this is bbc news with me, ben brown. the headlines... the chancellor admits it breaks his heart to see people losing theirjobs as the government's furlough scheme is extended for four months until october — but employers will be asked to share the cost. there are already people who have lost theirjobs, and that's heartbreaking to me. that's why i'm woking night and day to limit the amount ofjob losses. the uk death toll rises by 627 from the previous day, taking the total to 32,692. the authorities in northern ireland

are criticised by the manager of one care home who says the sector was forgotten at the start of the pandemic. we've clapped them in the streets. now we're being asked to shine a light from our windows as we mark international nurses day. it comes as the head of nhs england says theres been a huge increase in the number of people interested in a career in nursing this is an opportunity not only to thank current nurses but also to invite bright, brilliant and committed people across the country to consider nursing as a career. and the queen, the prince of wales and other members of the royal family speak to nurses from around the world in a show of support, solidarity and gratitude.

good afternoon. the chancellor rishi sunak has announced the government's job retention scheme will be extended until the end of october. he told mps it's currently supporting more than 7.5 million workers in the uk. the chancellor said changes will be made to the package from the end ofjuly, when employers will be asked to share the cost. meanwhile more guidance has been issued on reopening schools, going back to work safely and using public transport in england. official figures released today show that the number of deaths in the uk mentioning covid—19 has dropped substantially for the first time since the epidemic began. but the figures also show

there were approximately 50,000 more deaths registered in the weeks since the middle of march to may the 1st than would normally be expected at this time of year. and the latest figures from the department of health show there were a further 627 deaths in all settings of people who tested positive for coronavirus. the chancellor rishi sunak has announced the government's job retention scheme will be extended until the end of october. he told mps it's currently supporting more than 7.5 million workers in the uk. in the last hour he's spoken to the bbc‘s political editor, laura kuenssberg. let's talk to our chief political correspondent. vicki young is in westminster. the chancellor has been saying this is an expensive scheme. that's something of an understatement. some say it's incredibly generous, but of course it costs a lot of money. they are not putting exact figures on it but it runs into billions of pounds a month. there's a lot of pressure

on the government to say what it's going to do about extending this. labour had been saying it was essential to keep households afloat and also make sure theirjobs were there to come back to at the end of all of this. rishi sunak, the chancellor, who has been in charge of the scheme, he has been speaking to our colleague laura kuenssberg and talking particularly about the impact of coronavirus on the country's economy. you have always made a point of saying you want to be as honest with the public. can you do that now, should you be preparing people for a recession. you know very well unemployment comes at a lag time and many, many people will lose theirjobs. many of whom right now might be supported by furlough, so are we looking at a recession? we already know many people have lost theirjobs and it brea ks people have lost theirjobs and it breaks my heart. we have seen what's happening with universal credit claims already. this is not

something we will wait to see, it's already happening, there are already businesses shutting on people who have lost their jobs, businesses shutting on people who have lost theirjobs, and that's heartbreaking to me, and that's why iam heartbreaking to me, and that's why i am working night and day to limit the amount of job i am working night and day to limit the amount ofjob losses. everyjob we can save, either through the furlough scheme or through a cash grant toa furlough scheme or through a cash grant to a business that can pay a person longer is a job we have helped preserve for the future. it's afamily helped preserve for the future. it's a family that has more security. of course it's going to be difficult. the scheme has furloughed 7.5 million jobs, the scheme has furloughed 7.5 millionjobs, 935,000 businesses have benefited. there will not be any changes until the middle ofjuly and from august some people will be able to go back part time. they will still receive up to 80% of their salary, up to £2500 per month. the difference will be that employers are going to be asked to contribute some of that money. but we will not get the details on that until the end of the month. this is what the

