tonight at 10:00pm, 3 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 tsunami of deaths that we probably... that we may have been able to avoid should we have had this testing an awful lot earlier. and a senior government adviser says that an ‘epidemic‘ of deaths in care homes is one of her main concerns. also tonight...

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. and, the prime minister and his partner have been celebrating the birth of their baby son. and coming up on sportsday on bbc news, the chairman of the scottish football league has insisted dundee were not offered any sweetener to change their vote over ending lower league seasons. good evening. more light has been shed today on the 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's 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. i think it's a bit late. i think that coronavirus, if the truth be known, is endemic in our nursing homes, and the people that are going to suffer the most are the elderly and the vulnerable.

not to mention the staff. testing for all care home residents and staff, including those without symptoms, has now been made available, either with kits sent to the homes, or mobile units visiting them. managers say they need help running the testing and it's urgently needed. i do think that there is a tsunami of deaths that we probably... that we may have been able to avoid, should we have had this testing an awful lot earlier. because the elderly do not... they don't present in the classic way. they don't normally have rip—roaring temperatures. it can be quite insidious, they are just a bit off colour. i asked about the new care home testing plan at the downing street media briefing. couldn't testing really have started sooner than that? the scale and the speed of this epidemic is really in the last couple of weeks. and there is a huge national

and local endeavour to both notjust test, which is very important, but to also 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 we can put in place measures that protect people. drive—through testing or home kits have been made available to millions of others with symptoms, including heather, who did her swab test at taunton today. because i'm a private carer, i work for myself, so i couldn't get tested before today. and it is really important, not for me, but also for my clients. over 65s qualify for testing as well, like mac and anthea. well, we both had the symptoms for a few days. and so therefore we really wanted to get checked, but the symptoms hadn't increased, so we didn't need to phone 111, but as soon as the tests for over 65s, which we are, came available, we were quite happy to come and have a test. home test kits can be ordered online but only by those with symptoms.

we haven't opened the packaging on this one, so it is safe for future use. there are a couple of different types of home testing kit. this is one of them. before you do anything, you need to register online and book the free courier collection service to come and pick it up. then you take the swab sample from your nose and throat, put it in the plastic container, and in the packaging, and then it's ready to be collected. slots for drive—through tests have been in high demand. home test kits ran out earlier today, but with new supplies, are bookable again this evening. the health secretary, matt hancock, has set a target of 100,000 tests a day by the end of this month. and that's tomorrow. hugh pym, bbc news. in scotland, more than half of deaths linked to coronavirus are now happening in care homes, according to the latest figures from the national records of scotland. 0ur scotland correpondent,

lorna gordon, is in glasgow. these figures show the number of people dying from confirmed or suspected coronavirus in care homes has overtaken the number of people dying in hospitals here in scotland for the first time. since the outbreak began, just over a third of all covid—19 related deaths in scotla nd all covid—19 related deaths in scotland have been in care homes, but week on week the number of deaths in care homes has continued to rise, and the figures show that in the seven days up to sunday more than half of all those who have been dying from confirmed or suspected coronavirus were ca re dying from confirmed or suspected coronavirus were care home residents. that equates to one covid —related death in a care home every 30 minutes. scotland's first minister nicola sturgeon said the proportion of deaths was deeply distressing and said it was broadly in line with what has been reported in other countries. today she outlined the measures being taken to help care homes. 0pposition parties here are calling for the scottish

government to go further with its support for homes, but i think what these figures show, along with news that another set of care homes, the erskine care homes for ex service men and women, they report they have lost 2a of their residents to suspected coronavirus, confirming that if the virus does take hold in a care home, it can be devastating. lorna gordon, thank you from glasgow. 0ur social affairs correspondent, alison holt, is here. four weeks you have been talking about the situation and the threat of the kind of crisis we are seeing now in care homes. —— for weeks. if i was to ask you for the main factors that have led to this crisis, what would they be? first of all it's important to remember we are talking about care homes looking after some of the most vulnerable older and disabled people in society. across europe there have beenin society. across europe there have been in issues over a high number of deaths in care homes. but in england in particular, this is a system that

has been under pressure, underfunded and in crisis for a long time now. it is also fragmented with more than 15,000 care homes. some are privately owned, some are not—for—profit, and a few are run by local authorities. more than 400,000 residents and about half of them pay for their own care and about half are publicly funded. it is complicated. when i look back at my reports, right at the beginning of all this, we had care providers saying, our ppe, protective equipment, is being diverted to the nhs. we need more testing of staff and residents and their voices have become increasingly desperate as the weeks have gone on. unlike the nhs there is no single powerful voice for social care. no one is arguing their case, no one to shape the national response to a national crisis. and whilst the increase in testing that is coming now is welcome, there are many care

providers who say it is simply too late. and in time there will be some really important questions we need to ask about what needs to be done differently, how we integrate social ca re into differently, how we integrate social care into a wider health and care system, and properly recognise what they do. alison holt, our social affairs correspondent, thank you. 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 10:00am. no glimpse yet of carrie symonds or herfirst child, but a picture of borisjohnson, already known to have fathered five, on his return from their site.

