? as for phil neville, what is next for him? we understand the fa are keen to appoint a female manager as replacement. in the past they have said they will appoint the best rather than say it will be a man or woman. there are three names we will hear a lot of as the fa look for a replacement, the first will bejill ellis who has just left the us having led them to do world cup

trophies including in france. emma hayes who has been incredibly successful as chelsea manager. add casey stoney, a former england captain, assistant to phil neville at the start of the year, currently manchester united manager. as with phil neville, my understanding is he understood —— he has enjoyed leading the national team. weather a club job can take his interest and afford to have him will be a big question. the manchester city job is to have him will be a big question. the manchester cityjob is currently va ca nt the manchester cityjob is currently vacant and that may catch his eye but weather they can afford him is a different matter. 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, asjohn maguire reports. why do you tell an actor to break a leg? because every play 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 tiktok 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. this 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 tiktok, 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 dances 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 chuck herself in as much 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 want 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. a very different kind of family get—together. a very different kind of family get-together. you are bound to have a drawing of a rainbow in your window or in a neighbour's window. the duke and duchess of cambridge's son prince louis has been photographed to mark his second birthday — making a rainbow tribute poster. 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.

photo is taken to mark his birthday. —— photos. now it's time for a look at the weather. it is going to be another dry and sunny day across the country. a little more high cloud physically across northern and west in areas. some sea fog to the east of shetland. for most, blue skies will dominate and with lighter winds, warm, temperatures up to 25 to the west of london, the 20s for england and wales. cooler along these eastern coasts. the onshore breeze doing that. elsewhere, it could hit 20 celsius. where we have the onshore breeze, it

will keep pollen levels down but tree pollen levels high once again. this evening, the biggest change perhaps has been the threat of mist and low cloud over eastern counties to ta ke and low cloud over eastern counties to take us into tomorrow morning. the chance of frost limited to northern england and scotland. it could be a murky start across eastern counties of england. the sun is so strong at this time of year, by mid—morning, most of that will have shifted away. some low cloud close to shetland, the chance of drizzle. for most, another dry and sunny day and fairly warm even if temperatures for a few are down on the day. into the weekend, a gradual trend, turning cooler more widely this weekend, and a greater chance of gardens seeing showers especially

across the north. on saturday, most places will stay dry. sunny spells, cloud building up in the day elsewhere, temperatures above where they should be. the exception being they should be. the exception being the far north of scotland where a developing breeze will make it feel cooler. that will work into the northern half of the country on sunday with the chance of showers. still some warmth in the sunshine particularly across the south, highs of 22 compared to ten in northern scotland.

this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the first human trials in the uk for a coronavirus vaccine are starting at oxford university today — a stage which can often take years to reach. uk government scienctific advisers look set to say the public should not wear medical face masks, but should feel free to cover their faces with scarves. the german chancellor angela merkel says germany should be prepared to pay more into the eu's budget to help foster economic recovery, as european union leaders prepare to thrash out a huge financial rescue package worth over half a trillion euros. president trump plays down concerns about a second wave of the pandemic. his experts contradict him, warning it will come back. a nurse praised by borisjohnson for helping to save his life earlier this month says the uk's

prime minister absolutely needed to be in intensive care we take it very seriously who comes into intensive care. these patients who come into us, it is a very scary thing for them, so we don't take it lightly. and he absolutely needed to be there. vietnam, a country of 95 million people bordering on china, begins to ease lockdown restrictions after real success in containing the virus. and the grandparents getting to grips with technology to keep in touch with family. actress damejudy dench on embracing video calls and learning new skills during the lockdown. good morning and welcome to bbc news, we're covering the latest with the coronavirus

here in the uk and globally. first, here in the uk, a potential coronavirus vaccine being developed at oxford university is expected to be trialled on humans for the first time today — a stage which can often take years to reach. the plan is to test it on around 500 volunteers by mid—may and if that proves successful, give it to thousands more volunteers. in other developments in the uk, the government's scientific advisers will present their findings to ministers on whether the public should wear face masks outside to help control the spread of coronavirus. and 20,000 households in england are being contacted to take part in a study to track infection and immunity levels in the general population. the eu will hold a video summit later today. leaders are expected to sign off on a huge emergency fund worth 5a0 billion euros, for countries hardest hit by the crisis. in the us, president trump has played down the dangers of a second wave of coronavirus cases later in the year, but he was

contradicted moments later by his top expert in infectious disease, dr anthony fauci. and vietnam is easing its lockdown across much of the country after reporting no new cases for a week. we'll have more on the stories in a moment, but first on the latest in the uk, 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—i9. 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. this pandemic is causing lots of people to step up and step forward in ways they might not have done before.

this just 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. 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's 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 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's 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. the uk government's scientific advisers are considering what to tell ministers about whether the public should wear face masks. but how useful are masks in stopping the spread of coronavirus?

professor robert west is a health psychologist at ucl, specialising in behaviour. professor robert west, thank you very much. if it is useful to use a face mask in a health care setting, why not outside those settings? well, they are different. in a health care setting, you have masks that are designed for that purpose and the people using them are trained to use them and they can dispose of them safely. and they use them for a limited period of time and then they are disposed of safely. the problem in a community, of course, is that things are quite different. the facemasks have to be properly fitted in order to work. they don't cover the eyes, which is another source of infection, potentially, and people touch them and may not dispose of them safely. yes, we are told not to touch our faces and i am imagining that we are rather more prone to touching our

faces if we have got an unusual gathering on them? there is some evidence for that. to be honest, the evidence for that. to be honest, the evidence on this is very patchy all round. that is the problem. you know, we are going from plausibility rather than direct evidence. why, then, are some people so keen to wear them? well, i think it gives people a kind of sense of security. you feel you have got this thing in front of your face, that must act as some kind of barrier and to be there, in terms of the physical barrier, it probably does. it is really a question of the balance between the barrier that it can act as directly and the other sort of risks, as you say, from things like touching yourface. risks, as you say, from things like touching your face. a sense of security, then, that may be a false one. but there is a suggestion that we might be told that it is ok for us we might be told that it is ok for us to comfort ourselves in some way by wearing a scarf rather than a mask. what is the difference? quite

a big difference, really because the thing about a proper surgical face mask is that it is designed to cover the nose and the mouth and form a very tight barrier around the outside and it is disposed of, whereas obviously a scarf is going to present much less of a barrier. i meani to present much less of a barrier. i mean i think the logic of it to suggest that to protect people, their example, working in shops and people who have a lot of members of the public were coming out to them, potentially in close proximity, then the logic says that you know, wearing a face mask of some sort can provide them with some sort of protection. we don't know that that's true, but plausibility suggests that that would be the case. an outside in parks and things like that, i think it is extremely

unlikely that masks would confer any sort of protection. my informal observation in places like hampstead heath is that what you very often see is that people are wearing the mask as they walk along, which is quite frankly a complete waste of time, but then they take the mask off so that they can talk to someone, off so that they can talk to someone, which is completely the opposite of the purpose of the mask. there is a lot still to discuss, and who knew there would be so much to talk about just to do with scarves and masks. we appreciate you joining us, that one from ucl in london. thank you for your time today. the chinese ambassador to the united kingdom — liu xiaoming — is speaking.. he is currently talking about the attempt to stop the spread of coronavirus and the significance of those actions. chinese effort and

enormous appetite, china became one of the first countries in the world to go to the academic control and has built the first line of defence for the world. second, has built the first line of defence forthe world. second, china has built the first line of defence for the world. second, china has accumulated valuable experience for the global response to the pandemic. in fighting this battle against the virus, china has always focused its effo rts virus, china has always focused its efforts on the welfare of the people and it relied fully on the support of the people. it has become the most... experience of the chinese battle. in record time, china established a multilayered network of prevention and control involving everyone, from the centre of government to the local communities. the measures that china has taken based on science stop the principles

ofan based on science stop the principles of an earlier diagnosis, earlier report, earlier quarantine and earlier treatment have been followed. and they turned out to be very effective and successful. coded i9 very effective and successful. coded 19 patients were admitted into —— covid—i9 patients were admitted into designated hospitals with the best ethics expert and sufficient resources for timely and tailored treatment and both chinese medicine and western medicine have been used to treat the patients. china attaches great importance to balancing academic measures and ensuring economic and social progress. we have kept in mind, both domestic and global impact when taking actions. leaders of many countries have spoken highly of china's assets and recognise that

china's experience of this useful lessons to the world. —— offers useful lessons. china has provided assistance to other countries in the spirit of solidarity. china has engaged actively in the spirit of cooperation in an open, transparent and responsible manner to deal with the crisis. china notified the world about the outbreak without delay, acted quickly to identify and share the genetic sequence of the virus and at the same time china has been sharing its experience of prevention, control and treatment with other countries without reservation and set up an online knowledge centre, which is open to all countries. china has donated $20

million to the who. today, china announced a further donation of $30 million, which will be used to contain covid—i9 and in fostering the public health system in developing countries. china has sent i7 developing countries. china has sent 17 teams of medical experts to 15 countries. it has provided, or is in the process of providing, much needed medical supplies, including masks, protective jaunts, testing kits and ventilators, to more than 150 countries and international organisations, including the uk. despite the difficulties at home, china has been increasing its supply of pharmaceutical ingredients and protective medical equipment and

