this is bbc news with the latest headlines. millions more people will be able to get tested for coronavirus from today including all staff and residents of care homes. if they gov.uk, they can find out how to get a task. there are a number of ways, including having a test sent to your home, where you can get a test. spain's prime minister predicts a recession on an "extraordinary scale" following the pandemic. the first prime minister's questions since boris johnson's return to work. will he make an appearance for this afternoon's extended edition? patients with suspected cancer symptoms are being urged to contact their gp, after a 70% drop in cancer referrals since the pandemic was declared. the coronavirus outbreak in the united states has now killed more americans than the vietnam war. over 58,000 have lost their lives.

bollywood actor irrfan khan, who starred in slumdog millionaire and life of pi, has died at the age of 53. good morning and welcome to bbc news. i'm victoria derbyshire. the coronavirus testing programme is being expanded by the government. it will include all care home staff and residents, and anyone over 65. the government says the 100,000 target set by the health secretary is due to be met by tomorrow. downing street is this morning still declining to say whether boris johnson will appear at prime minister's questions in the commons this lunchtime following his return to work. a "recession on an extraordinary

scale" is predicted by spain's prime minister following the outbreak. over 58,000 us citizens have now died from covid—19. that's more than the number of americans killed in the vietnam war. almost 18,000 more people could die from cancer over the next year in england because of the impact of covid—19, according to researchers. we'll have more on all those stories shortly. 0urfirst report is from charlotte rose. with just one day left to reach the government target of 100,000 coronavirus government target of 100,000 coro navi rus tests government target of 100,000 coronavirus tests a day in england, it is clear there is still some way to go. the health secretary has repeatedly said the government will hit the milestone by the end of april. yesterday, the number of people tested in the previous 2a hours was 113,453. in order to more

than double the number of daily tests, the government is increasing the capacity for testing and expanding the criteria for who can be tested. it will now include people over 65 with symptoms and any workers who cannot work from home and anyone in a household that has symptoms in any nhs worker and resident all staff in her hands regardless of whether they have symptoms or not. it will be done by a combination of existing drive—through centres, mobile testing units run by the army and mobile testing kits. tens of thousands of care home staff had been too dry then centres. we call this a satellite model where a bunch of swa bs this a satellite model where a bunch of swabs are delivered, administered by the staff and sent back in a bunch. there has been criticism as to why testing was not available sooner. to why testing was not available sooner. so we have been working with

them on protocols to prevent the virus getting into care home settings. in the nhs he had people dealing day in and day out with people who actually had the symptoms and in some cases advanced symptoms of the virus. you had to make sure isa of the virus. you had to make sure is a first priority that they have the protection they need. liz kemp did not feature in daily death figures. herfamily did not feature in daily death figures. her family say the staff did all they could in herfinal days that they had been unable to stop the virus reaching her.|j that they had been unable to stop the virus reaching her. i hope that ministers do recognise the wonderful work that has gone on and goes on up and down the country in nursing homesjust and down the country in nursing homes just like and down the country in nursing homesjust like when and down the country in nursing homes just like when liz was and they are doing a job equal to anyone in the national health service. liz was one of more than 4000 who have

died since it but have not so far been recorded in the official daily figures. they show there were another 586 deaths from covid—19, bringing the total to 21,678. from today all care home deaths will be included in that figure. with the added tax, the uk could be on course to have the highest death total in europe. whilst the peak of the virus in hospitals may have passed, the country is still a long way from recovery. 0ur science correspondent pallab ghosh joins me now from west london. many more people are eligible for their tests. there is confusion from people wanting to know if they are eligible. talk us through it. people wanting to know if they are eligible. talk us through itm people wanting to know if they are eligible. talk us through it. it is ha rd to eligible. talk us through it. it is hard to keep up. as we had in cha rlotte's hard to keep up. as we had in charlotte's report, testing has been expanded to all health care and social star. previously it was only

available to those and their families who showed symptoms and now it has been extended to anyone whether they show symptoms or not. it has also been extended to those over 65 with symptoms and people who had to go to work for their profession, like emergency planners and construction workers and so forth. that is a great increase in the number of people eligible. it follows a n the number of people eligible. it follows an increase last week and i expect it has got something to do with the target of 100,000 actual tests, rather than capacity. at the moment, capacity is said to be 73000 and only 43,000 people took that up. come hell or high water, it seems that matt hancock is determined to reach his target. 0bviously increased testing will protect some of the most vulnerable as well. testing is key to potential

