this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. coronavirus has now taken the lives 200,000 people around the globe. the grim milestone was recorded as the number of deaths in uk hospitals today passed 20,000. for the nation in particular, this is a deeply tragic and moving moment. all our thoughts and sympathies are with those individuals that have lost family members through this horrendous and absolutely appalling virus. downing street has announced the uk prime minister will return to work on monday, two weeks after being discharged from hospital. the governor of new york — the us state worst hit by the coronovirus outbreak — authorises independent pharmacies to carry out tests for the disease. the world health organisation warns that people who have recovered

from coronavirus may not be protected from reinfection. south africa prepares to ease tough lockdown restrictions as the country records less than 100 deaths from coronavirus. and going behind closed doors at edinburgh zoo, we meet the animals and the keepers looking after them during lockdown. 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 number of people known to have died with coronavirus in hospital in the uk passed 20,000 today, a sombre milestone. globally — the total number of people who have died now stands at 200,697 — according to statistics

from thejohns hopkins university which tracks the number of cases worldwide. today's figures show a further 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 20,000 deaths from the virus, behind the united states, italy, spain and france. it comes as the world health organization 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 tonight takes a closer look at the situation in the uk. 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 now 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, is not yet 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 unavailable 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 mouring those it's lost. lauren moss, bbc news. tonight, it's been announced that the british prime minister borisjohnson will return to work on monday following two weeks of convalescence after being ill in hospital with coronovirus. 0ur political correspondent, iain watson, is at westminster for us, so is borisjohnson fully recovered?

-- 10,000 —— 10,000 unread ——10,000 unread e—mails in his inbox, or might he be a bit more prepared? well, he certainly spent the last week preparing for his return to downing street. we were told he was convalescing, of course, but, in truth, apart from those public calls with president trump and with the queen privately video conferencing with his team every day, and, crucially, he had a three hoursummit day, and, crucially, he had a three hour summit with some of the senior cabinet members on friday, and that was really, i think i'm getting his head around when he would be returning to downing street to come amongst those that he met where the chancellor, rishi sunak i think that's quite significant, because there is a lot of noises, a lot of murmurings from inside his own party about the lockdown and the damage it may be doing to the economy, but he also had the health secretary, that meeting, and the de facto deputy,

dominic raab, so i think he will be prepared for what he is facing when he goes through the front door of downing street early on monday morning, but, there will be a series of challenges, not just morning, but, there will be a series of challenges, notjust on his own site, but also from the opposition, so site, but also from the opposition, so kier starmer sending him a welcome, perhaps an unwelcome letter, criticising the slowness of his response in the past, but also saying, he wants more details now from borisjohnson saying, he wants more details now from boris johnson now saying, he wants more details now from borisjohnson now he's back in the saddle on what he's going to do in the longer term to ease restrictions in the lockdown entry tried to get the economy back to normal? does boris johnson have to pick between economy and health, or is it more complicated than that?” think it's incredibly more complicated than that. there we go! i will try to be brief, but basically, what his advisers would say, some of those who are with him on friday at that summit is that he does not see it as that's kind of huge dichotomy. what he's keen to do

is avoid a second wave of this virus having suffered of course the first wave. in order to do that, he believes that he has to be quite cautious, really, when it comes to modifying the conditions of the lockdown. but his argument is that some effectively, you will make the economy worse if you have to go into a second and perhaps even tougher if at all possible lockdown and create uncertainty for businesses if you do so, so he is much more cautious by lifting the lockdown —— of lifting the lockdown from a fix thinks that anything suppressing the virus will harm the economy and harm peoples health, but that complicated factor from all sorts of things have been discussed around how the government can ease restrictions, and i think what we are seeing is sometimes shifting alliances between different cabinet members who support some options and some who support other options, so it's notjust a question of these hawks and doves, as people say, it's the country for us, and those who say you are risking peoples lives if you exit the lockdown, there is going to be a lot of arguments about how the lockdown is eased. he and watson, thank you so much. —— iain watson.

the governor of new york says independent pharmacies are to be allowed to carry out tests for the coronavirus. andrew cuomo has also told his daily briefing on the pandemic that the number of people being taken to hospital in the state has fallen to same level as 21 days ago. 0ur north america correspondent peter bowes joined me a little earlier and told me why authorising independent pharmacies to carry out tests was significant. this is a very significant ramping up of testing in new york state. the governor says he wants to get up to something like 40,000 tests every day. now, currently, those larger pharmacies have been carrying out tests in new york and elsewhere around the united states, but this executive order, which he says he plans to sign, will allow those smaller pharmacies, high street chemists to carry out these tests, clearly making it easier for people to have a test. the test will be taking place at the chemists store, and then the sample will be sent away to a laboratory to be analysed.

