could be all day for a long time, could be all day long and temperatures could be quite around nine to 10 degrees the south from the north, sunshine over a couple showers. this is bbc news the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the uk's prime minister, boris johnson, is back in downing street. he urges the public not to lose patience with the lockdown at the moment of maximum risk. i refuse to throw away all the effort and the sacrifice of the british people and to risk a second major outbreak and huge loss of life and the overwhelming of the nhs. the number of confirmed global infections passes 3 million, with more than 208,000 deaths. more support for small businesses in the uk. loans of up to £50,000, all of it backed by the taxpayer. the white house says donald trump's daily briefings about the crisis will get "a new look"

after criticism over his disinfectant comments. and we'll look at how italy, one of europe's worst affected countries, is now planning to start easing its 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. let's start with the main development we have seen throughout the day. on his first full day back at downing street after recovering from covid—19, the uk's prime minister has urged people not to lose patience with the lockdown. borisjohnson said he would not "throw away" the british public‘s "effort and sacrifice" by relaxing

the rules too soon. today, the number of confirmed global infections has passed 3 million, with more than 208,000 deaths worldwide. in the us, mixed messages from the white house. it has now rescheduled the coronavirus task force briefing which it had cancelled earlier on today. the uk treasury has unveiled a new loan scheme to help small businesses deal with the impact of the coronavirus lockdown. the uk's chancellor said companies would be able to apply for up to £50,000 as soon as next week. the british medical association says home testing kits for health care workers shouldn't be issued on a first—come, first—served basis. and italy has outlined plans to ease the restrictions it imposed seven weeks ago to curb the spread of the coronavirus. that starts from next monday. more on all of those stories shortly. first, our political editor laura kuenssberg has this report on the uk prime minister's first day back at work. the lectern is kept

for major moments. borisjohnson ready to show he's back in residence. not ready to say in detail what's coming next. i want to thank you, the people of this country, for the sheer grit and guts you've shown and are continuing to show. if this virus were a physical assailant, an unexpected and invisible mugger, which i can tell you from personal experience it is, then this is the moment when we have begun together to wrestle it to the floor. but the thinking in number 10 is that the virus is not yet down and out and the risk of another more deadly outbreak outweighs immediate concerns over the economy. i understand your impatience, i share your anxiety, and, yes, i can see the long—term consequences of lockdown as clearly as anyone, and i want to get this economy

moving as fast as i can, but i refuse to throw away all the effort and the sacrifice of the british people and to risk a second major outbreak and huge loss of life and the overwhelming of the nhs. and i ask you to contain your impatience. hold your nerve, perhaps, promising to explain openly the eventual way through, eventually. and we simply cannot spell out now how fast or slow, or even when those changes will be made, but these decisions will be taken with the maximum possible transparency, and i want to share all our working and our thinking, my thinking, with you, the british people. together, we will come through this all the faster, and the united kingdom will emerge stronger than ever before. a couple of weeks ago, we met

a family in wolverhampton who'd almost been enjoying the sunshine. but 35 days in, lucy's eager to hear more. we want to start hearing the conversation of what life might look like after lockdown. we're having those conversations every day up and down the country in our living rooms. and i think if the government think to have that conversation with us might confuse us, it's a bit patronising. i think we need to have some hope. we first met hector woodhouse, who lives on his own in linlithgow, near a month ago. you do feel lonely a bit, because your routine becomes completely different. but you've still got to try and keep a sense of humour, and by gosh, we're going to need that. the lockdown might have saved lives, but it has a cost, too, to wellbeing and the economy.

a delicate balance. there's a huge amount of goodwill invested by the public in this particular public health project, and i think it's in fairness to them that we should set out what all the options are for the lockdown and involve them in how the conclusion is reached. once the public‘s fear of the virus diminishes, their fear of economic failure will overtake it. if ministers and their scientists continue to see the pace of the disease slow, it's possible there could at least be a plan about the plan by the end of the week. labour believes they must. what we're seeing is lots of countries now setting out their plan for what happens next. and i don't want the united kingdom to be behind the curve, so what i'm saying is set out the principles, let's debate them and i hope we can all get behind them. thank you all very much. the political could hardly be more personal for this number 10, but the whole country's recovery

will lag behind the prime minister's own. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. we can cross live to our political correspondent chris mason at westminster. your analysis of that basic message we heard from the british prime minister today. i think psychologically and symbolically it was a big moment because here it was borisjohnson the british prime minister returning to a greater or lesser extent at any stage a national political leader who will of course as any leader does divide people on party political lines. nonetheless personifies a country or certainly represents them on the international stage and when that leader who is at the forefront of fighting on behalf of the country the pandemic is then struck down by it and struck down in a pretty desperate way for a couple of days, then clearly he has returned to work, returned to his main place of work, returned to his main place of work as a post of its crew to

