have now died in uk hospitals with coronavirus. the government calls it a tragic and terrible milestone as it reinforces its message to social distance. we've made a great deal of progress but, actually, we're not out of the woods yet. we really are not. and there's a lot more that we can all do as responsible individuals in the way in which we follow these measures. in the last few minutes downing street has announced the prime minister will return to work on monday. also tonight... south africa prepares to ease tough lockdown restrictions as the country records less than 100 deaths from coronavirus. a glimmer of hope for sports fans as officials meet next week to consider ways of competition

resuming in the long—term. and going behind closed doors at edinburgh zoo, we meet the animals and the keepers looking after them during lockdown. good evening. the number of people known to have died with coronavirus in hospital passed 20,000 today, a sombre milestone. it means britain has become the fifth country in the world to register that number of deaths from the illness. in the last 2a hours, 813 people are reported to have died, mostly in hospitals, across the uk. it brings the total uk death toll to 20,319 people — but that figure doesn't include

deaths in care homes or the community in england and northern ireland. at the daily government press conference, the home secretary, priti patel, described the deaths as tragic, but admitted the country isn't out of the woods yet in its fight against coronavirus. here's our health correspondent, lauren moss. it is a devastating milestone no one wanted to reach. in less than two months, more than 20,000 people have died with covid—19. these are deaths recorded mainly in uk hospitals. the number who have lost their lives in the community, including care homes, isn't fully known, but is 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've been struck down

by this virus. 0n the 28th of march, professor powis, you said "we would 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've said before, this is not a sprint, this will be 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's 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 this morning, home test kits were gone after 15 minutes, and drive—through sites were only available

in scotland after 10am. more tests will be available tomorrow. the cough isn't as bad as it was. at one point i was coughing nearly all the time... mandy works in a supermarket in derby. she's been unwell since monday. she has got an appointment but even though she lives near some test centres, she's been allocated one 20 miles away in nottingham and 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's committed to carrying out 100,000 a day by thursday. next week will be our fifth in lockdown and there's no prospect of measures being relaxed. 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, their friends and their loved ones. the uk will continue to find a way through this pandemic

as a nation mourning those it's lost. and laurenjoins me now. these are deeply sad personal tragedies for many families across the uk, but can you put numbers of those who've died into context? the first person the first person to die of covid-19 in the uk first person the first person to die of covid—19 in the uk was on the 5th of covid—19 in the uk was on the 5th of march, and then 3000 had died around the world, but now we know how this has accelerated. this is why social distancing measures are so why social distancing measures are so important and one of the graphs we saw at the press conference demonstrated how it is working. as you can see, overall, in london, the midlands and scotland, new admissions are declining. they are steady in wales and there has been a

slow climb up in northern ireland although the data is not compiled daily so it is not directly comparable with the others, but the health service has not been overwhelmed and in fact aside from covid-19, there overwhelmed and in fact aside from covid—19, there are concerns if fewer people are seeking medical help for other conditions like heart conditions and strokes. a&e attendances were down by about the million this month compared to this time last year. this could be because people don't want to be a burden on the nhs but the nhs is urging and reminding anyone who may need to see a doctor to do so because of course although the coronavirus is a huge challenge, other illnesses do very much still exist and it is important they don't go unchecked and become forgotten. thanks forjoining us. in the last few minutes, it's been announced that the prime minister will return to work on monday after falling ill with coronavirus. it'll be exactly three weeks after borisjohnson was moved into intensive care

following his admission to hospital in london. 0ur political correspondent iain watson is at westminster for us. so, is boris johnson fully recovered 7 well, downing street are emphasising that the prime minister has been following medical advice throughout the crisis since he was first diagnosed about a month ago. what is interesting, although he is supposed to be recuperating at his country retreat, in truth he has been spending most of the last week preparing for his return to work in downing street, not just preparing for his return to work in downing street, notjust because with president trump and the queen but also daily video conferences with his team and a three hour summit with some of the senior members of the cabinet including his de facto deputy dominic raab and the chancellor, as well, but when he sets foot in downing street he will face a series of challenges because there are mutterings from some of his own mps about the lockdown and the effect on the economy, and the

former chancellor philip hammond suggested indeed the economy could become the greatest victim of this virus. he will also be receiving a letter from the opposition leader keir starmer who is calling for greater clarity on how we will exit the lockdown in due course. when the prime minister does make some announcements on this, i'm told we are likely to see modifications to the current measures. he is very keen to avoid a second wave of this virus and interestingly, at the summiti virus and interestingly, at the summit i was mentioning, he a p pa re ntly summit i was mentioning, he apparently quoted the roman philosopher cicero, in english, he used the phrase, the health of the people should be the supreme law and that gives a big clue about where borisjohnson that gives a big clue about where boris johnson stands on that gives a big clue about where borisjohnson stands on this lockdown debate. thanks forjoining us. and the first secretary of state dominic raab and the first minister of scotland, nicola sturgeon will be on the andrew marr show tomorrow morning on bbc one, from 9am.