materials to the international market. the assistance from china has injected positive energy into the international response to covid—19 and show up international confidence in winning this battle against the virus. now i would like to move on to the second part of my speech and talk about china's economy in the context of the outbreak. a few days ago, the imf downgraded this year's growth expectations by a big margin, warning that the impact of covid—19 in the world economy might surpass. . . in the world economy might surpass... the chinese ambassador to the united kingdom speaking at a virtual press conference being held at the moment in central london, addressing just how china tried to tackle the coronavirus outbreak, which of course began in hubei

province, particularly focused on the city of wuhan. we talked about chinese medicine was also used to treat the victims of the virus, alongside western medicine as well, and then went on to explain just how cooperative he believes china has beenin cooperative he believes china has been in supplying kits and drugs and materials to 150 countries, including the uk and other organisations, as they try to tackle the pandemic. he will be taking questions shortly from correspondence over the internet and we will go back to that when he does so. european union leaders are expected to sign off on a huge rescue package for countries hardest hit by the coronavirus crisis when they hold a video conference later today. the 500 billion euros package was agreed after bitter debate between richer northern countries, and weaker economies in the south that have suffered most from the pandemic. while european leaders are set to discuss and approve this package, the german chancellor angela merkel told parliament that germany should be prepared to pay more into the european union's budget to help overcome the economic damage

caused by the coronavirus. translation: our consultations today won't yet be about nailing down details or deciding on the extent. but one thing is already clear. in the spirit of solidarity, we should be prepared over a limited period of time to make very different — meaning much higher — contributions to the eu budget because we want all member states in the european union to recover economically. let's speak now to neil mitchison, former head of the european commission in scotland. thank you forjoining us. how controversial an idea is this, given we are talking about an economic effect caused by a health problem west well, it still turned out hugely controversial. part of the problem i think is that italy in particular to some extent felt there was a lack of solidarity, not so

much from the eu institutions, but from the other countries in the eu, at the very start. there were stories, i don't know whether it actually happened, but there were stories of france and germany might be preventing ppe equipment from getting to italy at that time. but partly you have to say and also in a much wider context. there has long been a feeling that the eu could do more to prop up our weak economies in some of the countries. greece is the most obvious one where the eu... but italy as well. there has long been a feeling in the richer countries that it is not quite as simple as that, but let's take it for that at the moment, that we don't see why we should be paying for the profligacy of these politicians in these other countries. of course, the dialogue changes when you are not talking of legislation, you're talking of health, which no one could predict

and which, it happens, has hit particularly ha rd to and which, it happens, has hit particularly hard to the economically weaker countries, although france was pretty hit pretty ha rd as although france was pretty hit pretty hard as well. france has to some extent found itself the peak in the middle. but it has been very controversial. you said at the beginning that we expect the eu leaders to sign off. i wouldn't put it quite as strongly as that. i think we are going to get positive signals today, is my guess. the very important news that was unearthed yesterday morning that the spanish and german prime ministers have agreed on an approach, which is one representative of each camp, gives them quite a lot of the h in this complicated, multidimensional dance, which is the eu's discussion processes . which is the eu's discussion processes. of which is the eu's discussion processes. of course, which is the eu's discussion processes. of course, this is made much more difficult by the fact that they can't actually go off in a corridor and talk quietly during a meeting because they are all in their own capitals, but i think we are likely to see positive signals.

what form that might take would be a declaration from michel barnier as president that he will call on the commission to produce specific proposals, which might then go through the various levels of procedure they have to by the end of the year. that is for the larger ones, which might be as much as to attend to the 12 euros. the smaller sum of a50 billion euros is more or less already available and they might get round to signing off on that today, even though there are still some bureaucratic steps to take. who will be the winners and losers ns, then? because mutual eyes in debt sounds like a great idea if you have got a lot of debt and not a great idea if you are the one who is going to be effectively paying only for other people. absolutely, but remember we are talking about guarantees in most cases. there is an interesting question of whether

it will be any form of loans grants. we are still talking, even if it is e2 trillion, you're talking about what is a pretty small sum of money in relation to the economy of the eu and infact in relation to the economy of the eu and in fact the bigger effect on germany or the netherlands, which is likely to be a very reluctant partner as it has its own problems with the coalition in its own country, you're still talking about a situation where the direct economic effect of the virus on those countries is going to be vastly bigger than the amount of money they might have to put in to support the poor economies. so it is important to put this into scales. the figures are enormous, but so is the economy. the winners, the obvious winners would be italy and spain. and to some extent, other countries further on down the road. we don't know which ones. the obvious losers will be the ones who have to produce the money, but

again, germany, you heard angela merkel just before me again, germany, you heard angela merkeljust before me coming on, saying we have to be willing to pay. actually it is more important to the german economy to keep the eu economy going and keep selling their products to other countries in the eu than this e3 trillion would be in the overall long—term economic effect. that is another point, then, that really it is a hobson's choice that really it is a hobson's choice that they are going to have to agree and what are the consequences, what will they be if they don't agree on this mutualisation of debt? well, the obvious consequence is they will have another meeting in ten days' time to try again. you are right it isa time to try again. you are right it is a bit ofa time to try again. you are right it is a bit of a hobson's choice. they will have to agree on something. italy has been very reluctant to draw on the money currently available because they feel it will come with too many strings. i think italy is unlikely to concede on that. whether they will concede on that. whether they will concede on that today or not, i'm not sure. i

am very hopeful because we have two of the major actors have come together. there is tremendous pressure when you have 27 countries join together and 23 or 2a of them are already agreed. there is pressure on the other ones to agree to something, even if sometimes it comes out in a form which, they agree to it and then sort of the agreement doesn't turn out to be quite as watertight as they had expected, so we might see that, but i think we are going to see positive signals, i think we are going to see not e2 trillion available now, maybe not e2 trillion available now, maybe not even available this year, but even that, the statement that they will be letters take that figure of 1.5 euros trillion or e2 trillion, will be available at some point in the future, that will already have an effect on the economic markets. the spread that this beast that hau nts the spread that this beast that haunts italy, which is the spread between what the talent government has to pay and the german government

has to pay and the german government has to pay and the german government has to pay, has widened in the last few days and in a sense the worst danger is not so much what the leader is saying today, it is whether the markets will believe it. if the leaders come up with something unconvincing then italy is going to have to go on paying over the odds for their volume, which will certainly go up. they have already got a debt of 135% of their gdp. it is what that might go up to 160% by the end of the year, but predictions about that were made even before the coronavirus, so italy is in trouble even independent of the virus, but this makes it worse and i think that the fact that it makes it worse is one that other european leaders well respond to. it makes it worse is one that other european leaders well respond tom is never easy to get 27 member states to agree. neil mitchison, former head of the european commission of scotland, thank you though much for your time.

as we've been hearing, 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 of people across the uk — will help improve understanding of the rate of infection, and how many people are likely to have developed antibodies. meanwhile, government scientists are expected to advise ministers that people shouldn't wear medical face masks to combat the spread of coronavirus. but they'll say scarves or other homemade items could be used. our assistant political editor norman smith joins me. first, norman, the lesson on this tracking system that is going to set up. well, the tracking system that the government is looking at today is really a sort of surveillance scheme to assess to what extent the population has been impacted, what sort of immunity they have built up, whether they are asymptomatic, so the government will be going to contact around 300,000 people spread out geographically and demographically, so that they can get some sort of handle on what is going on in the country, whether

there is a high level of infection ora there is a high level of infection or a relatively low level and of infection. and i suppose, above all, try to work out whether people who do contract coronavirus actually build upa do contract coronavirus actually build up a degree of immunity, so they will be sent to kits to carry out their own swab tests and will be asked asked to carry out their own blood tests and in this way we will in time, probably not until about may next year, begin to get a real handle of how serious and widespread this virus is, but it is a sort of indication. it is not going to provide us with the tools to protect ourselves from the vaccine, default —— from the virus, that is going to depend on a vaccine. and as we know, the signs there are that too is going to take some time. chris whitty yesterday were saying that could take a year. also welcoming

the progress made by oxford university and imperial, but again cautioning, do not expect a vaccine again any time soon. it is really good news that those trials are starting and they 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 is going to be some way down the line before that is done. it is good news that it is happening, but we have got to continue to focus on what is working in terms of flattening the curve and dealing with this virus right now, and that means continuing, wherever possible, to stay at home and work from home where people can and to follow government guidelines. there has been a lot of touring and throwing over whether we should wear face masks as members of the general public, and the answer seems to be no. i think it is the answer, yes. it isa no. i think it is the answer, yes. it is a little bit like putting a jigsaw together, trying to piece together what the scientists are saying, but i get the overall feeling they are pretty cautious. cautious because they don't think

there is any sort of decisive medical evidence that for healthy people it makes any difference. cautious as well because they don't wa nt cautious as well because they don't want us to all start going out and buying clinical masks because the fear is that will simply continue the nhs of masks, and clinical as well, sorry, cautious too because they fear is that if we start wearing masks we will start thinking wearing masks we will start thinking we don't need to bother about washing our hands so much all social distancing so much, and therefore it could actually be counter—productive. that said, i expect there will be guidance issued to suggest that people who can't socially distance effectively, so if you are in a crowded shop, say you are behind a tail and you are having to interact with a lot of people a lot of the time or you are in an aisle and it looks pretty busy, you might think it is good to put up some sort of face covering. it doesn't have to be a clinical masks. equally, i think there will be

geographical guidance, so if you are in an inner city where it is obviously going to be a lot busier, then again it makes sense to have a mask and advice to vulnerable groups, older people, people who sat there from acute asthma, they too could potentially have some medical benefits from wearing a mask. but over all the viewing government is it is not a game changer and the risks are, as i say, it damages the ability of the nhs to get kit and it could actually be counter—productive in terms of how seriously people ta ke in terms of how seriously people take other social distancing measures. norman, for the moment, thank you very much. norman smith. 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 1st june, according to the leader of the head teachers' union.