retreat where he's been since he was discharged from hospital is a significant moment. i think politically it is absence those who have been deputizing for him have been seeking to the mantra that the uk is in this locked out until the 7th of may and there would not be any public discussion about the whole process of unraveling it however so that might take. whereas borisjohnson however so that might take. whereas boris johnson today while sticking to that core message did begin to reflect on how there might be the beginnings of an idea in a couple of weeks about how if the data works and looks right things might be able to be easier little. he is also promised greater transparency. even there have been a lot of testing and put it in equipment and about death in care homes, the prime minister not first day back take today's briefing so all of those areas could be scrutinised? i think because he would have felt that on day one do the big picture broadbrush stuff,

not least because his physical return to work is kind of a news eventin return to work is kind of a news event in itself and leave the detail some of which he has not been across the finer points of in the last couple of weeks to those who have been around like matthew hancock and from a ministry or prospective lead that news conference today. i think there will be an expectation that at some stage fairly soon we are lucky to hear from the some stage fairly soon we are lucky to hearfrom the prime minister at these news conferences and he let a good number of them before he was taken ill and i suspect we will hear from him again relatively soon. as you say, there are all of those questions around transparency, around death in the community homes and care homes and around the whole business of the hugely complicated business, a massive responsibility for him now about how and what kind of timeframe the lockdown measures are very gradually eased. a colossal responsibility and one or there will be collecting advice and conflicting scientific guidance about the order

and the timing and terms of which things should be eased and when. thank you. for some time now, the uk government has been coming under pressure to outline a way out of this crisis, some of the loudest voices coming from its own ranks. today, borisjohnson said ministers would be saying more over the coming days. so, what would it take to lift the lockdown, and how is it being handled around the world? 0ur science editor david shukman has been examining the options. week after week, the eerie sight of lockdown, while behind the scenes, governments all over the world desperately try to find a safe way out of it. switzerland has allowed hairdressers to reopen. everyone has to wear a mask. it's a cautious first step. no country is rushing into this. in beijing, secondary schools have started again. there's no sitting close together because all the time there's the risk

of the virus striking again. everything about what happens next hinges on the rate of infection, what scientists call the r number. at the height of the outbreak in the uk, it was about three, meaning anyone infected was passing it onto, on average, three others, so the outbreak was accelerating. since then, restrictions have driven that rate right down to something like 0.7. that's only a rough estimate, but crucially, it's below the level of one. at that point, anyone infected only infects one other person, meaning there's no escalation in the outbreak, but look what happens if you relax the lockdown. suddenly, the rate jumps right back up again, risking a second wave of infections. an essential first move to get out of this is testing for the virus. in germany, teams are out checking who's had the infection and who's got it right now. the aim is to quickly spot new outbreaks, a difficultjob even in countries that have done really

well, like new zealand. to succeed, we must hunt down the last few cases of the virus. this is like looking for a needle in a haystack, and we need your help to finish the job we've started. the next vital move is tracing the contacts of anyone infected. in china, a small army was drafted in to follow up anyone who might have caught the virus. there was a plan for 18,000 people to do the same in the uk. also to use apps to help with the task, and if it all works, it'll make it easier to relax the lockdown. if an outcome comes along, and it's important the public are part of that because it won't work and be effective unless lots of us use it, and it requires the government to communicate with us and tell us what we need to do to help with this.

and if contact tracing finds more infected people, then they'll have to self—isolate. patience may wear thin if this drags on into next year, but the alternative is maintaining the entire national lockdown. we have really two choices as a country — either we can all be locked down all the time to make sure there isn't infection spread or we can just lock ourselves down for the much shorter period of time where we may have been in contact with the infection. whatever happens, we all face a new kind of normality. in a hospital in greece, a birthday cake delivered in full protective equipment. lockdowns will eventually be relaxed, but it won't happen quickly. david shukman, bbc news. meanwhile, donald trump's combative daily briefings have become a feature of the coronavirus pandemic, but his suggestions that putting ultraviolet light and disinfectant inside the body as a treatment were worth looking at, and the subsequent criticism from medical experts, seemed to curb his enthusiasm a little.

