this is bbc news. i'm tim willcox with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the number of americans who've lost theirjob climbs to more than 30 million after another 3.8 million sign on in the past week. president trump says china will be held accountable for the pandemic as soon as us intelligence reports confirm what went wrong. they could have stopped it, they are a very brilliant nation, scientifically and otherwise. it got loose, let's say, and they could've kept it, they could've stopped it. but they didn't. south africa eases one of the world's most severe lockdowns. we have a special report on how the country has kept its death rate significantly low.

also in the programme — he saw them fly in anger. now on his 100th birthday, captain tom — now colonel tom — saw them fly in celebration. hello. we're covering all the latest coronavirus developments here in britain and globally. the pandemic is continuing to have a dramtic impact on the world's health and economic prospects. worldwide there have now been over 3.2 million cases of coronavirus infections — with over 230,000 deaths. the uk recorded another 674 deaths in the past 2a hours — taking the total number in care

homes and hospitals to 26,771 — the third—highest in europe. the prime minister wouldn't give a date for the country's lockdown to end or be eased, but did say there'd be a "menu of options" next week. elsewhere there is more grim economic news from the united states, where nearly four million more people registered for unemployment claims last week. and the reduced demands for energy caused by the pandemic will lead to a decline of almost 8% in co2 emissions — which would be the largest decrease ever recorded. more on all that shortly. first, nada tawfik reports on the devastating effect covid—19 is having on the us economy. yet another measure of the scale of this crisis, in lines stretching on and on, thousands in houston wait patiently to receive free food, the number of americans in need is surging as the coronavirus

continues to cripple the us economy. last week, another 3.8 million people filed for unemployment, meaning since march 21st, nearly one fifth of the nation's workforce has been left jobless. tonight, federal social distancing guidelines expire and as stay—at—home orders in texas and other states are lifted the focus is on recovering business while safely reopening. dr anthony fauci urged leaders to follow administration guidelines for a phased approach and do so after only a two—week decline in new coronavirus cases. when you pull back, there will be cases and what we need to do is make sure they have in place the capability of identifying, isolating, and contact tracing individuals. if they do that, i feel cautiously optimistic. president trump has been meeting with governors this week at the white house, governor phil murphy of new jersey, the second—hardest hit state on thursday visited the president to ask

for desperately—needed financial assistance. somewhere in newjersey alone could be $20—30 billion dollars. president trump did not commit to helping states and said he felt good about the prospects of the economy bouncing back quickly. it is just a very tough situation for the people of our country, all the loss and death, it's a terrible thing but i think we will make a very strong comeback. dealing with the trauma in deeply affected communities will be another challenge. in brooklyn, the nypd was called to a funeral home after residents discovered dozens of decomposing corpses stacked in rental trucks outside. they had bodies all over the floor, inside the funeral home, taking them out one by one, blood dripping. any semblance of normal life here feels far off. but there are small signs of progress like this send—off, the city's finest saluted the us navy hospital ship as it sailed out of new york harbor, no longer needing the usns

comfort. nada tawfik, bbc news. and there was a sign earlier ofjust how tense that debate over reopening states is becoming. in michigan, armed protesters gained entry to the state house in lansing. they were calling for an end to stay—at—home measures that have been in place since last month. they were heard chanting "this is the people's house, you cannot lock us out". president trump says he's seen evidence that the new coronavirus originated in a research laboratory in the chinese city of wuhan, but would not give details. earlier the us national intelligence chief's office said it was confident covid—i9 "was not man—made or genetically modified". president trump also suggested it was possible that china either could not stop the spread of the coronavirus or let it spread, and he said the trade deal between the two countries was now no

longer a top priority. and then we signed a trade deal where they're supposed to buy and they have been buying a lot, actually, but that now becomes secondary with what took place to virus. the virus situation is just not acceptable. and it's not acceptable what happened. it came out of china, and it's not acceptable what happened. and now what we're doing, jim, is we are finding out how it came out. different forms, you know, you've heard different things, you've heard three or four different concepts as to how it came out. we should have the answer to that in the not—too—distant future and that will determine a lot how i feel about china. let's speak to our north america correspondent david willis. david he would not go into any more detail. we had heard from us intelligence agencies and just looking or hearing what donald trump said, the statement from the agencies and what the president says aren't