on his return from their side. so, again, the foreign secretary played understudy in parliament. good morning. 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 tojoin with me in sending congratulations and our very best wishes to them. i think we all recognise the anxiety that the prime minister and carrie must have gone through in these past few weeks. unimaginable anxiety, and so i really hope this brings them incredible relief and joy. such happy news amid 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. thank you, thanks all. trying to run the government's response to a serious health and economic emergency... i must continue in self—isolation... ..then the prime minister confined to intensive care, his own health touch—and—go.

back at work now, with plenty of well wishes for his family news, but facing as a 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. and they are saying that loudly and clearly. the prime minister said on monday that he wanted maximum transparency. well, will the first secretary give us some now and tell us when the government will publish an exit strategy? but with the government's scientific committee, sage, closely monitoring the situation, ministers are reluctant to give more clues. it would be very difficult for us to responsibly set out those proposals before we've had that subsequent advice from sage, both on the rate of infection, the death rate. we can't be pulled into making proposals in advance without sage on board. but after gathering his ministers tomorrow, it's likely the prime minister will inch towards what might be next. not with an encyclopaedic exit strategy, but with a gauge perhaps

of how we might start to tiptoe our way out of this moment. those in charge have been scrambling to keep up with the pace of the virus, yet the journey out of this crisis will be anything but quick. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. around one in three patients admitted to hospital in the uk with covid—19 have died. that's according to experts. that underlines the need for new treatments for coronavirus. but several existing medicines for other conditions are undergoing trials in the world's biggest study of potential treatments, 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 is 89, must rely on oxygen, the one thing known to help.

i was fighting for breath. it's very bad. that was on about day three. iwas... i was just, i couldn't breathe. the toll on individuals and their families has been enormous. did you feel that it might at one point take you away? yes. at my age, everybody said it would. you're doing so well. peter is part of a national trial, which is examining five drugs used for other conditions to see if they work for coronavirus. not in any pain, but i'm just so weak. until they get results, doctors have limited options. it's extraordinarily difficult to watch a large number of patients get so incredibly unwell and know we have no therapies anywhere in the world that are proven to be efficacious. it means that there is an urgent health need to do research in this

space so 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 is 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 remissions. and the last one was only at the end of last year. and then, wham, you get this. he's signed up for two clinical trials. what's the point? what's the point in coming into hospital to be pumped full of all sorts of things, and nobody really knows what there is? 0k, it probably won't help me, but it might help the people that follow behind me.

the first results of the trials could come as early asjune. it'll 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 involved in what is the biggest been enrolled in what is the biggest clinical study in the world into covid—19 treatments. at the peak we were enrolling 400 patients per day. lessons have been learned 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, and so these trials, i think, are critically important. have you got everything you need? don't expect a cure, but even a treatment that is partially effective

could save thousands of lives and pave the way for other, better medicines. fergusjoins me now. clearly a nd clearly and understandably there is a tense interest in the progress scientists and others are making in this area. so how would you sum up where we are in terms of the search for a where we are in terms of the search fora cure? where we are in terms of the search for a cure? none of the doctors and scientists i have spoken to is expecting a magic bullet, something that. coronavirus in its tracks for the majority of patients. it is great the trials are under way, but they are trialling drugs that are available for other conditions. —— something that will stop coronavirus. they hope for a moderate success, something that might reduce mortality by 20%, and that might not sound much but in the uk it would mean thousands of lives. in the us tonight there are some early results from an antiviral drug

originally developed for ebola which have been hailed, which seem to suggest it has cut the duration of symptoms in patients with coronavirus from 15 down to 11 days, but it comes off the back of other data that suggests it doesn't work, and that is why these trials are so important. we have to wait for them to come through in the coming months and then we have to wait for the dozens and then we have to wait for the d oze ns of and then we have to wait for the dozens of vaccines that are in development, so it will be a long haul. fergus walsh, medical correspondent, thank you. 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%. and barclays bank has reported a substantial drop in profits, and said that the cost of people defaulting on loans could be more than £2 billion. 0ur economics editor, faisal islam, has this assessment. it isa it is a corporate results season like no other. grim forecasts for the economy coming to life in the