chancellor had to say about the scheme. this is an expensive scheme and said that before. i also believe it's absolutely the right thing to do. what's very clear to me is that the cost of not doing this, for society, our economy and the country, would be far higher. i am simply not going to give up on all these all these people. these 7 million people we talked about, i wa nt to million people we talked about, i want to provide as much support as i can to make sure they have those jobs to go back to at the end of this. how much do you expect the scheme to work and what will the cost be now? it depends on the exact take—up. people are still signing up every day. the part—time flexible period at the end where there is employer contribution will reduce the cost as people come back to work but this obviously can't go on forever. that's why i am setting out a clear timeline now. employers and businesses will be keen to show how much of a share of those wages they will have to find in august. the

treasury only says it expects at that time to still be paying more than half the current bill, so we will have to wait until the end of the month for more details. there are longer term consequences of all this. this is an expensive scheme. the chancellor is backing it and thinks it's the right thing to do, but the question is, what impact might it have on government policy. i talk a lot about investing in regions to make sure we can drive up productivity wherever you happen to live, in the rural south west, or in the north—east, in teesside are near me. i want everyone to have the same opportunities and we can do that by investing in them, their education and skills and also in infrastructure so they can access those opportunities. that agenda remains even more relevant today thanit remains even more relevant today than it did then and we will not at all retrenched from delivering on that. a suggestion there that the government will not be moving off

track from what is happening. that general election seems a long time ago now but that promise to level up, as they called it, certain areas and regions of the general country. the chancellor suggesting spending will continue alongside more borrowing. studio: vicki thank you. at 5pm we will get the day's downing street briefing with business secretary alok sharma. lots of advice and guidelines have been published in the past 2a hours on how things may change as the lockdown is gradually eased in england. many of you have been contacting the bbc with your questions, and we're now going to try and answer them. with me is our health correspondent nick triggle.

and also i'm joined by our business correspondent ben thompson. between them, let's hope they can a nswer between them, let's hope they can answer at least most of your questions! let's kick off with nick, a question from susan hughes in southport asking, why can't i see family members in the safety of my garden? surely that is safer than in the park with hundreds of strangers? while we are in lockdown it's easy to give a simple message but now we are moving out of it it needs to be more nuanced. we get situations like this that can appear contradictory. ministers have said it is a balanced judgment. not all gardens are large enough to ensure there is social distancing. in some gardens you have to come through the house to get to the garden. they are keen not to send out mixed messaging. they don't wa nt send out mixed messaging. they don't want people mixing in people's houses. they want that to remain outside. they have said, no, you can't meet up in gardens, even large ones, it has to be in open and

public spaces. simon robinson in london asks about sport, essentially. we have been told we can play tennis and so on. is it legal to play cricket with one other friend in a park while social distancing? yes, it is. as long as you are socially distance, keeping two metres away. tennis is fine, golf clubs are looking to restart. but you can only do this with one person from outside your household. you can only do it in pairs. if you are playing sport with people from your household it can be a larger number than two. but cricket is fine, tennis, basketball. the government have also said that is fine. a question for ben. this is james mckinlay in birmingham. if we go back to work and there is a second peak, will we go on to a second peak, will we go on to a second furlough? we have heard from the chancellor that the furlough

scheme will be extended to october. but theoretically if there was a second peak after that, will we get another furlough scheme? second peak after that, will we get another furlough scheme ?|j second peak after that, will we get another furlough scheme? i think what the government is clearly wanting to do at the moment is deal with the current lockdown. and avoid a second one at all costs. we had from the prime minister early in the week making it clear that the reason some of these returns to work are slower than some might like is to try to prevent a second lockdown being necessary. he also talked about monitoring this on a regional basis, therefore there might be individual local lockdowns should there be a spike in infections. i think what the government has announced a day and what we had from the chancellor earlier is that this scheme will take us to august and beyond. so the current plan, the current system was due to end at the end ofjune. current system was due to end at the end of june. that current system was due to end at the end ofjune. that has now been extended by four months. but from august they will ask employers to try to meet some of the cost. we know how expensive this can be. we