modification of the lockdown restrictions, isn't it? that is right. this week is all about reaching their profession, like emergency planners and construction workers and so forth. that is a great increase in the number of people eligible. it follows an increase last week and i expect it has got something to do with the target of 100,000 actual tests, rather than capacity. at the moment, capacity is said to be 73000 and only 43,000 people took that up. come hell or high water, it seems that matt hancock is determined to reach his target. 0bviously increased testing will protect some of the most vulnerable as well. testing is key to potential modification of the lockdown restrictions, isn't it? that is right. this week is all about the get 100,000 a day, you are going to need an extra zero on that. the model will be that, if we are allowed to go out to work and into the shops and so forth, rather than controlling it by staying indoors, what the plan will be is to test anyone who starts to show symptoms and track all the people they had beenin and track all the people they had been in contact with, either with an apple physical contact tracing and isolate all those people who will have to stay in lockdown for 14 days 01’ so. have to stay in lockdown for 14 days or so. that will be one route to normality. there is a lot we do not know about the virus before some of these measures can continue to be

eased. thank you. if you are going to get a test or members of your family, do let me know what difference it will make and how you go about your daily life. spain's prime minister pedro sanchez said each region —— spain has had more than 210,000 cases confirmed. —— the spanish prime minister pedro sanchez has warned that the country faces a recession on an "extraordinary scale", amidst forcecasts that unemployment there could nearly double this year. spain has had more than 210,000 cases confirmed, and one of the strictest lockdowns in europe, which the government says it now plans to emerge from. 0ur europe correspondent damian grammaticas has more. in spain, the daily tally of the dead may be falling, but the lines of the hungry are lengthening. queueing for hand—outs to fill empty stomachs. a new wave of suffering brought by the virus is gathering force. norma, a cleaner, has lost all of her work. 300 euros a month is

what she's left with. the poorest being hit hardest. translation: the people whose house i was working at told me, ‘don't come any more until this is finished.‘ now i don't know if i can even afford to pay my rent. the little she gets she shares with her brother. his work submitting flyers to homes has dried up and there are four in his household to feed. even in the worst of spain's economic crisis, those on the margins could find odd jobs — not now. assistance from others is all that's left. translation: every day we pray for help for the nation's volunteers and thanks to god we're getting them. it is a miracle. a miracle is what many of spain's businesses need too. the plan is they will start reopening next month but customer numbers must be limited. cafes can only serve outdoors.

businesses, shuttered for weeks, may struggle to survive. paco's come back to find the bills piling up, more than he thinks he's able to pay. if his restaurant fails, the five staff he's kept on will be jobless too. translation: even when we open, i don't believe people will go out like before — they'll be scared. nobody knows what is going to happen. we all scared. those fears are felt right across spain, even in the smallest places. this bullring should be full now. this was it exactly a year ago. the annual fiesta, people crowded in from far and wide. now, nobody. these events help sustain economies in towns like this but how to restart them?

events will be the last thing to reopen — just 400 spectators allowed, all spaced apart. translation: it's a day when, in a small village like this, many thousands come. restaurants, hotels, shops — everyone will feel the impact. it's sad. spain's health emergency may be waning but an economic one isjust beginning to bite. damien grammaticas, bbc news. let's return to our lead story now and coronavirus testing. our assistant political editor norman smith is in westminster. this is partly about matt hancock beating his 100,000 test target tomorrow. doesn't matter if he does not reach it? i am sure there will bea not reach it? i am sure there will be a moment in the media when we say matt hancock has not met his target but providing he gets more than

80,000 tests done i do not think the government will be that bothered. he would argue by raising the bar so high, he has galvanised public health england and private laboratories to massively boost testing. when you listen to some of the private test providers now they are confident of significantly going beyond 100,000. we are definitely moving in the right direction, even if he does not quite meet the target tomorrow, albeit we won't get the figure for tomorrow until saturday. you have to hold your horses a bit. the key thing is to make sure that this capacity and these tests get delivered to the people who need it. as we heard yesterday, care homes are the people who need it. so far the track record has been lamentable. i home bosses had struggled to get tests, even when they had been banging on the door, ringing round trying to get tests.

they have not been able to do so. it is worth noting that two weeks ago we had a pledge from matt hancock that all those care staff and higher residents with symptoms with the tested. it has not happened. when you look at the overall scale of testing, yesterdayjohn nugent and a man in charge of testing, said overall there had been 25,000 has provided full residents in care homes that is out of the total of 760,000 homes that is out of the total of 760 , 000 tests homes that is out of the total of 760,000 tests in total. when you look at the 25,000 in relation to the 760,000, that bolsters care home bosses to say they have not had the attention they need. prime minister's questions today. downing street declining to say whether borisjohnson will street declining to say whether boris johnson will appear. why?” suspect because he will not appear. no word from number 10. if he were going to appear, i am sure they

would say, do not be ridiculous, he is very healthy, of course he will appear. i take it from that they calculate actually it is a bit of a risk health—wise. then he did the same it on the steps of downing street on monday, that was six minutes, quite self—contained. prime minister's questions is a different ball game altogether. although it is a virtual pmqs, it will be round about 45 minutes long. you are on your feet the entire time. you have to a nswer your feet the entire time. you have to answer questions on different subjects. it is a physical endurance. within number 10 may think, do we want to risk the prime minister showing signs that he is struggling a bit? they could say he is not up to it and i wonder if some of the more cynical among them take the view that perhaps he does not wa nt to the view that perhaps he does not want to be pressed on the lockdown anyway, they want to hold off giving details about that for a bit longer.