first, his press secretary said he would not be taking part in today's briefing because he wanted to look at a new focus on getting america's economy back up and running. butjust a few hours later, it was confirmed he would be holding a news conference in the rose garden after all. i'm joined now by dr francis collins, who's the the director of the national institutes of health, an agency of the us department of health and human service that is playing a key role in the government's response to the pandemic. welcome to the programme. let me start with those comments from the president about injecting disinfectant. could you believe what you were hearing when he said that and how problematic is it to have to manage and constantly having to explain or walk back some of the things that the president has said as medical experts? my goal as a physician and scientist and leader

of the national institutes of health it is to try to provide information that we have people trying to find out how best to treat this terrible pandemic. my colleague anthony found two you have seen many images of has been caring at that same role with the white house task force. we have right now a very organised effort to try to identify what will be most promising therapeutics and until we have a vaccine, our best hope is to have a vaccine, our best hope is to have things that will be effective to treat the disease and yet there area to treat the disease and yet there are a lot of ideas, hundreds of them. how do we prioritise and how do we get the ones that are most promising into rigorous trials we will actually know as soon as possible whether they were? the important thing clearly is to talk about facts. i know it's difficult for someone like yourself but is it the duty of health experts and scientific experts standing there on the platform to call out directly if the platform to call out directly if the president is saying things that are the president is saying things that a re factually the president is saying things that are factually not true and not useful and even dangerous? we are

public servants. we are scientists. it is our goal always to spread the fa cts it is our goal always to spread the facts around as fairly as we possibly can and we will continue to do so. you've seen doctor fauci doing that day after day. do so. you've seen doctor fauci doing that day after daylj do so. you've seen doctor fauci doing that day after day. i know that you talk virtually every day to doctor fauci. 0f that you talk virtually every day to doctor fauci. of course there have been some pretty hostile tweets from the president. is he secure, does he think there is no prospect of being fired which was one of the suggestions? i don't think he is in any great jeopardy. suggestions? i don't think he is in any greatjeopardy. first of all he reports to me so i guess i had to be the person to decide to fire him and i have no intention of doing so. so i think doctor fauci is serving a wonderful role as an honourable public servant who is telling the public servant who is telling the public with a need to hear in very straightforward and understandable terms and that is a gift to us all that we hope will keep on happening. some of the broader issues because i know you want to talk about those in a moment but a final question about the format of communications. it is

so the format of communications. it is so important in the middle of a pandemic. we are told by the white house the format is likely to change in the coming days. would you prefer if the president perhaps were not up there at all or certainly left the science and the medicine to the scientists and the medical practitioners? the president if the president so he gets to decide what the format should be. i do think if the format should be. i do think if the public is hungry for information and they can really count on to guide themselves to keep safe and certainly the doctors and are part of this, doctor fauci, inter birx, doctor redfield, doctor adams and doctor redfield, doctor adams and doctor gerard, they are very intelligent and thoughtful and knowledgeable in the chance i have to share the information the more likely it is milik knows what they have to do at this point and this is a historical difficult time. a few of the other crucial areas then. in terms of easing restrictions, we know certain states are looking at that. actually doing it in part. how

dangerous and moment is a do that 110w dangerous and moment is a do that now do you think? as your reporter said a little bit ago, looking at this r factor is really important. many people are being infected by this who is acquire the virus, that never has to blow one. we think we have succeeded in doing that in many places because of distancing. talking to you from my home four miles from nh —— nih and i'm not in my own office... that is a most successful effort we have two flatness curve and limit the number of deaths that might happen. we will of deaths that might happen. we will of course have to gradually figure out how to open back up again but it will depend upon very careful planning with extensive testing available and the ability to identify people who are infected and get them quarantined and identify their contacts and get a people isolated as well and simply going back to the way things used to be will not work and that will certainly produce another wave of this terrible infection. final thoughts and on testing and contact tracing that you just touched on.

the president lots of talk about 5 million tasks having been done but the crucial thing though is not the number given population but the proportion of the population. why is the us struggling so much still on testing and in terms of contact tracing him i know you're developing an app but actually how important is it the public acceptance of that because i think you did about 60% usage to make it effective? all of thatis usage to make it effective? all of that is important. certainly testing is him come along way in this country and we are now up to the point of being able to do about 10-12,000,000 tests of point of being able to do about 10—12,000,000 tests of my but many of us believe it needs to go by another factor of ten by the fall if we're going to be in a circumstance where it is safe for us to go back to school and go back to work and have those tasks widely available in a great deal of effort being put into developing and expanding new kinds of technologies that will make that kind of testing accessible and with a rapid turnaround because he wa nt to with a rapid turnaround because he want to know the results that day and not several days later. in terms

of the app, there are many different apps that are being discussed and they will require if people are going to adopt them that a fairly significant proportion of the popular thus and otherwise will not learn much from them and there are under settable concerns there about privacy and civil liberties and we will need to address those but i think the public is ready at this point to consider something along those lines as possibly worth looking at. we are trying to do some research right now to figure out what kind of format would be most acceptable. a pleasure talking to you, think you so much forjoining us on you, think you so much forjoining us on today's bbc news. thanks so much. glad to talk to you. nhs doctors in the uk have been warned to look out for a rare but dangerous reaction in children that may be linked to coronavirus infection. an alert sent to gps warns that in recent weeks intensive care departments have been treating a number of severely sick children. unusual symptoms include "multi—system inflammation" with flu—like symptoms. some, but not all, tested positive for coronavirus.