mutually incompatible necessarily, are they? you are right, they are not. the us intelligence statement said it could not rule out that this virus could have accidentally lea ked virus could have accidentally leaked from that laboratory, feet high and institute of virology. donald trump said he had seen evidence of a high degree of confidence that the virus emanated from there. he said that it could either have gotten out of control or been allowed to get out of control. now, the us intelligence agencies have already confirmed that they believe it was not man—made or genetically modified so therefore it was not some sort of biological weapon if you like. as i say they do not rule out the fact that they leaked it accidentally and that is something donald trump is seizing on as part of his propaganda campaign against the chinese right now. yet he

doesn't have a comfortable relationship all the time with intelligence agencies as we have seen over the past few yea rs have seen over the past few years in terms of whether he believes them or not. that is right and it is all part of this propaganda campaign over china's handling of the crisis. the chinese have gone on the offensive in the last few days accusing president trump of wasting time after word of the virus first got out, basically wasting much of february before instituting the shutdowns that we currently see in place here. he in return has been keeping criticism on them. he has questioned the death toll in wuhan, he has called for independent investigators to be allowed to check out that facility in it will hunt and he has also raised the prospect that the chinese did all this deliberately because they don't wa nt to deliberately because they don't want to see him win the next election, the forthcoming

presidential election in november because they say, he says that his rival, sleepy joe, joe biden won't be as tough as he has in regard to tariffs, and taxes and so on. david, good to speak with you. the british prime minister borisjohnson has said that the uk has passed the peak of the coronavirus outbreak. but those hoping for an early easing of a nationwide lockdown will have been disappointed. boris johnson was speaking at his first downing street daily briefing since recovering from covid—i9, and returning to work at the beginning of the week. the uk recorded another 674 deaths in the past 2a hours. taking the total number of deaths in care homes and hospitals to 26,771 — the third highest in europe. the government also said that nearly 82,000 tests were carried out on wednesday — which is short of its own target of 100,000 by the end of the month. let's hear some of what boris

johnson had to say earlier. i can confirm today that for the first time, we are past the peak of this disease. we are past the peak, and we are on the downward slope. and we have so many reasons to be hopeful for the long term. the uk is leading international efforts to find a vaccine. today, oxford university has announced a partnership with astrazeneca to develop what they believe could soon be a means of inoculating ourselves against this disease. but until this day comes and i'm afraid we cannot say exactly when it may be, we're going to have to beat this disease by our growing resolve and ingenuity, so i will be setting out a comprehensive plan next week

to explain how we can get our economy moving, one, how we can get our children back to school, back into childcare, second, and third, how we can travel to work and how we can make life in the workplace safer. although governments around the world will ease their lockdowns in different ways, they'll all have the same objective — returning to some sense of normality while keeping transmission rates low. one key measure is what's called the r—number, which is a way of working out how many people might be infected by one person carrying the disease. here's our science editor david shukman. what is called the r—number is a way of measuring how easily the virus spreads. if the rate is one, that means anyone infected is only passing it to one another so things are stable. but get to a rate of

two and people infected are passing it to two of this so the outbreak accelerates and that's what potentially can overwhelm the nhs. get to a rate of three, and things are even worse, it is what we had about a month ago and only drastic action of the kind we are seeing now could bring it under control. right now it's estimated the rate is between 0.6 and 0.9 crucially below the line of one person infecting only one other. it is thought that reopening schools could possibly at about 0.2 although no one can be sure allowing for public gatherings again might add 0.5. that would take us above the line of one. and scientists recommend that relaxing the lockdown entirely would add to to the right taking us back to the worst of the r break which is why it is like at that will only happen in careful stages. estimates for the r—number are based on people needing hospital treatment. so they are not

exact in the infection rate varies across the uk. 0ne exact in the infection rate varies across the uk. one of the governments own advisers say the r—number is not the whole story. it over supervise matters. the problem is the message could be well every thing is under control is get back to normal. it's not like that for stuff you can still have a problem in newcastle and liverpool and that problem could be quite severe. with so much about the virus uncertain, every government is being cautious. germany has about small shops being open but the authorities are watching to see if that raises the infection rate. they will review the measures next week. and all the time, there is the risk of unexpected spikes in infections. singapore is rushing to create 4000 more hospital beds tackling the virus means remaining co nsta ntly virus means remaining constantly on the lookout. david shukman, bbc news. stay with us on bbc news, still to come — the lines are growing at food banks across america.