i expect it will be dominic raab and not borisjohnson. labour are demanding the findings of an inquiry into home secretary priti patel‘s conduct be made public "as soon as possible." in march, borisjohnson asked the cabinet office to investigate following allegations the minister had bullied staff at three government departments. ms patel, who was interviewed as part of the process, has strenuously denied the claims. one of india's best known actors, irrfan khan, has died at the age of 53. he was renowned for his work in hindi cinema, but also starred in a number of high profile hollywood films including jurassic world, slumdog millionaire and life of pi. our correspondent yogita limaye is in mumbai. tell us what we know about his death. mr khan was in the intensive ca re death. mr khan was in the intensive care unit of a hospital in mumbai

being treated for a colon infection. doctors are yet to confirm the exact cause of his dad but he had opened up cause of his dad but he had opened up about his battle with a rare form of cancer, and enter tumour. that stops cells releasing hormones into the bloodstream. he penned a heartfelt note at that time talking about the intensity of the pain he was going through. there had been an outpouring of love and affection for him from his fans in india, of course, but around the world as well. what kind of things are people saying? we had a big movie star in india paying tribute, saying he was an incredible talent, a gracious colleague, a prolific contributor to the world of cinema. lots of people talking about how he was amazing to work with. one thing that changed

about indian cinema, actors become well known when they are playing a leading role and they have a larger than life persona on screen. he was very different. he played ordinary roles, ordinary people. it was his comic timing which meant he was a critically acclaimed. he crossed over and acted in a host of international films and a host of english—language films, slum dog millionaire, of pi. —— life of pi. millions more people will be able to be tested for coronavirus from today, including staff and residents of care homes. spain's prime minister predicts a recession on an "extraordinary scale" following the pandemic. the first prime minister's questions since boris johnson's return to work. will he make an appearance for

this afternoon's extended edition? norman this afternoon's extended edition? smith says it is anyone with symptoms of cancer is being urged to contact their gp, after nhs england revealed there's been a 70% drop in the number of referrals since the pandemic was declared. a network of covid—free hubs has now been set up across the country, to make sure those who need urgent cancer treatment will get it. our reporter lucie kon has been to see how one of them works. we have got two different trusts operating. joanna franks is a consultant breast surgeon. in normal times, she splits her working week, looking after nhs patients at university college hospital in central london, and private patients here at the wellington hospital in north london. today we have a 57—year—old lady with a right—sided small screening detected cancer. now because of covid, her team have relocated their entire service here.

we have a series of theatres, they would ordinarily have gone to sleep in the anaesthetic room, but now they will go to sleep in the actual main theatre. it is a little bit variable, depending on the complexity of each case so we have to think about how long each case will take and that we have to safely recover the patients. some of that time now has to be in the operating theatre. ucl and the whittington are doing breast in theatre three. -- uclh. in theatre four, the royal free are doing breast. and in theatre five, we have got skin cancer being done by the royal free team. it is one of 19 covid—free cancer hubs. alliances between the nhs and private sector now up and running across england. i have checked the covid swabs. they have come back all negative. and they make sure it stays covid—free by testing every patient for the virus before they are admitted. welcome, everybody. jo has weekly meetings with colleagues in the other

hospitals in the alliance to decide who they can realistically treat. patients are prioritised according to new national guidelines and difficult decisions have to be made. for some patients, it is very clear they need to have time critical treatment and those patients will be put forward by their mdt to be discussed for prioritisation to make sure they will get an operating slot. three weeks ago, during coronavirus, covid—19, i was diagnosed with breast cancer. this woman is still coming to terms with her diagnosis. she is not a patient in one of the hospitals involved here. i know if we weren't in covid, i know i would be on an operating schedule and have a date for a mastectomy with reconstruction. but because of covid, everything is on hold. the bbc has been told of patients across the country who haven't been given surgery or treatments like chemotherapy because of covid. one nurse has said that the treatment options are so limited

at the moment that she has seen a dramatic increase in the number of patients having mastectomies without reconstructions. nhs england say essential and urgent cancer treatments must continue but that all decisions made have to be balanced against the risks posed by covid. future dreams is a breast cancer charity who have partnered with a hospital here and 13 other nhs trusts to provide an after—care service for women who do have surgery. it is complicated for a breast care nurse. we are ensuring she has everything that she requires to give a patient from the post—surgery bras and the comfies, for the drain bags, for the head scarves so that they can feel that they can give their best to their patients in a very traumatic time. i was diagnosed on the 12th of february. by the end of today, the team working here at the wellington will have operated on 100 of their breast cancer patients.