at the government's daily breifing, nhs england's medical director steve powis said it was a concern. we have asked our experts. i've asked the national clinical director for children and young people to look into this as a matter of energy. i know the secretary of state is concerned, as he said. i know public health england are also looking into this. so, it's obviously important that when clinicians see these cases and worry that there might be a cluster that they alert other clinicians so that we can make sure that they are identified if they're occurring elsewhere. and then quite rightly, we ask our experts to look into them and to see whether they can establish any link. professor russell viner is president of the royal college of peadiatrics and child health and joins me now. welcome. how it worrying is this potentially do you think? so it is one of those complex areas where we

need to be aware company to work out what is happening and need to not worry parents too much. in the bigger picture, the truth is that covid—19 affects children generally very little. they are the part of population that are affected least by this condition. but they can get it, they do get it and very rarely they become severely ill. we have known that for some time. this is a suggestion from some of our pediatricians starting to notice an unusual presentation. they had on the right thing to put out a warning note which has gone around the country. because only by studying this working out what is happening can we understand whether this is new, how serious it is, etc. so we think parents really should be generally very reassured that covid—19 very little affects children. why should children be looking out for? and —— what should pa rents

looking out for? and —— what should parents be looking out for? and is it possible to get data on this from other countries? this of course is honestly affecting every single country on the planet. is there any other data that correlates with this around children? the person to say is we think it is related to covid—19 but we cannot yet be sure. secondly to answer your question directly, our specialist have been in contact with other countries across europe and actually those countries are saying that they potentially have seen a variable number of similar cases. it is a testa m e nt to number of similar cases. it is a testament to the uk's joint national health service that we can start to spot these patterns where many others cannot. and part of that pattern is said to have features very similar to toxic shock syndrome. so what is it exactly in terms of symptoms for doctors, for pa rents terms of symptoms for doctors, for parents and they should be alert to? this is about seeing a child who may 01’ this is about seeing a child who may or may not have had covid—19 symptoms, who may present with shock

which comes across as cold periphery andi which comes across as cold periphery and i baby that is not refusing well and i baby that is not refusing well and a medical sense also they may have rashes. and certainly on blood tests of the things they seem to show signs of high inflammatory responses. this appears potential to be similarto responses. this appears potential to be similar to some of the inflammatory type syndromes we are seeing in adults. this may be a post infectious inflammatory syndrome which is why it is recognised a little bit later in the covid—19 epidemic. but i think the important thing for parents is to say that if your child is sick, regulus of the symptoms, they have a high fever and you're worried about the income of the nhs is open and bring them in. there has been just the nhs is open and bring them in. there has beenjust a handful of cases describe this condition. in general, children are barely affected by covid—19, in general. general, children are barely affected by covid-19, in general. we have known that right throughout this in country after country as it

has been reported but i suppose without being in any way alarmist, you are this and the numbers are small, the other truth about this is that we still don't know so much about this particular virus. that is true. new diseases surprise us all the time. look up the truth is that children in this country sadly do die every year of inflammatory conditions, of myocarditis, of conditions, of myocarditis, of conditions linked to ordinary viruses that have been around for many years. it may be that we are just seeing a little bit more of that kind of thing because there is more covid—19 around for example. it may be that kevin nothing itself is doing something unusual that we did not really expect. and i think that is the experience of our adult collea g u es is the experience of our adult colleagues that covid—19 is a complex condition and is not that much like the flu it is a very different condition. professor, with the leave it there. but certainly a story that is certainly focused

today and work tracking so thank you so today and work tracking so thank you so much for your time. a short break and back with more of the late headlines here in a moment. hello. well, it's been so dry for so very long that it's high time we got some rain, and rain is on the way, a fair amount for southern parts of the uk. and i'm sure our gardens will love it, as well as our parks. and let's face it, most of us are stuck at home. now, the rain clouds are visible on the satellite picture. they're coming in from the south. that's tomorrow's rain and this band of cloud, that's the weather front that will come our way on wednesday. you can see how over the next few days, one weather system moves across southern parts of the country and this next bigger area of low pressure swings in front in our direction as well. so, the forecast for the coming hours, then. through the course of the night, we expect the clouds to thicken across the south. it'll start raining almost anywhere from cornwall to the tip of kent there,

