today at six... the uk passes another grim milestone in the coronavirus crisis — more than 30,000 people have died. it comes as borisjohnson faced the new labour leader for the first the new labour leader for the first time in the commons — and an accusation that ministers were late to act on the pandemic. the uk was slow into lockdown, slow on testing, slow on tracing and slow on the supply of protective equipment. the prime minister said the overriding aim was to save lives and protect the nhs — but he admitted a problem in care homes. there is an epidemic going on in care homes, which is something i bitterly regret. borisjohnson also said some aspects of the lockdown could be eased by next monday.

also tonight... will this stall owner in gloucestershire survive the lockdown? he's not the only one who thinks small businesses face a bleak future. classrooms where rubbing shoulders is a thing of the past — the challenges facing schools when they reopen. remembering the caribbean volunteers who did their bit for victory in europe. 75 years on, plans for a permanent monument. and coming up in sport on the bbc news, the german bundesliga is set to become the first major european league to restart the football season. could the premier league be following suit?

hello and welcome to the bbc news at six, on a day when the uk has crossed a grim milestone in this coronavirus crisis — more than 30,000 people have died. it comes as borisjohnson says that some lockdown measures could be eased from next monday. he was speaking at his first prime minister's questions since recovering from the coronavirus. the new labour leader, sir keir starmer, accused ministers of being late to act at every stage of the pandemic and highlighted the plight of the elderly. mrjohnson said he bitterly regretted what he called the epidemic in care homes. the total number of deaths announced by the government is now 30,076 — these are people who tested positive for coronavirus. that's 649 more deaths recorded in hospitals, care homes and in the community over the last 2a hours. our first report this evening is from our political editor laura kuenssberg.

small clusters of commuters. westminster quiet, basks, sometimes. but not lonely any more. one new normal has begun. weeks at the keir starmer the labour leader, the first of his weekly chance to put the prime minister under pressure —— weeks after. i am looking forward to it andl weeks after. i am looking forward to it and i am glad to see he is back in parliament. how are you going to handle the new labour leader? with borisjohnson back handle the new labour leader? with boris johnson back at work, handle the new labour leader? with borisjohnson back at work, back handle the new labour leader? with boris johnson back at work, back at the dispatch box, too. boris johnson back at work, back at the dispatch box, tool boris johnson back at work, back at the dispatch box, too. i would like to welcome the prime minister back to welcome the prime minister back to his rightful place in the chamber. but no hiding place from the rising coronavirus toll, now tipping 30,000. that is now the highest number in europe. it is the second highest in the world. that is not a success or apparent second highest in the world. that is not a success or apparent success, so can not a success or apparent success, so can the prime minister tell us how on earth did it come to this? he is right to draw attention to the

appalling statistics not just is right to draw attention to the appalling statistics notjust in this country, but, of course around the world. at this stage, i don't think that international comparisons and the data is yet dare to draw all the conclusions that we want. comparing different countries' statistics is difficult, but it is not irrelevant. and every number is another heartbreak. just nine members of ron beard's family bade farewell to him at a tiny funeral this afternoon. he passed away in hospital last week after contracting the virus in his care home, where the virus in his care home, where the family was told there was no infection and they say staff had no protective kid. my mum, sadly, had to go to the car park and say goodbye to her dad through the window, which was pretty heartbreaking for her after having been by his bedside. along. i think that's been one of the hardest things for the family to deal with, not being able to hold his hand in

times when he needed it and i know especially from my mum and her sisters, knowing that he died alone after they had been at his side for so after they had been at his side for so long was the particularly heartbreaking thing to come to terms with. the priest did an amazing job and it was a wonderful sendoff, albeit slightly strange. his last song as the curtains closed was you'll never walk alone. what was happening behind closed doors in care homes, now very happening behind closed doors in care homes, now very much in public and political view. care homes, now very much in public and politicalview. deaths care homes, now very much in public and political view. deaths in care homes, now very much in public and politicalview. deaths in care homes continue to go up, 12 weeks after the health secretary declared we are after the health secretary declared we are in a health crisis. i have to ask the prime minister, why hasn't the government got to grips with this already? there is an epidemic going on in care homes which is something i bitterly regret and we have been working very hard for weeks to get it down. in the last few days, there has been a palpable improvement. there is no consistent

