this is bbc news. the headlines: draft proposals to get the uk back to work, with staggered shift times and safe workplaces. if it's very vital you work next to each other, then the shields like you see in supermarkets, or ppe is a way forward. eight weeks after imposing a strict nationwide lockdown — italy starts to ease restrictions. the 4,000—bed nhs nightingale facility at london's excel centre is to be placed on a standby footing in the coming days. thousands of medium and small businesses apply for aid as the government launches its bounce back loans scheme. and, mother goose on the loose before bedding down in york railway station. and she's become an internet sensation.

good afternoon and welcome. six weeks into lockdown and many of us want to know when we can return to work as normal. we don't have a date for that, but the bbc has seen details of the new workplace rules being proposed by the government to help businesses when their staff do eventually return. employers would need to stagger start times and limit the amount of desks and equipment that needs to be shared. employers should consider providing ppe, or barriers if the two metre social distancing rules can't be observed. in other developments, small and medium—sized businesses in the uk are able to apply for loans of up to £50,000 today, in a scheme backed by the treasury. this afternoon, the prime minister will host a global online summit aimed at raising more than £6 billion to develop vaccines

and treatments for covid—19. with more details on the plans for the workplace, here's our economics correspondent, andy verity. this manufacturer in fleckney, leicestershire, is fighting coronavirus on two fronts. going back to work within the rules, by practising social distancing, and making floor mats for other firms who want to do the same. the idea of something like this really does give a barrier for people to understand they need to keep two metres social distancing. it is about having effective products in the market to enable employees to maintain social distancing. today's government guidance paves the way for people who can't work from home to go back to work, but only if conditions are right. the construction giant taylor wimpey told the bbc today site managers would return to work and put up signage directing staff how to work at a social distance.

nothing's stopping usapart from making sure it is done safely. you need clear rules that we can implement and have the right equipment, and you also need the behavioural side. we believe strongly that that is done best by taking those baby steps and taking it a stage at a time. it is easy to forget just how far two metres is. but there are things you can do when you have to be relatively close to someone at work. of course there are times when you just can't maintain that two metre distance. the government accepts that but the big question is, what measures should you take to make things safer if that is the case? the draft government guidance suggests additional hygiene measures, such as physical screens between workers and working side by side rather than face—to—face, where social distancing is difficult. the two metre rule is partly driven by length of time of proximity to another person. the further away you are from someone, the longer you

can be with them. the closer you are, the higher the likelihood of catching something. if it is very vital you work next to each other, then potentially things like the shields you see in the supermarket, or ppe. rush—hour trains like this one arriving in london might this morning remain sparsely populated. the guidance remains, work from home if you can. unions are concerned if we go back too quickly to the old normal, their members' health and safety of members would be jeopardised. we have got no idea how they will manage queueing. if you have two metres social distancing and 100 people on a train, that would mean a 200 metre queue. if you put 400 metres, an 800 metre queue. and so on and so forth. if you are running ten, 20 trains an hour out of some of the main stations, they will be enormous amounts of people congregating in those areas. one obvious antivirus measure, face masks and other protective equipment, is especially contentious. if firms are advised to use it, they could end up competing with the nhs for a scarce resource.

on what to do about personal protective equipment, the draft guidance is silent on what to do about this. 0ur political correspondent jonathan blake is in westminster. the question of when is one many people want answerered, but at least we are getting some idea of how? yes, what we will get from the government two, important days, thursday is when ministers have to review the lockdown measures in place, legally they have to do that every three weeks and this week is the coming deadline for that. but in all likelihood they will be held in place as they are for the time being. sunday is the next significant day when we're told the prime minister will set out what he has described as a comprehensive plan to move forward and begin to change, adapt, lift or ease the restrictions that we have grown used

so. restrictions that we have grown used so. we will hear about the guidance to businesses, as well as more guidance to us all about what we can do, howfarwe guidance to us all about what we can do, how far we can go about daily life, not quite as normal, but something approaching that, whether it is regarding socialising or going to work or travelling on public transport. and we might get a sense of when certain measures will be brought in, or eased. but what we won't get is a firm time table, telling us what will happen and when. so, while the rules we have got used to have been relatively simple and straight forward, it's almost certainly the case that what we have to get used to in the coming weeks and months is a bit more nuanced and open to interpretation. that is why it is perhaps the ha rd est that is why it is perhaps the hardest decision a prime minister

will have to make? yes the government are facing pressure not only from unions and businesses who are keen to hear what guidance they're going to get and how they can ensure the safety of their employees and the viability of business. both difficult things to weigh up. but also political pressure, not least from labour, and some conservative mps who are starting to get frustrated and impatient that the lockdown measures have been in place for this long and there is a lack of clarity from government about what comes next. we will see more of that in the coming days. but definitely some big decisions for ministers and particularly the prime minister, who will give us more detail on sunday. thank you. the giant nightingale hospital in london's docklands is expected to be put on a standby footing in the coming days. the excel centre was turned into a field hospital with four thousand beds, and opened last month. 0ur health correspondent

anna collinson spoke to me a little earlier. in its first three weeks, the bbc understands it treated just around 50 patients. now, the nightingale said it would be a mark of success if the hospital continues not to operate at full capacity and in the past half hour we've heard that after the next coming days the hospital will be placed on standby. now, the bbc understands there is fewer than 20 patients in the nightingale at the moment. 0nce they're relocated, staff and ppe will be redeployed and redistributed and, like you say, this is a real cause for celebration for some. last week boris johnson said we have now passed the peak of deaths in coronavirus cases, but the ceo of the nightingale, charles knight, says they will be ready for the possibility that the number of covid—i9 case could rise again, if and when the government eases social distancing measures. so they will be ready for that when it happens. italy is easing its national lockdown today — the world's longest since the start of the pandemic. takeaways and parks are reopening, funerals can resume

and some businesses are restarting. but the shutdown has left deep scars in a country with already serious economic problems, as our correspondent mark lowen reports. italy is starting to reopen, but champion pizza maker teresa iorio can't. with new rules only allowing takeaway for now, she'll need more time to adapt and after eight weeks of lockdown, she's taken such a financial hit that her business will struggle to survive. translation: it would be better to die than not reopen, because it would kill my dreams for which i've sacrificed my life. it would be losing my livelihood, because my life is my work. i open the shutters in the morning and this is money for my sister, for my niece, for me, to live. a city of pizza, of spirit, of tattered beauty and past glories has been pummelled by the world's

longest lockdown of the pandemic. we were taken to see one of the roughest parts of one of the eu's poorest regions and in a place where the mafia typically profits from poverty there is a fear they are doing it again. until about ten years ago this was a no—go zone for police with an image of social decay. the security has improved here and yet this crisis has reawa kened long—standing concerns about organised crime preying on hardship, and it is what many other poverty areas well beyond italy could face too as the lockdown leaves its cars. leaves its scars. carpenter raffaele tells me he hasn't worked in almost three months and may have to sell his tv to get by. there's been lots more crime since the lockdown, he says, even kids dealing drugs and stealing cars, since there is no work and they need to eat. in the old town, musical solidarity, baskets hung to take donations

from those who can to give to those in need. a health crisis has become a social and economic one. the swansong of a lockdown that has halted the virus, but wounded this country. mark lowen, bbc news, naples. people in germany will finally be able to get their hair cut from today, as hardressers and barbers re—open for the first time since the lockdown six weeks ago. it won't be quite as before — customers and staff will have to wear masks and coffee and magazines won't be offered, because of the risk of infection. some schools are open again in austria, while in hungary, serbia and slovenia, cafes and restaurants are operating with some restrictions. whilst some countries ease their restrictions, russia is dealing with a dramatic increase in the number of cases of covid—i9. the number of new infections has surpassed 10,000 for the second day running. state television warned anyone who thought the epidemic in russia had reached its plateau was dreaming. banks say they've already received

thousands of applications for loans under the government's new bounce back scheme — which was launched this morning. the loans are aimed at small and medium sized businesses. let's speak to our personal finance correspondent, simon gompertz. a huge take up? yeah, lloyds said they had had 5,000 applications by 10 o'clock this morning. royal bank of scotla nd 10 o'clock this morning. royal bank of scotland said they had 10,000 by 11 o'clock. so other banks have been getting them too. so they describe it as getting them too. so they describe itasa getting them too. so they describe it as a bow wave of applications from struggling businesses, or businesses that are fearful about their survival, they need some emergency money to get them through this crisis and this is proving to be the easiest way for them to get it. do you remember there is a scheme called the coronavirus business interruption loan scheme? which has been dubbed cbils. that was the first thing brought in for

businesses to benefit from and you could get a £5 million loan. the maximum under this bounce back scheme is £50,000. but it is directed against those hundreds of thousands of very small businesses and sole traders who are desperate for cash and it is much easier to apply for and that is what is making the difference. desperate for cash, but ina the difference. desperate for cash, but in a position where many don't wa nt to ta ke but in a position where many don't want to take on any new loans? yes, i think that is true and there is a lot of wariness and also banks are advising people, you know, to consider whether they really want to borrow, particularly if they have borrowings already. among those borrowings already. among those borrowing are those who haven't borrowed before, because the businesses are small and survive on their own cash flow. but they're thinking, maybe i will need something and so let's get something in place, what we are being told there is no interest to be charged

on these loans from £2,000 to £50,000 during the first year and after that the interest is limited to 2.5% over a potential six years. so it is something they can get their heads around and think i need to get my defences in place and this might be useful and some are really keen to get hold of cash to get them through. a lot will be looking at the draft proposals, of how we get back to work. what is the response to that? people are struggling to get their heads around it. what does it mean? it is a thing causing financial uncertainty, if they have staff for instances, what will they do about them, what are they working conditions or methods of work going to be? these particular bounce back loa ns, to be? these particular bounce back loans, the way they're designed they're guaranteed loans, the way they're designed they‘ re guaranteed by loans, the way they're designed they're guaranteed by the government. so there is no

shillyshallying from big bank, they don't have to consider so carefully about whether they're prepared to ta ke about whether they're prepared to take that customer on. so they're quick to apply for, only seven questions, they're easier to get and it is the sort of sums that small businesses are interested in. a lot of people applying, but there have been hick ups, some are finding they're not with the right bank. ba rclays had trouble they're not with the right bank. barclays had trouble serving everyone, because so many were applying. they say they are clearing that up and it should be fine from now on. thank you. the latest figures in england. hospital figures, the latest figures in england. hospitalfigures, rose 204. that the latest figures in england. hospital figures, rose 204. that is the lowest daily increase since march 30th. so the lowest for a

month. there are figures from wales. i will bring you those. a further 14 people have died after testing positive for coronavirus in wales. that take it is total number to 997. another 195 people testing positive. that brings the number number to 10,524. but if you can get economy positive news with these figures, it is the england figure that shows the lowest increase for more than a month. i will bring you more on that later. a british trade minister — conor burns — has resigned after the uk's standards watchdog said he should receive a seven—day suspension for attempting to intimidate a member of the public. the complaint into the mp for bournemouth west alleged that he had attempted to secure a payment to his father by saying that he may use parliamentary privilege to raise the case

in the commons unless he secured the payment to his father. downing street says his replacement will be announced in due course. the general secretary of the labour party, jennie formby, has stood down from her post. she said it was the "right time" to make way as general secretary, with labour under new leadership. during her two years in the role, the party faced claims of anti—semitism — she described the period as ‘very challenging'. the headlines on bbc news: draft proposals to get the uk back to work, with staggered shift times and safe workplaces. eight weeks after imposing a strict nationwide lockdown — italy starts to ease restrictions. the 4,000—bed nhs nightingale facility at london's excel centre is to be placed on a standby footing in the coming days. with the coronavirus pandemic widely believed to have started at an animal market in wuhan, researchers are studying the global trade in wildlife as they try to find out how it leapt species to humans.

there are calls for all wildlife markets to be banned, as our science correspondent victoria gill reports. captured to be sold. the global trade in wildlife is now under new scrutiny as the possible origin of this pandemic, because before the first human case, the coronavirus moved undetected across the species barrier. genetic clues all point to a virus found in wild bats as the source, but working out exactly how the spill—over from wildlife into humans happened, isn't straightforward. part of the structure of every virus is essentially a key that unlocks the specific cell that it needs to get inside. now, if you imagine each of these padlocks is from a different species cell, they might require a different key. but some very different species actually share the same lock on their cells, and in the case of the coronavirus the key from the bat virus fits and unlocks some human cells.

but how did it reach that first human cell that it unlocked? its access was most likely not directly from bats, but via another intermediate host, an animal infected first that people came into close contact with. but scientists haven't yet worked out what species passed covid—19 to a human, or whether that animal was for sale in the now infamous wildlife market in wuhan. at the moment there is nothing that's terribly convincing about finding what the intermediate host was. and indeed, the intermediate host may never be found. but mixing large numbers of species under poor hygienic and welfare conditions, and species that wouldn't normally come close together, that gives opportunities for pathogens to jump from species to species. in previous outbreaks that intermediate species has been found. camels and palm civets have provided the likely route to humans for the closely related viruses mers and sars.

and scientists have found clues about this chain of transmission in a list of animals, including rare and widely trafficked pangolins. but when wildlife is traded not only in china, but in almost every country, breaking those chains is a global challenge. this now that needs real attention. there have been various campaigns to ban all traded animals. typically what you do then is you penalise some of the poorest in the world already further, and in many cases all you'll do by introducing measures like that is to drive any trade underground. health experts say that measures to reduce the risk of an outbreak, monitoring trade and screening for disease, have to be put in place globally if they're to work. this pandemic may have finally shown us the real cost of the alternative. victoria gill, bbc news. universities in england will be allowed to recruit a greater number of students this year to help ease their financial problems. but those applying to university

are anxious they won't be able to go to their preferred college after a—level exams were scrapped. their applications will now be assessed on the results of mock exams — which some say is unfair. elaine dunkley reports. students don't revise for marks, and that's a fact. the time we start revising is from easter onwards. we work really hard for the exams, the real ones, not of the mocks. but now for these a—level students they will count, along with previous homework and assessments. teachers will decide on the grades. my name is gemma. i'm 18 from west surrey. i'm from london. hi, i'm eloise. if, on results day, i don't achieve the grade i want to, what happens to my chances of going to the uni i want to go? one of the first things that went through my mind was the fear of not being able to prove myself any more in the real exams. it's really very stressful to go through this and not know what is going on. we have been speaking with students across the uk. in these times, solutions to problems are far from

ideal. i was really building myself up to take on my a levels, obviously to get the best results i could, so i could go to the best university i could. i'm the first in the sort of immediate family to go to university. and all of the work that i put in, and that my family have helped me with over the last few years, is alljust kind of, it feels like it has gone to waste. i think 0fqual's system is kind of the fairest they could do. how did you get on in your marks and do you think that will be enough for you to go and study medicine? i had interviews to prepare for, sol could not really prepare for mock exams. i did underachieve compared to my predicted grades. if i had got those in my real exams, i wouldn't have been able to go into medicine. the exam regulator says grades awarded will be a fair reflection and students will get the chance to do resits or appeal. in england the government has promised more flexibility and support in the clearing system to get into university, and funding of £100 million will be available to universities to recruit up to 5% more students.

