this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. a sombre milestone, as the number of people dying with coronavirus in uk hospitals passes 20,000. it's increased by 813 in 2a hours. for the nation in particular, this isa for the nation in particular, this is a deeply tragic and moving moment. all our thoughts and sympathies are with those individuals who have lost family members through this horrendous and absolutely appalling virus. coronavirus tests for uk key workers through the government website were booked up within an hour of it reopening today. the world health organization warns that people who have recovered from coronavirus may not be protected from reinfection. countries around europe pursue

options to end the lockdown — belgium sets out a detailed plan to relax restrictions. and — we can't go to the zoo at the moment but we've got the next best thing — a virtual tour round edinburgh zoo — courtesy of it's keepers. the number of people known to have died from coronavirus in the uk has now passed 20,000. britain's home secretary priti patel says the entire nation is grieving after passing a tragic and terrible milestone. but the figure — 20,319 people — doesn't include deaths in care homes or the community in england and northern ireland.

the latest figures showed another 813 deaths were registered across the united kingdom. the home secretary said the current restrictions were likely to remain in place for now, and that it was essential people followed the guidelines on social distancing. britain is only one of five countries to have passed above 20,000 deaths from the virus, behind the united states, italy, spain and france. it comes as the world health 0rganization says people who have recovered may not be protected against reinfection, and warned against so—called immunity passports to allow people to travel or return to work. but while the government—imposed lockdowns continue around the world. some countries — particularly in europe — are considering easing the restrictions. our first report takes a closer look at the number of deaths in the uk — where the government was told last month by senior scientific and medical advisers, that keeping the number below 20,000 would be a "good outcome". here's our health correspondent lauren moss. it is a devastating milestone no

one wanted to reach. more than 20,000 people have now died with covid—19. these are deaths recorded in hospitals. the number who have lost their lives in the community including care homes is not yet known. but it's likely to increase. as the deaths caused by this terrible virus pass another tragic and terrible milestone, the entire nation is grieving. my deepest sympathies and condolences go to those who have lost loved ones and i would like to pay tribute to the selfless front line workers who have been struck down by this virus. 0n the 28th of march, professor powis, you said "we will have done very well if fewer than 20,000 people died during this epidemic. " we have sadly passed that number now. does that mean the strategy should have been different? this, unfortunately, is not going to be something that we will get over in the next few weeks.

this is something we are going to continue to have to work our way through over the months ahead. as i have said before, this is not a sprint, this is a marathon in dealing with this virus. test, track and trace are key strategies to tackle the virus. the drive to check key workers with symptoms continued today and there is a big demand. within a couple of hours of the government's booking website opening, slots had been quickly snapped up once again. when we looked earlier, home test kits were unavailable within 15 minutes, and all drive—through sites in england, wales and northern ireland were booked up by 10am. the cough is not as bad as it was. at one point i was coughing nearly all the time... mandy works in a supermarket. she's been unwell since monday, she has got an appointment but the test centre she has been allocated is 19 miles away and she can't get there. ijust don't understand why, when i know there are test centres closer to me,

why they are not on the list of options for me to go to? more than 28,000 tests were done in the last 2a hours. the government is committed to carrying out 100,000 a day by thursday. next week will be our fifth in lockdown but any possibility of it being relaxed has been dismissed. we know that people are frustrated but we are not out of danger yet. it is imperative that people continue to follow the rules, designed to protect their families, theirfriends and loved ones. the uk will continue to find a way through this pandemic, as a nation grieves those who have been lost. lauren moss, bbc news. let's talk to our political correspondent ian watson. the correspondent ian watson. home secretary leading press the home secretary leading the daily press c0 nfe re nce the home secretary leading the daily press conference today as we pass this very sobering point with more than 20,000 hospitalised s. this very sobering point with more than 20,000 hospitalised 5. that's right. a sad and tragic day. we now