geoff barton said the priority should be years 10 and 12, who are partway 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. the government of vietnam has lifted some lockdown measures imposed across much of the country after no new cases of the virus were reported there for a week. the country's efforts have been lauded as one of the most effective in combating the outbreak. it reports only 268 infections and zero deaths. the bbc‘s yang noo—enne has the latest. this morning, early morning, in hanoi and another 11 big cities and provinces, the lockdowns had been lifted and people were brought out to street to have a coffee, to have their noodle soups as usual. so the atmosphere was very, very interesting.

and some people stopped wearing face masks, which may cause concern to the government. but i have to say, vietnam has been very successful in what they say containing the outbreak from day one, from late january, where the two patients from china, tourists from china, arrived in the south of vietnam and were detected. i think there are two things here. first, the government used draconian measures to look down let's say a whole communities north of hanoi when just one person got the virus. so, like, 20,000 people were in the lockdown there for two months, until march, and i have to say, still some communities in vietnam, some districts in vietnam, especially the city of dong van in the north, on the border with china, is still in the lockdown. but hanoi, ho chi minh city, da nang and other big cities, people are free to go out. they have to keep the social distancings for a while. they have to take turns

to go to the office, especially in the workplace and in the government offices. but small businesses are slowly, gradually being reopened. we see the scene in hanoi this morning. we have, in the bbc vietnamese service, we have interviewed a number of doctors in hanoi and abroad. they have warned the government of vietnam that the peak may be just ahead of them. so, the number is fairly low and no less, if we believe the government official record data. but still vietnam is bordering china where still the virus is somewhere in the north of china. vietnam has the air flights with so many country in the world and cases, let's say from the uk coming back to vietnam in months ago cause concern to the government. so the life in vietnam as far as we know is not back to normal just yet. people have to keep the social distancings, to keep two metres away from each other on the buses, which is difficult for vietnam.

because the life there is very busy, the crowds is big and people move around a lot. that was the latest on the situation in vietnam. let's bring you some stories here in the uk away from coronavirus. knife crime increased last year to a new record high. police in england and wales recorded over a5,000 offences, more than 7% higher than in 2018. robbery offences were also up. phil neville is to leave his role as england women's manager next summer. he led the lionesses to a first she believes cup success and a fourth—place finish at the world cup in 2019. but since last year's quarter—final win over norway, they have lost seven of 11 games and failed to retain their shebelieves cup title in march. the duke and duchess of cambridge's son prince louis has been photographed to mark his second birthday, making a rainbow tribute poster. it's one of several photographs released by the royalfamily

to celebrate the occasion. similar artwork created by children has appeared in windows across the uk. the photos were taken by his mother, the duchess of cambridge, in norfolk earlier this month. the uk's leading children's charity, the nspcc, has warned the coronavirus lockdown is the "highest period of risk for online child abuse" it has ever seen, and that they are preparing for a surge in online abuse. new research from the nspcc found 23% of young people are particularly at risk because they display loneliness, unhappiness, a greater reliance on social media and crave attention. i'm joined by emily konstantas, ceo of the safeguarding alliance, which provides guidelines for child protection to organisations working with young people. thank you very much forjoining us. i suppose given that so many people are at home and children are looking for things to occupy themselves, we should not be surprised that some of them are falling prey to online

approaches from paedophiles and sex offenders. know and we also have to ta ke offenders. know and we also have to take into consideration that parents are underan take into consideration that parents are under an increased amount of pressure and stress at this time. they have work stressors, financial stresses and children are feeling increasingly lonely and parents are providing them with devices where perhaps, prior to coronavirus, they would not have access to then put of this causes increased concern. the sheer number of hours they are available to them to play on social media and games and chat rooms and things is increased because many are not in school. can you give us some exa m ples of not in school. can you give us some examples of the children who have been approached and groomed online? yes, we were contacted by a school that had been working with a family recently. the parents in the family had not previously given their children a device and due to the

increased stresses during covid—19, the children were feeling isolated and lonely and the parents decided to provide the children with a mobile phone. what happened was the children downloaded the app of tiktok and started uploading videos. they were not educated on how to use it appropriately and very soon actually a predator ad approached a young girl around the age of ten yea rs young girl around the age of ten years old, initially started sending her messages are adding flowers, liking her videos but then actually invited her to go on to another platform whereby they shared photos. the child themselves had not reported it to the parents. it was down to the child's friend who reported it to their parents who contacted the other parents. but what this highlighted to us is that a lot of parents are providing devices to their children but it is about the education and how we educate those children to use them appropriately. and to know who to contact appropriately. and to know who to co nta ct if appropriately. and to know who to contact if they are worried or

concerned. there is a minimum age limit ona concerned. there is a minimum age limit on a lot of these platforms of 13 but we know of course that younger children to access them. it a difficult conversation to have because you don't want to frighten young children, you need to keep them safe so what would you advise pa rents to them safe so what would you advise parents to do? how should they approach these subjects?” parents to do? how should they approach these subjects? i think it is about having open communication with your children. talk to them about the apps they are using and don't be scared to ask them questions and listen to what they have to say as well. i think it is really important to remember that the internet at this moment in time not the solution, it's merely a resource. yes, it's a resource we use for online learning but equally, like any other resource, we have to risk assess it and make sure it is robust and appropriate to be used. what would you advise parents to do then to keep a check on the interactions children are having? a lot of us don't want to go snooping, we wa nt lot of us don't want to go snooping, we want to be able to trust our

children but it's not the children who are at fault, is it? no, and it's about opening lines of communication between children. not allowing them to go off to an isolated room to use the internet put it when you see them using the internet, a phone or tablet or device, any form of device can ask them what they're doing or who they are talking to and get involved. if it is that they are using tiktok, ask them what they're doing on that app and ensure the security settings are checked as well. that is really important. but the issue is, so many pa rents, important. but the issue is, so many parents, this is new territory for them. are not used to using such apps so it is about educating them as well as children. emily, we appreciate you joining us today. emily konstantas, appreciate you joining us today. emily konsta ntas, ceo appreciate you joining us today. emily konstantas, ceo of the safeguarding alliance. thank you for your time. thank you very much. president trump has played down the dangers of a second wave of coronavirus cases later in the year, saying there could only be the "embers" of the outbreak left by the autumn.

he was contradicted moments later by his top expert in infectious disease, dr anthony fauci. here are the two speaking at the white house daily news conference. and if it comes back, it won't be coming back in the form that it was, it will be coming back in smaller doses that we can contain. but what the doctor was saying, and i spoke to him at great length, he was saying if it should come back together, you have the flu and you have the embers of corona, but in my opinion, from everything i have seen, it can never be like anything that we have witnessed right now. we will have coronavirus in the fall. i am convinced of that. because of the degree of transmissibility that it has, the global nature. doctor anthony fowler —— anthony fauci. the head of the american agency overseeing the development of a coronavirus vaccine says he's been removed from his post

for opposing the use of two malaria drugs promoted by president trump as promising covid—19 treatments. doctor rick bright said was politics was being put before science, risking the lives of americans. our north america correspondent david willis has the details. doctor rick bright, a man who spent his entire career in vaccine development, and he has taken issue with president trump's assertion that this drug, hydroxychloroquine, is a potential cure or treatment, if you like, for the coronavirus. president trump has repeatedly asserted that, even saying that he might think about taking it himself. well, doctor bright, in a statement today, said that there had to be much more rigorous vetting of hydroxychloroquine before it was accepted as a drug or treatment for this virus. and he believed that it could actually prove dangerous in the treatment of patients who are suffering from covid—19. he said that science, and not what he called politics and cronyism, should determine the way ahead in

the fight against the coronavirus. now, president trump was asked about this apparent dismissal at the white house briefing today, and he said he had never heard of doctor rick bright. as the global death toll from covid—19 continues to rise, with more and more countries affected, there is growing concern about the impact the virus will have on poorer countries. hundreds of thousands of people already die every year from preventable diseases in the developing world, where resources are scarce. so how will they cope with a health challenge on a truly global scale? secunder kermani and anne soy have this special report. coronavirus has left the health care systems of some of the world's richest countries barely able to cope. so, what will happen in the developing world, where tens of millions of people already face a struggle just to survive? in italy, one of the countries

with the highest death toll in the world, they started with about 80 ventilators for every1 million people, and they are trying to increase that number. here in kenya, it is thought to be five for every1 million people. but it is even worse elsewhere in africa. in nigeria, it is about 0.8 for every1 million people. in south asia right now, countries are racing to try and buy more ventilators. at the moment in pakistan and afghanistan, there are less than ten per million people. whilst in india, there are about 11 per million. italy struggled to find enough ventilators for coronavirus patients but these countries have far fewer. you get a sense of the challenges coronavirus presents here when you take something as simple as hand washing. in the western world, this is something everyone has access to. but here in kibera, community groups have come together to set up hand washing facilities. and even in africa's largest economy, nigeria,

only four out of every ten people have access to basic hand washing facilities at home. whilst in pakistan and india, only six in ten do — that is around 600 million people without access to basic hand washing facilities at home in those two countries alone. there has been some suggestion the warmer climate here will mean that coronavirus will not spread so quickly. but there is no conclusive evidence of that yet. others hope that because the profession in the developing world is generally younger, people here won't be as badly affected by it. —— the population in the developing world. but people can be vulnerable for different reasons. here in south asia, there are high rates of diabetes and lung disease, and there are plenty of other factors to bear in mind, too. like overcrowding in urban areas. it is common here for whole families to live in a single room. malnutrition rates are also among the highest in the world. a lot of this comes down to a lack of spending in healthcare.