there will be an awful lot of thought put into the circumstances that students face this time, and i think admissions teachers will be very much hoping to look at the different situations that students face this year and making adjustments appropriately, so we understand that the clearing system will be improved this year. naomi, what are your big concerns about how grades are going to be decided for students? there is evidence to show that students from disadvantaged backgrounds, low income households, especially the high achieving students, do tend to be under predicted. sometimes teachers have low expectations of some groups. so, those students, for example. i remember in english i was predicted a c and i got a a star. you are already at university. if you had to go through this process, do you think you would be at cambridge? i probably wouldn't be at cambridge. i think it's quite common in black students to be under predicted. just talking to the other black students as well, it seems like it's notjust an isolated incident, it seems like something

that happens quite often. oh my god! igot it! there will still be the celebrations and disappointments of previous years, but making the grade will feel very different in these testing times. president trump has gone against much expert opinion, saying that he expects there to be a vaccine by the end of the year. speaking in a tv interview, he also accused china of covering up the extent of the outbreak at the beginning. 0ur north american correspendent david willis reports. that was a great man... in the shadow of the man who led america through the dark days of the civil war, donald trump, a self—declared wartime president, sought to relaunch his presidential campaign with a steady stream of optimism.

we are building supply lines. we don't even have the vaccine. doubling down on assertions that the virus came not from a wet market in wuhan, but from a nearby laboratory at the city's institute of virology, mr trump said china had a lot of explaining to do. my opinion is they made a mistake, they tried to cover it they tried to put it out. it's like a fire. you know, it's really like trying to put out a fire. they couldn't put out the fire. although some states are slowly reopening, they're not doing it quickly enough for some residents there. president trump expressed sympathy for those who have protested lockdown orders in several states. responding to claims he acted too slowly to stem the spread of the coronavirus, mr trump said his actions had saved thousands of lives. we're going to lose anywhere from 75, 80, to 100,000 people. that's a horrible thing. we shouldn't lose one person over this. this should have been stopped in china. it should have been stopped.

but if we didn't do it, the minimum we would have lost is a million two, a million four, a million five — that's the minimum. the president is not without his supporters, however. in florida, where marinas recently reopened to the public, hundreds of boats gathered near his winter retreat at mar—a—lago to stage a nautical parade. having left the white house for the first time in more than a month over the weekend, mr trump is due to travel to arizona in the next few days, and he is not ruling out the possibility of holding election rallies in a few months' time. david willis, bbc news. the reality tv show love island will not broadcast a summer series, because of the coronavirus pandemic. itv bosses said they couldn't make the show work, while ensuring the wellbeing of everyone involved. it's expected to return in 2021. now, as we've been staying home over the past few weeks, wildlife have been venturing

into our streets, parks and even railway stations. first there were the goats of llandudno, and now there's the goose of york. the unnamed mother goose has nested on the concourse of the station and become an instant media star. danny savage has been taking a gander. york station, one of the busiest in the country outside of london. but not these days. and that has led to a new resident in a planter right by the main entrance. the staff here have called her lucy. and lucy the goosey has become a bit of a thing online. 0h, they love her. they think she's our little champion of the station. it's a shame we can't keep her. she is certainly attracting the attention of key workers passing by and mother goose has completely rearranged the flowerbed to make everything just so. i work at the station every day,

i drive a taxi from the station. normally ten o'clock on a monday morning this place is rammed with people coming in and out of the city, so to see it like this anyway is very strange, but to have a goose nesting as well is kind of nice. it keeps everybody talking and, yeah, it lightens the mood a little. lner and wildlife officers do have a plan for when the goslings hatch. they want to make sure that mum and offspring make it safely down to the nearby river 0use. lucy isn't the only animal to move in on an urban area while all the humans are indoors. the goats of llandudno are also still having a good time. and we've had deer reclaiming the streets in parts of london. but for lucy in york it's nowjust a waiting game until her new family arrives. danny savage, bbc news. just sending a message to danny,

because i don't know anyone who has called her lucy! now the weather. a fine spring day for most parts. there are one or two showers, chiefly across southern and eastern scotland. some heavy. cool for north sea coasts. the winds picking up towards the south. tonight parts of west devon, cornwall and west wales could see some strong winds, up to 55mph. there is a met office warning in force. and heavy rain in devon and the channel islands. where the winds stay light in scotland a cold night. milder in the south. we start ona night. milder in the south. we start on a windy and west in the south—west of england. but the rain fizzles away and doesn't get much further north. the warmest weather

in wales, north—west england and western scotland and chilly for north sea coasts and down to the south west.

hello, this is bbc news. the headlines: draft proposals to get the uk back to work, with staggered shift times and safe workplaces. eight weeks after imposing a strict nationwide lockdown, italy starts to ease restrictions. the 4,000—bed nhs nightingale facility at london's excel centre is to be placed on a standby footing in the coming days. thousands of medium and small businesses apply for aid as the government launches its bounce back loans scheme. sport now, and a full round—up from the bbc sport centre. good afternoon. the football association chairman greg clarke say‘s it's difficult to knowjust when fans might be allowed in to watch matches again.

in a letter to the fa governing council, clarke has also warned of a £300 million budget cut over the next four years as a worse case scenario. here's our reporter laura scott. he has said that it is hard to foresee crowds returning to matches any time soon. now, we knew already the rest of the season wouldn't have crowds, but he is clearly looking to next season as well, and we know that the premier league are preparing themselves for the possibility of playing the entirety of next season behind closed doors. greg clarke also went announced a budget cut, and warned that there could be similar cuts for the next four years because of changes to the whole football ecosystem. we sum to be seem to be some way of a consensus as to how football should resume. former spurs boss harry redknapp wants the season to be completed, but knows that some teams will have little motivation to see out the campaign. i would like to see it finish.

liverpool deserved to win the title, no doubt. the teams in the championship need to come up. you see, the big problem, how many players have the appetite right now to come back and finish the season? liverpool players, sheffield united i may be in liverpool players, sheffield united imay be ina liverpool players, sheffield united i may be in a position to get at the top six, leicester. if you are in the bottom six in the premier league, you are quite happy to say, listen, let's call it off now, because if they get relegated, all them players who are down there struggling, they would have a 30, 40, may be a 50% cut in wages if they get cut next year, so they will not want that to happen. unless they are going to win the league like liverpool or do something special, top four, what is there to play for? while teams in the top division try to work out how they might resume their season, it's a very different story for those with smaller budgets. accrington stanley are one of the smallest clubs in the football league and issues are beginning to arise.

the contract for their captain runs out next month and he says the uncertainity of his future could have huge financial implications. my my eldest is three, my youngest is seven months, so they have been tough work on lockdown. we have got a mortgage, we have cars to pay for, we have the bills that everybody needs to pay. it is the not knowing when this is going to end or when you are going to get an answer to when the season will come back or if it will come back, or when a new contract will be in place if one is going to be in place. the british horse racing authority say their sport can restart behind closed doors within a week if the governemnt say it's safe to do so. the bha has outlined plans which include jockeys and staff living on—site in quarantine, with horses brought to and from the venue each day, and a limited number of courses being used. in our sport, we have to try harder to make the case, but we don't want to make the case ahead of public opinion. we are making the case to say, we are ready when you are ready, when the public health advice is ready we can be won is ready we can be one of the first to go.

we don't have to have premier league footballers trained for six weeks in our sport. 0ur equine and human athletes are ready to go within a week to help bring live sport back. the women's tour, the six—day international cycling race staged in the uk, will now take place next year. lizzie deignan, seen here at the world championships, won it for a second time last year. the race had already been postponed from its scheduled start next month and it will now take place from the 7th to the 12thjune next year, over the same route, starting in bicester and finishing in felixstowe. that's all the sport for now. simon. thank you very much for that. first minister of scotland nicola sturgeon said the coronavirus infection rate is still too high to make "any meaningful change" to the lockdown. she was speaking as she outlined the scottish government's plans for a test, trace, isolate strategy. this new strategy would mean anyone with symptoms reporting them to the nhs, who would then inform everyone they'd been in contact with.

the first minister said that this new approach would rely on the public‘s co—operation and trust. a test, trace, isolate approach will only work if you, the public, are willing to do what we ask of you, so it is really important to start building your knowledge of and confidence in such an approach now as part of that grown—up conversation you know that i'm keen to have. the initial key point i want to make is that a successful tti approach depends on us first suppressing the virus to as low a level as possible. if infection rates are too high or they get too high again in the future the number of people with symptoms and who will need tested could overwhelm the system, even with a vastly expanded testing capacity. second, tti will be a key part of our approach, but it will not on its own keep infection rates down or the r—number below one. it is not a quick fix or a magic solution. it will have to be combined with continued physical distancing, rigorous hygiene and the appropriate use of face coverings.

crucially, it will mean you, the public, knowing exactly what it is that we are asking you to do and why we are asking you to do it and being prepared to do it. that means if you have symptoms you need to recognise them and be willing to isolate, to contact the nhs and get tested, and also be prepared to share details of anyone you have been in contact with. and for all of us, it will mean being prepared to isolate for 14 days if we are contacted and told that we have been in close proximity to someone with the virus. and that, of course, could happen multiple times, with significant disruption to our lives. i'm going to take you to brussels for a virtual conference based in brussels, is the european commission launches a global effort to fund research on a vaccine and other tools to combat the coronavirus. you are currently looking at the prime minister of spain, pedro sanchez, andi minister of spain, pedro sanchez, and i think we are hearing shortly

from borisjohnson. and i think we are hearing shortly from boris johnson. this and i think we are hearing shortly from borisjohnson. this is a ursula von der leyen, who i think will introduce borisjohnson. from the united kingdom, prime minister borisjohnson. as from the united kingdom, prime minister boris johnson. as you from the united kingdom, prime minister borisjohnson. as you can see, from his video, he is feeling much better, and i congratulate him on his recent arrival. i'm delighted that the uk is co—hosting this summit and joining forces with all of you against our common enemy, the coronavirus. in our own countries, we have taken extraordinary measures, asking our people to accept sweeping restrictions on their way of life, and by doing so, we have formed a human shield around our health systems, enabling our heroic health ca re systems, enabling our heroic health care workers to save many lives, including my own. but the truth is that none of us can succeed alone. to win this battle, we must work together to build an impregnable shield around all our people, and that can only be achieved by

developing and mass—producing a vaccine. the more we pull together and share our expertise, the faster our scientists will succeed. the uk is the biggest donor to the efforts of the coalition for epidemic preparedness to find a vaccine. we have committed up to £744 million to the global response to coronavirus, including our pledge of 388 million for the vital research and development of vaccines, treatments and tests. that is the focus of today's conference. through the global vaccine alliance, we are also helping the world's poorest countries cope with the virus. i look forward to welcoming many of you to the summits we are hosting on the 14th of june. you to the summits we are hosting on the 14th ofjune. when we find a vaccine, it is vital we are able to

distribute it to everyone who needs it. countries and pharmaceutical companies will need to work together with an approach that defies the usual ways of operating. we will need innovative partnerships like the one between astrazeneca and the university of oxford, and we will need a truly global effort, because no one country and no one pharmaceutical company will be able to do this alone. the race to discover the vaccine to defeat this virus is not a competition between countries, but the most urgent shared endeavour of our lifetimes. it is humanity against the virus. we are in this together, and together, we will prevail. thank you so much. i am so grateful to the united kingdom for this encouraging message, and their generosity. and now, we turn to the 620 generosity. and now, we turn to the gzo president... we will pull away from that

conference. that was, of course, president of the european commission ursula von der leyen. we have just heard from borisjohnson a recorded speech to them, pledging further money, £388 million in aid funding for research into tests, treatments and vaccines which he said was part of the £744 million commitment to help ending the pandemic and support the global economy. this was a figure announced yesterday, the 388 million. he said we were in this together and together we will prevail. he praised the work of health services, which he said had saved many lives, including my own. as he said, he described the challenge facing humanity, as the most urgent shared endeavour of our lifetimes. to let you know, other countries are also pledging money. no way to give $1 billion in support —— norway, germany's angela merkel saying germany's angela merkel saying germany will contribute 525 million euros for the coronavirus response and the french president emmanuel macron singh france would contribute