one of them was ann. i wouldn't have been comfortable seeing anyone else, it was also important to have the team. i am familiar with you, i am confident with you and to be able to have you come over into a safe environment in the wellington just made it possible for me. people really shouldn't hesitate. they are safe to come into hospital and if they wait until there seems to be a better time, the disease can advance. lucie kon, bbc news. do not hesitate to get checked for cancer, if you think you may have new symptoms. the nhs is open for you. they really are stressing that. the earlier you seek help then the more chance you have of surviving

it. it really is that important. we will talk about this further in an hour. that is when we move to ability to at ten o'clock. —— bbc two. the number of coronavirus cases in the united states has now passed one million — nearly a third of the world's total. that includes more than 57,000 deaths, which is now more than the number of americans who were killed in the vietnam war. our north america correspondent peter bowes reports. two grim milestones highlighting the devastating impact of covid—19 on the united states. more than one million cases and over 58,000 people killed by the virus, which surpasses the number of americans who died over nearly two decades in vietnam. and the outbreak is far from over. one of the white house's senior medical advisers has warned that covid—19 could re—emerge later in the year. it's not going to disappear from the planet. which means as we get into next season — in my mind — it's inevitable

that we will have a return of the virus or maybe it had never even went away. applause at a meeting with small business owners, echoing comments made in february, president trump said he was optimistic the number of cases would ultimately go down to zero. you never know about a vaccine. but tremendous progress has been made. johnson &johnson and oxford and lots of good things that — you've been hearing the same things as i do. tremendous progress has been made — we think — on a vaccine. you always have to say "think", and then have to test it, and that takes a period of time. in the meantime, much of the country is still at a standstill, with stay—at—home orders enforced until at least the middle of may. 26 million americans have lost theirjobs during the pandemic. the us commerce department is expected to report later that gross domestic product suffered a steep drop in the first quarter of the year, with the economy shrinking by up to 4%. it will be the biggest decline in economic activity since the great

recession over a decade ago. and there's much worse to come over the coming months, since the virus didn't begin to impact the us economy until late march. but president trump remains optimistic. it's going to come back very fast. now that our experts believe the worst days of the pandemic are behind us, americans are looking forward to the safe and rapid reopening of our country. on a trip to a medical centre in minnesota, mike pence thanked health workers and researchers for their efforts during the pandemic, but his visit was overshadowed by his decision to ignore the hospital's rules that all visitors should wear face masks. the vice president said he wasn't concerned about spending the virus because he'd tested negative several times for covid—19. peter bowes, bbc news, los angeles. from this weekend, letters will no longer be delivered on saturdays. royal mail says it follows

a plea from staff to ease the burden on their workloads during the coronavirus crisis. they say letter deliveries from monday to friday will continue as normal, while parcels would continue to be delivered on saturdays. revised plans to mark the 75th anniversary of ve day have been announced. the coronavirus outbreak means the usual street parties and parades cannot go ahead. the queen will instead make a special address to the nation and people will be encouraged to join a doorstep sing along to dame vera lynn's wartime anthem, we'll meet again. as big movie studios across the world have either shut down or greatly scaled back their operations, one part of the industry that it still going strong is animation. hundreds of animators across the country are working at home and being keptjust as busy, if not busier, than before the lockdown as ramzan karmali explains. animation.

everything from children's tv shows like this to big movie productions, video games, tv adverts and even corporate videos. it is a big business and growing, even in this period of lockdown. tom box is co—founder of blue zoo animations. we make home entertainment. with everyone being at home, home entertainment is in demand. within days of closing down his office, the business was up and running. a lot of home entertainment is filmed and none of those live action films can happen at the moment. a lot of companies are opting for animation instead. from that point of view, we are extremely busy. we have actually seen a bit of an increase in inquiries happen. we have five series in production at the moment. so from that point of view, luckily, we are business as usual. hundreds of animators are now working from home, like this woman. she finds the process relatively straightforward and loves the flexibility it gives her but it does come with some challenges. i really miss being in the studio and seeing my colleagues and, of course, most importantly

seeing my team. but now of course we are limited to a webcam. there is only so much communication you can do with a webcam, especially when it comes to acting, and i feel like it'sjust not the same feeling at all. the industry has weathered the difficult conditions it has found itself in pretty well. finding fresh talent in lockdown has proved tricky and that is not the only problem it is currently facing. we can be a vibrant sector and we are, and we can be open for business and we are. obviously, that means there has to be investment in new content, whether that is here in the uk through the broadcasters or internationally. that is what needs to be in place. animation across the globe may be carrying on almost as close to normal as possible but clearly, if the lockdown persists, that could become even harder for an industry that so far has been bucking the trend.

now it's time for a look at the weather. after the sunshine and the warmth we saw through april, normal service has now resumed. sunshine back in wales for a time before there are more showers. any rain sweeps across the north and east of england during the north and east of england during the second half of the day, affecting northern ireland as well and eventually scotland. in the south—west more heavy and thundery showers returning later. in england and wales, nowhere near as chilly as yesterday. overnight patchy rain pushes northwards over scotland. roughly the same sort of areas and duration we will see through daylight hours. tonight a cool night to ta ke daylight hours. tonight a cool night to take us into tomorrow morning. lots of cloud around that thing.

