welcome to bbc news. i'm lewis vaughan jones. our top stories: a scientific landmark — two uk volunteers are injected as the first vaccine trials for coronavirus in europe get underway. american lawmakers pass another relief bill worth m80 billion for small businesses and overwhelmed hospitals. australia's indigenous community struggles to get fresh food and essential supplies due to the lockdown. smart or stupid? why sweden is bucking the trend for lockdowns.

hello and welcome to audiences in the uk and around the world. we're covering all the latest coronavirus developments here in britain and globally. first: the total number of people known to have died from covid—19 around the world has now reached 190,000, according to figures collated byjohns hopkins university in the united states. and the us is the worst—affected country, with 50,000 confirmed deaths — around a third of those are in new york state. but there are signs that the number of confirmed new cases is starting to decline in the worst—affected countries. in the us, seven european countries and iran, the five—day—averages of new cases are falling. and the search for a vaccine is gathering pace. there are now 70 candidates for possible vaccines in development around the world, of which five have begun clinical trials. two are in china, two in the usa and one here in the uk.

0ur medical correspondent fergus walsh was invited to the university of oxford to witness the first doses being given. this could change everything. a vaccine against coronavirus. a way out for all of us. ok, so a needle scratch. the first volunteer to receive it was elisa granato, a microbiologist. she's 32 today. i'm a scientist, so of course i want to try and support science, the scientific process whenever i can, and since i don't study viruses i felt a bit useless these days, so i felt like this was an easy way for me to support the cause, yeah, and that's why i'm here, and i'm excited. half those on the trial will get the coronavirus vaccine, half a different jab. the volunteers don't know which one they have received. i am just basically going to sit here and incubate this thing, and hopefully provide some good follow up data, and we'll see, and hopefully it works. what would normally take years has been done in three months,

by scientists at oxford university. around 80 groups world wide are developing coronavirus vaccines. a few others, in the us and china, have also started human trials. there's no guarantee any of them will succeed. personally, i am very optimistic it's going to work. formally, we are testing it in an efficacy study. there's absolutely no suggestion we are going to start using this vaccine in a wider population before we have demonstrated it actually works and stops getting people infected with coronavirus. so how does the vaccine work? scientists have taken the genes for the spike protein on the surface of coronavirus, and put them into a harmless virus. this forms the vaccine. after it's injected, the vaccine enters cells, which start to produce the coronavirus spike protein. this prompts the immune system to produce antibodies, and activate killer t—cells which should recognise

the coronavirus in future, and destroy it, preventing infection. the scientists will only know how effective the vaccine is if lots of volunteers are exposed to coronavirus. well, at this moment we are chasing the end of this current epidemic wave, and of course, if we don't catch that, we won't be able to tell whether the vaccine works in the next few months, but we do expect that there will be more cases in the future, because this virus hasn't gone away. why not simply infect people with coronavirus after they have had the vaccine, then you would know? at this moment, it would be very difficult to do that with a disease which potentially has quite a high fatality, so i think if we reached a point where we had some treatments for the disease and we could guarantee the safety of volunteers, that would be a very good way of testing the vaccine.

the vaccine is stored in this freezer, at minus 80 degrees. rarely has a medical trial had so much riding on it, for so many people. it is hard to overstate just how important this vaccine could be. if—and it isa big if— it proves to be safe and effective, it would represent science giving us the solution to the coronavirus pandemic. well, i think everybody agrees it is the only way we are going to get out of the lockdown, the social distancing, and really be able to still have people protected as they go about their daily lives. edward, a cancer researcher was next up. there is a theoretical risk the vaccine could make a coronavirus infection worse, but the team here think that highly unlikely, and the volunteers will be carefully monitored. it seems like the right thing to do, to ensure that we can, you know, combat this disease and get