the governor also announced that he is increasing the availability of antibody testing for those first responders. doctors, nurses, firefighters, police officers, perhaps people more likely to come into contact with others who might infect them with the virus. four hospitals, starting from today, will be carrying out those antibody tests that will determine whether those people are immune to the virus. new york still has confidence in those antibody tests, given, of course, the number of reservations that have been shown that have been expressed by the who saying there is no guarantee of immunity. yes, and it seems that the governor is aware of those reservations amongst some scientists, but it's clearly determined to press ahead, stressing that at the moment, focusing on those people most at risk, and the governor seems pretty determined to pursue this line, saying that testing, both diagnostic testing and immunity testing, is ultimately key to getting

the state back to work, getting people out of their homes, and associating with other people. the number of people being admitted to hospitals in new york seems to be slightly falling or stabilising, according to the governor, is there a sense that the state is on top of things now? well, that's the sense that he's giving. as you say, that number, the number of hospital admissions, the number of new cases of people initially with symptoms and then being tested positive for coronavirus and admitted to hospital, that is reducing. now, it's still high, it still more than 1000 today, still more than 400 people dying in new york state every day, and the governor talks about this every day at his daily briefing, and emphasises every time that the state, and indeed, the rest of the country, are in a terrible situation as far as this virus is concerned, but there are glimmers of hope, and the fact that few fewer people are being admitted to hospitals,

albeit a slow decline of that curve, is promising. peter but was there. well, usually, at this time we would be going to a white house press conference. not today. in the last few minutes president trump tweeted: no press conference then. we wait to see when the next news will come from the white house. 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. reged ahmad reports. closed for business, weeks of lockdown in many parts of the world has crippled local economies, and governments are desperate for a longer—term solution. one idea being touted is a so—called immunity passports. some countries are looking at issuing those two people who have been screened for the presence of antibodies, in the hope they can return to work. but the world health organisation has poured cold water on this, saying in a statement... it goes on to say... there are many countries already testing for the presence of antibodies to see who's been exposed to the virus, but much more research is needed.

so they are arranging immunological techniques, which are being used to study whether or not these antibodies are actually protective and neutralise the virus, or whether they are simply markers of past infection, that is a crucial area of science which we need to understand. the who says some existing studies of people who have recovered from covid—19 are showing low levels of antibodies, that means it's not clear if it's enough to protect against reinfection. it even warns of immunity passports could increase virus transmission or stop people from taking precautions. none of this will be welcome news to many countries, who want a way out of this pandemic. but until the science is clearer, it looks like social distancing at least could be here to stay. reged ahmad, bbc news. 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 be 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 the children cooped up in small flats. so, pressure has been growing to exit the lockdown. translation: despite these measures that 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. 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. 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, for a country that was already in recession. a lot of families here are really battling, and not able to work, so the food package we received today was really a blessing. but it's been tough, it's been tough. so, some extraordinary early

successes here in south africa, but this is going to be a long battle, and there are but this 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. even here in south africa, there has already been some looting and growing frustration, the lockdown may be easing soon, but it will still be more restrictive than in many countries. andrew harding, bbc news, johannesburg. zoos, like many attractions across the world, 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. let's take a look at all the sport with katharine downes. good evening. the government plans to set up the first of a series

of regular meetings involving the senior medical directors of major sports this week this week to try and get back to action as soon as possible. that would include premier league matches being played behind closed doors, but there are lots of caveats to any possible return. firstly, it won't happen before the next review of the lockdown, due on may the 7th. the go—ahead would also depend on the government meeting key five tests for easing restrictions. those include seeing death and infection rates fall consistently. clubs would then have to meet additional criteria including the regular testing of players and ensuring the safety of staff. a government source said watching live sport on tv would give the country a huge lift. here are the thoughts of the shadow health secretary. well, i think if it can be done in a safe way, then of course, but we need to understand what the thinking is behind it, what the medical evidence is. but if the medical and scientific advice is that these games can go ahead behind closed doors, then of course we would support it.