know there are more than 20,000 grieving families, people who have lost loved ones who have died in hospital of the coronavirus. although that is a personal tragedy for all of this family is concerned, it has also became something —— become something of a grim benchmark figure. several government scientific adviser said last month that we would be doing well if we could keep the numbers beneath 20,000. that has now, of course, been surpassed. it is no surprise that priti patel at the government's press c0 nfe re nce was that priti patel at the government's press conference was stressing the need to maintain social distancing measures. she gave no indication of an early end to lock down. that message was aimed at all the buzz but also some people in her own party who privately were meeting in westminster last week and were getting a little bit concerned about the effect of the rejections on the economy, because they see other

countries now, germany, denmark, tentatively, cautiously beginning to open up. today in belgium, very detailed plans about how they might open up next month. some of these mps want to put some pressure on their own government to think through how that would happen here as well. philip hammond, the chancellor very publicly said on the bbc today that effectively the rejections would have to be is a vaccine, otherwise the economy could become the biggest casualty of the pandemic. there is pressure on boris johnson when he returns to work to have some kind of rethink. that is not to say that some kind of work is not to say that some kind of work is not going on behind the scenes about how they will use these restrictions in due course. more detailed plans are to be outlined by the devolved administrations and labour are pushing very strongly for the government at westminster to come out with more detailed plans to. given today's grand 0ettl, more than 20,000, not only would it be seen as

inappropriate —— grand 0ettl —— inappropriate —— grand 0ettl —— inappropriate to make those announcements today. government—imposed lockdowns continue around the world as the pandemic shows few signs of slowing. tens of millions of people are having to stay at home and businesses have been told to shut their doors. some countries, however — particularly in europe — are considering easing the restrictions. from berlin, damien mcguinness reports. for the past six weeks, a quickjog in the park has been one of the few ways people in belgium could leave the house. apart from exercise and essential work and shopping, they have been confined to their homes. belgium has suffered the highest per capita death rate in the world from coronavirus, almost 7,000 deaths so far. but, infection and death rate appears to be slowing. so, the government has now announced a three stage plan to ease the lockdown.

in may, most shops will re—open, then a week later children will start going back to school. but, to minimise the risk of another wave of infections, new rules will be introduced. translation: wearing an item of protection that covers both the mouth and the nose will be compulsory when taking public transport starting may the 4th, for travellers aged 12 and over. spain is also starting to ease restrictions. on sunday, children will be allowed to be out for the first time in more than a month, despite a death toll in spain of more than 22,000. there have been worries about the physical and psychological harm for children cooped up in small flats. so, pressure has been growing to exit the lockdown. translation: despite these measures which will alleviate the current situation for the population, we have to avoid excessive euphoria, because we must maintain collective responsibility in order to stop and control this epidemic.

italians are also hoping that some of the toughest measures can be lifted. as the country celebrates the anniversary of the defeat of the nazis in world war ii, there are hopes that the government may announce a plan for lifting restrictions in may. and in germany, where small shops opened again this week, there are rows about which sectors are being allowed to go back to work. larger shops, cafe and restaurants say it is unfair, they can't reopen. in some ways, leaving the lockdown is proving harder and more divisive than implementing it was. and angela merkel has warned against easing restrictions too quickly. translation: nobody likes to hear it but it is the truth. we are not living in the final phase of the pandemic, we are still at its beginning. we will have to live with this virus for a long time. that is the big dilemma facing all european countries. how to get the economy

going again without sparking another wave of infections. damien mcguinness, bbc news, berlin. the world health organization has warned against countries trying to use what have become known as ‘immunity passports' to enable people who've recovered from the coronavirus to return to work or travel. the who says there's currently no evidence that antibodies protect survivors from a second infection. teams of scientists around the world are currently working on vaccines which it's hoped will produce coronavirus antibodies. earlier i spoke to our correspondent in geneva imogen foulkes about the warning. i think the world health organization has been murmuring about this for but today gave his official advice. countries thinking official advice. countries thinking of issuing people with immunity passports or so—called risk—free certificates really need to think again. because while the current, and there is a wild variety of them,

the tests show a bit on the breadth of the spread of the virus in the population. they are new test, not entirely reliable. sometimes they come up with false negatives. sometimes they show somebody has had a coronavirus, but not necessarily this one. the common cold is also a coronavirus. most important of all, and this is really key, there is no evidence so far that having had covid—19 once means you are immune to it forever, or even temporarily. that means you could get it again, that means you can spread it again, and that means an immunity passports, really, at the moment anyway, wouldn't be worth the paper it was printed on. insurance companies are warning that the coronavirus pandemic is likely to be the most expensive event in their history — with pay—outs totalling £1.2 billion.