500 million euros for the initiative. —— emmanuel macron saying france would contribute. we will have more on that through the afternoon. borisjohnson with that pledge the european commission president. this is bbc news. an army—run mobile testing unit has been set up on skye after a "significant" number of residents and staff at a care home tested positive with covid—19. the outbreak was first detected at home farm care home in portree last week. a total of 28 of the home's 34 residents and 26 of its 52 staff tested positive. i'm joined by ian blackford, mp for ross, skye & lochaber, and scottish national party leader in westminster. this is a very worrying and significant outbreak? of course it is. it is a very sad time for skye, and i'm sure everyone's thoughts will be caught up in this. everyone who is in the care home, of course, theirfamilies who is in the care home, of course, their families cannot be with them, and we now know that a significant number of staff members out of the

community have all been tested, and thatis community have all been tested, and that is why we have got these numbers. iam that is why we have got these numbers. i am very grateful we have the army facility complementing what we have in poetry, but i think it is almost pretty certain that this will already be out in the community. —— in port. —— in portree. that is why i think the test, trace and isolate is important, because i am under no illusion, we have an enormous battle on our hands to get out from under this virus. it is very sad for all concerned, but i would really appeal to everybody to recognise the recommendations now on behaviour, making sure that we do make sure that we take all necessary precautions that we have social distancing, we only go out when we have to, and let's make sure whether in skye or anywhere else, we do all we can to stop the growth of this virus. this will be a long battle in front of us. everything you were talking about their about the

investment and making sure we can get vaccinations out as quickly as possible, until that is the case and there is medication to deal with this, we are dealing with the virus, which is invisible, and we know into many cases is a killer. so all of us in skye and elsewhere must take our responsibilities to continue doing the right thing, to do everything we can to stop the of this. a particular worry, given that we are talking about a self—contained island community which i suspect probably felt relatively safe in the early days of this, but once you get a case of the virus, that causes more problems, doesn't it? indeed it does, and no place in the uk is immune from this, and i kept trying to get that message across, which is why we are saying to people, don't come in self—isolate in these rural islands. let us try and deal with this as best as we can. but nobody is immune to this, and certainly when you consider our situation, we have some fantastic medical staff here and i want to commend the nhs

for what they are doing, but the harsh reality is, our nearest acute hospital is in inverness, which is more than 135 miles from where i am today, so there are real challenges in making sure that we can get medical attention to people. the hospitals that we have in broadford and in portree will do their best, of course, and they have testing capabilities there, but when it comes to intensive care, it means a journey over a long distance for people who are already pretty critically unwell. so these are challenging times for us. these are close—knit communities and i certainly know a lot of the residents and a lot of the staff. there is a fantastic community resilience to this island, a support network, and everyone now has to show their responsibilities if they are seeing symptoms of this. they need to make sure they are tested so we can isolate them and trace those who have been in contact with them. my who have been in contact with them. my message to everyone is that this will be with us for a considerable

period of time, when i hear all the talk about making sure we can get back to work and unravel the lockdown measures, i would say to everybody, think very carefully this virus, that respects no barriers and will take its opportunity to do its worst on the population unless we are vigilant against what it can do to us. ian, of the back of what you have just said about the close—knit nature of the community in which you serve, and forgive me for this, but i need to tell you, we are just hearing that a resident has died at a care home on skye, where 56 other residents and staff have tested positive. as i say, forgive me, because you were just saying that you know many of the residents, and this is perhaps news to you. but it underlines exactly what you are saying. yes, i was aware of this, though i knew it wasn't quite in the public domain and has just come out. it is very, very sad. when you talk about the care home and the figures you gave, the 28 out of the 34 residents, a lot of them quite

elderly and with existing health ca re elderly and with existing health care home and the figures you gave, the 28 out of the 34 residents, a lot of them quite elderly and with existing health care conditions, there is... how can i put it any other way than to say there is a genuine concern about what they are going to face, and that terrible reality that one of the residence has already died is desperately, desperately sad, and what that means for theirfamily desperately sad, and what that means for their family and everyone connected with them. at the end of the day, when people talk about the impact on the economy, and i get that, and we have a responsibility to support people. we have crashed the economy and we need to make sure we get cash into people's pockets, but at the end of the day, this is about people's lives, and recognising that all of us individually and collectively have to do all we can, because i don't wa nt to do all we can, because i don't want any families to go through the kind of hardship that the one in skye will be going through now, that loss of a loved one that has been taken loss of a loved one that has been ta ke n early loss of a loved one that has been ta ken early because loss of a loved one that has been taken early because of this virus, andi taken early because of this virus, and i appeal to everyone just to recognise what we are facing and what we have to do. these are not normal times. goodness knows what normal times. goodness knows what normal will be like in the future.

but we have two recognise this as a health emergency. we must not slacken off. i understand the challenges from people being at home andi challenges from people being at home and i understand the mental health challenges facing as a consequence of this, but we have to treat this the way we treat an emergency like a warlike situation, and we have to recognise we cannot be blase and let our guard down. we must do what we need to do to beat this virus, to keep it at bay, until we are in a situation where we have medication that can deal with this and until we have ways that we can immunise people against the virus. can ijust picked up on, finally, the tone of politics? you and i have crossed swords outside westminster many times, and you have had a go at various governments and government ministers. who would be prime minister at the moment? this is a dreadful time with some dreadful

decisions to make, isn't it? because it is, and i think all of us have a responsibility to work together. the four nations of the uk, the governments of those four nations have to work together. there must be a collective spirit and that. i tell you, i will give the prime minister all necessary support. we need to make sure we are all engaged in this process , make sure we are all engaged in this process, all the opposition parties at westminster, all the opposition party leaders. we must come together. but at the same time, i applaud a lot of things the government has done on the retention scheme, some of the support for the self—employed, but the point i made earlier, that we need to make sure no one is left behind, there are what you talked about in our area, this is one dominated by tourism where workers are seasonal and not ca ptu red where workers are seasonal and not captured by the retention scheme. many businesses are not supported. i constructively appealed to the prime minister and the chancellor to recognise we have to go further than we have done, —— eye appeal. in

these emergency situations, we should be considering a universal basic income, because it has to be about making sure that we have cash in everyone's pocket so they can do the right thing. so i pledge myself and my party to work constructively with the government. this is an enormous challenge that we face. look at the death rate through the united kingdom. it should shock us all, the number of deaths taking place. when you consider the fact that people are dying alone and without their families, it is a horrible death. this is something that no stone must be left unturned to make sure that collectively, we give the right response to this. ian blackford, thank you very much for your time, ian blackford, thank you very much foryourtime, and ian blackford, thank you very much for your time, and once again, ian blackford, thank you very much foryourtime, and once again, our condolences on the news of that death at one of your local care homes. thank you forjoining us. you are watching bbc news. conspiracy theories, misinformation and speculation about coronavirus have flooded social media. but who starts these rumours? and who spreads them? the bbc‘s specialist disinformation reporter marianna spring has some answers and she joins us now.

so, one of the main sources of misinformation we have been hearing about? —— what are the main sources? me and the team of experts here at the bbc have investigated lots of misleading posts that have been shared on whatsapp, facebook, and all across social media. we have put together a list of seven types of people who commonly spread or start misinformation. 0urfirst character is often someone who has created a post that has gone too far. i spoke to an instagram pranksterfor whom this happened. i faked this happened. ifaked a this happened. i faked a text message from gov.uk telling people that they had been fined for leaving their house over three times a day and that i encourage my followers to spread it on social media and then send the responses that they were receiving. sol responses that they were receiving. so i did this because i heard some

people were breaking the lock down andl people were breaking the lock down and i thought it would be funny to scare them with a fake text message. what our governments on social media company is doing to stop this? what our governments on social media company is doing to stop thi57m what our governments on social media company is doing to stop this? it is a difficult one to tackle, so you havejokers, a difficult one to tackle, so you have jokers, scammers, and politicians in some cases. i'm sure many people heard donald trump saying people inject themselves with disinfectant, which is obviously false. so it is difficult to trace the sources of this information. we have been told social media companies tackle harmful narratives in mind also want to protect freedom of speech. experts have said it is possible to do both. social media companies can ban people that repeatedly break their rules. for example, conspiracy theorist david icke has been removed from facebook

and now youtube is a consequence of spreading misinformation about 5g and coronavirus. it is a complicated maze of people sharing things and their relatives and celebrities who amplify these stories, who share them on but do not necessarily start them. i will give this a go. we have a problem with the line, but very quickly, what can we all do? the main thing we can all do isjust think before we share misinformation online. before you forward on a message, you just need to pause and reflect on whether it is true, where it has come from, and if it is helpful to pass it on, because we need to tackle the sources, but also to slow the spread of misleading information about coronavirus. marianna spring, thank you very much. with more than 100,000 confirmed cases and 7,000 deaths, brazil has now surpassed china where the outbreak started — but experts are warning the true numbers are far higher. already, the health system in the amazon has collapsed — and there's real fear the virus

could devastate the vulnerable indigenous population in the region as well as its land. 0ur south america correspondent, katy watson, reports. in the middle of the rainforest, the virus has taken hold. this is riannamanaus, the biggest city in the amazon, where they are digging mass graves known as trenches. where else —— how else can they cope with the numbers of people dying? manaus is at breaking point. it has one of the highest infection rates in the country in one of the most underfunded health systems. this video shot inside one of the hospital shows body bags lying next to those gravely ill. manaus is home to those gravely ill. manaus is home to many indigenous communities, where poverty, malnutrition and displacement make tackling the virus an even bigger challenge. history has taught people here that viruses from outside bring devastation. they are only —— their only defence now, home—made masks. but much more is

needed to protect them. translation: we already have lots of people in the community with symptoms, but we don't have a doctor here. we don't have a nurse who looked after us. indigenous communities struggle to have health service and they are struggling to live too. those living in the rainforest have even bigger challenges. the closest medical help is often days away by boat. some communities have shut themselves away, fearful of contagion. protection agencies are no longer on the ground, and that has huge consequences in a country where illegal loggers and miners have been emboldened by a government set on developing the amazon. you can't forget the attacks that keep happening and i never result. covid—19 kills with an illness. here, people are killed either through abandonment or contamination. invaders are coming in and taking advantage. they aren't in quarantine. they are using this time to explore, they are the

principal vectors. deforestation rose more than 50% in the first three months of this year, and there is an added urgency, is fire season begins. ina is an added urgency, is fire season begins. in a region already struggling with covid—19. begins. in a region already struggling with covid-19. we will have these two big problems together, as we saw in the last year, when you have a lot of fires, you have people going to the hospital, and when we have the hospital, and when we have the hospital completely full of people with covert, it will be madness when the fires start this year. the death toll keeps climbing, and there is no peak in sight, and little protection for brazil's most vulnerable people. now it's time for a look at the weather. good afternoon. plenty of springlike weather and the forecast for the next few days. in fact, temperatures are set to climb for the second half of this week. there will be dry weather, sunny spells, and a little bit of rain in the forecast. most

places are dry as we head towards the end of today. spells of sunshine out there and patchy cloud as well. one or two showers across eastern and southern scotland, and if few across northern and eastern england. some could be heavy, possibly thundery. dance towards the far south, across the channel islands, parts of cornwall and devon, more cloud works in later in the day. the wind will pick up, and into the evening, the winds will really strengthen. we could see gusts of 50-55 strengthen. we could see gusts of 50—55 mph. very gusty to the west of dartmoor, and parts of west cornwall. there is a met office warning. wind could cause disruption, and heavy rain getting in to cornwall, devon and the channel islands through the night. the further north you are, a quiet night. daytime show is failing, at and where winds remain lowest across scotland, some places will drop to freezing. some places could get to a bit below, but milder in the south, where we have our weather front, bringing those outbreaks of rain. the front runs into this area of high pressure, so it will not make

much progress north. as you can see, that wet and rather windy weather across the south—west of england in south—west wales, but it does not make much more progress northwards, and that rain will actuallyjust fizzle away as the day wears on. the breeze will ease but only slightly. further north, some spells of sunshine. higher temperatures across wales, north—west england and southern scotland. rather cool for the north west and some seacoast as well. into wednesday, the chance for some showers to graze the north west. a bit more cloud, but it is generally fine. sunshine and sides of temperatures climbing pretty much across the board. that process will continue into thursday and friday. orange colour is pushing northwards across the chart. the warmest weather of all found across the south of the uk. temperatures towards the south—east could get to 24-25 towards the south—east could get to 24—25 on friday for, but a bit more u nsu btle 24—25 on friday for, but a bit more unsubtle further north. a bit cooler as well, and let me show you the weekend. this cold air is going to

plunge southwards, unusually cold for this time of year. for some, there could be some wintry showers.

the headlines: draft proposals to get the uk back to work, with staggered shift times and safe workplaces. if it is vital you work next to each other, shields or ppe is a way forward. eight weeks after imposing a strict nationwide lockdown italy starts to ease restrictions. eight weeks after imposing a strict nationwide lockdown italy starts to ease restrictions. the 4000 bed nhs nightingale facility at london's excel centre is to be placed ona standby footing in the coming days. thousands of medium and small businesses apply for aid as the government launches its bounce back loans scheme. and, mother goose on the loose before bedding down in york railway station. and she's become an internet sensation.

good afternoon. six weeks into lockdown and many of us want to know when we can return to work as normal. we don't have a date for that, but the bbc has seen details of the new workplace rules being proposed by the government to help businesses when their staff do eventually return. employers would need to stagger start times and limit the amount of desks and equipment that needs to be shared. employers should consider providing ppe, or barriers if the two metre social distancing rules can't be observed. in other developments, small and medium—sized businesses in the uk are able to apply for loans of up to £50,000 today, in a scheme backed by the treasury. this afternoon, the prime minister

will host a global online summit aimed at raising more than £6 billion to develop vaccines and treatments for covid—19. the prime minister has been taking pa rt the prime minister has been taking part ina the prime minister has been taking part in a global online summit, aimed at raising money for vaccines and treatment for covid—19. with more here is andy verity. this manufacturer in fleckney, leicestershire, is fighting coronavirus on two fronts. going back to work within the rules, by practising social distancing, and making floor mats for other firms who want to do the same. the idea of something like this really does give a barrier for people to understand they need to keep two metres social distancing. it is about having effective products in the market to enable employees to maintain social distancing. today's government guidance paves the way for people who can't work from home to go back to work,

but only if conditions are right. the construction giant taylor wimpey told the bbc today site managers would return to work and put up signage directing staff how to work at a social distance. nothing's stopping us apart from making sure it is done safely. you need clear rules that we can implement and have the right equipment, and you also need the behavioural side. we believe strongly that that is done best by taking those baby steps and taking it a stage ata time. it is easy to forget just how far two metres is. but there are things you can do when you have to be relatively close to someone at work. of course there are times when you just can't maintain that two metre distance. the government accepts that but the big question is, what measures should you take to make things safer if that is the case?

the draft government guidance suggests additional hygiene measures, such as physical screens between workers and working side by side rather than face—to—face, where social distancing is difficult. the two metre rule is partly driven by length of time of proximity to another person. the further away you are from someone, the longer you can be with them. the closer you are, the higher the likelihood of catching something. if it is very vital you work next to each other, then potentially things like the shields you see in the supermarket, or ppe. rush—hour trains like this one arriving in london might this morning remain sparsely populated. the guidance remains, work from home if you can. unions are concerned if we go back too quickly to the old normal, their members' health and safety of members would be jeopardised. we have got no idea how they will manage queueing. if you have two metres social distancing and 100 people on a train, that would mean a 200 metre queue. if you put 400 metres, an 800 metre queue.