evidence that situation is improving. at the prime minister suggested some lockdown measures could ease from monday. we will want, if we possibly can, to get going with some of these measures on monday. in a sparse chamber, mr johnson sometimes looked around for cheerleaders who were not there. in this new contest of opposites, in the end, it is one on one. and on sunday night, he will speak to the public and outline the beginnings of an exit strategy from the lockdown and, in the last few minutes, the communities secretary robertjen rick has said the government wants construction and infrastructure projects to get back to work in england as soon as they possibly can and can do so safely —— jenrick. but i would urge that it is very much the expectation around here that this will not be a sudden unlock of everything but more like

the beginning of a gradual rollback of the emergency measures that were introduced to try and slow the spread of this disease. and with the figures topping 30,000 tonight, it is certainly still a very precarious medical situation and the government is in no rush, even though they are very is in no rush, even though they are vei’y eager is in no rush, even though they are very eager to move fully into another phase. laura, thank you very much. both ministers and health experts agree that any way out of the lockdown will require a scaling up of the uk's testing capacity. well, today, the government announced that it had carried outjust over 69,000 tests, some way short of its self—imposed target of 100,000 tests per day. yet, the prime minister has doubled this target, promising to increase capacity to 200,000 tests per day by the end of this month. but as our health editor hugh pym reports — care home managers are still complaining about how difficult it is to get their residents tested. a busy testing station today, run by military personnel, and there is a range of essential workers wanting to know whether or not they have the virus

and whether it was safe to get back to work. i'm a nanny. i have to make sure before i go back to work. i have four children to look after her, and i have to make sure that i am fine. i'm working at the moment, so i'm still working. it's important for me to obviously be safe for myself and family. i'm a teacher, a primary teacher, and i've been feeling a bit up and down, and been sort of concerned, if i am now thinking of whether we might go back to work. the government has greatly expanded the list of people eligible to be tested over the last few weeks, using drive—in centres and sending out home test kits, and there's been a big increase in laboratory capacity to analyse the swab samples. a week ago, just over 80,000 tests were provided, and the next day, that figure went above the government's 100,000 a day target. since the weekend, it's fallen back to below 70,000 yesterday — it's not clear why that happened. this is the entrance

to fairfield residential home. for care homes, it's vital to get residents tested if they have symptoms, so they can be kept separate from others. but at this home, they've tried several times to order tests for those who are unwelcome and have had no response. i'm very angry, and somewhat frustrated when i hear the ministers telling us that everyone in care homes can be tested. the government believes that the testing has happened, however, on the ground, it's such a big logistical proposal, people can't do it. and it's been argued that there is no way for care staff to get fast—tracked through the online booking system. the government has made very clear announcements about the fact that health and care workers should have access, all health and care workers should have access to testing, and, yet the system that it's built, doesn't have that prioritization in—built. hospital leaders say, even with the extra capacity, it's still

difficult to get nhs staff tested quickly if they need it. there's not much point in having a test that takes up to five days to turn around if actually the individual member of staff is then spreading infection in the meantime. we absolutely need to ensure that every member of staff who is showing symptoms that they can get a test quick enough, and that is not happening at the moment. the department of health says tests were now available to more than 25 million people, and there had been a rapid increase in capacity allowing tests for more workers who need them. so the prime minister has said some lockdown measures could be eased from next monday. the details are yet to come, but one thing is already clear — it will be a gradual process, with some sectors having to wait longer than others. 0ur political correspondent, alex forsyth, has been talking to businesses, residents and local traders in the gloucestershire town of moreton—in—marsh. the market town of moreton—in—marsh is far from its bustling self. life, for many, is largely on pause. it's been strange, it's been a bit tough.

dave's had a stall here for more than 30 years. he's managed to trade enough in recent weeks to take in recent weeks to tick over, but only just. i don't think it'll be as good as it was, ever, but we've just got to be thankful for the trade we've got now, really. in the cotswolds countryside, this time relies on tourism as well as local trade. tea shops, cafes and pubs nervous about the future if social distancing is here to stay. at this hair salon just up the high street, there is similar concern. the owner is trying to stay positive and plan for a possible reopening, but conscious you have to be close to cut hair. i'm not sure what the guidelines are going to be and i don't think we'll be working at full capacity, which is obviously not good after being locked down, but until they turn around and tell us what it is, i can't get a plan of action going. many businesses and families are wondering what comes next. the official review of the lockdown is tomorrow, but don't expect to hear much about government plans

