today at six: a new way of counting the human cost of coronavirus — the number of deaths reaches 26,000 across the uk. the figure, for the first time, includes deaths in care homes and the community since early march, as well as hospital deaths. 0nly people who've died after testing positive for coronavirus are included in the figures. care home providers say they're in a full—blown crisis. there is a... a tsunami of deaths that we probably... we may have been able to avoid, should we have had this testing an awful lot earlier. tens of thousands of people have now booked coronavirus tests — some mobile centres are being operated by the armed forces. we'll have more on the new way

of counting the number of victims, with a focus on what's happening in the care sector. also today: the search for a cure — we report on the world's biggest study of potential treatments, involving thousands of patients. more evidence today of the devastating impact the pandemic is having on the high street, the business community, and the wider economy. no return yet to schools in england, and concerns that children from deprived backgrounds will suffer most from the lack of schooling. and the prime minister and his partner have been celebrating the birth of their baby son. and coming up on bbc news, the chair of the scottish football league has insisted that dundee were not offered a sweetener to change their vote over ending the lower league season.

good evening. more light has been shed today on the true human cost of the coronavirus pandemic across the united kingdom. the latest official figures for the first time include all deaths linked to the virus — including those in care homes and other community settings. and they show that the pandemic has so far claimed nearly 4,000 more lives than were being recorded under the previous system. the latest figure over a 24—hour period is 765 deaths across the uk. it means that the total number of deaths so far in the uk of those who tested positive for coronavirus is now 26,097. 0ur health editor hugh pym has been studying the new figures, and explains the implications.

happier times for betty, celebrating her 97th birthday. she is now in critical care in hospital with coronavirus. her daughter andrea says she picked up the virus in a nursing home and testing at an earlier stage for residents and staff might have kept her safe. earlier stage for residents and staff might have kept her safeli think it is a bit late. coronavirus, if truth be known, i think, is endemic in our nursing homes and people who will suffer the most of the elderly and vulnerable, not to mention the staff. testing for all ca re mention the staff. testing for all care home residents and staff, including those without symptoms, has been made available either with kids sent to the homes or mobile units visiting them. but there have been warnings that carrying out the tests will not be easy. it is the physicality of some of these people, they are so frail that during the test itself, it takes a lot of time, it takes time to sit and explain it, time to reassure them, tyne

afterwards to explain again. time to reassure them, tyne afterwards to explain againi time to reassure them, tyne afterwards to explain again. i asked about the new care home testing plan at the downing street media briefing. covert testing, will you started sooner than now? the scale and speed is in the last couple of weeks and there is a huge national and local endeavour to not just test, which is very important, but understand the measures that would make a difference in care homes and to look at that in a very rapid way, looking at the evidence so that we can put in place measures to protect people. drive through testing or home kits have been available to millions of others with symptoms, including heather, who did her swab test at taunton today. because i am a private carer, i work for myself, i could not get tested before today. it is really important not for me but also for my clients. over 65s qualify for testing, like mac and

anthea. we both had symptoms for a new days and therefore we really wa nted new days and therefore we really wanted to be checked, the symptoms had not increased so we did not need to phone 111, batasuna tests for over 65s, which will, became available, we were happy to have eight. home test kits can be ordered online but only by those with symptoms. we have not opened the packaging of this one so it is safe for future use. there are a couple of types of kit, this is one. you need to register online and book the free courier collection service to pick it up. then you take the swab sample from your nose and throat, put it in the plastic container and packaging and it is ready to be collected. slots will drive—through tests have been in high demand, home tests have been in high demand, home test kits run out earlier today, but with new supplies they are bookable again this evening. health secretary matt hancock has set a target of