today's sobering number of those who've died gives us a glimpse of the grief suffered by thousands of families across the uk, with yet more lives expected to be lost to coronavirus. the disease has forced people to confront a new approach to dying — with government guidelines allowing only immediate family to attend the funerals of loved ones. our home editor mark easton reports. sirens in every neighbourhood and every street, people fear the sirens may be heading their way. the pandemic means death for any of us may be at the doorstep. the final breath, our own or of someone we love, may come with little warning, in a sterile space. you have a sense of loss of control, especially with this virus. we all feel, the whole world, feels out of control. molly has terminal cancer and has put in place clear instructions if covid—19 comes calling.

writing an advance plan which says something about how you'd like it to be when you die... thinking about those things and making decisions gives you back a sense of control. confronting death, it's been said, is like staring at the sun, you quickly need to look away. but however uncomfortable, the advice is for all of us to have those conversations right now. i would like to be at home and i would like my partner to be there. i'd like to be able to hold a hand. intensive care is about preserving life but it must also help people prepare for death. at queens hospital in romford, among the masked and suited staff, is anushka, an anaesthetist.

if people haven't had the conversation we are left guessing. this is horrible, horrific, for relatives who can't see and touch their loved one and can't see what is happening to them. for patients who are in their very last moments of life we offer relatives the opportunity to come on site. one person, who will be given full ppe and can sit at the bedside if they choose. we are trying as best as we can to make sure that relatives have opportunities to say goodbye, yes. we cope with death's eternal parting by coming together, but the virus denies us many of the comforts of ritual. 0nly close family can attend a funeral. ajaz stood at his father's graveside in bradford but a lifetime of friends could only grieve with him online. it's quite a good idea, what they've pulled out to do the funeral online, because a lot of families are at home watching, who can't get to the graveyard, or who are a far—away distance. like my father, he had friends all over the world. it is quite hard. it's not the same, it

really isn't the same. we haven't got to see our uncles or our dad's side of the family. it was hard. 0rdinary life may have been furloughed but death is still at work. perhaps the emergency will give us the strength to stare it in the face. mark easton, bbc news. south africa, which has had some of the most stringent lockdown restrictions in the world, will be easing some of its rules in the coming week. some businesses and schools are set to reopen — but the country's borders will remain shut and public gatherings will still be banned. 0ur 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. but the lockdown he is causing economic damage in a country that is already in recession. a lot of families are really battling and not able to work, so the food package we received today was really a blessing but it has been tough. it has been tough. some extraordinary early su ccesses tough. some extraordinary early successes here but there is going to bea successes here but there is going to be a long battle and there are new hot spot emerging all the time and according to the world health organization, the wider continent of africa is still alarmingly ill—prepared for the virus. even

here in south africa there has already been some looting and growing frustration. the lockdown may be easing soon but it was still be more restrictive than in many countries. the government is to hold the first of a series of regular meetings with the medical directors of england's major sports next week to discuss ways of allowing competition to resume. talks have already been held with officials from the premier league, which was suspended seven weeks ago with liverpooljust two wins from claiming the title. our sports correspondent laura scott is with me. sounds like hopeful news for sports fans. it is encouraging for fans and sports governing bodies. sports up and down the country have been really struggling with the financial ramifications of the lockdown and what this is being described as is a quickening of the pace in terms of the data and planning going into helping support resume as soon as possible. what we understand is the government wants to set up the first

of the meetings this week and it will be a weekly meeting involving the chief medical officers of the major sports, football, rugby, cricket and racing, keeping with the government advises on logistics behind closed doors supports. things like testing, social distancing, hygiene standards and sealed venues and clearly some sports will be able to resume sooner and clearly some sports will be able to resume sooner than others. it is important not to overstate that this isn't about the timeframe of when sport can come back. this is about avoiding any further delay when approval is given. it isn't readying themselves for an imminent return to sport so we won't necessarily have premier league football back in a few weeks but these meetings are hope to mean that sports don't waste time when they get the green light and whether or not these plans are to help finish this season. the next one remains the big unknown. belgium has announced a timetable for gradually ending its coronavirus shutdown, with plans to ease restrictions within ten days.

from the 11th of may, all shops will be allowed to re—open, followed by schools the week after with class sizes of no more than ten pupils. the world health organisation says there is currently no evidence that having been infected with coronavirus offers any protection from catching the disease again. it revealed the finding whilst warning against the idea of so—called "health passports" to allow those who have recovered from coronavirus to travel or return to work. muslims around the world are marking ramadan — with coronavirus forcing changes to how the islamic holy month is celebrated. with religious sites including the grand mosque at mecca closed, many families opted to hold prayers at home, with some mosques streaming reduced ceremonies on social media. zoos, like many attractions across the uk, have had to close as a result of the lockdown. keepers at edinburgh zoo say they would normally be busy at this time of the year,

but despite the lack of visitors they are still making sure the animals are being cared for and sticking to their usual routines during the crisis. lorna gordon has more. 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. that's all from me. goodnight. you're watching the bbc news. it's generally believed that coronavirus circulates in wildlife and jumped across the species barrier to humans. it's a concern shared by drjane goodall, founder of the jane goodall institute and a un messengerfor peace. she has devoted her life to protecting chimpanzees

and inspiring people to conserve the natural world. in the last few days, she has been speaking about how she hopes coronavirus will be a wake—up call for the world. well, my colleague, james reynolds spoke to her a little earlier, and she told him she is concerned that the world will return to a business—as—usual mindset after the current pandemic has passed. the tragic thing about this pandemic is that it has been predicted for a very long time by people studying these so—called zoonotic diseases, and those are diseases thatjump from animals to people. and we are increasingly creating conditions, environments in which this can happen, and those include the animal trafficking which brings animals together from different parts of the world, animals who are destined to be sold for entertainment, for food, for whatever purpose.