and so on and so forth. if you are running ten, 20 trains an hour out of some of the main stations, they will be enormous amounts of people congregating in those areas. one obvious antivirus measure, face masks and other protective equipment, is especially contentious. if firms are advised to use it, they could end up competing with the nhs for a scarce resource. on what to do about personal protective equipment, the draft guidance is silent on what to do about this. our political correspondent jonathan blake has more details on the timeframe for what we can expect from the government this week. what we will get from the government this week, two important days, thursday is when ministers have to review the lockdown measures in place, legally they have to do that every three weeks and this week is the coming deadline for that. but in all likelihood they will be reviewed and held in place as they are for the time being. sunday is the next

significant day, when we are told the prime minister will set out in detail what he has described as a comprehensive plan to move forward and begin to change, adapt, lift or ease some of the restrictions that we have grown uzed to. we will hear about the guidance to businesses, as well as more guidance to us all about what we can do, how far we can go about daily life, not quite as normal, it won't be that, but something approaching that, whether regarding socialising or going to work or travelling. and we might get a sense of when certain measures will be brought in or eased, but what we won't get is a firm time table telling us what will happen and when. so while the rules we have got used to have been relatively simple and straight forward, it's

almost certainly the case that what we have to get used to in the coming weeks and months is more nuanced. which is why perhaps this is the ha rd est which is why perhaps this is the hardest political decision any prime minister and his cabinet will ever have to make? yes, because the government are already facing pressure from not only unions and businesses, as you have heard who are businesses, as you have heard who a re clear to businesses, as you have heard who are clear to hear what guidance they will get and how they can ensure the safety of their employees and the viability of their businesses. both difficult things to weigh up. but also political pressure, not least from labour and some conservative mps, who are starting to get frustrated and impatient that the lockdown measures have been in place for this long and there is a lack of clarity from government about what comes next. but some big decisions for minister and the prime minister, who will give us more detail on

sunday. i want to give you some more depth on the deaths in england. of the 21,384 deaths confirmed in hospital, we're getting a percentage of the ages of those who have died and tested positive for covid—19. the people aged 80 and over it is 52% of those who died. 11,205 were over eight. in the 60s, it to 70, 39%. between 40 and 79. 8% were aged between 40 and 59. with1% a figure of 152 aged 20 to 39. and 0.05% of

people aged from birth to 19. these figures from nhs england, but underlining what we have been reporting since the start of this, that it reporting since the start of this, thatitis reporting since the start of this, that it is particularly hazardous for elderly people. and aged 80 and over accounting for 52% of all hospital deaths in england. just a little more detail. the number of deaths announced by university hospitals birmingham has reached 778. that is the highest number for any trust in england. london north—west has announced 522 deaths. the university hospitals birmingham with the highest number of deaths at 778. we are keeping an eye on those figures and the percentage of those who have died in terms of age. the giant nightingale hospital in london's docklands is expected to be put on a standby footing in the coming days. the excel centre was turned

into a field hospital with 4,000 beds, and opened last month. our health correspondent anna collinson spoke to me a little earlier. in its first three weeks, the bbc understands it treated just around 50 patients. now, the nightingale said it would be a mark of success if the hospital continues not to operate at full capacity and in the past half hour we've heard that after the next coming days the hospital will be placed on standby. now, the bbc understands there is fewer than 20 patients in the nightingale at the moment. once they're relocated, staff and ppe will be redeployed and redistributed and, like you say, this is a real cause for celebration for some. last week borisjohnson said we have now passed the peak of deaths in coronavirus cases, but the ceo of the nightingale, charles knight, says they will be ready for the possibility that the number of covid—19 case could rise again, if and when the government eases social distancing measures. so they will be ready for that when it happens. italy is easing its national lockdown today — the world's longest since the start of the pandemic.

takeaways and parks are reopening, funerals can resume, and some businesses are restarting. but the shutdown has left deep scars in a country with already serious economic problems, as our correspondent mark lowen reports. italy is starting to reopen, but champion pizza maker teresa iorio can't. with new rules only allowing takeaway for now, she'll need more time to adapt aqnd after eight weeks of lockdown, she's taken such a financial hit that her business will struggle to survive. translation: it would be better to die than not reopen, because it would kill my dreams for which i've sacrificed my life. it would be losing my livelihood, because my life is my work. i open the shutters in the morning and this is money for my sister, for my niece, for me, to live. a city of pizza, of spirit, of tattered beauty and past glories has been pummelled by the world's

longest lockdown of the pandemic. we were taken to see one of the roughest part of one of the eu's poorest regions and in a place where the mafia typically profits from poverty there is a fear they are doing it again. until about ten years ago this was a no—go zone for police with an image of social decay. the security has improved here and yet this crisis has reawa kened long—standing concerns about organised crime preying on hardship, and it is what many other poverty areas well beyond italy could face too as the lockdown leaves its cars. leaves its scars. carpenter raffaele tells me he hasn't worked in almost three months and may have to sell his tv to get by. there's been lots more crime since the lockdown, he says, even kids dealing drugs and stealing cars, since there is no work and they need to eat. in the old town, musical solidarity,

baskets hung to take donations from those who can to give to those in need. a health crisis has become a social and economic one. the swansong of a lockdown that has halted the virus, but wounded this country. mark lowen, bbc news, naples. people in germany will finally be able to get their hair cut from today, as hardressers and barbers re—open for the first time since the lockdown six weeks ago. it won't be quite as before, customers and staff will have to wear masks, and coffee and magazines won't be offered because of the risk of infection. some schools are open again in austria, while in hungary, serbia and slovenia, cafes and restaurants are operating with some restrictions. whilst some countries ease their restrictions, russia is dealing with a dramatic increase in the number of cases of covid—19. the number of new infections has surpassed 10,000 for the second day running. state television warned anyone who thought the epidemic in russia had reached

its plateau was dreaming. banks say they've already received thousands of applications for loans under the government's new bounce back scheme — which was launched this morning. the loans are aimed at small and medium sized businesses. our personal finance correspondent, simon gompertz, told me there's been a huge take up. lloyds said they had 5,000 applications by 10am and rbs natwest said they had had 10,000 by 11 o'clock. they describe it as bow wave of applications from struggling businesses, or businesses that are fea rful businesses, or businesses that are fearful about their survival. they need some emergency money to get them through this crisis and this is proving to be the easiest way to get it. do you remember there is a scheme called the coronavirus

business interruption scheme. that was the first thing brought in for businesses to benefit from and you could get a £5 million loan? the maximum under this bounce back scheme is £50,000. but it is directed against those hundreds of thousands of the smallest business and sole traders who are desperate for cash and it is much easier to apply for and that is what is making the difference. desperate for cash,borough but the difference. desperate for cash, borough but many the difference. desperate for cash,borough but many don't want to ta ke cash,borough but many don't want to take on new loans. that is true and banks are advising people to consider whether they really want to borrow, particularly if they have borrowings already. but among those applying are those who haven't borrowed before, because they're small businesses and survive on their own cash flow. they're thinking, maybe i will need

something, to get let's get something, to get let's get something in place. there is no interest to be charged on the loans during the first year and after that the interest is limited to 2.5% over the interest is limited to 2.5% over the potential six years of a loan. so it is something they can get their heads around and think, well, i need to get my defences in place and this might be a useful thing to have and of course some people are just really keen to get hold of cash to get them through the next few months. a lot will be looking at the d raft months. a lot will be looking at the draft proposals months. a lot will be looking at the d raft proposals of months. a lot will be looking at the draft proposals of how we get back to work, what response has there been? people are struggling to get their heads around it. what does it mean? it is causing a lot of financial uncertainty. if they have staff, what will they do about them and what will their methods of work be and it is adding to the uncertainty. but these bounce back loa ns, uncertainty. but these bounce back loans, the way they're designed is

they're guaranteed loans, the way they're designed is they‘ re guaranteed by loans, the way they're designed is they're guaranteed by the government. there is no shillyshallying from the banking doling them don't have to think about whether they have to take the customer on. they are quick to apply for, easier to get for that reason and it is the sort of sums that small businesses are interested in. lots of people applying, but there have been some hick ups, only seven big banking groups are accredited and some find they're not with the right bank. and barclays had trouble serving everyone. they say they're clearing that up from today and it should be fine in now. the headlines on bbc news: draft proposals to get the uk back to work, with staggered shift times and safe workplaces. eight weeks after imposing a strict nationwide lockdown, italy starts to ease restrictions. the 4,000—bed nhs nightingale

facility at london's excel centre is to be placed on a standby footing in the coming days. rail union leaders have expressed concerns over government plans to begin increasing train services. the transport secretary grant shapps has said more buses and trains would start running as part of plans to start gradually easing the lockdown. but unions say there's been no guidance on how to ensure workers and passengers are properly protected. we are concerned that a general blanket increase in train services could be dangerous for passengers and for staff and it could be a transmission system for the virus, which we hope is being suppressed. if we have a blanket increase in people using the systems, you can imagine the interfaces between tube and the main line station and the big areas like manchester, birmingham, glasgow, wherever, they're going to be a lot of congestion and a lot of crowding. we haven't had any advice from the

government that they're going to reduce social distancing and neither have they given direction as to how social distancing may be enforced. they may be thinking about compromising that and one minister said it may come down to a metre. we think that is a dangerous step. it has not been proving that now is the time or next week or the week after, to safely increase the number of services and the number of passengers on those services. a british trade minister, conor burns, has resigned after the uk's standards watchdog said he should receive a seven—day suspension for attempting to intimidate a member of the public. the complaint into the mp for bournemouth west alleged that he had attempted to secure a payment to his father by saying that he may use parliamentary privilege to raise the case in the commons unless he secured the payment to his father. downing street says his replacement will be announced in due course. the general secretary of the labour party, jennie formby, has stood down from her post. she said it was the "right time" to make way as general secretary,

with labour under new leadership. during her two years in the role, the party faced claims of anti—semitism, she described the period as ‘very challenging'. here in the uk, a national health service smartphone app to help trace people who may have been infected by the virus is being trialled on the isle of wight this week. at least half the population there will have to download it in order for it to work. it will then be rolled out more widely. our technology correspondent, rory cellan—jonesjoins me now. so that roll out, how does it work? well, this app, which is intended to bea well, this app, which is intended to be a key part of britain emerging from lockdown, part of the whole track and trace strategy, is being tried in the isle of wight. it will be available probably tomorrow to nhs staff and council staff and then to the wider population on thursday. now, they say ideally more than half the population will down load it.

they're stressing this afternoon in the parliamentary committee even at lower levels it will provide a lot of good data. they're trying to say it will be fit into a wider strategy, where there is manual contract tracing and people ringing you up, saying, who have you seen in the last few days. but this app makes this automatic and records who your phone has been near and then when you say, oh, actually, i think i have infected and you get a test and an alert goes out to all those people. they won't know it is you, they will get a message saying you have been close to somebody who is infected. how does the technology work on this? it is the one central app, it is a huge project that the nhs digital divorce gital dif vision

has been working on. there is a centralised route, where data is collected by the nhs, anonymous day they stress and there is a decentralised version that other countries are trying, with the app matches it is the one central app, it isa matches it is the one central app, it is a huge project that the nhs digital dif vision has been working on. there is a centralised route, where data is collected by the nhs, anonymous day they stress and there isa anonymous day they stress and there is a decentralised version that other countries are trying, with the app matches people on their phones. and there are quite a number of privacy advocates and technology specialists saying the government is going down the wrong route. there is a debate about that. that debate is going now. the human rights select committee has been discussing it and one expert said there are privacy concerns and that the big risk for a number of reasons? yeah, she is one ofa number of number of reasons? yeah, she is one of a number of people giving evidence, we are hearing in the last few minutes from the man in charge

of the app, the director of nhs, he said the app will not be collecting personal information on you, that any data will be anom mouse. but there is bound to be a battle over that. people will be asked to consider the balance of human rights and the rights of maybe escaping from your home, the right to ease the lockdown and possibly extend the disease against the threat to privacy. it is looking at close contact and a lot of scientists disagree what is close contact? yes, imean, i disagree what is close contact? yes, i mean, i was talking to somebody, it is the same question in the manual tracing thing. they may say to you, if you became infected, you would get a call from a human tracer, who would say, do you remember who you saw and you might

get it right or wrong. the app will not be perfect. there will be certain false positives and false negatives. but they say they automating the process, they hope to improve it. it is a giant experiment. a lot of countries are trying this, hoping that technology is the answer. there is no guarantee that it will work. there will be a lot of persuasion for us to all down load the app and it will be the subject of a major downing street briefing tonight. thank you. president trump has gone against much expert opinion, saying that he expects there to be a vaccine by the end of the year. speaking in a tv interview, he also accused china of covering up the extent of the outbreak at the beginning. our north american correspendent david willis reports. that was a great man. in the shadow of man who led america through the civil war, donald trump sought to

relaunch his presidential campaign with a stream of optimism. the president said a vaccine would be available earlier than his medical advise ors have predicted. we think we are going to have a vaccine by the end of this year and we are pushing hard. we are building supply lines. doubling down on assertions that the virus came not from a wet market in wuhan, but from a laboratory in the city, mr trump said china had a lot of explaining to do. in my opinion, they made a mistake and tried to cover it. it is like a fire. it is like trying to put out a fire. they couldn't put out the fire. although although some states are re—opening, they're not doing it as quickly for some. president trump expressed sympathy for those who protested lockdowns.