the chinese ambassador to the united kingdom, liu xiaoming, is speaking. this is at a press conference in central london, all done virtually of course. china has been sharing information on the cure and treatment of coronavirus with other countries and he has been talking about the impact of the pandemic on climate change and the cancellation of events like the cop meeting which is designed to address the problem of global warming. we are enhancing our international collaboration and we are also fighting against this

virus, and we should guard against the political barriers, as i said in my speech. some politicians and some forces try to use this to scapegoat and play a game of blaming in order to shake their responsibility. recall for the governments of countries to focus on fighting the virus, protecting the lives of people, rather than fighting each other, rather than stopping international collaboration which is very important. we are very disappointed and rejecting this so—called accusation by some american politicians. we don't think this information china serves the purpose of international response to

this virus on china us relations, you know, we have every reason to have a sound and good relationship. president xi had several conversations with president trump. we always believe that china and the us will gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation and we also believe it is not in the interests of china and the us to have some good relations but also it is interest of the world. we like to have a good relationship with the us based on mutual respect, based on no confrontation, based on mutual aid and collaboration. and we are working towards this goal. but you need two to tango, right. while the chinese leaders or chinese ambassadors, chinese diplomats,

spreading the words of community, future for mankind will try very ha rd to future for mankind will try very hard to shore up the confidence of the international community but some politicians, some people, try to spread disinformation, spread rumour in the world and it is not helpful at all. which think the china and us could work together and international community can work together for the international community can work togetherfor the common international community can work together for the common goal that serves the interest of all mankind. ambassador, thank you for that response to my thoughts and i detect a lot of areas of common interest but also common perspective on the right way forward. i will invite you to moderate some questions, i know our audience wants to put some

questions. we don't have too much time but michael, you kindly offered to moderate that for us. thank you to moderate that for us. thank you to both of you point to a lot of questions come as you might imagine. i'm going to start with members of the age has corporate network first and broaden it out. i will invite adam keswick from jardine plasma could ask the first question and after himl could ask the first question and after him i will go from emma roberts. adam, ifi after him i will go from emma roberts. adam, if i could go to you now. can you hear me? thank you for your words, ambassador, and stephen, yours as well, it was broadly very encouraging to hear everything you said and likewise, i hope that the networks of communications that have been put in place to fight this virus can be continued to promote

the economies after we have tackled this, which i'm sure we will. ambassador, you gave the general view is of what china will be doing, all of which i took a lot of comfort from. 0r specifically, ifeelthe eyes of the world will be listening to the upcoming npc meeting, whenever that takes place, but presuming it will be some time later in may. it would be very interesting to get your views on what specific messages you think are going to come out of that meeting that the rest of the world can take further comfort from in terms of battling the virus and also a return to some form of economic normality. it would be interesting to have your views on

that. i can't see you very clearly ponder what meeting are you talking about? will the national party congress meet at some point in china? and would you hope there would be specific messages coming out of that? i think this will be a very important two sessions. it has been postponed. it will have policies and guidance not only for the development of china for this year, i think it will draw up a plan for a five year plan. it will show the significance of these two

sessions and it will go beyond this year. of course the covid—19 will be very top on the agenda. i would not speculate what others will be on the agenda. but, as i said in my speech, covid—19 not only poses challenges to china but also creates opportunities for the development. i think the delegates both the national party congress, deputies and also of the political errors, they will focus on what other new areas, the new growth, points of new growth for the future development. i would recommend you to follow these two sessions very closely.” would recommend you to follow these two sessions very closely. i shall, thank you. thank you, adam. emma

roberts from bhp and then laura mann from astrazeneca. thank you, michael. and thank you, ambassador for holding this interesting discussion. it was very good to hear your summary of china's economy as it is moving out of the crisis and bhp obviously has a very strong relationship with its chinese customers and for its commodities. so far we have seen this demand remain rather stable even during the peak of the crisis within china. and bhp has been able to work with its customers to continue that supply. however, i think there is certainly a concern and has been some recent press about that demand from china may ease off towards the latter part

of the year as china experiences perhaps a drop in exports from western economies, as western economies try to come out of their own lockdown measures. we are behind china. and as western economies struggle to get their economies up and running. what are your thoughts on china's continued emergence from its crisis and as it continues to restart the chinese economy? do you see a dip in that as the western economies struggle to get back up or do you see that remaining steady and strong? as i said, i think china will continue to play a role as a powerhouse of the world economy. as china actually resumes its production, and as i said, the major

industries are resumed, china will continue to play a role as a factory of the world conduct china is a huge market, so will contribute to the resumption of global growth. you know, as i mentioned, this covid—19 brings some opportunities, it is also opportunity for us to restructure our economy. there are some areas which might have great potentials. as i said, like stay at home economy, digital economy, ai and others. and also medical areas

as well. one example, starting from march one and april ten, china exported about 7.12 billion masks and 57 million protective gowns and 20,000 ventilators and 13 million goggles. you know, china is really a source of medical supplies. that is also china's contribution, not only to the global response to the virus, but also it will help the future building of the industrial supply chain. so china is committed to

building an open world economy. china have achieved its success in the past a0 years because of the policy of reform and opening up and i think china will depend on this policy to continue this success. there is no reason for china to close doors. there is no reason for china to discontinue the reform. reform will be going on and china will be open wider to the world. i think i mentioned about this at the import export fair which will be online injune, and also the... studio: that was the chinese ambassador to the uk, liu xiaoming, talking about how china will continue to be the powerhouse in the

world economy when production starts. he described the country as the factory to the world. more on that throughout the day. you're watching bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with tomas. hello, another good day to throw the windows open and let in the fresh air, another dry day and a fairly sunny air, another dry day and a fairly sunny across air, another dry day and a fairly sunny across the country a bit more high cloud around quebec with recent days, particularly in some northern and western areas and there is some sea and western areas and there is some sea fog just to the east of shetland but the most, blue skies overhead dominate and with winds lighter than in recent days, it will be warm with temperatures up to 25 degrees in the west of london, in the 20s in england and wales. cooler on the east coast as to the east of northern ireland, onshore breeze doing that but elsewhere, to the west of northern ireland, central and west of scotland could hit up to 20 celsius. with the onshore breeze, it will keep the pollen levels down but tree pollen levels across most

of the uk are high again, not great news for 8a sufferers. this evening and overnight, the biggest change is the threat of some mist and low cloud developing in eastern england tomorrow morning to ponder the chance of frost limited to parts of scotla nd chance of frost limited to parts of scotland and northern england but mostly frost free to start on friday but it could be quite a murky start in eastern counties of england. because the sun is strong, light mid—morning most of it will have shifted away. there will be some low cloud close to shetland, that small chance of a spot of drizzle and with a bit more cloud in the south—west and in the channel islands, an isolated shower later on in the day cannot be ruled out public mostly, dry and sunny and fairly warm, even if temperatures for a few are down on what we will see today. at the weekend, a gradual trend but eventually turning a little cooler more widely this weekend and a greater chance of one or two gardens are seeing a shower or two, especially in the north. knot on saturday, the chance of showers are

limited to the fat south—west and the north of scotland but even here, most the north of scotland but even here, m ost pla ces the north of scotland but even here, most places are staying dry. sunny spells, a bit of cloud building up elsewhere through the day and with temperatures are still above where they should be this time of year with the exception being the far north of scotland where a developing breeze will make it feel cooler. that airbus will slowly move down to the country on sunday at —— that there will be. by no means many showers, maybe a couple in england and wales later in the day were still warm in the same time particularly in the south, highs of around 22 celsius compared to just 10 degrees in northern parts of scotland. see you soon.

this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the first human trials in the uk for a coronavirus vaccine are due to start at oxford university today — a stage which can often take years to reach. uk government scienctific advisers look set to say the public should not wear medical face masks, but should feel free to cover their faces with scarves. germany's angela merkel says her country should be prepared to pay more into the eu's budget to help foster economic recovery — as european union leaders prepare to thrash out a huge financial rescue package. the chinese ambassador to the uk says the coronavirus does not discriminate between races or borders — as he warns against an international blame game. blaming and scapegoating are futile.