into the midlands quite possibly early hours of tuesday morning. not particularly cold here because we'll have the cloud and a bit of a breeze and the rain, so ten degrees. whereas in scotland, where we will have had the clear skies overnight, a touch of frost. so, here's that rain, and the thing about this rain in the south is that it will be very slow—moving, so hanging around in any one place for a considerable amount of time, which means it could be a wash—out in some parts of southern britain. and chilly, too — the temperatures will be supressed, perhaps nine or ten degrees in some spots. but different across the lakes, northern ireland and scotland. you can see here that all through the day, bar the odd shower here and there, actually it's going to be mostly clear. and then towards the end of tuesday, that rain should clear away out into the north sea. and this is what's happening through tuesday night into wednesday. 0ne weather front moves away then this bigger area of low pressure swings in. now, the different with this weather front midweek will be rather than it being slow moving like tomorrow's

rain, on wednesday this weather front‘s going to rush through a little bit quicker. so, for example, in birmingham, we might get a couple of hours' worth of rainfall, then behind it we've got showers coming in as well. but this rain will spread a little bit further north on wednesday. so, for example, glasgow will get some rain, too. and then beyond that, it looks as though the weather's going to remain unsettled, perhaps an indication things will be turning less chilly towards the end of the week there. around 16 in london. that's it, bye—bye.

this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the uk's prime minister boris johnson is back in downing street — he urges the public not to lose patience with the lockdown, at the moment of maximum risk. i refuse to throw away all of the effort and the sacrifice of the british people and to risk a second major outbreak in huge loss of life and the overwhelming of the nhs. the number of confirmed global infections — passes three million — with more than two hundred and eight thousand deaths. more support for small businesses in the uk — loans of up to fifty thousand pounds — all of it backed by the tax payer the white house says donald trump's daily briefings about the crisis will get

"a new look" — after criticism over his disinfectant comments. and we'll look at how italy — one of europe's worst affected countries — is now planning to start easing its 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 uk prime minister borisjohnson has said there are "real signs" that the country is passing through the peak of the pandemic — with fewer hospital admissions and fewer covid—19 patients in intensive care. but — speaking outside number ten on his first full day back at work after recovering from the disease — the prime minister warned there wouldn't be an immediate relaxation of the rules.

i entirely share your urgency, it is the government's urgency. and yet we must also recognise the risk of a second spike, the risk of losing control of that virus and letting the reproduction rate go back over one. because that would mean not only a new wave of death and disease, but also an economic disaster. and we would be forced once again to slam on the brakes across the whole country and the whole economy, and re—impose restrictions in such a way as to do more and lasting damage. and so i know it is tough, and i want to get this economy moving as fast as i can, but i refuse to throw away all the effort and the sacrifice of the british people, and to risk a second major outbreak and huge loss of life and the overwhelming of the nhs.

and i ask you to contain your impatience, because i believe we are coming now to the end of the first phase of this conflict, and in spite of all the suffering we have so nearly succeeded. we defied so many predictions, we did not run out of ventilators or icu beds, we did not allow our nhs to collapse, and on the contrary we have so far collectively shielded our nhs so that our incredible doctors and nurses and health care staff have been able to shield all of us from an outbreak that would have been far worse. and we collectively flattened the peak, and so when we are sure that this first phase is over and that we are meeting our five tests — deaths falling, nhs protected,

rate of infection down, really sorting out the challenges of testing and ppe, avoiding a second peak — then that will be the time to move on to the second phase, in which we continue to suppress the disease and keep the reproduction rate, the r rate, down, but begin gradually to refine the economic and social restrictions and, one by one, to fire up the engines of this vast uk economy. it's seven weeks today since italy locked down —— but from next monday, some restrictions will be lifted with parks, manufacturing and construction businesses the first to reopen. restaurants will also be able to serve takeaways and people allowed to exercise outdoor.

but the government says that after europe's worst coronavirus outbreak, it will move slowly. 0ur rome correspondent, mark lowen, sent this report. for 30 years they have been cooking up for 30 years they have been cooking up italian classics and family—run businesses. it has been delivery only, but for next monday they can offer ta ke only, but for next monday they can offer take away too as the royal's first international lockdown of the pandemic starts to ease. they will have strict rules on hygiene and numbers, but for the owner starter, it is welcomed. on one hand it is a relief because you're overcoming the emergency stage of the operating and see a glimmer of hope, but on the other, we are full of sorrow because it won't be a simple return to normality. the lockdown is at a catastrophic impact, it has been the sacrifice of the lifetime to build our restaurant. we can reopen but many will not. as italy starts to

unlock, perks too will open up an exercise outdoors will be allowed, breath of fresh air. i am happy i will be able to play outside and i look forward to feeding the ducks. movement too will be eased, police checks will remain the people will be allowed to travel within their own region and to visit relatives with facemasks. a taste of freedom for a nation that is endured such suffering. this is a road map to reopening by government can't show italians that their sacrifices are paying off. the international lockdown —— can show. the people now deserve to see a way out and so that patients does not free. but it is already the clergy frustrated the church services cannot resume, the small funerals can. it

