lizo mzimba, bbc news. that is our earworm for the rest of the day, isn't it? time for a look at the weather. here's tomasz schafernaker good afternoon. pretty cheerful on the weather front for the rest of the weather front for the rest of the day, good to know if you are p°ppin9 the day, good to know if you are popping out for the rest of the day. the fine weather will stay fine as we go through the course of the weekend, plenty of warmth and further sunny spells on the way. you can see the sunshine right across the country, little bit hazy in one or two areas across parts of northern ireland and scotland and maybe some coastal areas just off the coast of devon and cornwall but on the whole, it's a fine afternoon. these are the temperatures, low maybe even mid 20s, possibly 2a in

the south—east, closer to 17, that's the south—east, closer to 17, that's the sort of average we will have today, the sun very strong out there. remember you can easily burn with this level of ultraviolet light that we have at this time of year. tonight, turning a little bit cloudy across eastern areas, temperatures dipping down to three degrees in some northern spots, in the south a little bit milder. tomorrow, the possibility of one or two showers spreading out across parts of wales in the south—west, there's even a risk of that happening today. tomorrow, certainly across the hills of wales, just that risk but for the vast majority of the country it's another fine day, glorious sunshine, may be peppered with clouds in the sky. a little bit of a change in the wait for sunday, this week, cold front coming in from the north, introducing slightly fresher air into northern parts of the uk. that means here it will start to cool a little bit across scotland, northern ireland and the north of england. maybe more cloud, possibility of a shower at their boat in the south,

staying warm and sunny and sunday with temperatures up to 22, big contrast, you can see only 13 in the lowla nds contrast, you can see only 13 in the lowlands of scotland. that cooler north wind will continue into monday, tuesday and wednesday, you can see colder air coming from the norwegian sea, pushing warmer air to the south. that means a mandate we are the south. that means a mandate we a re left the south. that means a mandate we are left with still some warmth across southern parts of the country, easily getting up into the low 20s. but i think across much of the country, we are talking in the range of 13—17d. that cooler trend continuing into next week. you can see london, temperatures dipping to around 16 degrees. i think maybe by the end of april, we will get some of those april showers that we have recently been missing. back to you. thank you. a reminder of our top story. the government website for key workers in england to request a coronavirus test has stopped taking bookings — just hours after it was launched.

it was very easy to log on and register. itjust said that you would then receive a text which would take a few minutes but it might take a little bit longer if it's busy. and i've still not had a text yet, so i'm assuming they're very busy. that's all from the bbc news at one — from the team for this week. on bbc one we nowjoin our news teams where you are. have a good afternoon. goodbye. good afternoon, it's 1:30pm, and here's your latest sports news. all cricket across england and wales has been further postponed untiljuly 1st at the earliest. it means england's home test series against the west indies has been put back, with a decision over following visits from australia, pakistan and ireland yet to be made.

england women's limited—overs series against india injune is also off for now. nine rounds of matches across the county championship have been cancelled, but there is still a window for the season, which was due to start on 12th april. meanwhile, the t20 blast competition will be pushed back from may 28th, and no decision has been made on the inaugral season of the hundred, which was due to begin onjuly the 17th. i think we are starting to get very co mforta ble i think we are starting to get very comfortable with the idea that there will not be crowds this year. comfortable with the idea that there will not be crowds this yeahm there is no cricket this summer, we are planning for that, because that is prudent financial planning. but it would be a great shame. having said all of that, of course it is a possibility. we desperately hope, with every sinew, that that is not what happens. but it remains obviously, possible. well, could we see county matches take place in the uae?

the country has one of the lowest death rates in the world and has offered to hold matches in abu dhabi. obviously, there's a significant cost to ship 18 counties to one location and to play a tournament out that way. but if that's the only option, and i would say that the abu dhabi option will probably only be looked at if there is no possibility of playing in this country, then you've got to be creative. an interesting proposition to follow cricket. england women's manager phil neville says there is "plenty to work on" after confirming he'll leave the role at the end of his contract, that's nextjuly. it hasn't been decided if neville will still take charge of team gb at the olympic games. that was due to be before the women's euros in 2021, but both have been put back a year due to covid—19. the fa said they wanted the same coach to lead england at the euros and 2023 world cup. investment banker gary hoffman is the new chairman of the premier league.