over it a lot faster. do you have any concerns at all about safety? i think you can neverfully exclude any potential risk, but i think you have to, i guess, walk in faith in these things. you have to trust in what they, that the work is being done as best they can, and know that the cause is important. the oxford team are hoping to have a million doses of vaccine ready by september, with a huge scale up in manufacturing after that. it is not clear, though, who would be prioritised to get the vaccine first, and for now, we have to wait and see if it works. president trump gave his daily coronavirus update to the media at the white house a short time ago, and took questions from our north america editor, jon sopel, who asked whether the us was in a position to roll out the vaccine being worked by british scientists in oxford if it turned out successful. oxford is one,

johnson &johnson is working, they're also working together. you have many companies working together on a vaccine. don't you think they can scale up production and the pharmaceutical companies will be able to do that quick? if we had a vaccine, it'll be scaled up very quickly. in fact, some of the companies, johnson &johnson is one, is scaling up already before having they have the final answer — a number of companies are doing that — you save a lot of time, rapidly. would you put a timescale...? no, i don't want to put a timescale because then the media, the so—called media, lamestream media, will say, "he said a time..." — i don't want to say time because every time i say a time, if you don't hit it, they'll say — so i don't want to talk about time but i will say that there has been tremendous progress made over the last month. can i just ask a very quick question? you spoke to boris johnson this week, ijust wonder how he sounded, how he was and when you think he'll be back at work? he called me a few days ago. i will tell you, he sounded incredible.

i was actually surprised. i thought he's be like, "0h, donald, how are..." — he was ready to go. i could — i'm very surprised to tell you this — it's like the old boris. the us house of representatives has approved another huge stimulus package to alleviate the economic damage caused by the coronavirus. 0ur north america correspondent david willis has more on this. $500 billion stimulus package and the total stimulus spending here in the us to nearly $3 trillion. president trump has said he expects to sign it swiftly into law and what this does is it provides forgivable loans to companies who do not shed workers from their payroll and keep them on until the crisis abates and that significant given the figures today, the latest unemployment figures, which show

an additional 4 million americans now out of work and that brings the jobless total to 26.5 million in the last five weeks. now that erodes all the gains of the last few years and in actual fact plunges unemployment back to levels not seen since the great depression of the 1930s. those economic reasons, part of the reasons surely certain states are going to be easing those restrictions and those lockdown areas but that is not without controversy? it is not without controversy and indeed you are referring particularly to the state of georgia which has announced it is to reopen, as from tomorrow, spas, hair salons, tattoo parlours and so hair salons, tattoo parlours and so on, much to the chagrin of president trump, add, despite the fact he supported the republican governor's run for office, he was damning today when asked about this move

by george's governor. he said i want people in georgia to be safe, do not want things to flareup and i am happy about it, i am not happy about the governor there, brian kemp, on monday, mr kemp plans to go even further and reopening some restaurants and cinemas in the state of georgia. dr patrice harris is the president of the american medical association. she says easing lockdown restrictions should only happen under certain conditions. certainly, as we began to loosen stay—at—home restrictions, we need to do so keeping the science and evidence in mind. at the ama we recommended loosening restrictions only when we have the capacity to test and trace, when we have a good capacity in our medical infrastructure, and certainly when we are able to test more and that is both diagnostic testing and anabolic testing and we are still a way

to getting fair and we have testing and we are still on our way to getting there and we have great concerns about listening these restrictions to early and we do not want to see a rebound in the number of infections. in the us, the testing regime is not where it needs to be at the moment? we are behind and certainly we are improving but we still need to be able to make sure that the diagnostic testing is getting particularly to the hot spots, those areas that seem to have the most rate of infections, the most hospitalisations and unfortunately and tragically most deaths. we are still a way of getting our anabolic testing up. rfda has made some emergency