arrogance and insolence will only poison the cooperation between countries. loans to uk businesses needing help during the coronavirus crisis double in a week, but still fewer than half of the applications have been approved. a nurse praised by borisjohnson for helping to save his life earlier this month says the uk's prime minister absolutely needed to be in intensive care. we take it very seriously who comes in to intensive care. these patients who come in to us, it is a very scary thing for them, so we don't take it lightly. and he absolutely needed to be there. good morning and welcome to bbc news, we're covering the latest with the coronavirus

here in the uk and globally. first, a potential coronavirus vaccine being developed at oxford university here in england is expected to be trialled on humans for the first time today — a stage which can often take years to reach. the plan is to test it on around 500 volunteers by mid—may and if that proves successful, give it to thousands more volunteers. in other developments in the uk, the government's scientific advisers will present their findings to ministers on whether the public should wear face masks outside to help control the spread of coronavirus. and 20,000 households in england are being contacted to take part in a study to track infection and immunity levels in the general population. the eu will hold a video summit later today. leaders are expected to sign off on a huge emergency fund worth 5a0 billion euros — or around $580 billion — for countries hardest hit by the crisis. in the us, president trump has played down the dangers of a second wave of coronavirus cases later in the year, but he was

contradicted moments later by his top expert in infectious diseases, dr anthony fauci. and vietnam is easing its lockdown across much of the country after reporting no new cases for a week. we'll have more on those stories in a moment, but firstjon donnison reports on the latest developments here in the uk. 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. this pandemic is causing lots of people to step up and step forward in ways they might not have done before.

this just 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. 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's 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 face masks 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. jon donnison, bbc news. european union leaders are expected to sign off on a huge rescue package for countries hardest hit by the coronavirus crisis when they hold a video conference later today. the 5a0 billion euros package — that's around $580 billion —

was agreed after bitter debate between richer northern countries and weaker economies in the south that have suffered most from the pandemic. the german chancellor, angela merkel, told parliament her country was prepared to pay more into the eu's budget to help overcome the economic damage caused by the coronavirus. translation: our consultations today won't yet be about nailing down details or deciding on the extent. but one thing is already clear. in the spirit of solidarity, we should be prepared over a limited period of time to make very different — meaning much higher — contributions to the eu budget because we want all member states in the european union to recover economically. our correspondent in berlin, jenny hill, was listening to the german chancellor's speech. she says mrs merkel was extremely cautious. the german government announced that they had the outbreak under control. infection rates have really slowed.

they've got hospital beds to spare, still, and that's why it strengthened their hand when they decided to start easing some of the restrictions which currently govern daily life. but angela merkel actually over the last week or so has appeared very, very anxious about the relaxation of those measures and she reiterated her concerns today. if anything, she spoke about them more strongly. she has said time and again now that what she describes as germany's interim success is very fragile, that the country is still on thin ice and it's by no means out of the woods. today again we heard her saying that this is just the beginning of the pandemic and that it is far too soon to adopt a position of complacency. what i found very interesting about her speech is the fact that it's actually the leaders of the 16 german states who decide region by region how they're going to implement that relaxation of measures, so we're seeing some schools starting to reopen their doors gradually, some states opening, certain shops and so on.

and she said, while she doesn't want to interfere in the power that those individual states have, she is very, very nervous about this relaxation. she's really worried i think that the general public here will interpret that relaxation as, if you like, carte blanche to go about their everyday lives again. she says a return to normal daily life is simply not on the cards. and just to pick up on one other very significant thing that she said, angela merkel has been very keen from the outset to say she wants society as a whole to tackle this outbreak. she doesn't want to see elderly and vulnerable people having to remain in lockdown so that younger people can get back to a semblance of daily life. and she spoke rather movingly, i thought, about elderly people, particularly those in care homes, saying she felt very bad about the fact that those people can't have visitors. all they see are care workers inside the homes. she said these people in their 80s and 90s are the people, the germans, who really rebuilt the country as we know it to make sure

that the wealth germany enjoys today actually came about. they are germans and they must not be forgotten, she said. very important, too, that she mentioned the fact that as a chancellor, the decision to restrict citizens' rights — which allow them to do whatever they want in daily life — has been one of the hardest decisions she's ever had to make as chancellor. and as someone who grew up behind the iron curtain, angela merkel has very strong feelings about personal freedoms, and that came through, i think, very, very strongly again today. one eu member state that has been relatively successful in dealing with the crisis is greece. it was quick to go into lockdown and so far, has reported just over 2,a00 confirmed cases and 121 deaths, out of a population of 11 million. the but the greek economy is very dependent on tourism and it is looking to the eu meeting later today to find some reassurances about how this year's summer holiday season

can take place. joining me now live from athens, harry theocharis, the greek minister for tourism. thank you very much forjoining us. first, just remind us about the approach that greece took to the lockdown, which looks to have reduced the number of fatalities. yes, it was a very, if you like, aggressive approach in the sense that we were proactive. our prime minister took an early decision to block the carnival festivities, even before we had fatalities. and also we moved very quickly early in the curse to close schools, shops, etc. this was coupled with —— in the cursor to close schools. this was coupled with education policy, explaining to the public why they

needed to do whatever was required of them and how this would help flatten the curve and reach the goal that we had. this was very successful and it was actually also delegated to the experts to the health officials, which gave them a certain sense of reassurance. but what economic impact has there been on greece? yes, of course this is very significant and as we are successful at dealing with the hygienic part of the crisis, we are now turning our attention to how we will gradually open up the sectors of the economy without risking going back and coming back to the lockdown mode. so of course it has affected a lot of tourism, it has stopped. we started the first months of the year with 2a% positive growth that, but

this of course came to a grinding halt from march onwards and we are hoping we can put in place the health and safety procedures that will allow, even a bilateral or a european level to come with a common set of rules that will allow travelling and some form of vacation. what sort of help and reassurance do you need to hear from the eu and your partner members at this meeting today? well, of course the meeting will be focused on a number of things. he financial package is very, very important because we are dealing with a crisis thatis because we are dealing with a crisis that is very, very acute and we do not want to see the viral chain destroyed, so it is important to have adequate supporting tools. the second thing that i would like to hear personally, if you like, is the acknowledgement of the importance and a special case of the tourism

sector. europe is the most touristic lead developed area in the whole world and we need to understand that without the tourism sector starting, we will not see a lasting economic restarting, so it is important to pose that and to see how we can help the kind of restart that is required. how soon, then, do you think that you will be able to reopen your borders and welcome tourists again? well, this is obviously something to be discussed with the health experts. we are currently in the process of setting up currently in the process of setting up the protocols, which will be submitted to the committee of experts and with those we are hoping they can give us the go—ahead to open up gradually. let me say that in order to be able to go for the

season, tourism is a very seasonal activity, we need to name sometime injuly to activity, we need to name sometime in july to be activity, we need to name sometime injuly to be able to open up. now, this cannot be with every source country, every destination, i acknowledge that, but at least we will try to open up with some countries the bilateral communication and travel. i'm sure there will be many, many people too willing to be the visit when it is safe to do so. that one, the greek tourism minister. thank you though much forjoining us. thank you. businesses in the uk have been given more than £2.8 billion — that's around $3.5 billion — as part of a government—backed loan scheme to help them cope with the effects of the coronavirus outbreak. according to uk finance, more than 9,000 loans totalling £1.a5 billion were provided over the past week, with 16,62a applications being approved by lenders so far, and many more still being processed. our economics correspondent andy

verityjoins me now. andy, can you put those figures in context for us? they sound enormous, the vast amounts of money being handed out. well, 1 billion here, one daily in there, it sounds like a lot of money, but the question is is it enough? there are hundreds of businesses out there who are desperate need of cash. this was a centrepiece of the government strategy back in the days of the budget before the lockdown struck to ameliorate the effects of the anti—virus measures and one month into the scheme they had only lent1 billion. it is certainly speeding up, £1.5 billion in the last week is more than the entire amount that was lent in the previous month. but when you consider there are 5.9 billion million businesses in the uk, 2 million businesses in the uk, 2 million employers or more, and that they are all worried, you start to worry that it will have to go up and

even more exponential curve in order to meet demand, even like the virus itself. firms out there are really struggling at the moment and we are having indications, for example forward leaning indicator like the purchasing managers index, which tells you what finance managers are thinking, thejobs they tells you what finance managers are thinking, the jobs they are cutting, etc, the information from those indicators is unfortunately we are still going to have a record jump in unemployment, in spite of everything the government has done to spend taxpayers money to try to bail out companies for the consequences of the economic shutdown. there has also, been some dire news regarding the manufacturing and service sectors in the uk. that is right, that same data i was referring to, the purchasing manager's inch index, thatis the purchasing manager's inch index, that is a leading indicator because they can see what is happening to they can see what is happening to the orders, they can see what is happening to the purchases of supplies that are coming through and they also know what they are doing aboutjobs. they also know what they are doing

about jobs. unfortunately, what they also know what they are doing aboutjobs. unfortunately, what we have seen there is a record contraction. if what they are saying is mirrored in the real economy in the next few weeks, we are in for a record contraction of economic activity and of course the funny thing is that is what the doctor ordered, or rather the government, in order to combat coronavirus. what we are looking at here is a government ordered recession, requested and required for by governments around the world, but it is causing an economic contraction bigger than the great depression and faster, so if you look for example at the services purchasing managers index, anything above 50 is good. if it gets down to a5 or a0, then we start to worry about recession. it is now at 12, and that is a really unnerving picture and it is one of the reasons why we are seeing the government borrowing record amounts to try to prop up the economy. just this morning, we had that in four months they are going to borrow £225 billion, about an eighth of the value of the entire economy, in just