hoffman has held positions with northern rock, barclays and visa, and is currently chairman of the coventry building society and monzo bank. horse racing has been suspended since the 17th of march due to the pandemic but could return next month behind closed doors with a maximum of 12 runners. the proposals allow only senior jockeys to race in an attempt to reduce the risk of injury and put little demand on the nhs. plans would need government backing with the sports' leaders hopeful. royal ascot will take place injune along with the first two classics of the season, the 1000 and 2000 guineas. now to the nfl draft, one of the biggest events in the us sporting calendar. normally hundreds of thousands of fans attend the event, but this year there were none, as the 32 american football teams picked college players via video link. the first pick was quarterbackjoe burrow to the cincinnati bengals, and here's how he found out. hello?

we're going to turn the card, make you the number one pick and make you a cincinnati bengal. appreciate that, coach. ready to go. excited about it. pretty low— key for pretty low—key for the biggest news of your career, isn't it? and before we go, we of course know there will be no tennis grass court season due to the pandemic. well, groundskeepers at wimbledon have done something special to one of their courts, drawing out nhs by hand and painting it into the ground in tribute to the countries health workers. i'll have more for you in the next hour. thanks so much for reminding me about the lack of tennis, it is hard enough as it is! katherine downes with the latest sports news, more from her in the next hour. you are watching bbc news, i amjane hill, we will stay with any coronavirus developments over the course of the afternoon for you, of course.

the first minister of wales says lockdown measures there could begin to ease at the end of the current three—week period. mark drakeford stressed a decline in hospital admissions would need to continue in order for some restrictions to be lifted in early may. he also said there was a "long road ahead" to recovery from the pandemic. i want to speak today to share the framework that the welsh government has to start lifting the stay restrictions carefully, cautiously, and with public health protection a lwa ys and with public health protection always at the forefront of our thinking. coronavirus is a new disease, and as it has moved quickly around the world, we have learned more about it, but there is still a lot to learn. over the last two months, our approach has been one of lockdown. we have taken unprecedented steps to protect

everyone, but particularly those most at risk from serious illness. this approach has helped the nhs prepare and cope with the virus, and even though we have, sadly, seen a growing number of people die, it has helped to save many more lives. and this afternoon, as ever, i wanted to acknowledge the loss that all these families are experiencing, from those who lost family members at the start of the outbreak to those who are facing that same experience today. now, the strategy that we have followed does come with its own costs to people's health and well—being, and to our economy. but the efforts everyone in wales has made over the last five weeks have had a positive impact on the course of the disease. and i want to thank everyone

once again for all their ongoing help and support. today we are making some small changes in wales to the coronavirus regulations following the first three—week review. some areas of the regulations are being strengthened, and others are being eased. but i want to be completely clear, the overarching stay at home regulations remain in place, even as we look to the future. and that future is at the heart of the framework that is being published today. it sets out how we will determine when the time is right to begin the process of relaxing the stay at home regulations. now, we have worked closely with governments across the united kingdom throughout the pandemic, and i want this to continue. publishing the framework is part of our contribution to that work. the framework sets out

a three—stage process. it sets out how we will know when the time is right to begin safely to ease the restrictions. for example, when hospital admissions have fallen for a sustained period. it then sets out the seven questions we will use when we consider each option for relaxing restrictions. would easing the restriction have a negative effect on containing the virus? does a particular measure pose a low risk of further infection? how can it be monitored and enforced ? can it be reversed quickly if it creates unintended consequences? does it have a positive economic benefit? impact on people's well—being ? and, importantly, does it have a positive impact on equality?

now, as the restrictions are lifted, whenever that comes, it is inevitable that the virus will begin to circulate again. that is why the third part of our framework focuses on the public health response we will need to monitor and to respond to the position on the ground. now, there is a long road still ahead of us towards recovery to pre—pandemic levels. that will not happen until an effective treatment and a vaccine are in place. in the meantime, the framework we are publishing shows how the start of the journey can be identified and navigated, as we work together to address the health and economic crisis caused in all our lives by coronavirus.

the number of people reported to have died in scotland after testing positive for coronavirus is now 1,184 — an increase of 64 since yesterday. there's been a rise of 288 in the number of confirmed cases, bringing the total to nearly 9700. but there are fewer people in hospital and in intensive care. nicola sturgeon said that was a cause for optimism, but that easing the lockdown would take "baby steps". this publication is an attempt to have a grown—up conversation with the scottish public. we want to be really frank with you every step of the way about the complexities and uncertainties of the decisions that lie ahead. we need to be clear now that lockdown remains essential for reasons i mentioned a moment ago. even as we are able to start to ease some of these restrictions,

we are going to have to do so very carefully, very cautiously, probably very slowly and gradually. we are going to have to take what i described this morning as baby steps in doing this. we have to try to seek a new normal because how we are living our lives right now has consequences and cannot go on forever. but we have to recognise the virus has not gone away. there will be changes in how we live our lives which will be necessary for some time to come before science in the form of treatment and vaccine offer new solutions to us. this really is about all of us, because it will impact on the lives of each and every one of us. that is why it is important that everybody feels part of this process. it is important for me as first minister, in contrast to the certainties politicians usually like to express, that i can also be frank with you about the uncertainties and complexities of the decisions that lie ahead.