until sunday and, increasingly, it's a question about how ministers balance concerns about the country plus might help with worries's health with worries about its wealth and general well—being. today, news that some measures might ease from monday, but it's likely to be gradual. from the edge of town, anna's two sons are keen to return to school, finding work here at home hard. i want to go back, so i can see my mates. it isjust stressful. the pressure is on a little bit, isn't it, now? i am finding it hard too, just sit down and start doing the work, it'sjust tricky. i wake up, do my bike ride, come back, go on the xbox, go to bed. say it like it is, jamie. most in moreton are simply finding ways to cope, staying upbeat. these neighbours meet every morning for some distant company. i live on my own, so it does break the day up, no end. just outside town, the garden centre's tentatively begun trading, because of essentials on sale, but the past few weeks have been tough.

from thinking that we might actually lose the business to coming through the other side and we are now trading and it looks as though, you know, hopefully, fingers crossed, that we might survive. here, now, they want clarity from government about long—term business support and to give customers confidence. i need a clear message one way or the other of what is going to happen. the lockdown is an easy one to impose undertaking the handbrake off is difficult. how that happens will be decided far from here, but felt across this town, where many are trying to be optimistic but feeling the personal and economic cost. alex forsyth, bbc news, moreton—in—marsh. so a tough time for businesses big and small and, of course, the government has various schemes to help, among them the furlough scheme. some 6.3 million employees have been furloughed, 80% of their previous salary now coming from the government. 0ur economics editor faisal islam is here.

these schemes have been a life—saver for many, but i imagine they can't go on forever, can they? there are a series of difficult dilemmas for the government as we ease out of the lockdown. i thought it was really quite telling that the prime minister in the comments referred to the economic disaster as being a second peak in the pandemic —— in the commons. that shows, it tells us, that on sunday, it won't be a radical change, it will immediately be step—by—step change to the lockdown, may be a plan for further on. you have also come in a practical application of this in lockdown, you have got tension between the unions and business who are worried about different interpretations on workplaces and in the furlough scheme, you do have a dilemma for government. 0n the one hand, they want to say to employers, this thing is not going to be around forever but they also want to say any changes will be eased out, there won't be a cliff edge. i think on cost, onjobs won't be a cliff edge. i think on

cost, on jobs and won't be a cliff edge. i think on cost, onjobs and of won't be a cliff edge. i think on cost, on jobs and of course on health, actually, coming out of the lockdown could almost be more difficult than going into it. thank you very much. some older people who become acutely ill with conditions other than coronavirus are now being treated at home rather than hospital. doctors here have made the switch in some parts of the uk after seeing what happened abroad, where frail and vulnerable patients were sent to hospital, only to die after being infected with coronavirus. our health correspondent sophie hutchinson reports. so, this lady i'm going to see was referred into the home treatment service yesterday. in the midst of the coronavirus emergency, doctors and nurses are taking to the road here. sat nav: you have reached your destination. they call it their virtual hospital, delivering high—level medical care to frail, older people in their own homes. they are keeping the vulnerable out of actual hospitals to shield them from covid—19. hi, i'm helen, one of the nurses. they've come to check on maureen matthews.

they treated her the day before we filmed, after her husband roger called 999. i sort of heard a crash upstairs and she was lying on the floor. maureen matthews has lung cancer and the treatment she's received puts her at particular risk of covid—19. i didn't want to go into hospital and my doctor thought that was better as well, so... yeah, and to have this team of people coming in as well is great, i think. i've had marvellous treatment. i can't fault it. margaret, her name is helen and she'll be coming in the next couple of hours, i'd have thought. sheila 0'riordan set up this new service in east kent in just two weeks, ahead of the uk's coronavirus peak. they now treat 85% of their patients at home. we all saw on the telly what was happening in other countries, for frail and older people. particularly, we saw it in italy and spain. we had an opportunity,

because we were a little bit further behind, to think, how can we do this differently? this was our attempt to provide better services for our frail population. a quarter of people aged over 70 end up in hospital if they get covid—19, according to research from imperial college london. and, of those, a high proportion need treatment and icu. need treatment in icu. providing hospital—grade care in people's homes is something that senior clinicians here have wanted to set up for many years. they never dreamt they could achieve it in just a couple of weeks. but hospital—at—home services like this, run by doctors, are rare in the uk, according to research from last year. here in lanarkshire, in scotland, where they have one of the oldest, they are trying to double the amount they can care for at home. hospital at home is pretty much what it says