in texas, we hearfrom people braving the heat and the crowds to get precious supplies.

this is bbc news — the latest headlines. the number of americans who've lost theirjob climbs to more than 30 million after another 3.8 million people sign on in the past week. president trump says china will be held accountable for the pandemic as soon as us intelligence reports confirm what went wrong. south africa has begun to ease what was one of the world's most severe coronovirus lockdowns. president ramaphosa drew international praise for his swift action, which was announced before a single death had been recorded. in the early stages of the pandemic, both britain

and south africa followed a near identical path of infections. but with just over 100 so far dead and no more than a few hundred patients infected in hospital, its death rate has been staggeringly low in comparison to the uk. in johannesburg, the bbc‘s africa correspondent andrew harding has been finding out why. it seemed inevitable. in a land of furious inequality and habitual miss rule, the virus was always going to cause chaos here in south africa. how could it possibly be otherwise? in the overcrowded townships around johannesburg, news of covid—19's arrival — the first confirmed case was march the 5th — prompted dread. those fears were/a re understandable. neighbourhoods sharing taps and toilets, people already weakened by malnutrition and illness. but south africa had an advantage.

it had time, weeks to watch the virus spread around the rest of the world and to watch other countries' mistakes. now, the government here has a hard earned reputation for dithering, for being all talk. but last month, it took a firm decision to act early and aggressively. and so just ten days after that first case, south africa declared a state of disaster. schools and restaurants would be close, foreign imposing a lockdown just eight days after recording the 100th infection. and south africa's lockdown was far stricter too. enforced by soldiers. but soon, more tests confirmed

the slowdown was genuine. the department of health is here. the reason clearly was that south africa's early interventions were now paying off in the next stage was equally impressive. because it spent years dealing with hiv and tb, this country already has an army of some 30,000 community health workers. they have now screened more than 3 million people for the new virus. tomorrow, south africa will start to ease its lockdown. and so, a five—stage strategy has now been published explaining how in theory the nation can be nudged towards normality, perhaps by years' end. so, yes, south africa has played a blinder so far particularly the president. but a lower down the ranks, the key institutions that are going to have to keep

waging this battle against the virus for months to come have been weakened by years of corruption, and cronyism. in other words, south africa is not out of the woods yet. so, plenty of uncertainty ahead here. just look at this massive queue for food hand—outs near pretoria. and as the lockdown softens, the near certainty that the infection rate will start to climb. the bbc‘s africa correspondent andrew harding with that report. there are lines for food across america — as we saw in dallas at the start of our bulletin. it's a measure of the economic despair gripping the nation, considered one of the richest in the world. anjelica casas from the bbc‘s 0nline team went to a food bank in san antonio, texas, and has this report. music. it has affected everybody.

as you can see, all these people are here. everybody that has had jobs are here, and some of them are first—timers. they are shocked that they are in this line that they never thought they would be in a line of needing anything. demand for food assistance is rising at an extraordinary rate throughout the united states. i've got my grandson with me over here. and he asked me what we're going to eat for breakfast, and i said i don't know what to tell him, whatever you can find. here in san antonio, thousands of families are lining up in the texas heat for help from the local food bank. i'm used to being able to handle myself, take care of everything and now i find myself having to look for help and waiting in these long lines just to get by. i live in a two—income household, you don't really realise how much the second income actually helps out until you don't have it.

the coronavirus shutdown has caused nearly 30 million people to lose theirjobs and millions of others have had their household income reduced. these are for the pulmonologist, one for the paediatrician... it is really stressing me out... when the mortgage comes in, that is the first time it needs to get paid. power and then a water bill. we've depleted our savings now. we're at the point where we're living paycheque to paycheque. brenda's a hairdresser. she stopped working two months ago and doesn't know when she'll be back. everything's been thrown completely off balance now, especially with the kids not being able to go back to school until next year. i think that's what's going to hurt us the most, is because i won't be able to return myself to work. i'm trying to figure out how we're make ends meet if i

don't go back to work. for many struggling families, this pandemic has proven to be worse than any other fallout they've had before. usually i donate to the food bank, you know, whenever we can. now here i am like, oh well, it's time for me to go to the food bank. anything helps, really. american families are receiving help from the government through a one—time stimulus check. for brenda's family, it's not enough. for the time being, we're still holding our heads above water, so i think we're blessed in that way. r—number reporting there. —— anjelica casas reporting there. here in the uk, captain tom moore has become something of a national hero during the coronavirus pandemic. his simple goal was to walk a hundred laps of his garden to raise £1,000 for nhs charities before his 100th birthday — which is today.