meanwhile, as the financial situation around football continues to cause concern, chelsea's men's first team won't be taking a pay cut to contribute to the club, but will focus further on supporting other charitable causes. it had been reported that the men's team would take a 10% pay cut this month, but a statement on the club's website earlier today said extensive talks had been held to discuss how the team could contribute, and the chelsea board had told players to continue to support charities and the nhs. meanwhile, aston villa's players, 13 coaches and senior management meanwhile, aston villa's players, first team coaches and senior management have agreed to defer 25% of their salaries for four months. the premier league strugglers have struck a deal with the squad and won't furlough any staff. so, while there is the potential of a return for football in england, in the netherlands they've decided to end the season with major events in the country banned until the start of september. the decision has been taken to declare the season null and void, so no champions, promotion or relegation. that means there will be no repeat

of last season's victory for ajax. they were top on goal difference again this season, but if uefa ratify the decision, they would still qualify for next season's champions league. there is no suggestion that this could happen in england yet, but the head of the dutch fa thinks it would be difficult to conclude the premier league this season. to be honest, seeing what is happening and see things get postponed week by week, how realistic is it that within the next three or four weeks, we will come to a different conclusion? not so much, i believe. and also, the premier league will need a number of weeks to conclude its competition. is there going to be enough time for that? doubtful, very doubtful. we'll see what comes out of those government meetings. that is all the sport for now. 200,000 people from across the world have died from coronavirus, including 20,000 here in the uk,

speaking about the lockdown, the home secretary said "we know people are frustrated, but we are not out of danger yet." more on our website. please do stay with the bbc news. rosamund urwin, senior reporterfor the sunday times, and broadcaster penny smith. that's coming up after the headlines at 11:30pm. now it's time for a look at the weather with susan powell. hello. there tend to be pros and cons of most weather set—ups in the uk. the dry conditions of the last few days have been great for getting the washing out on the line and for doing work in the garden, but for gardeners, the dry weather has meant the extra work of watering. this april, for some, could turn out to be one of the driest aprils on record. although, for the last few days of the month and the week ahead, nature is going to take a turn at pepping things up a little bit in terms of the rainfall, especially from midweek onwards. for this evening and overnight, a quiet story. some showers for the far north of scotland.

generally, a picture with clear skies and still enough across east anglia and the south east of england for us to see a frost develop in one or two spots. again, something for gardeners and growers to be aware of. for sunday, a fine day for many. however, we do have a weather front coming into play, which will start the day across southern scotland and northern ireland. merely, really, it's a band of cloud, but we may see a bit of rain out of it as it drifts into northern england and north wales later on. ahead of it, across south wales, the midlands, lincolnshire, parts of yorkshire, there could be some heavy thunderstorms through the afternoon. to the south of that, still warm airaround, temperatures 20—21. to the north of the front, it's a cooler, fresher feel. and that cooler air will continue its journey southwards behind our weather front as we move on into monday. again on monday, the front actually not that much to look at, mostly a band of thicker cloud. to the south, though, something a little bit more disruptive coming up from france into the south—west and across southern counties of england to get into the latter part of the day.

still warm for the southernmost counties. elsewhere, the cooler air working its way in and some showers across northern scotland. here's the low pressure that will bring the more widespread rainfall for us as we look into tuesday and the middle part of the week. surging up from the south, so not particularly chilly, but certainly notably cooler as that rain arrives. some of that rain is going to be quite heavy, and the wind will start to pick up as well. mostly the rain for england and wales on tuesday. for scotland and northern ireland, still largely dry with some sunny spells. temperatures still up to 15 or 16 where we have the rain, but of course that's five degrees down on some of the highs we'll have seen through the weekend. and then from wednesday and thursday, the low pressure throws its influence further north, and it's a case of rain or showers for just about all of us.

hello. this is bbc news with james reynolds. we'll be taking a look at tomorrow morning's papers in a moment. first, the headlines. coronavirus has now taken the lives of 200,000 people around the globe. the grim milestone was recorded as the number of deaths in uk hospitals today passed 20,000. downing street has announced the uk prime minister will return to work on monday, two weeks after being discharged from hospital. the governor of new york — the us state worst hit by the coronovirus outbreak — authorises independent pharmacies to carry out tests for the disease. the world health organisation warns that people who have recovered from coronavirus may not be protected from reinfection. south africa prepares to ease tough lockdown restrictions as the country records less than 100 deaths from coronavirus.