100,000 tests a day by the end of this month, and that is tomorrow. in scotland, more than half of deaths linked to coronavirus are now happening in care homes, according to the latest figures from national records of scotland. 0ur scotland correpondent lorna gordon is in glasgow. she has the latest for us. we really had confirmation of the toll this virus is having on residents of care homes with these latest figures showing that here in scotland the number of people dying from confirmed or suspected coronavirus in care homes has overtaken the number dying in hospitals for the first time. to give some context, since the outbreak began, just over a third of all covid related deaths in scotland have been in care homes, a total of 886 care home residents dying of confirmed or suspected coronavirus, but for the seven—day period up to the sundayjust passed, the proportion has increased further, with more than half of

those people dying in scotland with confirmed or suspected coronavirus be care home residents, 338 people, which equates to one coronavirus —related death in care homes every 13 minutes. scotland's first minister nicola sturgeon said the proportion of deaths was deeply distressing and broadly in line with what is being reported in other countries. in her daily briefing earlier she set out the measures the scottish government is taking to try to protect ca re scottish government is taking to try to protect care home residents. 0pposition parties say the scottish government could go further. but i think these figures, along with the news that another set of care homes, the erskine care homes for excerpt management, reported 2a of its residents had died from suspected coronavirus, just underline how difficult it is to stop coronavirus onceit difficult it is to stop coronavirus once it gets into care homes and when it gets into care homes it can have a devastating impact —— the erskine care homes for ex—service

men and women. thank you, lorna gordon. 0ur social affairs correspondent alison holt is here. we have been talking about this for quite a few days, the difficulties in the care sector. how did the sector get into this kind of predicament? it is important to remember that care homes are looking for some of the most venerable disabled and older people in society and this is an issue across europe, as lorna mentioned. but in england in particular the system has been under pressure, underfunded and in crisis for a long time now. it is fragmented, more than 15,000 care homes in england, some privately run, some not pulled —— not—for—profit, very few no local authority, 400,000 odd residents, have publicly funded, how funding themselves, it is complicated. —— half of them publicly funded, half of them funding themselves. care providers have said since the beginning of the prices they were

struggling to get ppe, the stuff they were buying was diverted to the nhs, they could not get testing, their voices were increasingly desperate. unlike the nhs they do not have one single powerful voice that could put their case, that could shape the response to a national crisis in a national way. whilst the increase testing now is welcomed, care providers say it feels too late. at the end of this i think there will be really difficult questions to ask about her social ca re questions to ask about her social care fitted to the wider health and ca re system, care fitted to the wider health and care system, and some proper recognition for what they are dealing. thanks very much, alison holt, our social affairs correspondent. borisjohnson and his partner carrie symonds have received congratulations and good wishes from around the world following the birth of their baby boy. the child was born this morning at an nhs hospital in london. downing street say the prime minister won't be taking paternity leave at the moment, as our political editor laura kuenssberg reports.

champagne arrives at number ten after the birth of a baby boy for whom this will be home. there were whispers in westminster about the prime minister's whereabouts, then news confirmed just before ten. no blips yet of carrie symonds all her first child, but a picture of boris johnson, already known to have fathered five, on his return from their side. again, the foreign secretary played understudy in parliament. the labour leader on his way to not quite prime minister's questions again. both mother and baby are doing well and i'm sure the whole house will want to join me baby are doing well and i'm sure the whole house will want tojoin me in sending congratulations and our very best wishes to them. sending congratulations and our very best wishes to themlj sending congratulations and our very best wishes to them. i think we all recognise the anxiety the prime ministerand recognise the anxiety the prime minister and carrie must have gone through in these past few weeks, unimaginable anxiety, sol through in these past few weeks, unimaginable anxiety, so i really hope this brings an incredible relief and joy. such happy news

amidst such uncertainty. 2020 is certainly a year they will never forget. with the most grave reasons to remember. a year more dangerous and dramatic than the most outlandish political fiction. trying to run the government's response to a serious health and economic emergency. . . a serious health and economic emergency... i must continue myself isolation. then the prime minister confined to intensive care, his own health touch and go. back at work 110w health touch and go. back at work now with plenty of well—wishers for his family news, but facing as it government the most agonising and important decisions of its time in charge. the government itself, the public, schools, businesses, trade unions need to plan ahead, they are saying that loading clearly. the prime minister said on monday he wa nted prime minister said on monday he wanted maximum transparency. will the first secretary give us some now and tellers when the government will publish an exit strategy? but with the government's scientific committee, sage, closely monitoring the situation, ministers are