use authorization but we still need to test those and make sure that those anabolic tests are both sensitive and specific so we believe we have still have a ways to go to get our testing infrastructure in place. at least 6 people are now known to have died after a series of tornadoes ripped through several southern us states, leaving a trail of destruction behind them. rich preston has this report. in southern 0klahoma, near to the state border with texas, this terrifying sight. at least two people were killed as tornadoes swept through marshall county. wait, is that one for real? in texas itself, a trail of destruction in poke county, about 70 miles north of houston. came back here and my home's not there. this is my second worst storm that went through. i mean, my first one

i didnt lose everything. but this one i lost everything i worked for. i woke up this morning thinking it was all a bad dream but it really wasn't. it came in so quick all you heard was the woo—woo—woo and saw a big debris field and knew it was coming. it kind of disturbed for a second and reformed and came right back down. very scary. thousands across texas and oklahoma were left without power. dozens were injured. emergency crews working round—the—clock in search of survivors. weeks of extreme weather have killed more than 20 people across four southern us states. rich preston, bbc news. there's been violent unrest in venezuela as people broke a strict quarantine in several states to protest against food and petrol shortages. a man was killed and at least six injured during clashes with the police in bolivar state, as hundreds of people looted a local supermarket. in several other states d rivers protested against petrol shortages. venezuela is in its sixth year of hyperinflation and an economic crisis.

stay with us on bbc news. still to come: from heart surgeons to hospital porters — we've a special report on the health workers who've lost their lives to coronavirus. the stars and stripes at half—mast outside columbine high. the school sealed off, the bodies of the dead still inside. i never thought that they would actually go through with it. one of the most successful singer songwriters of all time, the american pop star prince, has died at the age of 57. ijust couldn't believe it, i didn't believe it. he was just here saturday. for millions of americans, the death of richard nixon in a new york hospital

has meant conflicting emotions. a national day of mourning next wednesday sitting somehow uneasily with the abiding memories of the shame of watergate. mission control: and lift-off of the space shuttle discovery with the hubble space telescope, our window on the universe. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: the first human trials of a coronavirus vaccine in europe have started. two uk volunteers were injected in oxford. american lawmakers pass another relief bill worth m80 billion for small businesses and overwhelmed hospitals. australia's lockdown looks to be paying off, with most states reporting either no daily cases or rises in the single—digits. but indigenous leaders remain concerned about how the restrictions are

impacting their communities. many aboriginal australians are already dealing with poor housing and a lack of health facilities. some of the more remote towns are now struggling to get access to fresh food and essential supplies due to the lockdown. dr kris rallah—baker is the president of the australian indigenous doctors association. the issues that impact on indigenous australians, particularly what we call the social determinants of health, which you've mentioned, overcrowding within housing and access to means, they, as well as the higher level of chronic disease burden, they're impacting potentially on indigenous communities at a higher rate than non—indigenous in the covid crisis if it was to get into those communities. do you feel that needs to be done? well, there's been a co—ordinated response led by and large by the indigenous peak bodies in australia and the government

has been responsive to that. at the moment, as you mentioned earlier in the bulletin australia has managed to flatten the curve at this point and so we're holding steady at the moment. but, as we are aware, at any time the covid crisis could re—emerge in australia and we're certainly not past it and so our indigenous communities need to remain prepared and vigilant. and how live is the issue of racism, particularly around this issue of coronavirus? so the australian indigenous doctors‘ association, of which i'm president, has had to deal with a number of situations where our members have reported active racism in the system at a local level. impressively, that has been fed up through the appropriate systems and has been addressed, but it's something that we are aware of and that we are certainly acting on when it comes to our attention. just finally and just briefly,

on a human level, i suppose, how scared and how worried are people in those communities? there's a lot of fear in the communities. and the messaging from the peak bodies has been to be aware but not alarmed. but, of course, it is a difficult situation. a lot of aboriginal and torres strait islander people in this country are fearful of the mainstream medical system and hospitals themselves for historic reasons. and so there's not only a fear of the system, but a fear of the virus too. so there is a lot of fear but we are trying to, as best we can, get clear messaging out there and assure people that if they follow the guidelines then they'll be best protected. 0ur our thanks to dr kris rallah—baker there. as many people prepare for social restrictions to remain in place for the rest of the year, there's one country taking the opposite route. all eyes are on sweden, which has decided to have no lockdown at all except for