this is where we could see rain persisting, in the far north of scotland. in the north of scotland through england and wales, it is a story of sunshine. windiest across the south stop hello this is bbc news. the headlines: millions more people will be able to get tested for coronavirus from today including all staff and residents of care homes. spain's prime minister predicts a recession on an "extraordinary scale" following the pandemic. the first prime minister's questions since borisjohnson's return to work — will he make an appearance for this afternoon's extended edition? patients with suspected cancer symptoms are being urged to contact their gp, after a 70% drop in cancer referrals since the pandemic was declared. the coronavirus outbreak in the united states has now killed

more americans than the vietnam war. over 58,000 have lost their lives. bollywood actor irrfan khan, who starred in slumdog millionaire and life of pi, has died at the age of 53. uk supermarkets have continued to stress their ability to cope with the dramatic change in shopping patterns, food shortages and stockpiling. richard walker is the managing director of iceland foods and joins me now. good morning to you. when lockdown is modified, what changes are you likely to make in your stores. in our almost 1,000 stores, we have already had to adapt quite significantly as a business, first unprecedented panic buying and the pressure that put on our supply

chains. that has died down and we're seeing now a much higher basket spend, and customers transitioning to frozen food and online and we have had to boost our online capacity over 200%. particularly focussing on those who are vulnerable and elderly to make sure we get food to them. how many online delivery slots are you doing if it has been boosted by 250%. we don't disclose the actual number and we are growing it all the time, but we are growing it all the time, but we are now one of highest in terms of online retailers in the country. so we're well over quarter of a million deliveries, but we are looking to increase that significantly over the coming weeks and months. the boss of tesco said yesterday that the big weekly shop was back in fashion, do you agree? yes. foot fall is down in

iceland, but also across the supermarkets and of course that is because of social distancing measures and people staying at home. but actually it's. .. measures and people staying at home. but actually it's... it's really come to the fore for the convenient retailer like iceland that you can p0p retailer like iceland that you can pop to. we have seen a large increase in our basket spend. over all the grocery markets sales are up 7%. our sales are up 16% and frozen food sales are up as people look to fill their freezers. i wonder if, after this crisis is over, you might shift more permanently focus to online sales as opposed to your 1,000 stores? no, ithink online sales as opposed to your 1,000 stores? no, i think there's a lwa ys 1,000 stores? no, i think there's always going to be a place for physical stores and every store we have almost is profitable. week in week in. they're imbedded in the

communities we serve. and the health of high street is fundamental to the health of the uk economy. so i would like to see long—term support for the high street in general. once we get out of this crisis. because it is essential, as the fabric of the uk infrastructure. once we do get out of this, it will either be via a vaccine or other treatment what, measures will you have to keep in place to keep staff and customers safe ? place to keep staff and customers safe? the safety of our staff, our customers is paramount and we will a lwa ys customers is paramount and we will always follow the guidance and we have weekly meeting with defra and the government following the latest advice, we have had to implement social distancing and ppe is available in every store for every colleague and we continue to follow the guidance. you know, we are a

resilient business, we have been around for 50 years and i have no doubt that we will be able to deal with whatever is thrown at us in the future. thank you very much mr walker. the government says 90% of rough sleepers in england have been invited to come indoors during the coronavirus outbreak — that's around 2,000 people who are no longer on the streets and instead living in hotels. mike matthews runs the prince rupert hotel in shrewsbury which is now home to 25 rough sleepers. one of them is chris bennett — he's been living there for the past six weeks. i've spoken to both of them and started by asking. first of all how this came about. we we re first of all how this came about. we were on the verge of following the government guidelines and closing the hotel down, which we didn't want to do, to close a 70 bedroom hotel

isa to do, to close a 70 bedroom hotel is a complex affair and out of a blue i had a call from the council who asked the question, would you be willing to open your hotel and join the coronavirus outbreak and house those people who are most vulnerable? i said, those people who are most vulnerable? isaid, well, look, let's have a cup of tea and go through the process and let's have a chat about it. we met that afternoon, along with my team and we had a second meeting and you know something, wejust said, let's get on with it, let'sjust something, wejust said, let's get on with it, let's just do something, wejust said, let's get on with it, let'sjust do it. chris, you are one of the 25 or so residents who are now staying in the four—star prince rupert hotel, how has your life changed in the last six weeks? it has been brilliant from not knowing where where we would be to mike and charlie letting us would be to mike and charlie letting us into his hotel. it was shocking to be fair. i thought for that day we would come here, i was waiting

for a sleeping bag and i got brought to the hotel and asked if i wanted a room. it was amazing and from then the help we get off them, they go out of their way for us. you couldn't ask for more. it is shocking to be fair. it was a big ask, victoria, looking back now, it seems a long time now, but it is only six weeks, to the council and the shrewsbury ark to reach out to individuals sleeping on park benches and shop door ways for many years and shop door ways for many years and in some cases for decades and to encourage them to leave their natural habitat and walk into the hotel, that in itself needs being brought to attention, because it is a huge achievement. for some they haven't been in a property for years. it is new to me, i have only