relu cta nt to the situation, ministers are reluctant to give more clues. the situation, ministers are reluctant to give more cluesm would be difficult to responsibly set out to those proposals before we have had the subsequent advice from sage both on the rate of the infection and death rate, we cannot be pulled into making proposals in advance without marozaite opining. after gathering ministers tomorrow it is likely the prime minister will inch towards what might be next. not with an encyclopedic exit strategy but perhaps a gauge on how we might start to tiptoe out of this moment. those in charge had scrambled to keep up with the pace of the virus, yet the journey out of the crisis will be anything but quick. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. the latest research shows that around one in three patients admitted to hospital in the uk with covid—19 have died. it underlines the urgent need for new treatments — at present there is no drug which is proven to be effective. but several existing medicines for other conditions are being trialled in the world's biggest study of potential treatments, which involves thousands of patients — as our medical correspondent

fergus walsh explains. what would the world give for a cure for coronavirus? it has turned hospital wards into alien landscapes. staff at addenbrooke's in cambridge must be shielded from the highly infectious virus. patients like peter, who's 89, must rely on oxygen, the one thing known to help. i was frightened for a bit. —— i was fighting for breath. it was very bad. that was on about day three. i just couldn't breathe. the toll on individuals and their families has been enormous. you can feel that it might at one point take you away. yes. at my age, everybody said it would. you're doing so well! am i? you are. no, you are. peter is part of a national trial which has examining five drugs used

for other conditions to see if they work for coronavirus. i'm not in any pain but i'm just so weak. right. until they get results, doctors have limited options. so it's extraordinarily difficult to watch a large number of patients get so incredibly unwell and to know that we have no therapies anywhere in the world that are proven to be efficacious. it means that there's an urgent health need to do research in this space so that we can understand what treatments work and what don't. drugs for hiv and malaria are being tried to see if they can help stop the virus replicating in the body. other patients are being given treatments to reduce inflammation and dampen the immune system, which can go haywire. jeff, who's 60, has had cancer. he can't shake off coronavirus, after being infected six weeks ago. twice, i've been treated with chemo.

twice, i've had full remission, and the last one was only the end of last year and then, wham, you get this. he signed up for two clinical trials. what's the point in coming into hospital to be pumped full of all sorts of things and nobody really knows what there is? it probably won't help me but it might help people that follow behind me. the first results of the trials could come as early asjune. it will be here, at the big data institute in oxford, that the trial results will be analysed. in a little over a month, around 8,000 patients from nearly 170 hospitals throughout the uk have been enrolled in what is the biggest clinical study in the world into covid—19 treatments. at the peak, we were enrolling 400 patients a day. lessons have been learnt from the swine flu pandemic, when experimental treatments

were not properly assessed. the best example is the 2009 pandemic, where tens of thousands of patients were treated with drugs outside of clinical trials and we didn't get any results. we can't afford to do that again. we need to know what works for covid—19, so these trials, i think, are critically important. have you got everything you need? don't expect a cure, but even a treatment that's partially effective could save thousands of lives and pave the way for other, better medicines. fergus walsh, bbc news. there's more evidence today of the devastating impact the pandemic is having on business and the economy. the retailer next has warned that sales could drop by 40%. others have warned that the lockdown could lead to the permanent closure of thousands of high street shops, with independent, family—run firms being the worst affected. 0n the other hand, dixons carphone says its online sales have soared by 166%

in the past few weeks. 0ur consumer affairs correspondent, sarah corker, reports from county durham. should ijust close now, should ijust stop now, hand the keys back to the landlord and say thanks very much? martin wiseman put his life savings into a new cafe in bishop auckland, a high street were 25% of shops were empty before the pandemic. the week before he was due to open, britain went into lockdown. how long do you think you can last without it being open? possibly another month before it dries up, before the money side of it dries up. i stay awake at night thinking i'm going to go bust before i get a chance to open. retailers have warned the berries survival of our empty high streets will be decided in weeks, not years, and some businesses may never recover or reopen after such a

sudden drop in trade. today, clothing retailer next said the impact of the lockdown had been much faster and steeper than expected. in—store sales plunged 52% in its first quarter to april the 25th. 0nline sales were down 32%. while ba rclays has 0nline sales were down 32%. while barclays has reported a 38% drop in profits and warned the pandemic could cost it £2.1 billion. largely due to being unable to repay loans. the chamber of commerce talked about the fact that many businesses don't have cash reserves of more than three months, that there will be significant pressure on businesses for longer if this goes on. from banking to aviation it could take several years for air travel to return to pre—virus levels. british airways is restructuring now, with plans to lay off a quarter of its workforce. the proposals remain