reacting to claims he reacted too slowly. he said his actions saved thousands of lives. we are going lose anywhere from 75, 80 to 100,000 people. that is a horrible thing. this should have been stopped in china. if we didn't do it, the minimum we would have lost was a million two or a million five. in florida, where marinas have re—opened, hundreds of boat gathered near his winter retreat to stage a parade. having left the white house for the first time in over a month, mrtrump will for the first time in over a month, mr trump will travel to arizona and may hold election. the reality tv show love island

will not broadcast a summer series because of the coronavirus pandemic. itv bosses said they couldn't make the show work, while ensuring the wellbeing of everyone involved. it's expected to return in 2021. now, as we've been staying home over the past few weeks, wildlife have been venturing into our streets, parks and even railway stations. first there were the goats of llandudno, and now there's the goose of york. the mother goose has nested on the concourse of the station, and become an instant media star. danny savage has been taking a gander. york station, one of the busiest in the country outside of london. but not these days. and that has led to a new resident in a planter right by the main entrance. the staff here have called her lucy. and lucy the goosey has become a bit of a thing online. oh, they love her. they think she's our little champion of the station. it's a shame we can't keep her. she is certainly attracting

the attention of key workers passing by and mother goose has completely rearranged the flowerbed to make everything just so. i work at the station every day, i drive a taxi from the station. normally ten o'clock on a monday morning this place is rammed with people coming in and out of the city, so to see it like this anyway is very strange, but to have a goose nesting as well is kind of nice. it keeps everybody talking and, yeah, it lightens the mood a little. lner and wildlife officers do have a plan for when the goslings hatch. they want to make sure that mum and offspring make it safely down to the nearby river 0use. lucy isn't the only animal to move in on an urban area while all the humans are indoors. the goats of llandudno are also still having a good time. and we've had deer reclaiming the streets in parts of london. but for lucy in york it's

nowjust a waiting game until her new family arrives. danny savage, bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with ben rich. it has been a fine day for most parts. one or two showers out this in eastern and southern scotland and england. some on the heavy sides. cool for north sea coasts. the wind picking up towards the south and tonight parts of the west devon, cornwall and west wales could see some strong winds, gusts up to 55mph. this is a met office yellow warning in force. and further north any day time showers fade and a dry night with clear spells and in scotla nd night with clear spells and in scotland quite a cold night. milder in the south where we start the day ona in the south where we start the day on a windy note and a fairly wet note in the south—west. but the rain

doesn't get much further north and the warmest weather is in wales and north—west england and western scotla nd north—west england and western scotland and chilly for north sea coasts and down to the south—west. hello, this is bbc news with simon mccoy. the headlines: the bbc has seen draft proposals to get the uk back to work,

with staggered shift times and safe workplaces. the 4,000—bed nhs nightingale facility at london's excel centre is to be placed on a standby footing in the coming days. fewer than 20 patients are being treated there at present. eight weeks after imposing a strict nationwide lockdown, italy starts to ease restrictions. thousands of medium and small businesses have applied for loans as the government launches its new bounce back loans scheme. sport now, and for a full round—up from the bbc sport centre, here's olly foster. hello again. the football association chairman greg clarke say‘s it's difficult to knowjust when fans might be allowed in to watch matches again. in a letter to the fa governing council clarke has also warned of a possible £300 million budget cut over the next four years. here's our reporter laura scott. he has said that it is hard to foresee crowds returning to matches any time soon. now, we knew already

that the rest of this season wouldn't have crowds, but he's clearly looking to next season as well, and we know that the premier league are preparing themselves for the possibility of playing the entirety of next season behind closed doors. greg clarke also announced a cut to the annual budget and warned that the worst case scenario would be similar cuts for the next four years because of changes to the whole football ecosystem. we know clubs are thrashing out the details of trying to finish the season behind closed doors. the spurs midfielder harry winks knows the players will miss the fans that's what makes football. that is what everybody plays for, for the atmosphere, for the fans. when you can hear the chanting of the crowd, it will be a strange situation. we had it last year when we play croatia away, and it was a very strange situation to be involved in. it's not something that anybody wa nts to it's not something that anybody wants to do, but if it is a necessary action that has to be

done, then i'm sure it is what has got to be done. winks and fellow premier league players are unlikely to be feeling the financial impact of the lockdown as much as those in lower divisions. accrington stanley are one of the smaller clubs in league one and issues are beginning to surface. the contract for their captain runs out next month, and he says it's an anxious time. my eldest is three, my youngest is seven months, so they have been tough work in lockdown. we have got a mortgage, we have cars to pay for, we have the bills that everybody needs to pay. it is the not knowing when this is going to end or when you are going to get an answer to when the season will come back or if it will come back, or when a new contract will be in place, if one is going to be in place. the british horse racing authority say their sport can restart behind closed doors within a week if the government say it's safe to do so. the bha has outlined plans which include jockeys and staff living on—site in quarantine, with horses brought to and from the venue each day, and a limited number of courses being used.

in our sport, we have to try harder to make the case, but we don't want to make the case ahead of public opinion. we are making the case to say, "we are ready when you are ready", when the public health advice is ready we can be one of the first to go. we don't have to have premier league footballers trained for six weeks in our sport. our equine and human athletes are ready to go within a week to help bring live sport back. the women's tour, the six—day international cycling race staged in the uk, will now take place next year. lizzie deignan, seen here at the world championships, won it for a second time last year. the race had already been postponed from its scheduled start next month and it will now take place from the 7th to the 12thjune next year, over the same route, starting in bicester and finishing in felixstowe. that's all the sport for now. i'll have more for you in the next hour. no love island next summer stop what

are we going to do?!” no love island next summer stop what are we going to do?! i know, ijust saw that. what a gutter! thanks, ollie. first minister nicola sturgeon has said the coronavirus infection rate is still too high to make "any meaningful change" to the lockdown in scotland. she was speaking as she outined the scottish government's plans for a test, trace, and isolate strategy. this new strategy would mean anyone with symptoms reporting them to the nhs, who would then inform everyone they'd been in contact with. the first minister said that this new approach the first minister said that this new approach would rely on the public‘s co—operation and trust. a test, trace, isolate approach will only work if you, the public, are willing to do what we ask of you, so it is really important to start building your knowledge of and confidence in such an approach now as part of that grown—up conversation you know that i'm keen to have. the initial key point i want to make is that a successful tti approach depends on us first suppressing the virus to as low a level as possible. it infection rates are too high or they get too high again in the future the number of people

with symptoms and who will need tested could overwhelm the system, even with a vastly expanded testing capacity. second, tti will be a key part of our approach, but it will not on its own keep infection rates down or the r—number below one. it is not a quick fix or a magic solution. it will have to be combined with continued physical distancing, rigorous hygiene and the appropriate use of face coverings. crucially, it will mean you, the public, knowing exactly what it is that we are asking you to do and why we are asking you to do it and being prepared to do it. that means if you have symptoms you need to recognise them and be willing to isolate, to contact the nhs and get tested, and also be prepared to share details of anyone you have been in contact with. and for all of us, it will mean being prepared to isolate for 14 days if we are contacted and told that we have been in close proximity to someone with the virus. and that, of course,

could happen multiple times, with significant disruption to our lives. nicola sturgeon. a resident has died at a care home on skye where 56 other residents and staff have tested positive for coronavirus. the company which runs the home, hc one, said 29 residents and 27 staff were confirmed to have the virus and residents who'd tested negative were being retested. earlier i spoke to ian blackford, snp mp for ross, skye and lochaber, about the spread of the virus on the isle of skye. no place in the united kingdom is immune from this, and i kept trying to get this message across, which is why i have been saying to people, don't come in self—isolate on these rural islands. help us —— let us deal with this as best we can. no one is immune to this, and when you consider the situation we are in, we have got some fantastic medical staff here, and i want to commend the nhs what they are doing, but the harsh reality is, our nearest acute

hospital is in inverness, which is actually more than 135 miles from where i am today, so there are real challenges in making sure we can get medical attention to people. the hospitals we have in broadford and portree will do their best, of course. they have testing capabilities there. but when it comes to intensive care, it means a journey over a long distance for people who are already pretty critically and well. so these are challenging times for us. these are close—knit communities, and i certainly know a lot of the residents and a lot of the staff, and there is a fantastic community resilience on this island, a support network, and everyone now has to show their responsibilities if they are seeing symptoms of this. they need to make sure they are tested, that we can isolate them and trace those they have been in contact with. let's make sure we get on top of this. but my message to everyone is, this is going to be with us for a considerable period of time, and when i hear all the talk about making sure we can get back to work

and unravel the lockdown measures, i would say something to everybody: think very carefully about this virus that respects no barriers and will take its opportunity to do its worst on the population unless we are vigilant against what it can do to us. ian blackford. in his daily briefing today, wales's first minister mark drakeford said a joint approach across the uk was preferable when releasing any aspects of the lockdown. i believe that a four nations approach works best for wales. across the united kingdom, we entered lockdown on the same day and on the same basic terms. i believe that it would be best if we could begin to lift lockdown for a set of common measures implemented to a common timetable, which we then put to work for wales. and there's a second important point to make, that whatever actions we agree upon, it is essential that we take people with us.

and that welsh citizens feel that any changes we make are safe for them and for their families. universities in england will be allowed to recruit a greater number of students this year to help ease their financial problems. but those applying to university are anxious they won't be able to go to their preferred college after a—level exams were scrapped. their applications will now be assessed on the results of mock exams, which some say is unfair. elaine dunkley reports. students don't revise for marks, and that's a fact. the time we start revising is from easter onwards. we work really hard for the exams, the real ones, not the mocks. but now for these a—level students they will count, along with previous homework and assessments. teachers will decide on the grades. my name is gemma. i'm 18 from west surrey. i'm from london. hi, i'm eloise. if, on results day, i don't achieve the grade i want to, what happens to my chances

of going to the uni i want to go? one of the first things that went through my mind was the fear of not being able to prove myself any more in the real exams. it's really very stressful to go through this and not know what is going on. we have been speaking with students across the uk. in these times, solutions to problems are far from ideal. i was really building myself up to take on my a levels, obviously to get the best results i could, so i could go to the best university i could. i'm the first in the sort of immediate family to go to university. and all of the work that i put in, and that my family have helped me with over the last few years, is alljust kind of, it feels like it has gone to waste. i think quual's system is kind of the fairest they could do. how did you get on in your marks and do you think that will be enough how did you get on in your mocks and do you think that will be enough for you to go and study medicine? i had interviews to prepare for, so i could not really prepare for mock exams. i did underachieve compared to my predicted grades. if i had got those in my real exams, i wouldn't have been able

to go into medicine. the exam regulator says grades awarded will be a fair reflection and students will get the chance to do resits or appeal. in england, the government has promised more flexibility and support in the clearing system to get into university, and funding of £100 million will be available to universities to recruit up to 5% more students. there will be an awful lot of thought put into the circumstances that students face this time, and i think admissions teachers will be very much hoping to look at the different situations that students face this year and making adjustments appropriately, so we understand that the clearing system will be improved this year. naomi, what are your big concerns about how grades are going to be decided for students? there is evidence to show that students from disadvantaged backgrounds, low income households, especially the high achieving students, do tend to be under predicted. sometimes teachers have low expectations of some groups. so, those students, for example. i remember in english i was

predicted a c and i got a a star. you are already at university. if you had to go through this process, do you think you would be at cambridge? i probably wouldn't be at cambridge. i think it's quite common in black students to be under predicted. just talking to the other black students as well, it seems like it's notjust an isolated incident, it seems like something that happens quite often. oh, my god! igot it! there will still be the celebrations and disappointments of previous years, but making the grade will feel very different in these testing times. the headlines on bbc news: draft proposals to get the uk back to work, with staggered shift times and safe workplaces. eight weeks after imposing a strict nationwide lockdown, italy starts to ease restrictions. the 4,000—bed nhs nightingale facility at london's excel centre is to be placed on a standby footing in the coming days.

with more than 100,000 confirmed cases and 7,000 deaths, brazil has now surpassed china where the outbreak started, but experts are warning the true numbers are far higher. already, the health system in the amazon has collapsed, and there's real fear the virus could devastate the vulnerable indigenous population in the region, as well as its land. our south america correspondent, katy watson, reports. in the middle of the rainforest, the virus has taken hold. this is manaus, the biggest city in the amazon, where they're digging mass graves known as trenches. how else can the overwhelmed authorities cope with the numbers of people dying? manaus is at breaking point — it has one of the highest infection rates in the country and one of the most underfunded health systems. this video, shot inside one of the hospitals, shows body bags lying next to those gravely ill.

manaus is home to many indigenous communities where poverty, malnutrition and displacement make tackling the virus an even bigger challenge. history has taught people here that viruses from outside bring devastation. their only defence now is home—made masks, but much more is needed to protect them. translation: we already have lots of people in the community with symptoms. but we don't have a doctor here. we don't have a nurse who looks after us. indigenous communities in the city struggle to access health services and they are struggling to work too. those living deep in the rainforest face even bigger challenges. the closest medical help is often days away by boat. some communities have shut themselves away, fearful of contagion. protection agencies are no longer on the ground and that has huge consequences in a country where illegal loggers and miners have been emboldened by a government

set on developing the amazon. translation: we can't forget the attacks that keep happening and are never resolved. covid—19 kills with an illness. here, people are killed either through abandonment or contamination. invaders are coming in and taking advantage. they aren't in quarantine. they are using this time to explore and they are the principal vectors. deforestation rose more than 50% in the first three months of this year and there is an added urgency as fire season begins in a region already struggling with the covid—19. we will have these two big problems together. as we saw in the last year, when you have a lot of fires, you have people going into the hospital. when the hospitals are completely full of people with covid—19, it will be a madness when the fires start this year. the death toll keeps climbing and there is no peak in sight. and little protection for brazil's most vulnerable people.

japan's prime minister shinzo abe has announced that he's extending his country's covid—19 state of emergency until the end of may. much ofjapan has been under lockdown restrictions since april the 7th, with people told to stay at home if at all possible. from tokyo, rupert wingfield—hayes reports. there's no real surprise in this announcement, it's been expected for the last few days, but what it means is that most ofjapan will remain in the state of emergency for pretty much another month. some places with very low rates of infection may be allowed to loosen a little bit, open public libraries, open some public facilities and parks, but places like tokyo, osaka, the big urban areas injapan will remain under this state of emergency, under this advisory for people to stay home if at all possible. it's not the sort of shutdown we have seen in europe and america, but nevertheless everything has slowed down here dramatically in the last few weeks and of course that's affecting the economy,

hundreds of thousands of people out of work, staying at home, not able to earn a salary, so this extension of another month is bad news for all of those people, bad news for the japanese economy, but it is deemed necessary by the scientific advisers who are advising prime minister abe and his cabinet. now the reason is, that the number of infections is still considered to be a threat to the japanese healthcare system. if you look at the raw figures, japan looks like it is doing really, really well. 15,000 infections confirmed overall, around 550 deaths so far. that is way lower than most countries that have been badly affected in europe, the uk, north america, but it is... the ratio of infections to beds and icu beds in particular in hospitals that are able to deal with sick people and what we have seen in the last few weeks is that japan does not have much capacity for intensive care units, for ventilators, for the sort of ppe

that is needed for doctors and nurses to treat covid patients, and just a couple of weeks ago here in tokyo the health care system looked like it was getting close to the point of being overwhelmed, and that's really why the experts are saying this order needs to remain in place longer. i must say, there has also been quite a lot of criticism of the last week or two of the japanese government's strategy, particularly on testing. if you look at the number of tests being done here, it is still only about 6000—7000 tests a day. the japanese government says it is increasing that number, but it is happening very slowly, and public health experts i have spoken to say the consequence of that is, we don't really know how bad the pandemic is, how far covid has spread through the population here, and they believe that figure is fairly meaningless

and it could be many multiple times higher, ten, 20, some say even 50 times higher. hundreds of thousands of people infected, they don't know they are infected, but still circulating, and could still spread the virus. we're entering our seventh week of lockdown in the uk, and for most of us, life has been disrupted beyond recognition. as we wait to hear the government's strategy for eventually easing restrictions, many have been reflecting on their time at home, and their hopes for the future. graham satchell has been hearing some of your stories. six weeks of lockdown through the eyes of six different people. nine—year—old bell has spent much of the time dancing. she has also paid tribute to the nhs. —— bella. what do you think of the doctors and nurses at the moment?