heard from vicki young about some of the billions of pounds put aside to pay for the scheme. but clearly what they want employers to do is contribute some of the money for that. that might be because some workers can return to the workplace, albeit on shorter hours and there may be less demand for work and they might have fewer customers so they will not need as many staff working as many hours so they could go back part—time and if they do they will be paid for that work as normal and the government would step into top up the government would step into top up level of 80% to the maximum of £2500. as to the question of whether the government will try to deal with this restriction on the current lockdown in place before thinking beyond that. it clearly wants to avoid a second lockdown at all costs. another one for ben. this is from james dent in chichester. i am interested to know if there are any plans to extend support for furloughed employees who are

currently shielding. furloughed employees who are currently shielding, they are... i am employees who are currently shielding, they are... lam losing some of the lines here. we can hear you find so carry on. good. i was going to say, one of the concerns related to that shielding issue, if anyone is shielded then they are eligible to be furloughed because the regulation suggests to employers that anyone who cannot work by following government guidelines can and should be furloughed. so they will be eligible for those payments. remember, there are two elements here. it's whether the person is at risk because they have received a letter telling them to shield and stay at home. that might be because they are particularly at risk, they might have had an organ transplant for example or facing autoimmune issues. those workers will be told to stay at home. for others it is

possible that if they are shielding because they are considered at risk, they might be asked to return to work provided sufficient protection is put in place for them at work. we have seen in the last 24 hours, so much guidance for business across all different industries and types ofjobs, be that indoors, in factories or warehouses, in offices or even outdoors and in retail and on the high street. lots of different guidance for different workplaces on how to keep people secure. workplaces on how to keep people secure. taping off areas and advising people to keep their distance for example. erecting shields, and in some cases asking workers to work side by side rather than face to face. a lot of workers will be looking at their workplace and see how they can change it physically to see if workers can go back to work safely, and that includes those potentially deemed at risk but not in the very highest category of people at risk who are currently shielding for 12 weeks.

back to nick triggle our health correspondent from jan. why is it a cce pta ble correspondent from jan. why is it acceptable for a 50—year—old mother to go back to school as a teacher's assistant whilst being denied access to her own grandchildren? we have had quite a lot of questions in that vein. again, it comes down to the nuance of the guidance that throws out contradictory situations. this guidance applies to england. the easing of the lockdown. scotland, wales and northern ireland are still very much in the stay at home original message, largely. but i would say that the government is trying to do a number of things here, but in incremental steps. they are trying to get some children back to school, some people back to work, give us all a little bit more freedom. so that requires these little steps to be taken, and then the impact that they have in terms of creek increasing the amount of

infection that is being passed around, being closely monitored. so for individuals it can be contradictory, but not everyone is in that position. and of course i would say that the government is saying we can meet up with loved ones in public spaces, in parks, so you could see grandchildren in parks if they are old enough to be there by themselves, or perhaps their pa rent by themselves, or perhaps their parent could bring them to the park, the parent keeps away and they get a chance to see that grandchild. there are ways around to see people. but it is one at a time, just to be clear. absolutely, you are only meant to see one person at a time. and at two metres distance. another one for ben. this is raising the question of having children going to work. if you are thinking about going to work but you can't get anyone to look after your children, or indeed if you don't feel safe

about going back to work or any other reason, can your employer force you to come back to work in the current circumstances? a really tough one, this, isn't it, ben. there are so many grey areas in terms of what might prevent us going back to work in the first place. childcare is a huge issue of course, and that is why we heard from the prime minister on monday and he called that a very clear, obvious barrier to people being able to get back to work. if the schools are not open, parents are looking after children, they can't work especially if they are unable to work from home. the guidance currently is that if you can't get childcare and your children are not able to go to work then you cannot be forced to go back and employers should look at that and employers should look at that and appreciate the circumstances that you are in. that isn't in itself a particular legal protection. but it does suggest, and we heard from the prime minister talking about this on monday,