the government says it's encouraging insurers to do all they can to support struggling firms. here's our business correspondent katie prescott. not quite business as usual but both staff and customers are back at this sandwich chain in central london with a reduced service on offer. but most companies still have their doors firmly shut. this clinic had bought insurance cover known as business interruption insurance to pay out if they ever had to stop trading, but like many others their claim for closure was rejected. it's a bit galling to realise that over the years we've spent over £10,000 in insurance which was not valid, and when we finally came to claim, we were told we can't. i think all businesses thought they'd inoculated themselves by buying this insurance, and they have found that this financial vaccine does not work. sonia's now empty clinic. she had a business interruption policy which covered closure due to human contagion. her insurer is disputing her claim as coronavirus was not directly on her premises.

we've paid our premium, always paid it on time, have done the right thing. there's a clause in that document, which is, in my view, really clear. i think we're going to close. without that payment, we can't continue. the bbc has been inundated with e—mails from business owners like sonia, who feel unfairly treated by their insurers. the treasury select committee of mps and the financial watchdogs are all looking at this issue. but insurers argue that to make this sort of cover widely available and affordable for people would require government subsidies, given the scale of the unprecedented disruption it's caused. most business interruption policies that most businesses have, up and down the country, are very much designed to protect them from standard things like fire and flood. they're not designed to cover and weren't priced either to cover for a global pandemic. many believe the coronavirus outbreak has exposed

poor insurance products, unclear and ambiguous policies. we have to distinguish between the moraljustice of the issue and the legalities. the legalities will need to be decided on the wording of each individual policy in the form of the financial services ombudsman, or the court, but i think the moral justice of the issue is very clear. insurance pay—outs for floods are already covered by a government—backed fund, which all insurers contribute to, and there's speculation that another such scheme could be created for pandemics, but that won't help those who are looking for pay—outs today. katie prescott, bbc news. malcolm tarling is from the association of british insurers. thanks forjoining us. give us a flavour, if you would, of the kind of claims insurers are currently paying out for, because it's not just businesses, is it? no, it's not. this is an initial estimate. we don't know when lockdown is going to

end. it is going to go on for several more months potentially. insurers estimate they will be paying out around £1.2 billion in claims and that is going to be split between roughly £900 million business interaction to help struggling businesses get back on their feet. around 275 million struggling businesses get back on theirfeet. around 275 million per for travellers who have had their travel plan strewn by covid—19. 25 million spread across cancel school trips, weddings and so forth. it is a significant pay—out for the insurance industry. we are acutely aware that it is notjust a significant pay—out, it is also very worrying and very stressful time for all customers. insurers are really lenient to this, trying to do everything they possibly can to support people at this very difficult time. but that is part of the problem, isn't it? there are people saying they thought they had copper and now they're insurers are quibbling, not making it easy to

claim. what is the best practice? —— thought they had covered.“ claim. what is the best practice? —— thought they had covered. if you have a valid claim, the church should be paying. we set around £900 million is likely to be better business interaction, so it's not, never has been, never will be a question of ventures quibbling to get out of paying claims, but the sad reality is that very few businesses will covered for covid—19. it is a very specialised type of insurance, and most businesses don't have it. what most businesses don't have it. what most businesses have a want to ensure that they keep is copper against the day—to—day risk they face, like fire, flood and storm —— is cover against this. when we get through this, and we will, we need a debate with government about how we can make pandemic insurance much more widely available and affordable. this is not just widely available and affordable. this is notjust a uk problem, there is no country in the world that is