subject to consultation. we think there are alternative solutions and we can't understand why ba has started clock ticking on a consultation for a situation that, if we get round the table and have a discussion, could be avoided. no business is immune from this shock, but our high streets were already in trouble and, the longer the lockdown, the more permanent these closures could become. the education secretary for england, gavin williamson, says schools are likely to reopen in a phased manner, rather than all pupils returning at the same time. but mr williamson told mps on the education select committee that no date had been set. many mps have warned that this time out of school can be particularly damaging to the education of children from deprived communities, as our education editor, bra nwen jeffreys, reports. i have a homeless family at the moment. we have families who are using the food bank but, because morecambe is quite a low—wage economy, a number of people haven't been furloughed,

they'vejust been made redundant, and so lots of new claims for universal credit and lots of new numbers of people coming through for free school meals. a headteacher tells me the challenges she faces. morecambe's families now behind closed doors, the school has delivered food to some. other families getting vouchers to help with shopping, doing their best to keep children learning. sometimes it's hard but it depends what subject, because i'm fine with some subjects but some i struggle a bit. stressful, i'm not going to lie. it's stressful. just trying to keep them busy and focused, really, because i'm running out of ideas. it's not easy when families are cooped up. claire is working from home with her three kids. they're managing a few hours each morning. probably setting aside until about lunchtime and then, after lunch, it's creative fun, like playing in the garden, painting, drawing. it's hard to learn the newer things because you're not just going to know it,

so you need it teaching and you can't teach yourself. this aircan come... kyle is keeping up with geography but, missing weeks of teaching already, he's due to take his gcses next year. i worry sometimes because i feel like, what's the future going to hold if i don't get my grades? that was always like a thing to think about, when you get into year ten, year”. it's all this pressure. doing a couple of hours' work at home is not the same as coming to school, and it's not meant to be, but schools do a lot of levelling up to help the children that don't have resources at home to do well. on an ordinary day, we would feed up to 400 children in 45 minutes. vicki michael wants to work out how she can reopen her school and pick up the pieces with the most vulnerable children. you get to the point that

you cannot bridge that gap. for my children in year ten, they are sitting exams next may, and every hour that they are out of the classroom is damaging and limiting their life chances. school may not look the same for a long time. laptops and wi—fi have been promised for a few. the long—term impact on the many impossible to guess. branwen jeffreys, bbc news, morecambe. anyone with suspected symptoms of cancer is being urgently advised to contact a doctor. the official advice follows a significant fall in urgent referrals in recent weeks. nhs england has revealed there's been a 70% reduction in the number of referrals since the pandemic was declared. special surgical hubs are now being set up in 21 areas of england to carry out urgent cancer operations, as our health correspondent, lauren moss, reports. this operation is one of thousands being performed at new cancer hubs across the country.

for patients like rod, who has cancer of the jaw, it means urgent surgery can take place in a hospital that's free of coronavirus. i took that chance straightaway, because it's a covid—free area. cancer isn't a disease that waits for you, it's progressive. rod's being cared for at queen victoria hospital in west sussex, one of 19 regional centres in england. how are you this morning? i'm fine, thank you. to keep it clear of covid, consultations are done by video call. patients are prioritised, they isolate for a week and are tested for the virus before surgery. our patients need to have that assurance, if they are coming in to have surgery with us and they've already got a cancer diagnosis, they are already at risk, so they need to know that we've absolutely minimised the risk of coronavirus in this site. have you had a new persistent cough lately? no, i haven't. before we were allowed on site we were screened, had our temperatures checked

and put on masks. the importance of continuing cancer care has been highlighted in a study by the university college london at which suggests delays could contribute to 18,000 additional deaths. cancer patients aren't being treated in their favour because of the lack of capacity within the nhs. if there a delay, there will be a significant downward effect on those patients' outcomes. diagnosis is also key. fewer people are visiting doctors but certain tests also aren't being done. many diagnostic pathways aren't open at the moment, some investigations are not available because they aren't safe to do, so gps can't get our patients to have those procedures done, and for good reasons. there's been a 70% reduction in cancer referrals since the start of the outbreak, and there's real concern that people seeking help. —— real concern that people are not seeking help. covid—free surgical hubs like this could be used as a model