those decisions will make demands on us all and the lives that we lead, and i want the process to be as open as possible. the paper we published yesterday that so many of you have taken the opportunity to read is the start of that process. as i said yesterday, in the days and weeks ahead, we will set out much more detail on the different options we will consider and the modelling and scientific advice that underpins and informs those decisions. as we develop and assess those options, we will continue to engage as widely as possible across different sectors and groups of society. lastly, i want to reemphasise an important point. it is one i made yesterday, and one i made already in my remarks to you today. moving on from where we are now will be possible only if and only when we get the virus under control and we have more confidence that that is the case. it remains absolutely vital

that all of us continue to comply with public health guidance and rules that are in place. to reiterate, that means staying at home unless you're going out for essential purposes like exercise once a day or buying food and medicines. it means if you do go out, don'tt meet up with people from other households and please stay two metres apart from other people. it means washing your hands regularly and thoroughly. by following these rules, we can continue, as we are doing right now, to slow the spread of the virus and we can hasten the day when we return, if not to complete normality in the foreseeable future, at least to some semblance of normality in our everyday lives. nicola sturgeon speak this lunchtime. a reminder of the headlines. the government website for millions of essential workers to request a coronavirus test has stopped taking bookings hours after it was launched. the world's biggest disinfectant manufacturer says their products should never be injected

into the body after president trump suggests it could be a way to treat covid—19. the high street sees its biggest drop in retail sales since records began — down by more than 5% because of the coronavirus lockdown. for decades, there had been thought

the pandemic jumps from for decades, there had been thought the pandemicjumps from animals to humans. the more we interact with these wildlife species which we haven't historically done so, the morals of the dice we are throwing. the more greater opportunity there is for a pathogen to then jump into a human. injanuary, researchers publish the genetic code of coronavirus. it shows a close match toa coronavirus. it shows a close match to a disease found in horseshoe bats in western china. they fly and roost in huge numbers so easily spread disease. but the level in their body is low, which is why it is thought this or another animal may have caught it and passed on to humans. the virus has gone through an intermediate host, it is quite likely to change in some weights which may enable it to be easierfor it to infect a human being. how then would that virus had spread to wuhan, huge city of 11 million people? the first suspect was this place, a live animal market at the

first 41 hospital patients in wuhan, 48 had a connection with this place. some of the virus spread into humans quite rapidly, quite efficiently. but is not clear—cut, even though there is evidence the animal market spread the disease. 13 of those first 41 patients had no link to the place. one theory is that sars covid two is of two combining. it may be the ancestor of the current coronavirus was in fact two viruses that recombined in an animal host. it is an incredibly efficient way of gaining new characteristics, new biological behaviours. the genetic make—up of the virus makes it very unlikely it was engineered deliberately by man, but there have

still been persistent rumours it could have escaped from a laboratory accidentally. does that correspond with what you have heard from officials? i don't want to say that, john butt i will tell you, more and more we are hearing the story. the centre of the claims of this institution 30 minute drive away from the market. the scientist in charge has had any accidental leak is impossible and the us military has said it is more likely the virus will spread naturally. all these rumours about how the virus started, how much of that is going to concern the chinese authorities?” how much of that is going to concern the chinese authorities? i think it is important for beijing to manage it very carefully. china has two protected image and coronavirus, now given its development clearly concerns china's honour and dignity from their perspective. in china itself, that question of where this virus came from is a sensitive one. this month, scientists

there were told any studies about its origin must first be cleared by the government. controlling information about how the virus started and why, the chinese government was then in a position to do something quicker becomes very important, and for a one—party system, this means everything. but this is about more than just politics, it's about our future. scientists agree that we must better understand the origins of this virus to better protect ourselves from the next global pandemic. in england, up to ten million key workers and their households can now book a coronavirus test online or through their employer. it's part of the uk government's plans for all essential workers in england to registerfor tests if they or a member of their family have symptoms of the virus. figures from yesterday showed thatjust over 23,000 coronavirus tests were carried out in the preceding 2a hours — up slightly from wednesday's number.