able to provide pandemic insurance at affordable prices. how likely is it, and that by how much, as it premiums are going to go up, even if you have had a successful claim?m is far too early to speculate on what will happen with premiums. we can even be certain about what the likely causes one to be, because our figures don't take into account claims that are made through the london market, which is mainly looking at the global risks, so the final bill is poly going to be considerably more than our initial estimate. it is to early to talk about premiums. what insurers want to do is make sure valid claims are paid and support customers at this wording time, and then they will be looking at premiums a little down the line. the government is to hold the first of a series of regular meetings with the medical directors

of britain's major sports next week to discuss ways of allowing competition to resume. talks have already been held with officials from the english premier league, which was suspended seven weeks ago with liverpool two wins from claiming the title. the sessions are being viewed as preparatory, to avoid further delays once permission to restart events is granted. now, our bbc reality check team has been investigating some of the most read and shared fake and misleading coronavirus stories on social media. joining me now is our reality check reporterjack goodman. let's start with the orange peel myth. this is an example of a home—made remedy or help make your that was made popular by this particular video, almost 2 million views on tech talk, recommend combining orange peel with a vapour rub with mental and hot water. it

was called a remedy to cure, there is no evidence this will help you if you have covid—19. —— on tiktok. the general advice on hills steam has been quite popular as well. if you wa nt to been quite popular as well. if you want to inhale steam at any sort of temperature, it would be potentially quite damaging. if only it were that simple. another herbal cure has been given official approval by the president of madagascar — but there's also no evidence that its effective? again, the top line from who, no current medicine can prevent or cure coronavirus. this was unveiled last week, marketed as covid—19 organics, sold as a tonic or tea, and has derived mainly —— derived mainly from a plan and dishes to treat malaria. there is no evidence this works. the president said it had been tested and cured two people.

internationally there is no evidence its effectiveness. and there have also been lots of fake facebook posts offering huge cash prizes? yes, thousands of posts offering huge prizes to help people during the outbreak all across the world. lots of them, quite strangely, including completely unrelated videos or photos of dwaynejohnson, otherwise known as the rock. this competition is clearly fake, some of the videos attach got millions of views and we think that it may be pa rt views and we think that it may be part ofan views and we think that it may be part of an e—mail fishing views and we think that it may be part of an e—mailfishing campaign that we have seen quite a few exa m ples of that we have seen quite a few examples of recently. went back to you somebody so well known gives it that air of authenticity, but you do have to do your own due diligence. exactly, i think, have to do your own due diligence. exactly, ithink, you know, when have to do your own due diligence. exactly, i think, you know, when you look at some of the videos, it might be quite obvious that they are

unrelated, the messages don't really talk about coronavirus or a competition at all. you can see in the comment section that some people are leaving their personal details, so if you see some sort of competition like this it's properly best to avoid it or think carefully about it. obviously this is why we have a bbc reality check teams you can check this out on our behalf, but if you buy something that is too good to be true, what is your top tip for investigating yourself? so, reality check and other colleagues at bbc training and monitoring, they are looking at this every day, tips like verify the source, even it is -- if it is like verify the source, even it is —— if it is an organisation you trust, check the source. check to see if it has been reported elsewhere. if it has a right in your inbox or a friend forwarded it to you, see if it is reported by someone that you trust. if ever

there was a time to listen to genuine qualified scientist, it is now. it has had some of the most stringent lockdown restrictions in the world, but from next month, south africa will be easing some of its rules. some businesses and schools are set to reopen — but the country's borders will remain shut, and public gatherings will still be banned. our africa correspondent andrew harding reports. a month under lockdown now, one of the strictest in the world. and a country many feared would quickly be overwhelmed by the virus is proving to be astonishingly successful at holding it at bay. this is very effective and most of the people are wearing masks, most of them are sanitising and most of the people are staying at home. south africa's president hasn't got everything right... ..but as he tours new emergency facilities and prepares to nudge open the economy, you can feel the optimism

growing here. i've been hugely impressed with the level of preparedness. but that confidence comes with a warning. we're going to be reaching a peak somewhere later in august and in september where we will need lots of hospital beds. so, how has south africa kept the nationwide death toll below 100 so far? these nurses hold the answer. tens of thousands of community workers are actively screening millions of people. the advantage of a system already primed to hunt down hiv and tb. send an army of people into the community and do house—to—house surveillance for symptoms, so what that did for us, it put an army on the ground and we went to the most socially vulnerable communities, where this virus was going to most likely spread, that's where we went.