they are amazing, and they make me so proud, because they really help right now. this week, we will learn more about the government's plans to ease the locks down. will shops, businesses and schools reopen? bella's mum ki rsty and schools reopen? bella's mum kirsty is known as? i think we have just adapted to being at home now. the thought of going back to normality is quite daunting, really. this is bella's grandma christine. she has been busy volunteering, delivering food and prescriptions, but she misses her grandchildren. they were here every day, every day. sometimes the four of them together, for tea. so the quietness now, well, it is so different. is it hard not being able to have physical contact? that is the thing thatis physical contact? that is the thing that is so strange about this, isn't it? yes, this is probably the hardest part, missing holding them, you

know? yeah. i had know? yeah. ihada know? yeah. i had a bypass from my arteries to my femoral arteries, i had a bypass from my arteries to my femoralarteries, both. i had a bypass from my arteries to my femoral arteries, both. right. and i have taken medication that is deemed to make me vulnerable, because my immune system is lowered. alfie has been told he needs to shield for at least 12 weeks. he is also missing his grandchildren. my also missing his grandchildren. my granddaughters, as i see it, give me life. on a couple of occasions, i have seen them at a distance, so we live on the top floor of a block, andi live on the top floor of a block, and i have looked down from our balcony and waved to them. so it is time to get back to normal, is a? you think it is time for people to start to get back to normal?|j you think it is time for people to start to get back to normal? ijust think we need some degree of normality back in our lives. i'm looking forward to the day when they say we don't need gloves, we don't need masks, and we don't need to be

overcautious. we haven't left the house at all since the lockdown came in. in london, jack has no problem seeing his grandmother eileen. they are living together. i think we have had a few little run ins, a couple of run—ins, when it was bad weather. when you are locked inside. you can't get out! what you mean by run—ins? can't get out! what you mean by run-ins? me and nan arguing with each other. run-ins! eileen had major surgery injanuary. she is also nervous about lockdown restrictions being relaxed. she is also nervous about lockdown restrictions being relaxedlj she is also nervous about lockdown restrictions being relaxed. i don't think i'm ready for that, because i'm still vulnerable. i still have nurses coming in to dress my wounds, soiam nurses coming in to dress my wounds, so i am very nurses coming in to dress my wounds, so i am very nervous nurses coming in to dress my wounds, so i am very nervous about going out. yes, i'm not ready to go out. jack is a professional chef. i'll give my area a clean... he

worked in 5—star hotels in london, but has been laid off. he has been running a weekly live cook in online. into the pot... we go. i would love jack to have some break from me, and be able to go out.l breakfrom from me, and be able to go out.l break from you? well, just because i feel very guilty that he is locked down. but he won't do it! he won't go out. i mean, the risk versus the reward is not worth it at all. hello! hi! delivery of sunday dinners. back in south wales, christine has come to deliver some shopping and say hello from a safe distance. hello! thank you. she is desperate to cuddle her grandchildren, but as a nurse of 40 yea rs, grandchildren, but as a nurse of 40 years, she is also prepared to wait until she is told at say. years, she is also prepared to wait until she is told at saylj years, she is also prepared to wait until she is told at say. i think if people really understood how many

people really understood how many people have lost their lives being affected by this and how it could come back again, and be even worse, than that's enough of a reminder that we need to do this, probably. that is lovely. isn't it? that was graham satchell reporting. coming up next, ben brown. now, the weather with ben rich. good afternoon. plenty of springlike weather in the forecast for the next few days. temperatures are set to climb for the second half of this week. there will be dry weather, sunny spells, is a little bit of rain in the forecast, but most places are dry as we head towards the end of the day. some spells of sunshine out there and patchy cloud as well. one or two showers across eastern and southern scotland. more across northern england. some could be heavy, possibly thundery. down towards the far south, across the channel islands, parts of cornwall and devon, more cloud works in later in the day. the wind will pick up and into the evening, the wind will

really strengthen. we could see gusts of 50—55 mph, very gusty to the west of dartmoor in parts of west cornwall. there is a met office yellow warning. the wind could cause some disruption. there is also very heavy rain getting into cornwall, devon and the channel islands through the night. the further north you are, it is a quiet night, any daytime show is fading, clear spells, and whether winds remain latest across scotland, some spots will drop to freezing. some places could get a little bit below. while they're in the south, where we have our weather front bringing those outbreaks of rain. but the front is running into this area of high pressure, so it will not make much progress northwards. you can see that wet and indeed rather windy weather across the south—west of england, and south—west wales, but it does not make much more progress northwards, and it will fizzle away as the day wears on. the breeze will ease but only slowly. further north, largely dry with spells of sunshine. higher temperatures across wales, north—west england and western scotland. 17—18d, rather cool for

the south—west, however. cool for some north sea coast as well. into wednesday, the chance of not shower in the far west of the uk. more cloud here, but generally fine. long spells of sunshine, signs of temperatures climbing pretty much across the board. that process will continue into thursday and friday. you can see the orange colours pushing northwards across the chart. the warmest weather of all will be found across the south of the uk. temperatures towards the south—east could get to 24—25 on friday. a bit more unsettled further north. a bit cooler as well, and let me show you what happens at the weekend. this cold air is going to plunge its way southwards, unusually cold for this time of year. for some, there could be some wintry showers.

this is bbc news, i'm ben brown. the headlines the bbc has seen draft proposals to get the uk back to work, with staggered shift times and reduced hot—desking. if it's very vital you work next to each other, then the shields like you see in supermarkets, or ppe is a way forward. eight weeks after imposing a strict nationwide lockdown — italy starts to ease restrictions. the 4,000—bed nhs nightingale facility at london's excel centre is to be placed on a standby footing in the coming days — most of its capacity is currently unused. thousands of medium and small businesses apply for loans as the government launches its bounce back loans scheme. and, mother goose on the loose before bedding down in york railway station. and she's become

an internet sensation. good afternoon. as we enter the seventh week of lockdown, many of us want to know when we can return to work as normal. we don't have a date for that, but the bbc has seen details of the new workplace rules being proposed by the government to help businesses when their staff do eventually return. employers would need to stagger start times and limit the amount of desks and equipment that needs to be shared. employers should consider providing ppe, or barriers if the two metre social distancing rules can't be observed — although union chiefs say the proposals could compromise worker safety. in other developments, small and medium—sized

businesses in the uk are able to apply for loans of up to £50,000 today, in a scheme backed by the treasury. this afternoon the nhs announced a further 204 people have died in hospital across england from the virus. there have been 14 more deaths in wales, a further 5 in scotland and a further 6 in northern ireland. those numbers do not include deaths in care homes or the community which will be announced later. the 4,000—bed nightingale hospital in london is expected to be placed on standby in the coming days. there are currently fewer than 20 patients being treated there. and this afternoon the prime minister is taking part in a global online summit aimed at raising more than £6 billion to develop vaccines and treatments. with more details on the plans for the workplace, here's our economics correspondent, andy verity. this manufacturer in fleckney, leicestershire, is fighting coronavirus on two fronts. going back to work within the rules, by practising social distancing, and

making floor mats for other firms who want to do the same. the idea of something like this really does give a barrier for people to understand they need to keep two metres social distancing. it is about having effective products in the market to enable employees to maintain social distancing. today's government guidance paves the way for people who can't work from home to go back to work, but only if conditions are right. the construction giant taylor wimpey told the bbc today site managers would return to work and put up signage directing staff how to work at a social distance. nothing's stopping usapart from making sure it is done safely. you need clear rules that we can implement and have the right equipment, and you also need the behavioural side. we believe strongly that that is done best by taking those baby steps and taking it a stage at a time.

it is easy to forget just how far two metres is. but there are things you can do when you have to be relatively close to someone at work. of course there are times when you just can't maintain that two metre distance. the government accepts that but the big question is, what measures should you take to make things safer if that is the case? the draft government guidance suggests additional hygiene measures, such as physical screens between workers and working side by side rather than face—to—face, where social distancing is difficult. the two metre rule is partly driven by length of time of proximity to another person. the further away you are from someone, the longer you can be with them. the closer you are, the higher the likelihood of catching something. if it is very vital you work next to each other, then potentially things like the shields you see in the supermarket, or ppe. rush—hour trains like this one arriving in london might this morning

remain sparsely populated. the guidance remains, work from home if you can. unions are concerned if we go back too quickly to the old normal, their members' health and safety of members would be jeopardised. we have got no idea how they will manage queueing. if you have two metres social distancing and 100 people on a train, that would mean a 200 metre queue. if you put 400 metres, an 800 metre queue. and so on and so forth. if you are running ten, 20 trains an hour out of some of the main stations, they will be enormous amounts of people congregating in those areas. one obvious antivirus measure, face masks and other protective equipment, is especially contentious. if firms are advised to use it, they could end up competing with the nhs for a scarce resource. on what to do about personal protective equipment, the draft guidance is silent on what to do about this. let's get more from our political correspondentjonathan blake, in westminter. we don't yet have a precise time

table for a return to work, or an easing of the lockdown, but we have some rough guidelines? yes, we are not going to get a precise time table any time soon, even when the prime minister announces the plan to move beyond the lockdown in its current state. i don't think we will get date and times for when particular measures will be brought in. but we do, as a result of the guidance that the government is giving to businesses and other bits of information, which ministers have put into the public doe main, we have a sense of whether the sorts of thing it is government may do after this week will look like. you have been hearing about particularly how work places might change and adapt to allow more people to come back to work safely. but these sorts of ideas are already meeting with opposition in their draft form from the trade unions, the head of tuc

has said this afternoon that businesses can't accept this in their current form, the unions excuse me can't accept the guidelines, because they could put workers at risk and there are gaps in the guidance, particularly around ppe and how workers would be protected from transmission of the virus. labour will be putting more pressure on the government i'm sure this week to be more open and give a clear idea of how the guidelines will work in practice and there is frustration from from the conservative back benches, tory mps getting agitated that the government isn't moving faster on a plan after lockdown and hasn't given more details to this point. so they will be watching closely for the prime minister to give some details and we expect that to come on sunday after the government has reviewed the restrictions that are already in place, as they legally have to do so

on thursday. we have heard some of the latest figures on the death total in hospitals in england is the lowest in the last 24 hours since march 30th. some encouragement there for the government. but they want to look at all the figures in the round during the next few days before outlining that time table at the weekend? yes the numbers of people dying from covid—19 and the number of new cases are key indicators for the government, as you have heard, the government, as you have heard, the prime minister has set out five tests, which he says that the country needs to meet before we can begin to think about moving past the high level of restrictions in place at the moment. within those tests is at the moment. within those tests is a consistent fall in the number of people dying and the number of new cases reported. it does seem that we are on that down ward trajectory. that is good news, but it is only pa rt that is good news, but it is only part of the picture. there are many

more factors that need to be taken into consideration and th will form pa rt into consideration and th will form part of guidance and advice given to ministers in the days ahead. thank you. the tuc says the government's planned draft guidance for getting people back to work during the coronavirus pandemic could compromise worker safety. it says there are "huge gaps" over protective kit and testing and it cannot recommend the government's advice in its "current form". kevin rowan is the tuc‘s head of health and safety, hejoin us now. what would he join us now. what would you say about these measures. they're not the finished article and don't go

anywhere near enough giving workers the members of the public the confidence they need that returning to work outside of the home will be safe and doesn't expose them to risks. there is a lot about employs should consider this and think about that, there is little about what employers need to do to protect the health and safety of their workforce. so you're saying that employers need to be compelled by law to impose certain restrictions? well employers are complied by law to protect the health and safety of their workforce and we have got a new pandemic that we are all trying to deal with, which requires different safety measures in the work place and rather than just suggest that employers need to think about measures they might want to consider bringing in, there should bea consider bringing in, there should be a compulsion on employers to guarantee the safety of workers, to do everything they can reasonably do to guarantee safety. we are hearing

from members of workforce across the economy, who are really anxious about going back to work and anxious for those in some cased have continued to work and we think the guidance needs to be stronger and backed with more enforcement. have you passed that on to the government? have you been consult bed by the government? yes we have had some good discussions with the government and they have told us as recently as this morning and in conversations this afternoon that this is still work in progress. so we are going to continue to work with government, but we want to be clear that they need to go much further than they have so far. and what in they don't and you're not happy with the guidelines? we have the same ambition to get the economy moving, but in a way that is safe

for the people going to work and people in work. if they don't provide the right kind of guidance and don't give employers the right encouragement to do the right thing at work, people will either choose not to return to work, or they will be forced to return in conditions that expose them to risk of this disease and it won't deal with the anxieties and concerns that people have. we want to kind of solve this major problem together and in order to do that the government needs to listen to what we're saying. from the people you have been talking to, do you think workers are nervous about returning to work, although they may want to get back to work, but they have anxieties about being backin but they have anxieties about being back in the work place?” but they have anxieties about being back in the work place? i don't think anybody think it is workforce is not anxious about going to work. we are hearing very direct calls from people ringing our helpline in the tuc, contacting us through our

information line, telling us about their concerns. we did research last weekend that says there were huge numbers of people, millions, that are anxious about returning to work and the government knows this. the government has their own polling that shows how scared people are. we hope they take the concerns seriously and act upon them to make sure people are protected when they return to work. thank you. the giant nightingale hospital in london's docklands is expected to be put on a standby footing in the coming days. the excel centre was turned into a field hospital with 4,000 beds, and opened last month, as our health correspondent anna collinson has been telling us. in its first three weeks, the bbc understands it treated just around 50 patients. now, the nightingale said it would be a mark of success if the hospital continues not to operate at full capacity and in the past half hour we've heard that

after the next coming days the hospital will be placed on standby. now, the bbc understands there is fewer than 20 patients in the nightingale at the moment. once they're relocated, staff and ppe will be redeployed and redistributed and, like you say, this is a real cause for celebration for some. last week boris johnson said we have now passed the peak of deaths in coronavirus cases, but the ceo of the nightingale, charles knight, says they will be ready for the possibility that the number of covid—19 case could rise again, if and when the government eases social distancing measures. so they will be ready for that when it happens. italy is easing its national lockdown today — the world's longest since the start of the pandemic. takeaways and parks are reopening, funerals can resume and some businesses are restarting. but the shutdown has left deep scars in a country with already serious economic problems, as our correspondent mark lowen reports.