on the team could delete jen, where we carl on the team could delete jen, where we can give hospital care at home and we lead assessment in the patient's host and the only thing thatis patient's host and the only thing that is really different from the building behind me is the bed that the patient is in. my wife will tell you that as soon they say hospital, i say no. here, around 80% of acutely ill older patients like terence ball are being kept away from hospitals. just as in east kent. 0pposite ends of the country, but the same determination to protect those most at risk from this virus. sophie hutchinson, bbc news. teachers across the uk are waiting for guidelines about how and when to open schools. this week, teaching unions have warned against a hasty reopening of the school gates and it seems they have the support of parents. the bbc has had exclusive access to some research from parentkind. it reports that more than 80% of the 250,000 parents that responded across england, wales and northern ireland would be unhappy with schools reopening soon after lockdown is eased.

0ur education editor branwenjeffreys has been speaking to headteachers, parents and pupils. dean jones is grappling with one question. how can he keep children safe if they come back? having looked at our staircases, they are not sufficiently wide. they would have to be one way up here, down elsewhere. to keep corridors clear, it will be teachers moving wherever possible, rather than students. here's a fairly typical classroom that would normally hold around 30 children. typically, now, we would expect it to hold it around 15. for the key workers' children at this school in sheffield, a taste of how it might be in the future. it'd be unusual because, like, you wouldn't see your friends

and you wouldn't get the support from your friends that you usually get. do you think people are missing school? yes, because, like, it's that sense of, like, normality and going to school on a weekday and seeing your friends. dean thinks they could manage just half the pupils. one—way corridors are a must, considering staggering the entry and exit times to lessons. we want to make sure that everyone in the firth park family feel we have reached a point where it is going to be safe to come back. so, spaced out classes for a few, but still a lot of learning online and at home. taylor is 11. her mum wants to keep her home until the autumn. i feel that the government should perhaps think about ending this year now and restarting maybe in september, when we know more facts. six—year—old marcus' mum agrees. if my child goes to school and is mixing with other children, other adults, then that... he could then come home and bring that into our home and, at the moment, our home is a safe place for him to be. this primary school has tried setting out one classroom. so this could be the new normal.

instead of children working together, sharing things around tables, each child at their own desk, working in isolation. but what about the youngest? with just riley and frankie, it proved hard. usually, children can roam free in reception. we have children from two through to five using these rooms here and explaining to a two—year—old how they cannot come up to us and how they cannot be with their friends, that's going to be really, really difficult. if a child becomes upset, you are going to want to go and give them some comfort. if a child falls over and hurts themselves, again, you are going to want to help them out. not being able to do that is going to be very, very challenging. simple precautions go a long way, but what schools want is clear advice and plenty of warning. branwen jeffreys, bbc news. chancellor angela merkel has agreed to reopen all shops as part of a deal with the leaders

of germany's 16 states. at a stormy video conference, they agreed social distancing would continue for another month. jenny hilljoins me from berlin. what are the most significant measures? there were a lot of them and most importantly, germany is reaching significant steps back towards whatever passes for normality at a time of global pandemic. this country is in a good position. the infection rates have been steadily falling. there is hospital capacity to spare, but that has put angela merkel under pressure from the leaders of germany's 16 states, who desperately want to restart their local economies. at that meeting today, we are told it was very stormy when they agreed they can open shops, restaurants, hotels, albeit with strict social distancing measures and that germany's professional football league, the bundesliga, can resume matches, although they must be held behind

closed doors. there are caveats. people cannot simply go out and meet up people cannot simply go out and meet up with whoever they would like. they still have to wear face masks on public transport and in shops. and the authorities will continue to test and contact chase aggressively. additionally, angela merkel today won a significant session from those regional leaders in the form of an emergency brake. that means that should infections rise above a prescribed limit anywhere in this country, the local authorities will be required to immediately reimpose restrictions. polls suggest that the majority of germans have supported angela merkel‘s cautious approach so far. today she said germany had put the first phase of the pandemic behind it, but warned that a long battle with the virus still lies ahead. jenny, thank you very much. the coronavirus lockdown has resulted in the fastest decline in carbon emissions ever recorded — that's because of the falling global demand for transport and energy.