been on the streets since january. for less than six months you know i was scared for a while. but obviously i no we have got a —— obviously i no we have got a —— obviously now we have a future to look at and the other lads that were on the streets for so long, they have took to it like ducks to water. we we re have took to it like ducks to water. we were surprised, some we thought they would want to go back to the streets. there is a couple that do. but the help we have had here and for the homeless, the long—term homeless, they are doing good. they're all planning their futures. i will ask you about your future in moment, chris, but at the beginning we re moment, chris, but at the beginning were you all a bit cautious of each other, did you have to earn each other‘s trust? other, did you have to earn each other's trust? i think looking back now, i think the first 10 days you're right to flag that up, there was a wariness, we had a job to do. it was more expectations from your side of what the homeless would be

like and your expectations of people from a four star hotel. we didn't expect you to be so down—to—earth. we walked past the hotel on a normal day, we wouldn't go to ask to use the toilets, because it is a business posh. you're so down—to—earth. business posh. you're so down-to-earth. we are hoteliers, from the point of view of looking after guests, that is what we do, thatis after guests, that is what we do, that is ourjob. you have had plenty of practice. from the beginning, we took the simple view that we wouldn't differentiate from the normal service and the hospitality that we provide to each guest who with walks through the first door. that similar principle would be applied to our new guests. we call them guests and when we have meetings, we talk about our guests. so there is no different from that point of view. on a day-to-day basis what, is the routine, is it three meals a day, what food are you

serving. breakfast is a casual affair with cereal and juice and toast and food, i see food in is in exercise as a huge factor in rewhat bill todaying these —— — rehabilitating these people. we have a room on the first floor that is allocated, that is their room to relax and recharge the batteries. lunch tends to be sandwiches, again or hot pizzas orjacket potatoes. dinner we try and give hearty dinners. yes. we often serve a full afternoon tea and we go the whole way with afternoon tea. the whole hog! with dinner we try and serve the traditional great english dishes, toad in the hole, lasagnes, stews. chicken dinners. we make

everything from scratch. everything is fresh. great roast potatoes and carrots, great desserts and bread and butter puddings. it is whimsical, we are actually getting complaints about the food, one said the gravy‘s a bit thin. we have taken the gravy‘s a bit thin. we have ta ke n two the gravy‘s a bit thin. we have taken two days to make that gravy using bones and stock. they're enjoying themselves. and they're feeling comfortable. i want too ask you chris, you said you had been living on the streets since the start of the year, could you describe for our audience that was like for you. the first day, it was a sunday i ended up homeless. scared at the time. and they're feeling co mforta ble. at the time. and they're feeling comfortable. i want too ask you chris, you said you had been living on the streets since the start of the year, could you describe for our audience that was like for you. the first day, it was a sunday i ended up first day, it was a sunday i ended up homeless. scared at the time. i

had no phone. i had no way of contacting anybody. so i had no way of contacting anybody. so i was on my phone. two days before new year. two days before new year's day and i'm walking around the streets in a world of loss, didn't know what to do, didn't know who to speak to. what can i do with myself. i wanted tojump in the river or something at the time. a few hours of walking around andl the time. a few hours of walking around and i bumped into some of the homeless on the street. asked the question, what do i do to keep warm? luckily they looked after me, gave me sleeping bags and this, that and the other and showed me how to survive for a few days. i did get to stay in a hotel for a few days with a friend. but he finished at the hotel and it was back to the streets. convict yashgs perhaps i could —— victoria, one of chris's issues, he had just come out of hospital with an operation, where he had a spider bite and he had quite a serious infection in his hand and his hand was double the size. would you say you have become friends. absolutely. yes. i think the world of michael and all the staff at the

hotel, they're amazing. notjust with chris, but you know with all 25, you can't help. we are living in the hotel, myself and my manager and my accountant, the three of us are here 24/7 and they have become our extended family during this terrible period. when you're living with somebody for that time, you can't help but warm to their personalities and get to know them as people. there is a wide range of personalities. aren't there just? mike, i wonder if i could ask you a question where i want you to be honest, is it fair to say that in the past you have perhaps walked past homeless people in shrewsbury and now you might have a different perspective on people who don't have a roof over their head? yeah, it is a roof over their head? yeah, it is a good question. i'm as guilty perhaps as a lot of people that you know i leave the hotel and i'm rushing down to have a meeting, i

will walk past individuals in door ways, late at night, i work most evenings and walk through town to leave to go home and i will walk past them. i'm, yeah, iwas leave to go home and i will walk past them. i'm, yeah, i was aware of it, i have to be honest that up until this period i didn't fully understand it. iwas until this period i didn't fully understand it. i was not 100% sympathetic to it, because i hadn't delved into the subjects in great detail. the knowledge i have obtained now and knowing that from this is obviously a huge issue and not just this is obviously a huge issue and notjust in shrewsbury, but there every town and city in the uk and internationally. i know that there isa internationally. i know that there is a lot of work going on now, i didn't realise this before, going from the senior positions in government, down to the volunteers who deliver food late on a sunday night to bed and breakfasts and guest houses. a huge amount of