i think the soul of the people need to be nourished, not only by food but by spiritual sources. 50, i think that the government should think that the government should think about it in short time. the lockdown has been italy passed by salvation and with to get too early can be its curse. but using it gives italy faith that it can recover one day. well, as we saw at the end of mark's report, there's some anger in italy that the ban on mass is not yet being lifted. roman catholic bishops have written to the prime minister giuseppe conte to protest. mario giro is leader of italy's centrist demos party and a catholic and joins me live from rome: tell me more about that anger, the reaction there has been in italy to that news that churches will remain

shut. yes it was a day of politics on that because there was a strong reaction not only to the part of the church but also the other religions, denominations and they could not ta ke denominations and they could not take into account the consideration of the spiritual life of the people and that peculiar moment in which we need all of our strength to overcome the situation is important to open the situation is important to open the church and to permit people, of course with social distancing to worship. is it realistic to open churches, deaf services with all of the conditions that exist around social distancing. around having people tightly together.m

social distancing. around having people tightly together. it is possible to have it because it is already like this and remember, the churches are opening and people can go to pray with the respect of the rules and people are social distancing in the churches in the benches of being displaced and it is possible that the conference presented the plan about that with all of the rules and i think that the technicians in the technical committee that advised the government is not interested in this. on interested in biology. why is it so important now because it's in faith fundamentally rooted in sight each of us? doesn't really make that much difference where physically people carry it out? make that much difference where physically people carry it ounm isa physically people carry it ounm is a question of relations and lots

of faith is questions of relations. we cannot be related every time and must be important for the churches of the religions everybody. to worship with all of the rules in the social distancing although all the norms that we have continued to live. if it is possible to go to museums, possible to take the bus, was not possible with the same rules to be ina was not possible with the same rules to be in a church and also remember that the church and its elites very big, there is a lot of space. thank you very much for taking time to speak with us from rome. thank you so much. some uk health workers are still struggling to get tested for the coronavirus. that's the warning from the british medical association. it says that since the government increased the number of people eligible for the tests to 10 million

key workers and their families, the online system has been fully booked up within hours. the government target is to reach 100,000 tests a day by the end of the month, but yesterday just 37,000 tests were carried out. here's our health editor hugh pym. the army testing for coronavirus, part of the plan to allow up to ten million essential workers and their families to get tested if they have symptoms. elsewhere at drive—in centres like those people arrived for tests booked online. 0n the launch day last week the service was suspended with all of the slots taking but they were open today. what do you think of the process of booking and cumming in? what do you think of the process of booking and coming here? it's quite easy, i would say. it's a bit nerve—racking because obviously there's going to be quite a few people with symptoms around here, that was our only concern,

but other than that it was quite easy and straightforward. very simple. not as bad as i thought, as i imagined. easy to book online? yes, quite straightforward. there's been a fairly regular flow of vehicles at the centre with things going it seems quite smoothly but that's not necessarily the case based on what we've been told in other areas of the country and other parts of the system. just trying to log on for the fourth occasion... kevin from liverpool has symptoms but the only test he's been offered are some way from his home. doncaster and york, and edgbaston. when there is a test centre which is up in haydock, which is roughly about 15 miles away from myself. it'sjust not good enough. the health secretary said they were still on track to meet the target of 100,000 tests per day later this week, but where to from there? where do you want to be with capacity and testing ability in a few months' time? we want testing to continue to increase. as you will know, the prime minister

set a goal of 250,000 some time ago. we are making sure that now nhs staff get tested, including when they are asymptomatic, to make sure we understand where the people who are working in hospitals have got the virus. as virus testing continues at sites like this at twickenham stadium, the question is how quickly it can be increased from here, and whether a big enough network to trace contacts of those who test positive can be created. the immediate issue is hitting that 100,000 target in a few days' time. the impact of the lockdown on businesses, has been acute. today britain's chancellor, said that he and the prime minister share a sense of urgency, in getting the economy restarted — but, as he put it — we're not there yet. rishi sunak also announced plans, that will see small businesses become eligible for new loans, which are backed by a 100% government guarantee. he's been speaking to our economics

editor faisal islam. in an office in leeds... you are through to hmrc, how can i help you? social distancing civil servants saving livelihoods. they are part of the team who within a month have started to pay the wages of four million british workers. we've had more than half a million applications. we have paid out more than {4.5 billion worth of support to businesses and we are managing to keep people employed. thejob scheme already extended by a month. the chancellor has had to adopt the business loans element in this rescue package, with another new scheme for small business microloans. today, we announced a brand—new loan scheme for the smaller businesses. they will be able to get up to £50,000, a quarter of their revenue, very easily with a simple form, standardised, and hopefully have the money in their account within 24 hours. so, these bank loans are 100% backed by government, worth up to £50,000 and could be

available within a day. in the first year, no repayments are needed. that is badly needed at businesses such as in water flowers, where they're not seeing green shoots. we think many businesses in the hospitality sector, including ours, we need assurances and support way beyond this initial period. we are going to need support over the next 12 months and beyond. so, how long a loss—making business can be sustained after the lockdowns has been lifted is really the question. as this coronavirus crisis endures, here at the heart of the treasury, another rescue scheme for the economy, this time focused on getting cash as quickly as possible to the smallest businesses. but the economic consequences look like lasting longer. the argument here, there is no simple trade—off between health and the economy. the economy will take a significant hit in the short—term.