there are the wildlife markets in asia, in africa, the bushmeat trade, and also the factory farms all over the world where we breed cows and pigs and chickens in these terrible conditions, and all of these conditions are creating environments which enable and encourage viruses to jump and other pathogens to cross the species barrier into people. this has been known but we have chosen to ignore it. our leaders have chosen to ignore it. you must have given these warnings yourself over many years. did anyone in power ever listen to you? people have, yes. but i have not been talking

about pandemics, and, yes, a lot of people have listened, and we now have a youth programme in 65 countries and growing, and the message is we have a choice as to what sort of impact we will make. and so, yes, there are people in high places, in government, in industry who listen, who get it, and our programme with young people, they are influencing their parents and grandparents, many of whom may actually be the heads of big corporations or people in government. so how should countries stop the wildlife trade, trafficking and these dangerous wildlife markets? i don't know how they should.

i know they should, but i don't know how. but it really needs governments coming in and playing an important role here and saying, we know that these conditions are conducive to another pandemic. just imagine, this covid—19 is incredibly contagious, but there are not that many people who are infected who die. now imagine another pandemic where it is equally contagious but the percentage of people who die is greater. so we really need to have people understand and governments understand that this will happen if we don't stop this and stop treating animals... we are treating animals today as commodities,

things that are there for us to eat, things without feelings and personalities and emotions, it's not true, and if we want to live in a way of harmony with the natural world, then stop invading nature's last remaining habitats and start respecting the wild animals who are part of this amazing tapestry. that's what we need to do. i don't know, but i fight for it. the governor of new york says independent pharmacies are to be

allowed to carry out tests for the coronavirus. andrew cuomo says he will sign an executive order to allow independent pharmacies to carry out diagnostic tests for covid—19. samples taken in high street stores will be sent to laboratories to be analyzed. he also added that antibody screenings for the disease would also be expanded. people across australia and new zealand have been marking anzac day — the day of remembrance for the two nations' wartime casualties. with social distancing due to coronavirus preventing mass services, thousands instead paid tribute at daybreak by holding a candle outside the doorway of their homes. coming up: the papers. with me are rosamund urwin senior reporter for the sunday times and broadcaster penny smith. time for a look at the weather with susan powell. hello. april is a month often known for its showers. that's unlikely to be the case for this april, however. it's turned out to be particularly dry across some parts of the uk. the north—west of england has only seen 4% of its april rainfall so far. challenging conditions certainly for growers. the latter days of april could just redress that balance somewhat as things

become increasingly unsettled. it will also turn cooler, as well. here we are with sunday's chart, and there's an area of low pressure to the north of the uk. don't they normally bring rain? well, yes, and this one will bring some showers to northern scotland, but the weather front pushing its way south is a pretty weak affair. mostly a band of cloud, maybe some patchy rain later in the afternoon for northern england and north wales. to the south, though, where we've still got some heat around through the afternoon, we could trigger some thunderstorms across south wales, the midlands, into yorkshire and lincolnshire through the latter part of the day. so, perhaps some heavier rain locally here and some sharper showers across northern scotland. the showers, though, across england and wales tend to fizzle out as we head overnight and into monday. a much milder story across the southern half of the uk overnight. to the north, a risk of a frost across scotland. and here's what that weather front really marks, the boundary between warmer air across the southern half of the uk and colder air trying to feed into the north on a northeasterly breeze as we look at monday.

showers across northern scotland, but actually quite a lot of sunny spells across the northern half of the uk through the day, whereas the cloud will tend to build further south. still pretty warm in the far south—east. elsewhere, probably mid—teens at best and then showers starting to break out in the south—west later on in the day on monday as this area of low pressure winds itself up. and into tuesday, we're talking about heavier and more widespread rain spreading across england and wales. still taking a time to work its way north. for scotland, northern ireland, parts of northern england, i think a dry day with some bright or sunny spells. for the south, though, a good chance of some rain for many areas and the temperatures sitting in the mid—teens at best. and then from midweek onwards, that area of low pressure will throw the influence of its showers further north. a pretty unsettled story across the board as we look at the forecast through the latter part of the week.

hello. this is bbc news. we'll be taking a look at tomorrow morning's papers in a moment. first, the headlines. the number of deaths from coronavirus in uk hospitals has today passed 20,000. the virus has now claimed the lives of 200,000 people around the world. for the nation in particular, this is a deeply tragic and moving moment.

all our thoughts and sympathies are with those individuals that have