four months, so they are sending borrowing up to double digits, which is something that a labour government was criticised for doing any last crisis over the last ten yea rs, any last crisis over the last ten years, but now this government is doing it much more and much faster. yes, unimaginable other times. doing it much more and much faster. yes, unimaginable othertimes. back thank you. —— mike mackie two. a new study suggests china would have reported four times more covid—19 cases in the early stages of the outbreak if it had used the current definition of the virus. 55,000 cases were first recorded in china, but researchers in hong kong university say it was probable the true number was 230,000. china has been constantly criticised for its initial reaction to the virus, which began in the city of wuhan. speaking at a video news conference today, the chinese ambassador to the uk, liu xiaoming called for international solidarity and unity in the face of the crisis. the virus does not respect borders or discriminate between races. in face of the crisis,

blaming and scapegoating are futile. arrogance and insolence will only poison the cooperation between countries and it is against the human conscience to deliberately put various label on a specific region, politicise public health issues, and stigmatise a specific country. such a move will only drive a wedge between countries, undermine international cooperation and harm the interests of all mankind. the chinese ambassador to the uk. jenny mcgee was one of the nurses who cared for the prime minister when he was being treated in intensive care at st thomas' hospital earlier this month. borisjohnson said she was one of "two nurses who stood "by his bedside for a8 hours when things could have

"gone either way". ms mcgee, who is from new zealand, has been speaking to tvnz about her experience. there was a lot of media interest about him being in hospital and to be honest, that is probably almost the toughest thing of the lot. as a unit, he was just another patient who we were trying to do our best for, so it was business as usual. so you weren't even a little bit nervous? no, i honestly don't think i was. when i got in the car after work each night and i could hear things about borisjohnson on the news, that was very surreal because i thought, well, you know? i have just been looking after him. but i really wasn't fazed by looking after borisjohnson. and what about in terms of icu? did you think they lowered the levels, just because of who he is? everyone, we take it very seriously, who comes into intensive care. these patients who come in to us, it is a very scary thing for them, so we don't take it lightly and he absolutely needed to be there.

talk to us about how he found out you werejenny from new zealand. well, we just chatted away and it just naturally came up. yeah, he was interested in where i came from, what my story was and we spent a lot of time together, so yeah, we talked away about new zealand. being lauded, notjust by britain's prime minister, but also new zealand prime minister jacinda ardern. what went through your mind? so on the night that it all happened i actually had to turn my phone off because it was just so overwhelming. when i turned my phone back on in the morning, people were like, "you need to look at your facebook!" and i was being called a snob for not responding to jacinda ardern. but it is very surreal. to have a message from jacinda, she is a hero of mine, i think she is amazing and she just said how proud she was of me and that the country was so proud. it is so heart—warming and something

i will never forget. and did you 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 emojis, so yeah, just a very, very surreal experience. 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. you know, we are being asked to look after more patients than we normally do and it is tough. these patients are quite complex when they come in. covid is notjust affecting the lungs, it is affecting many systems in the body, so they are complex, very, very unwell patients that are coming through and we are overwhelmed by patients, and we are just doing our best to save as many lives as we can. so we are putting in the hours, we are working long hours in there.

we are physically exhausted, but it is also taking an emotional strain on us as well. president trump has played down the dangers of a second wave of coronavirus cases later in the year, saying there could only be the ‘embers' of the outbreak left by the autumn. he was contradicted moments by his top expert in infectious disease, dr anthony fauci. here are the two speaking at the white house daily news conference. and if it comes back, it won't be coming back in the form that it was, it will be coming back in smaller doses that we can contain. but what the doctor was saying, and i spoke to him at great length, he was saying if it should come back together, you have the flu and you have the embers of corona, but in my opinion, from everything i have seen, it can never be like anything that we have witnessed right now. we will have coronavirus in the fall. i am convinced of that. because of the degree

of transmissibility that it has, the global nature. the head of... doctor rick wright said politics was being put before science in america, risking the lives of americans. our north american correspondent has the details. this is doctor rick wright, a man who spent his entire career in vaccine development and he has taken issue with president trump a's assertion that this drug, hydroxychloroquine, has is a potential cure or treatment for the coronavirus. president trump has repeatedly asserted that, even saying he might think about taking it himself. well, doctor bright, in

a statement today, said that there had to be much more rigorous vetting of hydroxychloroquine before it was accepted as a drug or a treatment for this virus and he believed it could actually prove dangerous in the treatment of patients suffering from covid—19. he said that science and not what he called politics and cronyism should determine the way ahead in the fight against coronavirus. president trump was asked about his dismissal at the white house briefing today and he said he had never heard of doctor rick bright. are north american correspondent, david willis. some breaking news, the uefa executive committee has confirmed that the women's european championship has been postponed by a year to 2022. it will take place in england between 6- will take place in england between 6— to 31st ofjuly in 2022 at

wembley. moving the men's euros and the olympics to 2021 meant the delay to the women's euro championship was necessary. uefa have said that this isa necessary. uefa have said that this is a big women's sporting event and it deserves and needs a platform of its own. that is the quote from uefa. you're watching bbc news. residents and staff in the uk's care homes are some of the most vulnerable and susceptible to the virus. care home workers are among those on the front line tackling covid—19. ben moore has been to one home on the isle of wight, where the staff have gone the extra mile to make sure everyone is kept as safe as possible. this isn't the sort of accommodation you would expect to find in a care home. you all right? yeah, i had a good sleep. good. morning! but these tents are for the care staff, who now call this home. i decided to completely lock

the home down by asking the staff to move in, so no one in, no one out at all. if i didn't lock down the home, then it would literally be a case of when coronavirus comes into the home. that would be absolutely devastating. right... so staff at the victoria house care home on the isle of wight have put their lives on hold to protect the most vulnerable in their care. i have left my family, i lived with my grandparents, my parents and my brother. i didn't want any of the virus here at all, you know, the oldest resident here is 103. i love them all to bits and wouldn't want it here at all. i have left my husband at home to keep this house safe. we are happy to stay here and follow this through until it is safe to go out again.

it wasn't an easy decision to make, to decide to lock down and to leave all our commitments, our partners, our families, our children, at home to come and live in a care home. to live in these facilities that we share with our residents... it is incredibly challenging and very difficult. this is a small care home, just 20 residents, all aged between 82 and 103. i feel for them. giving up all their home comforts. saying thanks is not enough. i think it is a wonderful idea. lovely to see it from my window. and you have been round to see the tents, haven't you? yes, i have, they are lovely. they have been really kind and caring and more concerned to ensure that we are safe and we have everything that we need as well. this is one place where staff and residents are certainly all in it together.

they are completely giving up absolutely everything, they are giving up theirfamilies, their children, they are giving up their down time to come and give their all to victoria house and for that i am so grateful. the uk government's scientific advisers are considering what to tell the public about what weather to wear face masks, tell the public about what weather to wearface masks, but tell the public about what weather to wear face masks, but how useful masks stopping the spread of the virus? dr gary howsam is with us. what is your view on whether the public should wear masks? this is a debate on that has been going on for many years now, this doesn't show much evidence from people getting the virus, that

there is some evidence that it stops people who have it spreading it to other people, so that is the advice that the world health organization have been getting. it makes sense for people to wear masks, but there are concerns with that at dice as well. we think that it potentially means people are touching their mouth and their data more often. we know that the masks may become contaminated with other people's coughs and sneezes, and also when people take them on and off again, so people take them on and off again, so ata people take them on and off again, so at a time when we are relying heavily on the science we have got to be honest and say that sometimes the science doesn't have much chance and this is one of those times. home—made mask is not the same as a proper medical grade one and are there enough at the latter to go round? i think it is really important that we prioritise the front line health and care workers to make sure that they get the proper medical grade masks, but it makes perfect sense that people could be wearing old t—shirts or bandannas or scarves across their mouths when they are going out and about into crowded areas and that

may well provide some sort of protection. what about the idea, then, that we rely on masks wrongly to keep us safe, but in fact it is keeping other people save? if we can flip that thinking on its head and think we are all wearing masks to protect each other, surely that will have a benefit? absolutely, and as you say people often have the wrong impression that by wearing the mask they are protecting themselves, but what the mask is doing is actually acting as a filter and catching any particles through coughs and sneezes that made an impact other people. if everybody was wearing a mask then it probably would cut down the risk of people catching the infection when in enclosed spaces, and we are seeing different countries doing different things, so as you say this debate hasn't been... dr gary howsam, we must leave it there. we are going tojoin nicola sturgeon now in edinburgh for her daily briefing. about how we might begin

to restore some normality to our lives at the right time in the right weight whilst still containing the covid—19 virus. but what i do that i will start as an update on some key statistics in relation to the virus in scotland. at at nine o'clock this morning there have been 9a09 positive cases confirmed which is an increase of 371 from yesterday. a total of 17a8 confirmed or suspected covid—19 patients are in hospital and that is a decrease of 28 from yesterday. and a total of 1a8 people last night were in intensive care with confirmed or suspected cases of the virus and that is a decrease of seven since yesterday. let me say again, asi seven since yesterday. let me say again, as i did yesterday, these figures on hospital admissions and admissions into intensive care are very encouraging and do give us real optimism at this stage. however, in