italy is starting to reopen, but champion pizza maker teresa iorio can't. with new rules only allowing takeaway for now, she'll need more time to adapt aqnd after eight weeks of lockdown, she's taken such a financial hit that her business will struggle to survive. translation: it would be better to die than not reopen, because it would kill my dreams for which i've sacrificed my life. it would be losing my livelihood, because my life is my work. i open the shutters in the morning and this is money for my sister, for my niece, for me, to live. a city of pizza, of spirit, of tattered beauty and past glories has been pummelled by the world's longest lockdown of the pandemic. we were taken to see one of the roughest part of one of the eu's poorest regions and in a place where the mafia typically profits from poverty there is a fear they are doing it again.

until about ten years ago this was a no—go zone for police with an image of social decay. the security has improved here and yet this crisis has reawa kened long—standing concerns about organised crime preying on hardship, and it is what many other poverty areas well beyond italy could face too as the lockdown leaves its scars. carpenter raffaele tells me he hasn't worked in almost three months and may have to sell his tv to get by. there's been lots more crime since the lockdown, he says, even kids dealing drugs and stealing cars, since there is no work and they need to eat. in the old town, musical solidarity, baskets hung to take donations from those who can to give to those in need. a health crisis has become a social and economic one. the swansong of a lockdown that has halted the virus, but wounded this country. mark lowen, bbc news, naples.

the headlines on bbc news: draft proposals to get the uk back to work, with staggered shift times and safe workplaces. the 4,000 bed nhs nightingale facility at london's excel centre is to be placed on a standby footing in the coming days. eight weeks after imposing a strict nationwide lockdown — italy starts to ease restrictions. (pres)here in the uk, a national health service smartphone here in the uk, a national health service smartphone app to help trace people who may have been infected by the virus is being trialled on the isle of wight this week. at least half the population there will have to download it in order for it to work. it will then be rolled out more widely. there are a number of privacy concerns surrounding the nhsx smartphone app and how it will track the spread of the virus. dr orla lynskey is an associated

professor of law at the london school of economics and said there were particular worries if phone users have the potential to share their location data. i think it poses a big risk for a number of reasons. first, if the aim of the app is proximity tracing, determining who was in close contact or proximate to an individual, you don't need to know where those individuals are in order to do that. so we would need to query why the location data was being added and why that is and here we have an indication that it could be useful from an epidemiological perspective, but that must be balanced with the fa ct if but that must be balanced with the fact if i reveal my location that will simultaneously reveal the location of all of my contacts,

specially if it is combined with contact tracing. that decision doesn't just affect me, contact tracing. that decision doesn'tjust affect me, but everyone i have been proximate to and that could hamper trust and data is sensitive and says where you were at a particular point in time. were you at the council, at the doctor bgs or at the council, at the doctor bgs or ata at the council, at the doctor bgs or at a sexual health clinic. who have you been close to? as michael said, you been close to? as michael said, you with build up a graph of who people have been in contact with and this would a higher level of justification to be added after the fa ct justification to be added after the fact so as it were and you know for the this risk if you create a system that can be added to incrementally that can be added to incrementally that you will do so in a way that is very privacy invasive and may escape oversight and safeguard. a british trade minister —

conor burns — has resigned after the uk's standards watchdog said he should receive a seven—day suspension for attempting to intimidate a member of the public. the complaint into the mp for bournemouth west alleged that he had attempted to secure a payment to his father by saying that he may use parliamentary privilege to raise the case in the commons unless he secured the payment to his father. downing street says his replacement will be announced in due course. the general secretary of the labour party, jennie formby, has stood down from her post. she said it was the "right time" to make way as general secretary, with labour under new leadership. during her two years in the role, the party faced claims of anti—semitism — she described the period as ‘very challenging‘. banks say they‘ve already received thousands of applications for loans under the government‘s new bounce back scheme — which was launched this morning. the loans are aimed at small and medium sized businesses. our personal finance correspondent, simon gompertz, said there‘s been a huge take up.

lloyds said they had had 5,000 applications by 10 o‘clock and rbs said they had had 10,000 by 11 o‘clock. other banks have been getting them too. they describe it asa getting them too. they describe it as a bow wave of applications from struggling businesses, or businesses that are fearful about their survival. they need some emergency money to get them through this crisis and this is proving to be the easiest way for them to get it. do you remember there is a scheme called the coronavirus business interruption loan scheme? which has been dubbed cbils. that was the first thing brought in for businesses to benefit from and you could get a £5 million loan. the maximum under this bounce back scheme is £50,000. but it is directed against those hundreds of thousands of very small businesses

and sole traders, who are desperate for cash and it is much easier to apply for and that is what is making the difference. started at an animal market in wuhan in china — researchers are studying the global trade in wildlife as they try to find out how it leapt species to humans. there are calls for all wildlife markets to be banned — as our science correspondent victoria gill reports. captured to be sold. the global trade in wildlife is now under new scrutiny as the possible origin of this pandemic, because before the first human case, the coronavirus moved undetected across the species barrier. genetic clues all point to a virus found in wild bats as the source, but working out exactly how the spill—over from wildlife into humans happened, isn‘t straightforward. part of the structure of every virus is essentially a key that unlocks the specific cell that it needs

to get inside. now, if you imagine each of these padlocks is from a different species cell, they might require a different key. but some very different species actually share the same lock on their cells, and in the case of the coronavirus the key from the bat virus fits and unlocks some human cells. but how did it reach that first human cell that it unlocked? its access was most likely not directly from bats, but via another intermediate host, an animal infected first that people came into close contact with. but scientists haven‘t yet worked out what species passed covid—19 to a human, or whether that animal was for sale in the now infamous wildlife market in wuhan. at the moment there is nothing that‘s terribly convincing about finding what the intermediate host was. and indeed, the intermediate host may never be found. but mixing large numbers of species under poor hygienic and welfare conditions,

and species that wouldn‘t normally come close together, that gives opportunities for pathogens to jump from species to species. in previous outbreaks that intermediate species has been found. camels and palm civets have provided the likely route to humans for the closely related viruses mers and sars. and scientists have found clues about this chain of transmission in a list of animals, including rare and widely trafficked pangolins. but when wildlife is traded not only in china, but in almost every country, breaking those chains is a global challenge. this area needs real attention. there have been various campaigns to ban all traded animals. typically what you do then is you penalise some of the poorest in the world already further, and in many cases all you‘ll do by introducing measures like that is to drive any trade underground. health experts say that measures

to reduce the risk of an outbreak, monitoring trade and screening for disease, have to be put in place globally if they‘re to work. this pandemic may have finally shown us the real cost of the alternative. victoria gill, bbc news. the reality tv show love island will not broadcast a summer series because of the coronavirus pandemic. itv bosses said they couldn‘t make the show work, while ensuring the wellbeing of everyone involved. it‘s expected to return in 2021. now, as we‘ve been staying home over the past few weeks, wildlife have been venturing into our streets, parks and even railway stations. first there were the goats of llandudno, and now there‘s the goose of york. the mother goose has nested on the concourse of the station and become an instant media star. danny savage has been taking a gander. york station, one of the busiest in the country outside of london. but not these days.

and that has led to a new resident in a planter right by the main entrance. the staff here have called her lucy. and lucy the goosey has become a bit of a thing online. oh, they love her. they think she‘s our little champion of the station. it‘s a shame we can‘t keep her. she is certainly attracting the attention of key workers passing by and mother goose has completely rearranged the flowerbed to make everything just so. i work at the station every day, i drive a taxi from the station. normally ten o'clock on a monday morning this place is rammed with people coming in and out of the city, so to see it like this anyway is very strange, but to have a goose nesting as well is kind of nice. it keeps everybody talking and, yeah, it lightens the mood a little. lner and wildlife officers do have

a plan for when the goslings hatch. they want to make sure that mum and offspring make it safely down to the nearby river 0use. lucy isn‘t the only animal to move in on an urban area while all the humans are indoors. the goats of llandudno are also still having a good time. and we‘ve had deer reclaiming the streets in parts of london. but for lucy in york it‘s nowjust a waiting game until her new family arrives. danny savage, bbc news. now it‘s time for a look at the weather with ben rich. it has turned into a fine spring day for most parts. there are one or two showers in southern and eastern scotla nd showers in southern and eastern scotland and down into england. some on the heavy side. cool on north sea coasts. the wind picking up down to the south and tonight parts of west devon, cornwall and wales could see

some strong winds. gusts up to 55mph. there is a met office yellow warning in face. heavy rain in cornwall and devon. further north any showers fade and it is a dry night with clear spells. milder in the south where we start the day on a windy note and a wet note for the south—west. but the rain fizzles away and for most a fine and dry day. chilly for north sea coasts and down to the south—west.

this is bbc news. i‘m ben brown. our latest headlines: the bbc has seen draft proposals to get the uk back to work, with staggered shift times and reduce hot desk in. if it is very vital you work next to each other, then potentially things like the shield you see at the supermarket, or indeed, ppe, is a way. a resident has died at a care home on the island of skye, where 36 of the residents and staff have tested positive for coronavirus. the 4000 bed nhs nightingale hospital at london‘s excel centre is to be put on a standby footing in the coming days. most of its capacity is currently unused. eight weeks after imposing a strict nationwide lockdown, italy starts to ease its restrictions.

and thousands of medium and small businesses apply for loans as the government launches its bounce back loa n government launches its bounce back loan scheme. hello, good afternoon. we are expecting the daily press conference from downing street and the next half an hour or from downing street and the next halfan hourorso, from downing street and the next half an hour or so, led by the health secretary matt hancock. we will be bringing you that live, but first, let‘s look at the day‘s main developments. the bbc has seen details of the new workplace rules proposed by the government to help businesses when their staff eventually return to work from lockdown. employers would need to staggered start times and limit the amounts of desks and equipment that need to be shared.

employers should consider providing ppe or barriers if the two metre social distancing rules can‘t be observed, but the general secretary of the tuc has said there are huge gaps in the plan overprotective kit and testing. in other developments today, small and medium sized businesses in the uk are now available to apply for loa ns uk are now available to apply for loans of up to £50,000 in a scheme backed by the treasury. another 204 people have died in hospital across england from covid—19. there have been 14 more deaths in wales, five more in scotland, and a further six in northern ireland. those numbers do not include deaths in care homes or the community, which will be announced later. the prime minister has been taking pa rt the prime minister has been taking part ina the prime minister has been taking part in a global online summit aimed at raising more than £6 billion to develop vaccines and treatments. with more now, here is andy verity.

with more details on the plans for the workplace, here‘s our economics correspondent, andy verity. this manufacturer in fleckney, leicestershire, is fighting coronavirus on two fronts. going back to work within the rules, by practising social distancing, and making floor mats for other firms who want to do the same. the idea of something like this really does give a barrier for people to understand they need to keep two metres social distancing. it is about having effective products in the market to enable employees to maintain social distancing. today‘s government guidance paves the way for people who can‘t work from home to go back to work, but only if conditions are right. the construction giant taylor wimpey told the bbc today site managers would return to work and put up signage directing staff how to work at a social distance. nothing's stopping us is making sure it is done safely. you need clear rules that we can implement and have the right equipment, and you also need the behavioural side. we believe strongly that that is done best by taking those baby steps and taking it a stage ata time.

it is easy to forget just how far two metres is. but there are things you can do when you have to be relatively close to someone at work. of course there are times when you just can‘t maintain that two metre distance. the government accepts that but the big question is, what measures should you take to make things safer if that is the case? the draft government guidance suggests additional hygiene measures, such as physical screens between workers and working side by side rather than face—to—face, where social distancing is difficult. the two metre rule is partly driven by length of time of proximity to another person. the further away you are from someone, the longer you can be with them. the closer you are, the higher the likelihood of catching something. if it‘s very vital you work next to each other, then potentially things like the shields you see

in the supermarket, or ppe. rush—hour trains like this one arriving in london might this morning remain sparsely populated. the guidance remains, work from home if you can. unions are concerned if we go back too quickly to the old normal, their members‘ health and safety of members would be jeopardised. we have got no idea how they will manage queueing. if you have two metres social distancing and 100 people on a train, that would mean a 200 metre queue. if you put 400 metres, an 800 metre queue. and so on and so forth. if you are running ten, 20 trains an hour out of some of the main stations, they will be enormous amounts of people congregating in those areas. one obvious antivirus measure, face masks and other protective equipment, is especially contentious. if firms are advised to use it, they could end up competing with the nhs for a scarce resource. on what to do about personal protective equipment, the draft guidance is silent on what to do about this. our political correspondent

jonathan blake is in westminster. so we have had these draft proposals, or an idea of these guidelines, but already the tuc, and we we re guidelines, but already the tuc, and we were talking to them on bbc news a short time ago, saying that they are not happy with these guidelines. know, already the government‘s plans at least in draft form and meeting some resistance, not just at least in draft form and meeting some resistance, notjust from the unions who you‘ve heard from describing gaping holes in the guidance with particular reference to personal protective equipment and ensuring the safety of employees as more people potentially go back to work, but also politically, there is concern among some conservative backbenchers that there is a gap between what people are being asked to do and guidelines, and also the legal requirements that businesses will need to conform to, and there will need to conform to, and there will be political pressure too from labour and others on the run up,

especially when the plans for moving beyond the lockdown as we have come to get used to it over the last few weeks will be announced. and when that comes, we will get an idea of what the government is planning to do, and potentially the sequencing in which we might see restrictions eased or lifted, and new methods put in place, but not necessarily a strict timetable. and we thought we might get that announcement on thursday, but it is now sunday, and is that because the government want more time to study the latest statistics and data ? more time to study the latest statistics and data? thursday was originally thought to be the day when we would hear details of the change, only really because it is when the government is legally required to review the restrictions that are in place at the moment. that has to be done every three weeks. but it doesn‘t necessarily have to tie in with any announcement about what is going to come next. so

i would expect on thursday those restrictions to be reviewed and kept largely as they are for the moment, but then on sunday we expect more detail about how and potentially some idea of when things might change. jonathan blake, our political correspondent, many thanks. our health correspondent nick triggle is here with me now. we have had some of the latest statistics on deaths in hospitals in england, and that figure is the lowest since the end of march. yes, it certainly does seem to be, 229 deaths have been announced, in england 204. but these are only the hospital deaths, they don‘t yet include people who have died in the community. we will get that figure in the daily press briefing, so that a headline figure of 229 will be higher, and we will hear about that later. the best way to understand these figures, the tragedy behind every single death, to look at the date they happened. the delay in

reporting deaths mean some of the deaths announced today have actually happened weeks ago. what is clear when we look at death by date was that the peak certainly in hospitals was the second week of april. the numbers of deaths being seen now are nearly a third of that level. it is a different picture in care homes. we are still learning more about the scale of the outbreaks in care homes, but there are two epidemics here, one in hospitals which is a sign of transmission in the wider community which is under control, and one in care homes that certainly isn‘t. and one in care homes that certainly isn't. and what is the latest on the nightingale hospitals, the hospitals that were set up very rapidly to help the nhs cope with what might have been overwhelming pressure is mac we‘re hearing that the nightingale at london ‘s excel is going to be put on a standby footing. yes, it is going to be hibernating. it has less than 20