for other procedures, as the nhs reminds the public it's very much open for business. how are you feeling now? similar covid—free systems are up and running elsewhere in the uk, and there are plans to reopen other parts of the nhs over the next six weeks. separating patients and treatment in this way may become the blueprint for the foreseeable future. lauren moss, bbc news. the world's biggest economy, the usa, has recorded its worst growth figures in a decade. during the first quarter of this year, gross domestic product — that's the value of all goods and services produced — fell 4.8%. as a comparison, in the fourth quarter of last year, before the pandemic, gdp increased by 2.1%. 0ur north america correspondent, nick bryant, is in new york with the latest. these figures prove what we've seen with our own eyes, an american economy come to a shuddering halt, and things are going to get worse. some economists predict the next quarter will show a 30% contraction,

the kind of devastating convulsion we haven't seen since the 1930s. all that will heighten the pressure on governors across america to gradually reopen their states, but in major cities like new york that's still a risky thing to do. new york is a city caught between dread and desire. desperate to open up after six weeks in lockdown, but fearful of the fatal consequences of doing so too soon. a new york without new yorkers has hammered the economy, its tourism and hospitality sectors have also been decimated. wall street, america's financial hub, fears the onset of another great depression. but even though the city has passed the peak of its outbreak, the density of its population makes it especially hazardous to quickly open up. that covid conundrum. it's... i can't even wrap my head around it. it's incredible. steve owns a road—building firm in staten island which he fears will be bankrupt byjune.

he is a trump supporter who believes the democrats who run new york are being too cautious. if i'm not working, and this economy's not opened up, and these fear mongers don't back off, where they've got everybody scared to death, we all go out of business. steve, it's a vicious virus, i've had it myself, you accept that? and i'm sorry to hear that. the reality of it is people are going to continue to get sick. i don't think they're going to continue to get sick at any alarming rate. horns honk. we are seeing more beggars on new york's streets. this is harlem, a mainly african—american community severely hit by this health and economic contagion. and this is upscale soho, the home of high—end retail, boarded up like a hurricane is about to rip through — which, economically, it has, every single shutdown day. don't open up too soon. the public health officials such as danielle, who live in these communities,

warn against the rush to reopen. people are hurting financially, they are struggling to feed their families, but we really need to take this slow, because i would hate for us to have to shut down the economy again if we get more cases. this is one of the most impatient cities in the world. they talk about the new york minute — it means right now, immediately, without hesitation. but although some parts of this state could start the gradual process of reopening in mid—may, here in new york city, the tough restrictions will remain in place certainly for weeks and maybe for many months. every night at nine o'clock the empire state building is illuminated in a red—and—white siren light to honour the emergency workers providing care. it is a ritual that will continue until this crisis is over. but that's the unanswerable question — when will new york return to being new york?

nick bryant, bbc news, new york. one of india's best—known actors, irrfan khan, known to millions around the world for his starring roles in slumdog millionaire, life of pi and jurassic world, has died at the age of 53. the actor had revealed two years ago that he'd been diagnosed with a very rare form of cancer. 0ur correspondent in mumbai, yogita limaye, looks back at his life and career. let's see, then. where to begin? irrfan khan in life of pi, one of the several english—language movies he starred in. amongst his biggest hits overseas were slumdog millionaire, directed by danny boyle. it's a sad day, to think of his passing, but it's also a day where you can remember everything that he gave us, all the lovely roles that he played, and an actor who effortlessly bridged two cultures. abroad, he was india's best—known

international actor. here in his home country, he was the unlikely leading man who broke the stereotype of what it takes to be the protagonist in hindi language movies. he's a big star in india... on a bbc programme seven years ago, he was asked if he sees himself as bollywood or hollywood. ijust see myself as an actor and ijust want to engage the whole world, so it can be bollywood, hollywood, bollywood, collywood, whatever wood. over a career that spanned 30 years, irrfan khan acted in more than 100 films. his last movie, angrezi medium, hit cinemas in india just as they had to close down because of the coronavirus crisis. many are hoping that, when we all go back to the movies, perhaps they will rerelease so they get to watch him on the big screen one more time. two years ago, he'd shared a note about his battle with cancer. "little had i known that my search for rare stories would make me find