accou nts the economy coming to life in the a ccou nts of the economy coming to life in the accounts of our biggest companies such as retailer next where store sales plunged 52% over the last three months and the company acknowledged it would be some time before shopping returns to normal. and barclays, one of the uk's largest banks, announcing a 38% fall in profits and warning the pandemic could cost them over £2 billion in bad loans. its boss questioning whether after the coronavirus putting thousands of people in office block headquarters would be a thing of the past. hundreds of debenhams workers lost theirjobs via a conference call when the already struggling retailer went into administration and had to close some stores. people are probably scared because they don't know what is going to happen and it is very unlikely a lot of people will be able to newly apply for a job given the circumstances. for me,

i don't know, for me, my exams have been cancelled this year so i am unsure if i am going to university 01’ unsure if i am going to university or not so it is even more bad news for me because i was thinking, at least i have a job. there is the same anger amongst many british airways employees after they announced a dramatic decision to cut 12,000 jobs, judging that the crisis would change this industry forever. we think that there are alternative solutions and we think of alternative solutions remain on the table, so we can't understand why ba has started the clock ticking on a consultation for a situation that if we get round the table and have a discussion could be avoided. early hopes that the crisis would be a very sharp blip are starting to fade. particularly in the most affected industries. empty planes and empty runways, in empty passenger terminals, empty shops and restaurants, anti—car parks. and for sectors such as travel, companies are now planning

on the basis of a pandemic crisis lasting longer than two or three months. no instant bounce back in the economy, tough decisions having to be made right now. the government is pouring money into the economy to provide a bridge, but some leading companies on the high streets and in the sky is already judging that the other side of this crisis will be a very different place indeed. 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 by 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 show what we have already seen with our own eyes, which is the american economy has

come to a shuddering halt. and worse is still to come. some economists believe that the next quarter could see a contraction of 30%. the kind of convulsion that we have not seen since the 1930s. now, the federal reserve said tonight it would keep its benchmark interest rates at near zero until the us economy recovers. and governors across america are going to come under heightened pressure to gradually open up the economies. but in cities like new york, that is 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 ma rga rella owns a road—building firm in staten island, which he fears will be bankrupt byjune. he's 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're 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. but public health officials such as danielle 0mpad, who live in these communities, warn against the rush to reopen. people are hurting financially, they're 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's 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. the education secretary for england, gavin williamson, says schools are likely to re—open 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 yet been set. many mps have warned that this time out of school can be particularly damaging to the education of children from deprived backgrounds — as our education editor, branwenjeffreys, 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 you run 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 harder to learn, like, the newer things because you're obviously notjust going to know it, so you need it teaching, and you can't teach yourself. with the right weather patterns,

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? and that was always, like, a thing to think about, like, when you get into year 10, year 11, because it's always pressure. doing a couple of hours' work at home is not the same as coming to school full—time, 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 10, they're sitting exams next may, and every hour that they're 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. nhs england has revealed that there's been a 70% reduction in the number of referrals since the pandemic was declared. 0ur health correspondent, lauren moss, has the story. this operation is one of thousands being performed at new cancer hubs across the country. for patients like rod pletheroe, 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 via 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're coming in to have surgery with us and they've already got a cancer diagnosis, they're already at risk. so, they need to know that we've absolutely minimised the risk of coronavirus in this site. and 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's been highlighted in a study by the university college london, 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's 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 are not open at the minute. some investigations are not available because they're unsafe to do. so, gps can't get our patients to have those procedures done at the minute, 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 aren't 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.

well, as the outbreak continues to affect all parts of the uk, we've been asking frontline health workers to keep video diaries. and today, our correspondent catherine burns catches up with dr harmandeep singh — a consultant at ealing hospital in west london, who's been treated for covid—19 himself. he was born in india, but came to the uk in 2009, and has worked for the nhs ever since. dr harmandeep singh normally treats cardiac patients but, for now, his focus is on coronavirus. first, though, he's a dad, with a nursery drop—off to do. come on, let's go! the time now is 8:25. i'm heading in to hospital now. hello! good morning. morning. you look exhausted! he laughs yes, lam! i'vejust been in the handover and it seems like the lockdown is working really well. 0ur numbers have gone down. but i wonder, up to how long? because over the weekend, you could clearly see people are out of their houses,

in the parks. all right, guys? last month, he had coronavirus. his wife was sick too.