effort is being done to solve thissish —— this issue. but it is a fair point, i hadn't involved myself in how these individuals got there and when you sit down, which i have done, and discover how they arrived at this point, you realise that, look, we come come into this world the same, just some of our paths go in divents directions and —— different directions and for a lot of cases it is just a bad roll of the dice. that is very true. chris, what once lockdown starts to be modified or eased, what then for you? i'm not sure. obviously trying to plan the future at the moment is difficult. i have been asked this a few times. even the housing team have said, what are your plans, not sure, what are yours, we don't know long it will be. i have to look at changing my trades. i can't be a

joiner or roofer, because of my hands, i can't clench it or open it fully. i can't get a what you call it. a physio. so i'm not getting any treatment on my hand to make it any better. i don't know at the moment. does that mean you might go back on the streets? what do the down sail say about what —— council say about what might happen? this is what we don't know. we don't know if we will get re—housed. don't know. we don't know if we will get re-housed. they will do, part of this process, at the end of the day, we started off by providing accommodation and food. there was no remit to provide anything else. you can't not but get to know these individuals and start to understand their predicament and then you can't also not from, stop yourself from trying to help them in the process of ra rehabilitating them. the council are working to find suitable

accommodation, which would be easier, a lot of landlords are cautious and careful about taking somebody who has come off the streets, they're not coming off the street. they're streets, they're not coming off the street. they‘ re cleaned streets, they're not coming off the street. they're cleaned up, they're tidy, they're getting into better physical health and they will be in a better position to return and have suitable accommodation for them. a better position to return and have suitable accommodation for themm is no only that, since everybody has turned up here, 90% that were using drugs are off them and they have gone to see the doctors and they are on scripts to keep them off it. that isa on scripts to keep them off it. that is a brilliant thing. if this hadn't, the majority wouldn't have done it. they would have stayed on the streets using. in so that in respect. chris and mike, love them. beautiful story of the homeless person chris and the hotelier making friend and feeling like family. andy

says, i'm welling up hearing this remarkable story. chris and his guests and their friendship. imagine this act of kindness was part of new normal? a child in cornwall with suspected autism got a special visit from three of his local postmen dressed as his favourite superheroes. logan elliot hadn't been sleeping at night and was struggling with the lockdown before his mum asked for help from the local community on facebook. well i'm pleased to say that logan elliot and his mum lauren join me now from bodmin in cornwall. and of course i'm also joined by post workers dave hoskin and malc meneer in the office. and finally, adam swatton. he's on his round also in bodmin. thank you all so much forjoining us. lauren, tell us about logan and how he has been finding lockdown. logan

is my little boy. he is the middle child. he struggles a lot with everything. especially with the lockdown. he's out of routine. he doesn't see obviously his friends that he would usely see, his teachers, specifically mrs alan, who he loves a lot. so you asked for a bit of help on facebook, what did you ask for? yeah, i basically wrote on the bodmin page asking for anyone who would write him a letter or draw him a picture, anything like that and the response was really overwhelming. in particular, what did dave, marc and adam do?” overwhelming. in particular, what did dave, marc and adam do? i had a message from the postman asking if

it was ok if they could deliver the post as superheroes and logan loves superheroes, like most little boys and girls. i said yes, it would be fantastic. so they did. what was logan's reaxion. we have seen —— reaxion? we have seen picture of him smiling. what was his reaction? he didn't know what to do. he was overwhelmed. he doesn't cope well with strangers, so i didn't know how he would be. we are showing pictures of them dressed up. looking magnificent. yeah, it was brilliant. it was extremely overwhelming for both of us. let me bring in dave. and adam. adam you started this? yes, i saw some pictures and some other post men dressed up in fancy

dressed and i messaged company and askedif dressed and i messaged company and asked if they supplied suit and if i wanted to go out and make some kids smile and they sent me a suit for free. just for that reason. brilliant. everyone's mucking in. malc and dave, i'm not sure which superhero you were. but you are doing a greatjob. you're entertaining children around the area clearly? yeah, thank you. i was captain america. we are like adam said, many of our colleagues throughout the country are going up and down their deliveries dressed as superheroes or bananas or anything in fancy dress to try and cheer up our customers on these dark times. does it sit well with you put the costu me does it sit well with you put the costume on? it did. i actually loved it. because once we had seen that

message on facebook, it was nice to be able to do something and going out and surprising logan, it was quite touching. i'm looking at those drawings, are they from children in the local area saying thank you to you? yeah, on our deliveries we have had, people have made us cakes gave us had, people have made us cakes gave us bottles of wine and chocolates, drawn us cards to show your appreciation and we do what we can to give something back. you went back and gave logan a badge. one of the customers, i caught his attention when i was delivering his mailand he attention when i was delivering his mail and he asked why we were dressed, i explained short and sweet to the guy and he asked if he was able to do him a badge. he said can ifind able to do him a badge. he said can i find out. i able to do him a badge. he said can ifind out. i can't see it being a problem. i asked ifind out. i can't see it being a problem. iasked lauren ifind out. i can't see it being a problem. i asked lauren if it was 0k. problem. i asked lauren if it was ok. she said fine and he come up