i have been very clear about that before and that is going to have an impact on manyjobs and many businesses. and for those people saying what economy will be there when some sort of normality returns, the numbers are so big, the hit is so big we need to move more quickly, what do you say to them? we absolutely need a thriving economy, not least because it provides people with theirjobs, their incomes and pays for all public services. but the best way in the long—term to ensure that is to get control of the virus now. we have set out five tests that we have to meet before we can think about moving to phase two. we're not there yet. no contradiction here between rescuing lives and rescuing livelihoods. faisal islam, bbc news. from the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak, age and having a compromised immune system were identified as major factors in suffering the worst impact from covid—19. but some doctors are warning that many of their sickest patients are those under 60 who are obese.

one of the doctors making those warnings is aseem malhotra, a consultant cardiologist from london. thank you so much for being here with me. in terms what you have seen, how much of a difference does this actually make in terms of the fatality figures of your seeing. this actually make in terms of the fatality figures of your seeingm isa fatality figures of your seeingm is a huge problem that we are seeing, all of the data from the cdc to disease control, it appears that obesity and more specifically diseases with this are associated with a tenfold increase in mortality. we know obesity in the under 60 is the single biggest risk factor boy is really important to highlight here is what is the root cause of that. prior to covid—19, it

is well—known, well—established in the medical books that poor diet is even more of a cause than physical activity like smoking and alcohol combined, 11 million deaths a year globally attributed specifically to poor diet. when one looks at what happened with covid—19, it is very clear that the big factor for all of these things come obesity and all of these things come obesity and all of these things come obesity and all of these things like type two diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease is overdue than poor diet. but i emphasised in rooted in the telegraph newspaper the date an article about mentioned on the front page the time is not for government and public health and good to be telling the public to change their dietand telling the public to change their diet and the reason for that is that we know, and this is in the case with my patients all the time, many clinicians around the country are pa rt clinicians around the country are part of this prescription. you can reverse many of these conditions and send them into remission and massively improve this risk factors

within the space ofjust a few weeks if people cutting out the biggest sort of problem in our diet at the moment. is going to ask you about that moving forward coming back in a moment or two, that language just sat there about a tenfold increase in mortality rates is a shocking, shocking figure. is that what you're seeing globally, internationally and not just seeing globally, internationally and notjust in the uk and do you know medically, why it would be so high? very good question. all of the data have identified this tenfold increase with these conditions which again are rooted in poor diet. and the reason for that and it is very good question to ask us twofold. 0ne is excess body fat we know this from previous flu data is that it is thought to cause a dis— regulated immune system and otherwise, the immune system and otherwise, the immune system and otherwise, the immune system does not function optimally you're more likely to die

from conditions like acute respiratory distress syndrome which is what kills people and covid—19. the other mechanism is that if you eat too much processed food, even if your normal weight, then your body is chronically getting mildly damaged and that results and chronic inflammation. we have an acute infection on top of that from covid—19, the combination of excess body fat and the inflammation seems to be particularly detrimental. and from the tail end of your first a nswer from the tail end of your first answer that you do not think it is too late for individuals to change the behaviour and not too late for the behaviour and not too late for the government also to pivot in terms of advice. you're absolutely right and terms of advice. you're absolutely rightandi terms of advice. you're absolutely right and i see with my patients in terms of the literature that you can reverse these within a few weeks of just cutting out order processed food, starch and sugary food and people will lose weight but even if they do not lose weight, they are improving their health quite dramatically. the second thing is

you're absolutely right, actually what should be coming from the government now in the been very effective in getting people to stay home with the message might stay at home, protect the nhs and save lives. i think we need to add onto that, eat real food and protect the nhs insists make and save lives, we also tackled the root of this poor dietand a also tackled the root of this poor diet and a lot of the diet is a processed food, packaged foods that is nutrient deficient that is high in unhealthy oils, sugar and starch and more than 50% of the diet. it is such a problem that is even infiltrator hospitals. 75% of foods purchased in hospitals are in healthy and it is no surprise that u nfortu nately healthy and it is no surprise that unfortunately nhs workers are also infected with diabetic diseases as well. thank you so much for your time, thank you. there are now 32,000 confirmed cases of covid—19 across africa.