the uk government says it wants to carry out 100,000 coronavirus tests a day by the end of april. transport workers, including freight operators, are designated as key workers. rod mckenzie is managing director of the road haulage association. good afternoon. good afternoon, jane. is going to be of help to you, assuming that your people can eventually get online and book a test? i think the principle is a really important one, and it is great that testing is available for transport workers. it is absolutely vital that we know who is fit and who should be at work and who can't work for very good reasons, and the more we can stop, as it were,

unnecessary self—isolation, that is helpful for all of us, because the goods that we get in supermarkets are driven, obviously, by lorry drivers, and it is really important that they are fit and that we know that they are fit and that we know that they are fit and that we know that they are fit so they can do their vital work of moving things around. what sort of percentage of drivers have you had off since the pandemic took hold? well, there are men tens of thousands of lorry drivers in the country, it is not possible to keep accurate track of everyone, but the last time we were able to do, as it were, a dipstick survey, it seems to be somewhere around 5% of illness. but, of course, in some firms it may well be much higher, and that would affect their ability to deliver goods. i think one of the things that struck me today, looking at their website, which has now obviously crushed, is that it wasn't easy to follow, and i

think that is a real difficulty, and it has marked out the government communications throughout all the testing and other ventures. it is simply not easy enough to follow to know what you have to do when and where you can get the test. so they need to work harder on that, as well as obviously fixing the website, which we understand has now crashed. yes, i believe you get a message saying please try again later, they are going to be releasing more slots, but that is what it is saying at the moment, certainly the last time we checked it. you reference, of course, the importance of your industry and in particular moving food around the country, obviously vitally important to try to keep supermarkets and other shops stocked. do you feel that your industry has had the right government support, if i can put it that way? have you had everything you have needed to try to keep going

to the best of your ability? while some of the haulage industry is very busy supplying food and medicines, others are clearly struggling, because if you are a company that supplies the high street, pubs, clothing shops, you are clearly not working at the moment, and we have a very integrated supply chain. most of the businesses working in logistics are small operators, and their cash flow reserves are very low. so if they haven't been working ha rd low. so if they haven't been working hard because they are not involved in the food supply chain, they are looking down the barrel of going bust, and it is a very serious position for those hauliers, and we certainly need more government help to keep them going, because when the economy restarts, we need those hauliers to be able to move the things to make sure the economy picks up and we don't have an even worse downturn. all right, thank you

very much, rod mckenzie, managing director of the road haulage association. all coming up from two, we will look at the weather now with tomasz schafernaker. hello. the fine april weather is going to continue into the weekend. i know most of us are at home but at least it's good to know that the weather is going to hold if we pop out briefly for exercise, a walk or maybe a quick nip to the shop for essentials. this is what it looks like on the satellite image, you can see across much of england, wales and scotland it's a clear blue skies. a little bit more cloud though across parts of ireland through the course of the day. now these are the temperatures late afternoon, still into the low 20s across the south and the south east, even nudging up high teens and 20 degrees in the lowlands of scotland. tonight, the skies are going to clear, it is going to be quite nippy and by the time the day ends we could have one or two showers across the south—west of the uk. these are the temperatures early on saturday morning. so nippy in some spots, three degrees but milder air in the south—west —

around 10 celsius. and tomorrow we do it all over again, at least most of us, another fine, warm day but there will be a little bit more cloud across eastern areas and again a chance of catching one or two showers there. not a big chance because most of us are at home still but across wales and the south west it mightjust sort of go over your house and give the garden a little watering. as we go through the course of sunday, a weak low pressure with a weather front moves across the north of the country, so that mean slightly fresher air from the north atlantic for scotland and northern ireland. and also the possibility of increasing amounts of cloud, nothing generally speaking across more northern parts of the uk, there is an increasing chance of cloud and some showers. but still a warm day across the south and south east on sunday — 22 degrees. next week, we start to see a shift in the wind direction so the winds start to come in from the norwegian sea, certainly spreading across scotland, much of ireland into northern england as well.

this is a cool front here which will bring down the temperatures a little bit for some of our northern cities. i think down by a few degrees, at least for places like newcastle by the time we get to monday, down to maybe 12 celsius. still holding onto some of that warmth in the south. however, clouds are lurking and actually into tuesday and wednesday, we are expecting more cloud across the uk and a chance of some showers. bye— bye.

this is bbc news, the headlines: the government website for key workers in england to request a coronavirus test stops taking bookings — just hours after launching — because the system isn't coping with demand. it was very easy to log on and register, itjust said that you would then receive a text which would take a few minutes but it might take a little bit longer if it's busy. and i've still not had a text yet so i'm assuming that they're very busy. the biggest drop in retail sales since records began — down by more than 5% because of the coronavirus lockdown. exactly one month since the lockdown began, there are concerns that people are no longer following the rules. medical experts criticise president trump, after he suggests