with a dead pool badge with his name on it. perfect, lauren what do you wa nt to on it. perfect, lauren what do you want to say to these guys? just thank you very much for what you did. obviously, you didn't have to do that without getting emotional, you did and it means the world for us. you did and it means the world for us. to me, to logan and his sisters, lilley and sarah, yeah, thank you. you're welcome. no problem. is logan, does he still talk about it, is he still excited about the visit from these three? yes, he was asked what their real names were, because he thinks that the dead pool talked funny. i explained that dead pool is extremely cornish! malc is that you? yes, i was. who knew dead poolwas

cornish? you guys must have been so busy, what has it been like? it's 0k. it's busy, what has it been like? it's ok. it's busy. people are at home, they're ordering parcels, because they're ordering parcels, because they can't get out and get supplies. but it is ourjob and we keep going and it is nice when we get cards like the once behind us. because we get tired and we are busy. but it is the service we provide. adam, what do you say to the people who, well, imean do you say to the people who, well, i mean some people are calling you heroes for this extra thing that you're doing. it is not really that, we are not heroes, we are just doing it to make people smile and i have kids and they're at home and want to see their friends. were just doing our normally, but bringing a bit of fun to everybody and making them smile. what has it been like for you during this crisis? it is a slightly

bizarre thing being outside and not many people are outside. it is... you know another day at work, it's, yeah. another day at work, dressing up yeah. another day at work, dressing up to cheer people up. it is really good to talk to you, adam. thank you very much and dave and malc, keep going with the good work and let's hope you get even more thank you letters from the kids in the area and lauren, i know you were nervous about coming on air, and i'm so glad you have. i was. about coming on air, and i'm so glad you have. iwas. it wasn't about coming on air, and i'm so glad you have. i was. it wasn't that bad, was it? no. good. and say hello to logan for us, won't you. thank you for talking to us. thank you and ta ke for talking to us. thank you and take care. thank you. lauren talking about her little boy logan and you heard from dave, malc and adam, who are postmen who dressed up as

superheroes to cheer logan up, who has suspected autism and was struggling. a student nurse who spent weeks in a coma after contracting coronavirus said there were tears of joy when she finally went home and saw her children. natasha jenkins, who is 35 and has three children, spent 22 days on a ventilator after falling sick just before mother's day. nick palit has been speaking to her. let them go by where you are, i think? reunited with her children, natasha jenkins‘ back home in barry after a battle with covid—19 that saw her in a coma for 22 days. wheezing while talking i was the youngest person in the hospital to have it. and i think people, i think a lot of people were thinking only older people were getting it. and i don't why how i caught it. i don't know how i caught it.

but i'm 35—years—old and it's like i'm currently disabled at the moment. even though she's been discharged from hospital, it's going to be a long road to recovery, possibly up to a year. she's very weak and relatives have had to move into help her in the house. but natasha is just thankful to be alive. my kids were my main priority. i was terrified. i thought — in my head i thought i was going to die and i knew ijust needed to get home and see my children. heartbreaking, scary, especially to think i could have left them without a mum. natasha is a student nurse and had recently completed a placement at the university hospital of wales, only to return as a patient on itu. the care and treatment she's had has made her all the more determined to return to nursing herself. a lot of people are scared with the way things they are at the moment. but after what they've done for me, i would like to give something back.

borisjohnson boris johnson and carrie borisjohnson and carrie symonds have announced the birth of a healthy baby boy at hospital in london. both mum and baby are doing well, their spokesman said. boris johnson avp his fiance carrie symonds have had a baby boy in the early hours of this morning. i don't think anybody knew that the due date was this early. but the baby boy is healthy, born at a london hospital earlier this morning. both mum and baby are doing well, according to their spokesman. and perhaps that is why borisjohnson won't be appearing at pmqs today. they're absolutely thrilled, we are told. just getting more reaction now. quite extraordinary news. a little baby boy born to borisjohnson and carrie symonds in the early hours of this morning. they are thrilled. and mum and son are doing very well. according to their spokesman.

obviously, we will bring you much more reaction to that story in the next hour as we move to bbc two.

this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. borisjohnson and carrie symonds have announced the birth of a "healthy baby boy". the prime minister is not expected at pmqs later. millions more people in the uk will be able to get tested for coronavirus from today including all staff and residents of care homes. if they go to gov.uk, they can find out how to get a test. there are a number of ways, including having a test sent to your home, where you can get a test. spain's prime minister predicts a recession on an "extraordinary scale" following the pandemic. the coronavirus outbreak in the united states has now killed more americans than the vietnam war — over 58,000 have died.