the last 2a hours, i'm very sorry to have to report that 58 deaths have been registered of patients who have been registered of patients who have been confirmed to a test of having the virus and that takes the total number of deaths in scotland under that measurement to 1120. once again, it is really important for all of us to remember that each of these deaths represents a unique, unloved and irreplaceable individual andi unloved and irreplaceable individual and i want to again extend my deepest condolences to everyone who has lost a loved one. i also want to thank all of our health and care workers across the country. this evening many thousands of us will yet againi evening many thousands of us will yet again i applaud your efforts. we are all so deeply grateful to you for the extraordinary work you're doing. let me turn to the paper we have published a few moments ago about the decisions we will need to ta ke about the decisions we will need to take as we seek to contain this virus while also restoring a

semblance of normality to our lives. i want to be very clear with you at the outset, what we are publishing at this stage today is by necessity at this stage today is by necessity a first cut. i am seeking to date really to start a grown—up conversation with you, the public. the decisions that lie ahead of us, of all of us, are really complex. as we have done all along, we will seek to inform those decisions with the best scientific advice possible. but the science will never be exact so we will also require to make very carefuljudgments. and we will also require to make very careful judgments. and we we will also require to make very carefuljudgments. and we are in uncharted territory. it is impossible to know with absolute certainty what the impact of our decisions will be in advance. that means we must also be prepared to adapt and change course as we go. we wa nt to adapt and change course as we go. we want to ease restrictions, of course we do, but we cannot absolutely rule out having to reapply some of them in future should we have evidence that the virus is again running out

of control. and i want to be frank with you, every single step of the way, about all of these complexities and uncertainties. while the paper todayis and uncertainties. while the paper today is still quite high level, it is the start of a process. it sets out the objectives and principles that will guide us, the different factors we will need to take into account, the framework in which we will take decisions and the preparations we need to make now. in the days and weeks ahead, evidence, data and modelling will allow us to ta ke data and modelling will allow us to take firmer decisions. as that happens, this paper will evolve into a detailed plan with metrics, actions, milestones and measurements attached to it. i give an assurance today that as we go through this process , we today that as we go through this process, we will share our thinking on an ongoing iterative basis. let me briefly set out some of the key points today. firstly, and this is an obvious point, this virus causes

real harm and we see that every day in the statistics we report, especially the numbers of people who have died. but the lockdown measures we are taking to contain the virus are also doing damage. they are doing harm to the economy to living standards, to child ren's doing harm to the economy to living standards, to children's to other aspects of our physical health and mental health and well—being. and the toll of all about, might also be measured in times in poorer health outcomes and lives lost. so we must try to find a better balance than the one we have right now. but my second point is that as we do so, we cannot and must not take our eye off the need to suppress the virus and minimise the damage it does. let me be very clear about this continuing to suppress covid—19 is the central objective that we set out in this paper. obviously we cannot guarantee that no one will get the virus in

future, far from it. that no one will get the virus in future, farfrom it. but an assumption that it is somehow safe to allow a certain proportion or sector of the population to get the virus is not part of the approach we will be taking. third, we are increasingly confident that measures we are taking now are suppressing the virus. the key factor, and you may have heard this before, is what is known as the reproduction rate, the r number, and that needs to be as far below one as possible. before lockdown, that r number was likely above three and that means everyone with the virus was infecting three more people, each of them was infecting three more people and so on and on. that is what is exponential growth. our best estimate now is that the r n number somewhere between 0.6 and one, although i should say it is probably still higher in certain settings such as care homes. but we cannot

yet be absolutely sure about any of that and that is why we need more time to monitor the statistics we report every day, like case numbers, hospital and icu admissions, and numbers of deaths, and we need to develop further our data through ongoing surveillance. it is only when we are sure that the virus is under control that we can even start to ease any of the restrictions. and it is my next point really that ta kes it is my next point really that takes us to the hard part. when we do reach that stage, the virus will be under control only because of the severity of the restrictions we are all living with just now but the virus will not have gone away. as we start to lift the restrictions, the real risk, and it is a very real risk, is that covid—19 runs rampant again. soa risk, is that covid—19 runs rampant again. so a return to normal, as we knew it, is not on the cards in the near future and it is really important that i am upfront with you right now about that. what we will

be seeking to do is find a new normal, a way of living alongside this virus but in a form that keeps it under control and stops it taking the toll we know it can do. social distancing and limiting our contact with others will be a fact of life for a long time to come. certainly until treatments and ultimately a vaccine offer different solutions so that means possibly for the rest of this year and maybe even beyond. and thatis this year and maybe even beyond. and that is why talk of lifting the lockdown, as if it is a flick of a switch moment, is misguided. our steps, when we take them, will need to be careful, gradual, incremental and probably quite small to start with. we will need to assess them in advance and monitor them in action. sometimes, as i said before, we might even need to reverse things. as we go, we will apply ourjudgment to the best scientific advice possible, we will continue to

collaborate closely with the other governments in the uk and we will learn from international experience. the fact is that different countries are at different stages of this pandemic but none of us are anywhere near through it yet and we all face the same challenges. as we make these decisions here, careful bala nces these decisions here, careful balances will have to be struck. for example, it may be that certain businesses in certain sectors can reopen but only if they can change how they work to keep employees and customers two metres distant from each other. similarly, with schools, classrooms might have to be redesigned to allow social distancing so maybe not all children can go back to or be at a school at the same times. some limited outdoor activity might be able to restart earlier than indoor activity but let me be clear, big gatherings and events a re me be clear, big gatherings and events are likely to be off for some months to come. we will also consider whether different approaches would make sense for

different areas although our preference, not least for ease of understanding, will be for as much consistency as possible. and of course, given how severely this virus is affecting older people and those with other health vulnerabilities, some form of shielding will almost certainly be required for the foreseeable future. let me stress that what i have set out their are not firm decisions but they do illustrate the kind of options that we will be assessing. as we do so, we will consider not just the health imperatives but also issues of practicality, sustainability, fairness and equity, ethics and human rights. lastly, as well as changes to how we live, we will use public health interventions and technology to the maximum possible to help us control this virus. in the next phase, extensive testing, tracing of the contacts of those who test positive, and isolation of symptomatic people to break the chain of transmission will be essential parts of the approach we take. and the preparations to

make that possible are already under way. we will also discuss with the uk government for this is a reserved responsibility, the need for stronger surveillance measures for those coming into the country from elsewhere. in short, this paper sets out the difficult decisions we face and the way in which we will go about preparing for them, making them and also assessing the impact. i want to stress again, because it is important that i am frank, the path ahead is not an easy one, it is paved with complexity and uncertainty —— it is important that iam frank uncertainty —— it is important that i am frank but with openness and transparency and frankness, i believe we can navigate it. it is for me and government to work through and lead that process. but this is about all of us hence this discussion that we are opening up with all of you today. the paper we have published is available on the

scottish government website, i will post a link to it on twitter later this afternoon. so please, even if, like i suspect most of the population, you're not in the habit of reading government documents, have a look at it. and if you have views on it, please let us know. these views are important and will be helpful. as i said earlier, i will continue to share our thinking with you as it develops. but let me no end on a vital point and one that you have become used to me making each day. moving on from where we are now, as all of us want to do as quickly as it is safe to do, will only be possible if and when we do get this virus properly under control. and that means sticking with the current rules that are in place right now. stay at home except foran place right now. stay at home except for an essential purposes, stay two metres apart from others when you have to be out, do not meet up with people from other households and isolate completely if you or anyone

in your household has symptoms. this is tough, the toughest set of circumstances that the vast majority of us have ever lived through and i cannot stand here and promise you it is going to get a whole lot easier soon. is going to get a whole lot easier soon. but, as i hope we have started to set out today, if we keep doing the right things, and if we consider all of the options carefully and with the right objectives in mind, i do believe there will be a way through and we will find that way through. so thank you for all you are doing to help and please, if you can, engage with this discussion as we go through the days and weeks to come. thank you very much for your patience in letting me go through that in some detail, i will hand over briefly to the interim cmo, doctor gregor smith and the health secretary, before we open to questions from journalists. thank you, first minister. i want to say a bit about the chief medical officer's advisory group. from the

outset of the response to cobra 19 it has been clear we need to be guided by the best scientific and clinical evidence at all times. we have spoken on numerous occasions about the fact there was much to be discovered about this new virus and the disease covid—19 that it caused. this means not only learning about it using the best advice available in this country but learning through our broad scientific and research networks as part of a global response. that is why we established an independent advisory group to ensure any evidence considered in the uk or international level was releva nt the uk or international level was relevant in a scottish context to put the group contains a strong mix of epidemiologists, public health experts, behavioural scientists and leading academics from a range of scottish sectors. that way i am able to ensure scottish ministers are afforded best scientific and clinical advice available. the distinguish chair of the group, professor andrew morris, is a member of the uk scientific advisory group, sage, to ensure we are supporting

efforts across the whole of the uk to bring the best science to bear in this crisis. that relationship is important and it is one built on the principle of reciprocity. so that information and knowledge is shared freely between these two groups to each other's mutual benefit. but we also need to understand how the virus affects scotland. that is why we have gone to get expert from those we considered distinctive scottish circumstances including geography, demography and the distinct health and social services. the advisory group have already consider a number of issues including testing, and will continue to be instrument in providing ministers with advice on any future proposals to ease or further impose restrictions. in accordance with the framework the first minister has published today. i am conscious that we are all in uncharted territory here. that is why it is critical we continue to use the best science and most robust evidence in helping us make the right decisions for scotland at this time. and health