the most vulnerable. so while life in sweden still looks relatively normal compared to most other countries in europe, are swedes playing the smart long game, or are they simply courting disaster? gabriel gatehouse has been there to find out. stock con feels like a parallel universe, where life, as we all once knew it, continues as if unchanged —— stockholm. once knew it, continues as if unchanged — — stockholmlj once knew it, continues as if unchanged -- stockholm. i think there has been a huge overreaction in most countries around the globe. they're doing the wrong thing. that's what i think. they should be doing more like sweden does. government advice is this: keep your distance, and if you feel sick stay—at—home. the priority, to protect the elderly and the vulnerable. but otherwise the swedes are free to do almost all the normal things that, to an outsider, now feel dangerous. trust is at the heart of the swedish strategy. social distancing

measures are requested, not dictated, and in return most citizens, more than 75%, according to a recent poll, have faith in the authorities' approach. i think to a great pa rt approach. i think to a great part we have been able to achieve what we set out to achieve. i mean, swedish healthcare keeps on working, basically with a lot of stress, but not in the way that they turn patients away. what has not worked out very well is our death toll. and that's very much, i mean, is partly due to the strategy, but not really very much. it's mainly to do with our elderly, our homes for elderly have not been able to keep the disease out. today the public health agency estimated that by the end of the month a quarter of the capital's residents may have been infected with covid—i9. progress towards herd immunity? perhaps. but the truth is, no—one knows the real numbers. i've spoken to a doctor who

works with covid patients at a hospital here. he didn't want to appear on camera, but he told me "i'm afraid". he said there is only things we don't know about this virus, why are they taking this risk? they are gambling with people's lives, he said, and they are gambling with the lives of those who are trying to save lives. compared to sweden's neighbours, the numbers don't look good. deaths from covid here are three times higher than in denmark and six times those of norway and finland. those countries have imposed strict lockdowns. finland. those countries have imposed strict lockdownslj think is too early, also, to say is lockdown good or bad. because many countries are now having a discussion within the political sector, but also in the whole society, should we lift the restrictions, in what way, what will happen? that is not the debate in sweden. and it's not something the government is preparing for. we're not lifting any restrictions the moment. if

lockdown is a treatment that is being trialled globally, then sweden is the control group. this is not about going out and getting your hair done or meeting your mates down the pub. this is about whether the course the rest of the world is ona course the rest of the world is on a sustainable or even beneficial in the long—term.” don't think we will have more. come back in one year and i think we will have the same proportion of deaths. this is a hunch? it's likely. it will be sometime before we find whether this hunch is proved right. for now it does feel like a big gamble. here in the uk, more than 100 health workers — from heart surgeons to nurses, porters, and volunteers — have now lost their lives to coronavirus. they came from across the country, from both the national health service and the private sector — that's according to bbc analysis, which also showed nearly two thirds were from black or ethnic minority backgrounds. our special correspondent

allan little reports. they have known from the start that they would be more exposed to the danger than most of us. their vocation places them in harm's way for our benefit. sadeq elhowsh was 58, an orthopaedic surgeon from st helens. a husband and father of four. you can see the esteem and affection in which he was held in the quiet poignancy of this moment. applause. it's family to me. it's a big loss for me and a big loss for the trust, a big loss for his family. it will be very difficult for me as well, because in every corner of the hospital we have a memory. it is striking how many health care workers who have died are from black and minority ethnic communities, or are themselves immigrants.