now the government is being urged to ensure that progress in tackling climate change continues once the epidemic is over. 0ur chief environment correspondent, justin rowlatt, reports. and how about you, lauren, i know you're working on mark's announcement this morning. yes, doing lots of announcement things. we're all getting used to new ways of working and socializing. here's a little cheers. cheers. even hen parties have been online in the age of coronavirus. this global lockdown has given us cleaner air and quieter streets as well as the biggest cut in carbon emissions ever recorded. since lockdown, kelly has been running her team from home from a no more three hour car and commute every day. we have all become experts at working from home.

they will have more productive employees while working from home, therefore you can enable them to do that more often. and when you do go to work, perhaps you will choose not to drive. the mayors of london and manchester today said they would set more road space aside for cyclists to help us all get to moving while maintaining social distancing. it is just the kind of initiative borisjohnson's advisors on climate change are recommending. today, they urged that any attempt to kick—start the economy has to help us all move towards lower carbon lifestyles. we are going to have to re—examine our priorities across all of the economy, and the government will have to lead us through the recovery phase. let's make sure that we think about the climate priorities as we do that. these are sensible steps that will make the economy more resilient in the future, and that's something we should be thinking about right now. he says we need to invest in making homes more energy—efficient and decarbonising our transport and energy systems. but are we ready to change the way we live and work? susan advises the government

on the psychology of behavior change. when wuhan happened, we all thought, we could never do that. but what we have seen is that we did do exactly that. the overwhelming majority adhere to very challenging advice, especially for people in crowded conditions, and have sustained it over many, many weeks. so, it does show that people can be adaptable when they can see why they need to change their behaviour. lockdown has given us a glimpse of a cleaner, greener world, but we do need to get the economy going again. the challenge will be doing that in a way that locks in some of the low carbon habits we have all been learning. everyone do this, everyone do this for the camera! justin rowlatt, bbc news, london. on friday britain will commemorate the 75th anniversary of ve day, when the war ended in europe. the contribution of thousands of men and women from the caribbean who volunteered to serve is to be marked with a permanent monument at the national memorial arboretum in staffordshire.

0ur correspondent sian lloyd has been speaking to some of those involved — and her report was filmed before the coronavirus restrictions. albert jarrett, aged 18, one of around 10,000 people who left the caribbean to join the war effort. we were needed at this height of the war. our services were needed. and we were very anxious to give our service to the country that protected us, because we were british citizens and this was our mother country, we were told. the place they set sail for was very different to home, on board ships that were cramped and uncomfortable. in those days, ships had to move in convoy because if they are not in convoy, don't forget, the german u—boat is going to get rid of them. and for that reason, 23 long days on the sea before we get here,

and we came here and i remember when we got to bristol, i saw the promised land! what was known at the time as a colour bar had restricted recruitment to the armed forces, but by 1941 advertisements in newspapers invited people from the west indies tojoin the raf. the contribution and sacrifice of all those from the caribbean who have and continue to serve the country will now be commemorated here at the national memorial arboretum. the campaign to raise the half a million pounds needed is being led by a former serviceman. up until now, a lot of people have had the perception or misconception that all that people of colour, shall we say, did in the war was dug trenches. that's not the case. a lot of people were pilots, navigators, engineers, the lot,

and they won a lot of gallantry medals for their service. but that story has not been told nowhere near as widely as it should be. so this monument will tell that story. clay models give a sense of how the finished sculpture will look. an imposing nine metres wide and carved from stone, it features palm trees and four bronze figures to represent the different branches of the armed forces. i am so pleased about it, because it seemed so shocking to me that this government have never done nothing to show any appreciation. one of the few surviving veterans of the second world war, 95—year—old albert hopes he will see a monument during his lifetime. sian lloyd, bbc news. the street artist banksy has been prolific during the lockdown, adding a facemask to his parody of the girl with a pearl earring,

for example, or the image of rats running riot in a bathroom. 0vernight, he's turned his attention to the nhs. to show his appreciation, he's created a new picture and is showing it at the university hospital southampton. 0ur arts editor, will gompertz, has more. could this be a rare sighting of the elusive street artist, banksy? undercover, making a special delivery to university hospital southhampton. wow. it's certainly his handiwork. it was hung late last night and unveiled this morning. it depicts a young boy kneeling down, wearing dungarees and a white t—shirt. the wastepaper basket in front of him has two discarded old superheroes. instead, he's playing with his new model figure, a new superhero, an nhs nurse with a flying cape and arm pointing forwards, like superman. she is on a mission. the idea of the hospital's management and banksy was to thank the staff of the nhs generally for everything they are doing.

so, did it go down well?