that's an increase of more than 40% in the past week, with more than 11100 deaths recorded so far. experience of dealing with illnesses including ebola, yellow fever and malaria has prompted scientists there to innovate. the outbreak of ebola between 2014—2016 hit the west african region hard. there were over 28,500 cases and over 11,000 deaths. hiv is widespread in eastern and southern africa, with more than 20 million people in the region living with the disease. and yellow fever, which is transmitted by mosquitoes, is estimated to cause up to 60,000 deaths annually. the bbc‘s senior africa correspondent, anne soy, looks at whether the health emergencies of the past have put the continent in a stronger position to tackle covid—19. ebola in the democratic republic of the congo has had her neighbours on high alert for months. this was the routine at the arrival lounges in many african countries.

then came covid—19, and screening at the ports of entry continued. on this front, africa had a head start, and the lag in the arrival of the disease helped many to prepare. i think africans had the gift of time, being able to see the way different parts of the western world, different parts of the world in asia have reacted, and i have been struck that there has been less of the denialism that has been prevalent in the west and in china, i have seen less of that in africa, which is encouraging. i see many african countries taking it very seriously. habits are also changing rapidly in communities across africa — like they had to during outbreaks of ebola. movement across countries is now limited to cargo. and even here, there is caution. in the ‘80s and ‘90s, this highway from the port of mombasa to kigali became a route through which hiv spread

into rural areas — centres where truck drivers stopped and parked for the night became hotspots of infection. and with covid—19, countries have quickly identified them as a high—risk group, and here in kenya they are being screened. but in uganda, it's been taken a notch higher. they are testing every truck driver arriving in the country, and so far they've identified cases even when they're asymptomatic. south africa has stood out. it has the largest outbreak on the continent, but a massive community health response is under way. tuberculosis testing equipment has been repurposed, set up in dozens of mobile laboratories, and sent to townships and villages for mass testing. the west has commandeered most of the materials for this testing, because they are facing crisis,

and we are sort of further back in the queue asking for these sort of things, so for us to try to get access to it, we are probably going to have to develop a lot of the technology ourselves. i'll open the door for the next one, right? that's what scientists are trying to do at the desmond tutu laboratory. 0ngoing research into a possible test for tb where samples are collected from breath is now looking at covid—19. it is the race to find home—grown solutions for a global problem. the continent's chances of averting a major disaster lie in the success of its swift and hard response to the pandemic, but it is still too early to say if it is working. that's it from me — thanks for watching. next up — its 0utside source.

hello. well, it's been so dry for so very long that it's high time we got some rain, and rain is on the way, a fair amount for southern parts of the uk. and i'm sure our gardens will love it, as well as our parks. and let's face it, most of us are stuck at home. now, the rain clouds are visible on the satellite picture. they're coming in from the south. that's tomorrow's rain, and this band of cloud, that's the weather front that will come our way on wednesday. you can see how over the next few days, one weather system moves across southern parts of the country and this next bigger area of low pressure swings in front in our direction as well. so, the forecast for the coming hours, then. through the course of the night, we expect the clouds to thicken across the south. it'll start raining almost

anywhere from cornwall to the tip of kent there, into the midlands quite possibly early hours of tuesday morning. not particularly cold here because we'll have the cloud and a bit of a breeze and the rain, so ten degrees. whereas in scotland, where we will have had the clear skies overnight, a touch of frost. so, here's that rain, and the thing about this rain in the south is that it will be very slow—moving, so hanging around in any one place for a considerable amount of time, which means it could be a wash—out in some parts of southern britain. and chilly, too — those temperatures will be supressed, perhaps nine or ten degrees in some spots. but different across the lakes, northern ireland and scotland. you can see here that all through the day, bar the odd shower here and there, actually it's going to be mostly clear. and then towards the end of tuesday, that rain should clear away out into the north sea. and this is what's happening through tuesday night into wednesday. 0ne weather front moves away, and then this bigger area of low pressure swings in. now, the different with this weather

front midweek will be rather than it being slow moving like tomorrow's rain, on wednesday this weather front‘s going to rush through a little bit quicker. so, for example, in birmingham, we might get a couple of hours' worth of rainfall, then behind it we've got showers coming in as well. but this rain will spread a little bit further north on wednesday. so, for example, glasgow will get some rain, too. and then beyond that, it looks as though the weather's going to remain unsettled, perhaps an indication things will be turning a little bit less chilly towards the end of the week there. around 16 in london. that's it, bye—bye.

this is 0utside source on bbc news, for viewers in the uk and around the world. we're covering all the latest coronavirus developments here in britain and globally. the uk's prime minister boris johnson is back in downing street — after his own fight against coronavirus — to tell the country now is the moment of maximum risk. i refuse to throw away all the effort and the sacrifice of the british people and to risk a second major outbreak