josephine peter, who was 55 and from west london, was an agency nurse. she grew up in apartheid south africa. she was planning to go back there to be near her grown—up children. her husband said "she was my heroine". khulisani nkala, who was a6, was a mental health nurse in yorkshire. 0ne colleague said he was a man of integrity, honour and wit with an astounding ability to put people at ease in difficult situations. sophie fagan came to britain from india to train as a nurse nearly 60 years ago. latterly she ran a carers' support network at a hospital in hackney. she was 78, but refused to retire. my mum was all for the nhs, that's all she knew. she didn't want to retire. she wouldn't. she said to me a little time ago that if she retired, that would be it for her, so she wanted to keep going and keep going and that is what she loved. she loved doing it. she was an absolute gem, a diamond. if you ever met sophie, everyone would fall

in love with her. kirstyjones was a healthcare support worker from lanarkshire and a mother of two. she was 41. her husband said she was a constant source of happiness who devoted her life to caring for others. julie penfold was 53 and had four children and two stepchildren. she was a nurse in merseyside. she had also fostered more than 20 children. "she was always checking on other people," her husband said. "i was really proud of her." barbara sage was a marie curie nurse. she had begun as an ambulance driver at the age of 18, then worked in palliative care for a0 years, and was still working at 68. her daughter said something that surely applies to all of them — that she was a very warm person, dedicated to caring for people. "i guess you have to be like that in their line of work, don't you?" allan little, bbc news.

that is it from me for this hour. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @lvaughanjones. this is bbc news. bye—bye. hello there. many places across the uk had gin clear skies from dawn till dusk on thursday. in actualfact, parts of the south—east saw highs of 2a degrees, 75 fahrenheit, and it's probably going to be the warmest day this week. a slightly different story, however, coming in across eastern england, with a breeze from the north sea and a little more cloud here, temperatures struggled at around ten or 11 degrees. now, we start our day on friday with some cloud across parts of eastern england, stretching in as far as the east midlands, maybe. but as we go through the day they should melt away, dry, settled, and sunny for many. just an outside chance later on in the afternoon for an isolated shower, perhaps across the south—west. but we should see temperatures peaking at 22 degrees, you might see 20 degrees into western scotland as well. now as we go through the evening we keep clear skies for most. the risk of an isolated shower across higher ground of south wales and south—west england

continues, but as we go into the weekend it looks likely to stay largely fine and dry. it will be just that little bit cooler and we increase the risk of some showers as we go through the second half of the weekend. but we start off on saturday with very, very open isobars, light winds across the country. this little fellow here might just introduce some more cloud and eventually the risk of further showers. so as we go through the day on saturday we could have, again, a little more cloud to start with along that east coast. that melts away. lots of sunshine coming through. cloud thickens into the far north—west but saturday should stay dry and pleasantly warm out there with highs of 9—21 degrees. now as we move out of saturday into sunday, that weather front will just creep towards the north—west of scotland and enhance the risk of some showers as we go through the day. so a slow and subtle change of the story for the second half of the weekend.

so the potential for some showers and cooler fields may develop as the winds swing round to a northerly. though showers may creep into north—west england and north wales by the end of the day on sunday. but ahead of it stays pleasantly warm with 22 degrees, behind it somewhat cooler conditions, 10—14 in the far north of scotland. but the dry story is set to continue for the remainder of april, as you can see, dry, settled, and sunny, butjust that little bit cooler right across the country. take care.

this is bbc news, the headlines: the first human trials of a coronavirus vaccine in europe have begun. hundreds of volunteers will get the vaccine — two of them were injected on thursday in oxford. scientists say they are already working with manufacturers to produce millions of doses later this year. american lawmakers have passed another relief bill worth m80 billion for small businesses and overwhelmed hospitals. as new figures put the jobless total at 26.5 million, it's hoped employers will be encouraged to keep staff on their payroll. at least 6 people are now known to have died after a series of tornadoes ripped through several southern us states, leaving a trail of destruction behind them. homes were damaged and thousands were left without power. most americans are under stay—at—home orders due to the ongoing pandemic.