secretary? thank you, first minister and good afternoon. the first mist has outlined key points about the scottish government approach to coming out of this lockdown face —— the first minister. that will have significant implications for our health and care services. the work we are currently doing to increase our testing capacity will become even more important and our ship to a significant test, trace and isolate approach will be critical to our work. we will also need to continue our ongoing work to stop transmission, in particular settings, including hospitals and ca re settings, including hospitals and care homes. for example, we may well need to adapt buildings and practices to limit the spread and we will continue work on the supply and distribution of ppe. as we go through that work and that thinking, we will of course continue to keep you informed but also to involve our colleges, unions working in health

and social, our clinicians and staff working to deliver these services. during the lockdown period, we have seen during the lockdown period, we have seena during the lockdown period, we have seen a rising number of covid—19 cases and our health and care workers have performed superbly in incredibly challenging circumstances, and we continue to ask them to do that and they continue to have my heartfelt thanks for doing so. making the transition out of lockdown in whatever way and at whatever pace is determined will continue to present challenges, as we work to stop isolated cases becoming outbreaks and outbreaks becoming outbreaks and outbreaks becoming epidemics. i am determined to make sure that our health and ca re to make sure that our health and care services have the support they need, the engagement i need from them, especially in relation to testing and ppe so that together we can make those challenges that lie ahead dash meet those challenges. thank you, i will now move straight to questions, firstly to laura

kuenssberg from the bbc. you have said today it is only right you treat people like grown—ups. do you think the government in westminster risks treating the public like children if they don't share their thinking in the way that you have today? i think all of us have a responsibility and i think all of us have a desire to be as open as we can be with the public. i can only speakfor can be with the public. i can only speak for myself and my own government and i'm very keen that at every stage of the process that is greatly what we do and today i have a site in my opening remarks that this is the start of a process and a conversation that is a lot more detailed ahead of us pulled that these are horrendously difficult decisions for government is notjust in the uk but across the world. there are no absolute rights and wrongs in this, we are all trying to navigate our way through uncharted territory, balancing the different harms that the population is suffering right now. the direct harm from the virus, economic harm, the

harm on other parts of our health service are not operating as normal. we have to find a way through this and my last point on this, which is why i think openness, frankness, transparency and a grown—up conversation is so important about is that this is not abstract put it affects the lives of each and every single one of us and as i said today, it might affect our lives in different ways for quite some time to come. this lifting of the lockdown is not a flick of the switch moment, it is not binary. what were talking about in the next month will be variations of what we are living with right now and it is incumbent on all of us to try to involve the public in that as much as possible and that is what the scottish government will do at every step of the way i believe that is what other governments will seek to do as well. and i would encourage governments everywhere to do that. james matthews from sky. thank you, first minister. you have put test,

trace and isolate at the heart of your strategy today and i don't want an exact figure but they will be a figure where you need to get to in terms of testing. where are you roughly at the moment? can you give mea roughly at the moment? can you give me a rough percentage? in terms of where we are, i can tell you we did 2000 tests yesterday and were working to a capacity by 3500 by the end of april i think we'll be beyond that point that what we're doing right now is making sure we are ensuring that the use of that testing capacity meets the capacity thatis testing capacity meets the capacity that is there. that is the here and now. in terms of moving into that new phase, that is on a much bigger scale and that work is under way. we are working through what those figures will look like right now so i will not give you definitive a nswe rs i will not give you definitive answers because we have not got that stage and some of it depends on assumptions made about what the prevalence of the pirates will be, how many people are likely to be symptomatic at any time —— prevalence of the virus. that will inform what a testing capacity you need, what degree of social

distancing remains in place will influence how money contact each symptomatically person is likely to have had. that influences the number of co nta ct have had. that influences the number of contact tracers you need to. that is the kind of iterative process we are going through right now in order that we can be confident that we are building a capacity that is commensurate to the scale of the task we need to do. set out in the document today that we will set out for the detail of that work, where it has got to and where it needs to get to, as soon as we can and that will be part of the open discussion we are seeking to have with people. gary gibbon from channel a news. population, do you mean segmenting just the shielded or maybe different age demographics like the under 30s or under a0s? do you rule out the idea could be different for different sections

below the under 70s and under 80s? cani below the under 70s and under 80s? can i also ask, do you now think it was a wrong call for all the nations of the united kingdom to stop track and trace? and do you think it can be got back up to necessary speed in about three weeks, as are some people are speculative? let me take those questions in turn if i may. —— speculating. in terms of a question of segmenting the population, we have not taken final decisions, the are all under review and i guess it isa are all under review and i guess it is a statement of fact, i would not rule anything categorically out because that would not be in keeping with the process we are undergoing a. but we do know that older people in particular are vulnerable to this virus and to becoming seriously ill and dying. that is manifesting itself very severely in care homes right now but it is not simply a question of care homes. possibly around nine out of ten people who have died, if you look at the

national records of scotland statistics, are over 65. clearly older people, with other health conditions, are of particular concern. there is still i think inconclusive debate about how children are affected but it takes you to the other end of the age spectrum and what we can safely do in schools. i guess those are the elements of the population that are to the fore as we look at whether any kind of segmented response would be appropriate. balancing that in the other way, there are huge issues of ethics and equity and fairness around treating the population in that different way and we have to factor all of that in. all i'm doing in answering that part of your question is underlining the complexity of it and the different factors we have to take into account but i think if we keep in mind, and this is particular true of the older population who we know optically vulnerable, our objective here is to limit the harm of the virus, to suppress it as far as possible and save lives. if we have that our

objective, some of these decisions will flow from that. but these are the more granular, detailed decisions i hope to be able to set out over the next couple of weeks, as our data and modelling and assessment of the options develops point on the second part of your question, we all took the best decisions we could for the best reasons as we have gone through this in uncharted territory. this was set out in advanced, and we moved from a contain face into a delay phase when the assessment was made about the level of community transmission and therefore we went to a position of seeking to advise symptomatic patients whether they had been tested positive or not to stay at home. these decisions were made on a sound basis. when we get to a later stage in this, i'm sure we will all look back and want to assess what we did and did not do so that we can learn for the future but none of us are through this pandemic yet and i think, i really think for any country, i don't think you will hear

governments anywhere declaring success or victory yet, because all of us know the decisions of lying ahead of us are as important as the decisions that lie behind us. we are not through this yet and we have got to continue to make... the scotland first minister nicola sturgeon talking about how the restrictions will be lifted, when the coronavirus is finally under control but she said a return to what we used to think of the normal will not happen any time soon it will have to remain under review. we still need to suppress covid—19, she said. and there may be times when we need to reverse the lifting of those restrictions. time for a look at the weather with ben. good afternoon, changes in the next few days will tend to be slow and su btle few days will tend to be slow and subtle and certainly today has turned into yet another dry and largely sunny day put it you can see from the earlier satellite picture at some clumps of cloud, some high cloud turning the sunshine hazy in places and some quite low cloud

looking near the northern isles and this evening and overnight we will develop some low cloud close to north sea coast which will roll into parts of yorkshire and lincolnshire, east anglia, maybe reaching the midlands. they could be some mist and fog around in these areas. temperatures overnight between three and 9 degrees, some parts of eastern scotla nd and 9 degrees, some parts of eastern scotland might get a little colder with a touch of frost for some. are fairly cool start tomorrow, this lump of cloud, mist and fog affecting parts of eastern england but it will tend to lift and clear and for the most part it is yet another fine and dry and mostly sunny day. patchy cloud turning the sunshine hazy at times. not quite as warm as it has been today but still temperatures peaking between 1a and 20 due to grace, coolest on the north sea coast and later on in the day, the odd shower across high ground in wales and the south—west of england. going into the weekend, we do see the increasing chance of one or two showers, still a lot of

dry weather around to put it will start to feel a little cooler as well. look at the pressure chart, barely any isobars on the map and that means there is not much to push the weather around which means any changes will only be slow and subtle. i think on saturday, yes, a little more cloud around, maybe the odd showerfor wales little more cloud around, maybe the odd shower for wales and the south—west later. still plenty of sunshine to be had and then this is drug cloud might in some patchy rain in the far north—west of scotland later. temperatures continuing to fall back a little but still well into the teens and 20s for some. through saturday night into sunday, we see this weak area of low pressure at sinking into the picture and a frontal system which will introduce a band of cloud and perhaps some showery rain pushing southwards across the uk. had a bit, a couple of showers breaking out, northern scotland could have some showery rain in the picture but still a fair amount of dry weather and in the 20s in the south. but turning noticeably cooler across

northern areas.

the first human trials in the uk for a coronavirus vaccine are expected to get underway. scientists at oxford university plan to test it on 500 volunteers by mid—may — if successful, it would then be given to thousands more. i benefit too, you know. it's not a selfless act. i am part of the community. and if we find a vaccine, then we all benefit. but england's chief medical officer has said a drug is unlikely to be available this year. also this lunchtime: 20,000 households in england are being contacted from today, to take part in a study tracking coronavirus in the general population. scotland's first minister sets out how the lockdown might be eased —