well, he's succeeded beyond his wildest dreams — the fund stands now at more than £30 million. the birthday tributes have been flooding in, as david sillito reports. # happy birthday to you! # happy birthday, captain tom, daddy, grandpa # happy birthday to you #. cheering i never, ever anticipated, ever in my life, anything like this. it really is amazing and i want to say to everyone thank you very much to everyone wherever you are. captain tom moore. it began as a little challenge in his back garden. 100 laps to try to raise £1000 for nhs charities. today, he was being honoured with an raf birthday flypast as the total reached £30 million. this is the culmination of an extraordinary few weeks

and also a celebration ofjust how one man's cheerful determination has inspired people and... ..raised a huge amount of money. and these birthday celebrations go far and wide. jersey, tamworth, and downing street. captain tom, i know i speak for the whole country when i say we wish you a very happy 100th birthday. but the most startling sight is this... captain tom's birthday cards. 140,000 of them. very emotional. it's amazing. i'm really proud because i've known my granddad all my life, lived with him all my life and he's always been there for us. he's made us think you can be whatever you can be. and there was more... captain tom is now an honorary colonel. there was also today

a letter from the queen and the congratulations and birthday greetings from around the world continue to arrive. it was quite a day for captain tom. i'm absolutely delighted with all the people like you who have come to wish me a happy birthday. it really is absolutely awesome, the amount of people who have been so kind to make those remarks. thank you all very much. david sillito, bbc news, marston moretaine. what a fantastic story. he was overwhelmed and looking forward to some peace and quiet with his family. a quick reminder of the main story this hour. the number of americans who've lost their job climbs to more than 30 million after another 3.8 million people sign on in the past week. plenty more on the website and

also is being covered over the half hour. hello there, we may have had to wait until the end of april to get a decent batch of showers but yesterday's storms were quite impressive. the radar picture shows how widespread those showers were, nowhere immune from seeing several downpours through the day. some of the showers were particularly impressive from this mammatus cloud — the sign of very active convection in wiltshire, to pea—sized hail falling from those clouds in buckinghamshire, and further north in scotland, we had this funnel cloud dropping from the storm clouds in dumfries and galloway. over the next few hours, there are still showers dotted across england and wales, northern ireland, and across northern and western areas of scotland, too. not too cold — for most of us we are looking at temperatures around four or seven. low pressure still in charge

as we head on into friday and it is another day where nowhere is immune from seeing a shower or to even in parts across southern england, there will be showers driven by a fairly brisk wind but the heaviest will be across northern ireland into southern scotland and northern england. it is across these areas through the afternoon that you are most likely to see some flashes of lightning, rumbles of thunder, and hail mixed in. most showers will be slow moving in the north so they could merge together to give some fairly lengthy downpours as well. this weekend the winds will tend to fall much lighter. there will still be showers around the north and east. some sunshine but it will be quite cloudy at times, too. saturday we start off with some morning sunshine but clouds will develop and turn quite cloudy towards the middle of the day until the early afternoon. showers around north and eastern scotland, some running into parts of north and east england as well. temperatures, we are looking

at highs for many of us around 14 and 17 degrees celsius. we start off fine again on sunday but clouds will build across the sky and again still showers to come across northern and eastern scotland again running down into parts of north—east england. temperatures similar, for most of us between 14—17, relatively mild. the forecast into next week — the weather will settle down more, more sunshine to look forward to, and temperatures rising a few degrees as well.

this is bbc news. the headlines...

the number of people out of work in the us has climbed to over 30 million people. latest figures show 3.8 million americans signed on for unemployment benefits last week. economists believe the real figures may be significantly higher with many people struggling with the claims system. president trump says china will be held accountable for the pandemic as soon as us intelligence reports confirm what went wrong. agencies have concluded that the covid—19 virus was not manmade. they're still examining if its spread was due to a possible accident at a chinese laboratory. britain's prime minister says the uk has passed the peak of the outbreak. speaking at his first briefing since recovering from covid—19, borisjohnson warned it was too soon to lift the lockdown. now on bbc news, hardtalk.