so, some extraordinary early successes here in south africa, but this is going to be a long battle and there are new hotspots emerging all the time and according to the world health organization, the wider continent of africa is still alarmingly ill—prepared for the virus. andrew harding, bbc news. now for a look at some other global developments. health officials in iran have warned there could be new waves of coronavirus infections as the country starts to reopen some businesses. the official death tally now stands at more than 6500, although there are indications that the real figure may be much higher. the french government has set out a package to help air france and the car maker, renault. under the plans the national carrier would receive

$7.5 billion in loans, to save 350,000 jobs. renault could recieve more than five—billion dollars. people in lockdown across australia and new zealand have held vigils at home to mark this year's anzac day in remembrance of their war dead. zoos, like many businesses and attractions, have had to shut their doors to visitors as a result of the lockdown. keepers at edinburgh zoo say they would normally be packed with visitors at this time of the year. but while the penguin parade is on hold, staff at the zoo are making sure the animals are still being cared for during the crisis. lorna gordon reports. the animals of edinburgh zoo. there are over 2,500 animals here. the keepers agreeing to film for us to show how the animals are faring while the gates are closed. so, one of the first things we have to do is check on all our penguins and make sure everybody‘s ok. the famous penguin parade is, for now, no longer happening but the breeding season here has

started, so both the penguins and their keepers have plenty to do. this is one of our breeding nests for our northern rockhoppers this year. so, we are currently at this moment waiting for this chick to hopefully hatch in the next couple of days. the city's zoo would usually get thousands of visitors every day but the lockdown means the pathways here are now deserted. but obviously today we are. ..empty. however, we've still got a panda. the solitary creatures are among the most popular animals here. their adoring audience may have disappeared but it has made no difference to them. social—distancing isn't really a problem for pandas, because they quite like being solitary and he certainly doesn't miss having company. a lot of people worry that if he's on his own, he's lonely. he's not. as long as yang guang has got food, he is perfectly happy. the keepers are always careful around their charges but coronavirus means they are taking even more precautions now. we wear gloves when we're handling any food and things like that

but we have started wearing facemasks all the time. one of the things that could potentially happen is that we could pass coronavirus onto the chimps. as far as i know, there are no known cases of chimpanzees catching coronavirus but they are susceptible to things like the flu, so we really don't want to take that chance. the zoo is a charity so, like other similar organisations, it has worries now its income from visitors has dropped away. its priority, ensuring the animals here receive the best care possible during this crisis. lorna gordon, bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with stav.

some dry and sunny weather around with a cluster of heavy showers. tonight night to stage a... one or two showers here. generally clear skies elsewhere, but low pressure will start to push into the north and west of scotland. that will bring increasing showers here by the end of the night. temperatures for most, down to 3—6d, quite chilly in east anglia under those clear skies with light winds. the pressure chart sunday. it weather from with light winds. the pressure chart sunday. it weatherfrom bringing showers and cooler air too much of scotland, particularly northern half through the day. these will move their way eastwards, could be on the heavy set. for england and wales, although there will be some sunshine, and could see thundery showers through central areas and towards wales. killer in the north with low teen celsius, but —— cooler in the north. starting to import air

down from the arctic. this divide, a band of cloud with showers on it, across scotland a cluster of showers and noticeably cooler, temperatures here 10—13d. as we move out of monday into tuesday, we see low pressure moved up from the south and this could skip significant rainfall, particular to england and wales, perhaps the most significant rainfall of the month so far. some of it can be heavy as it saw moves north. could brighten up across the south into the afternoon. that in turn could spark off some heavy and thundery showers. much of northern ireland and scotland should be dry, cooler in the north elder in the south.