patients at the moment, they will be treated and discharged, but it has never got over double digit numbers. it isa never got over double digit numbers. it is a similar story for other nightingales around the country. there are due to be seven in england, only manchester is currently being used. elsewhere in the uk, there is one in glasgow, one in cardiff, when in belfast, but the numbers are small. this is good news. hospitals have not been overwhelmed. so the fact that these haven‘t been used as a positive sign. i think probably what we will see in the coming months is then being used as the nhs start seeing more of its routine work, seeing more of its routine work, seeing more of its cancer patients. we may hear more from matt hancock, education secretary, at the downing street briefing at about five o‘clock. we might also hear more on the government‘s test, track and isolate strategy, seen by the government is crucial, and it is being trialled in the isle of wight, isn‘t it? being trialled in the isle of wight, isn't it? yes, at the heart of this. we heard last week testing numbers

have gone up, we can test over 100,000 a day, so what we will hear todayis 100,000 a day, so what we will hear today is about the tracing element of this strategy. at the heart of that will be an app that uses bluetooth technology, and we will be encouraged to download it. when we develop symptoms, we put that into the app, and it then alerts anyone we have had close contact with. alongside the app, there will be an army of contact tracers who will be manning the phones, making sure we trace up people who aren‘t using this app. lockdown is quite a blunt tool, and what they are trying to do as they eased restrictions and get us out of lockdown is a more intelligent way of suppressing the virus by containing those local outbreaks. we will still be shielding the most vulnerable, and we will still be asked to socially distance, but this test, track, trace and isolate strategy will be a crucial element going forward. nick, thank you very much. nick triggle,

our health correspondent. a resident has died at a care home on skye where 56 other residents and staff have tested positive for coronavirus. the company which runs the home, hc one, said 29 residents and 27 staff were confirmed to have the virus and residents who had tested negative were being retested. earlier, ian blackford, snp mp for ross, skye and lochaber, about the spread of the virus on the isle of skye. no place in the united kingdom is immune from this and i kept trying to get that message across, which is why we are saying to people don‘t come in self—isolate in these rural islands. let us try to deal with this as best as we can. but nobody is immune to this and certainly, when you consider the situation we are in, we‘ve got some fantastic medical staff here, but i want to commend the nhs for what they are doing, but the harsh reality is our nearest acute hospital is inverness, which is actually more than 135 miles from where i am today so there are real challenges in making sure that we can get medical attention to the people,

the hospitals that we have nearby will do their best of course. they got the testing capabilities there, but when it comes to intensive care, it means a journey over a long distance for people that are already pretty critically unwell, so these are challenging times for us. ian blackford there. italy is easing its national lockdown today — the world‘s longest since the start of the pandemic. takeaways and parks are reopening, funerals can resume, and some businesses are restarting. but the shutdown has left deep scars in a country with already serious economic problems, as our correspondent mark lowen reports. italy is starting to reopen, but champion pizza maker teresa iorio can‘t. with new rules only allowing takeaway for now, she‘ll need more time to adapt, and after eight weeks

of lockdown, she‘s taken such a financial hit that her business will struggle to survive. translation: it would be better to die than not reopen, because it would kill my dreams for which i‘ve sacrificed my life. it would be losing my livelihood, because my life is my work. i open the shutters in the morning and this is money for my sister, for my niece, for me, to live. a city of pizza, of spirit, of tattered beauty and past glories has been pummelled by the world‘s longest lockdown of the pandemic. we were taken to see one of the roughest part of one of the eu‘s poorest regions and in a place where the mafia typically profits from poverty, there is a fear they are doing it again. until about ten years ago this was a no—go zone for police with an image of social decay. the security has improved here and yet this crisis has reawa kened long—standing concerns about organised crime preying on hardship,

and it is what many other poverty areas well beyond italy could face too as the lockdown leaves its cars. carpenter raffaele tells me he hasn‘t worked in almost three months and may have to sell his tv to get by. there‘s been lots more crime since the lockdown, he says, even kids dealing drugs and stealing cars, since there is no work and they need to eat. in the old town, musical solidarity, baskets hung to take donations from those who can to give to those in need. a health crisis has become a social and economic one. the swansong of a lockdown that has halted the virus, but wounded this country. mark lowen, bbc news, naples. elsewhere in europe, the lockdown is beginning to be eased. in austria, some schools have been re—opened, while in hungary, serbia and slovenia, cafes and restaurants are operating

with some restrictions. in germany, zoos, museums, schools and even hairdressers and barbers are re—opening too for the first time since the lockdown there six weeks ago. it won‘t be quite as before. customers and staff will have to wear masks, and coffee and magazines won‘t be offered because of the risk of infection. well, for more on the situation in germany, i‘m joined by professor andreas radbruch, who‘s president of the european federation of immunological societies. professor, thank you very much indeed for being with us. a lot of people have looked at germany as one of the model countries, the countries that have handled this relatively well, because they got so much testing in place. why do you think germany has been so successful in that regard? i think what most of the germans think is that we are lucky to have a chancellor who has a phd in physics and understand the difference between linear and

exponential growth from the beginning. so actually, this was one of the lucky features and, in addition, actually, germany reacted locally because we had 16 federal state and each state can adapt the measures actually to the severity of the outbreak and each stage of the outbreak, so we have some flexibility as well, so i think that is what the germans think was at their luck so far. but also lucky in that you have thousands and thousands of laboratories around the country that were able to join that national effort on testing. that is true, actually, and the testing capacity actually has been as high as we would like to be and from today on, actually, we have a serious, dependable antibody test provided actually nationwide in large numbers, so actually that is one of the secrets, actually testing, testing, testing. we are

starting to see, as i mentioned, the lockdown easing in germany. would you agree with that? do you think that‘s about right in terms of time orare that‘s about right in terms of time or are you worried it is premature? we will see in the end. i think the pressure on society is growing and growing like in other countries, and will be met this week when there will be met this week when there will be met this week when there will be another conference on further going back to normal, but the high risk is that we will have a second wave and that could be disastrous, so it‘s mixed feelings on my part, my personal view. disastrous, so it‘s mixed feelings on my part, my personal viewm disastrous, so it‘s mixed feelings on my part, my personalview. it has been said, i know there are some people in germany think things could have been handled better, although it won praise from around the world, some germans are not happy with the way things are been handled, what are the failures come as you like in germany? from my point of view, the only thing in retrospect which could

have been handled better is actually systematic testing of residences and hospitals and testing actually everybody again and again because those fatalities that we had, most of them happened in these places, and that was always actually widespread and not locally confined. i know you have mentioned angela merkel as chancellor and her role as a scientist in all of this, but do you feel germany was better prepared generally than other countries around the world ? generally than other countries around the world? other countries in europe? i'm not so sure. maybe in terms of reacting very fast. we have a very good central health reporting system with lots of experts monitoring closely, which guarantees

every incident is recorded, so, in that respect, we are better prepared, but in many other respects, we are now learning that we could be better prepared for future pandemics. very good to talk to you. good luck. thank you so much for being with us. scotland‘s first minister nicola sturgeon has said the coronavirus infection rate is still too high to make "any meaningful change" to the lockdown in scotland. she was speaking as she outined the scottish government‘s plans for a test, trace, and isolate strategy. this new strategy would mean anyone with symptoms reporting them to the nhs, who would then inform everyone they‘d been in contact with. the first minister said that this new approach would rely on the public‘s co—operation and trust. a test—trace—isolate approach will only work if you, the public, are willing to do what we ask of you. so it‘s really important to start building your knowledge of and confidence in such an approach now as part of that

grown—up conversation you know that i‘m keen to have. the initial key point i want to make is that a successful tti approach depends on us first suppressing the virus to as low a level as possible. if infection rates are too high or if they get too high again in the future, the number of people with symptoms and who will need testing could overwhelm the system. even with a vastly expanded testing capacity. second, tti will be a key part of our approach but it will not on its own keep infection rates down all the r number below one. it‘s not a quick fix or a magic solution. it will have to be combined with continued physical distancing, rigorous hygiene and the appropriate use of face coverings. and, crucially, it will mean you, the public, knowing exactly what it is we are asking you to do and why we are asking you to do it and being prepared to do it. that means if you have symptoms you need to recognise them and be willing to isolate, to contact the nhs and get tested,

and also be prepared to share details of anyone you‘ve been in contact with. and, for all of us, it will mean being prepared to isolate for 14 days if we are contacted and are told we‘ve been in close proximity to someone with the virus. and that, of course, could happen multiple times with significant disruption to our lives. nicola sturgeon there. in his daily briefing mark drakeford, the welsh first minister reiterated his belief that a pan—uk approach on easing the lockdown was preferable. i believe that a four nations approach works best for wales. across the united kingdom, we entered lockdown on the same day and on the same basic terms. i believe that it would be best if we could begin to lift lockdown for a set of common measures implemented to a common timetable,

which we then put to work for wales. and there‘s a second important point to make, that whatever actions we agree upon, it is essential that we take people with us. and that welsh citizens feel that any changes we make are safe for them and for their families. a national health service smartphone app to help trace people who may have been infected by the virus is being trialled on the isle of wight this week. at least half the population there will have to download it in order for it to work. it will then be rolled out more widely. our technology correspondent rory cellanjones told us how it‘s supposed to work. well, this app, which is intended to bea well, this app, which is intended to be a key part of britain emerging from lockdown, part of the whole track and trace strategy, is being tried in the isle of wight this

week. it will be available probably tomorrow to nhs staff and council staff and then to the wider population on thursday. now, they say ideally more than half the population will download it. they are stressing this afternoon at the parliamentary committee, even at lower levels, it will provide a lot of good data and they are trying to say it will fit into a wider strategy where its manual contact tracing, where people will ring you up tracing, where people will ring you up if you become infected saying who have you seen over the last few days? the point about this app as it automates this process, it records your phone has been near over the preceding seven days or so, and then when you say, actually, i think i‘m infected, and you get a test and it‘s confirmed, an alert goes out to all those people that you have been close to. they won‘t know you, it they will get a message to say you‘ve been close to someone who was

infected and you should probably quarantine yourself. banks say they‘ve already received thousands of applications for loans under the government‘s new bounce back scheme — which was launched this morning. barclays has reported it received around 200 applications in the first minute after the scheme launched. the loans are aimed at small and medium sized businesses. our personal finance correspondent, simon gompertz, said there‘s been a huge take up. lloyds said they had had 5,000 applications by ten o‘clock this morning. then rbs natwest said they had had 10,000 by 11 o‘clock, so other banks have been getting in too, so they describe it as a wave of applications from struggling businesses, or businesses that are fearful about their survival. they need some emergency money to get them through this crisis and this is proving to be the easiest way for them to get it. do you remember there is a scheme called the coronavirus business interruption loan scheme

which has been dubbed cbls, and that was the first thing brought in for businesses to benefit from and you could get a £5 million loan. the maximum under this bounce back scheme is £50,000, but it‘s directed against those hundreds of thousands of the very smallest businesses and sole traders who are desperate for cash and it‘s much easier to apply for and that‘s what‘s making the difference. we have had some figures from inland revenue by the number of people who have been furloughed in the uk. 6.3 million workers in britain have been furloughed, at a total cost of a government of £8 billion according to the inland revenue and they are saying on twitter 800,000 employers have furloughed their staff, so 6.3 million workers in britain have been

furloughed. those are the latest figures from the inland revenue. rail union leaders have expressed concerns over government plans to begin increasing train services. the transport secretary grant shapps has said more buses and trains would start running as part of plans to start gradually easing the lockdown. but unions say there‘s been no guidance on how to ensure workers and passengers are properly protected. i‘m concerned a general blanket increase in services could be dangerous for passengers. it could be dangerous for staff. it could be a transmission system for the virus, which we hope is being suppressed at the minute, but if we have a blanket increase in people using the systems, you can imagine the interfaces between the tube on the mainline stations, the big conurbations around the country, manchester, birmingham, glasgow, wherever, there is going to be a lot of congestion and there will be a lot of crowding. we haven‘t had any advice from a government that they are going to reduce social distancing and neither have they given any direction as to how social distancing will be enforced,

so we believe that they may be envisaging compromising that and i think one minister has said it may come down to a metre or another measure and we think that‘s a dangerous step to take. it‘s not been proven that now is the time or next week after, now is the time to safely increase the number of services and the number of passengers on those services. we area we are a couple of minutes away from today‘s downing street briefing on coronavirus and it will be led by the health secretary matt hancock. our health correspondent nick triggle is here with me now. what do you think we‘ll be hearing at today‘s briefing? you think the government will be slightly encouraged by the latest statistics? yes, i think we will hear a lot of positive news in terms of passing the peak. we are seeing on a lot of measures improvements, the numbers in hospital are falling, they peaked at just over in hospital are falling, they peaked atjust over 20,000 people in

hospital with coronavirus, now down to around 15,000. we know the numbers of cases, despite the rising testing, are falling and plateauing, and we know that deaths certainly in hospital, which is a sign of transmission in the community, peaked in the second week of april, and they are coming down. there will be plenty of questions about care homes, we are trying get a handle on the scale of the outbreaks there, and i‘m sure we have questions about testing. obviously they hit 100,000 tests on friday. but yesterday, when we got the figures, dropped to 76,000. the government have said we shouldn‘t expect to hit 100,000 every day but the capacity is there for that and much more to be honest. where are we with ppe? we know it‘s so important for the front line health workers and care workers. the government says it is working hard to ensure that those supplies are coming in. it‘s beginning to bring more and more equipment in from

international suppliers. i heard from one doctor today that said one of the advantages of falling numbers of the advantages of falling numbers of patients with coronavirus in hospital is, actually, we are going to less protective equipment that we we re to less protective equipment that we were a few weeks ago, so that does seem to have eased, but i do think there are problems and the big push at the moment is to get that equipment out to care homes. there isa equipment out to care homes. there is a big focus on protecting care homes, shielding them, and trying to get on top of those outbreaks that we are hearing about. the big focus too on contact tracing. this is seen as the way out of this in many respects and that is being trialled this week in the isle of wight, isn‘t it? yes, we will hear a lot about the test, track, trace and isolate testing strategy. testing capacity has been increased, and we will hear about this in the briefing. at the heart of that will be this new nhs

app which will be trialled on