parents and guardians that are prevented from returning must be defended and protected on that basis. so it is really tough, and thatis basis. so it is really tough, and that is why we are perhaps seeing some of the priority now being put on getting the children, particularly the youngest children, back to school before the end of term so that that would free up many parents to be able to do some sort of work back in the workplace if thatis of work back in the workplace if that is needed. the priority of course quite clearly to keep it safe and to make sure it is safe for those children to return, but by getting those children back, perhaps the youngest, that would require the most care at home, that would go some to freeing up parents than to be able to return to the workplace. but to answer that question, no, you cannot be forced to go back to work if you cannot get anyone to look after your children. thank you. nick, let's talk about face masks. amanda reynolds from spalding says why are we now being advised to wear face coverings in enclosed spaces like public transport in shops when

at the peak of the pandemic we were told this was not necessary. that is what amanda wants to know. and we did hear through quite a lot of these downing street briefings and scientific adviser say that the evidence for wearing face coverings was weak. but now we are being told we should wear them, not must, it is not that we are compelled to, but the advice is that we should. indeed, it is particularly aimed at enclosed spaces. the government has in mind public transport, which is people are beginning to go back to work will get busier. the evidence around that is weak, certainly in terms of protecting the wearer from being infected, because the concern is that the masks may not be tight—fitting. they can be contaminated when people take them on and off. they also can give a false sense of security. people may not socially distance when they are wearing them, so they have been very hesitant to recommend them. but as

we have learned more about the virus, we have learned more about asymptomatic transmission, the fact that people sometimes don't show symptoms, or presymptomatic stages where they haven't developed symptoms yet but can still be infectious. what wearing a mask can help with this topping the infected person passing the virus on to others. so it is more about protecting others than protecting yourself. and we have seen that adopted in many other countries, but in england that has been quite slow in coming, that advice. yes, we have seen in coming, that advice. yes, we have seenin in coming, that advice. yes, we have seen in the daily briefings they have been asked about this a number of times. scotland recommended wearing masks in enclosed spaces a couple of weeks ago, and we have seen couple of weeks ago, and we have seen other nations as they have eased lockdown restrictions start recommending often on a voluntary basis that they wear face coverings. they don't want people trying to get

hold of the masks, the proper personal protective equipment, that is used by the nhs or in care homes, because of course there is a shortage of that equipment, so they are saying you can shortage of that equipment, so they are saying you can cover shortage of that equipment, so they are saying you can cover your face with a scarf, coverings that you make at home yourself. and related to that is from jilly walker in stockport saying, why don't teachers need ppe, personal protective equipment? if they are in a classroom of 15 people not from their own household, why are we not protected ? their own household, why are we not protected? and their own household, why are we not protected ? and i their own household, why are we not protected? and i think that reflects anxiety of a lot of teachers, that they are going to go back into classrooms with a lot of people. there is a lot of anxiety among the teaching profession. last week ministers said that teachers wouldn't need to wear this ppe, the protective equipment, and they are drawing up guidelines to ensure safety at work and in particular safety at work and in particular safety in schools. the idea being that if you can socially distance,

if you wash your hands, have good hand hygiene, that is much more effective than masks. but i think we will see more guidance issued about this in the coming days. let's put that one to ben as well. what is the guidance on personal protective equipment, facemasks and so on, in the workplace? what are people being told about that? it really does vary, as nick touched on there. the current advice particularly is more about how you get to and from work, particularly if you need to take public transport, and the advice would be that you wear a face covering to do that. but it will depend on where you work, what sort of work you are doing. employers we re of work you are doing. employers were given that advice last night. huge pages of documents giving detailed advice depending on the different workplaces that they are m, different workplaces that they are in, what you might want to do. so for example if you are working outside on a building site for example or in agriculture, no more

ppe is required above and beyond what you would normally need to wear to do yourjob. the same applies also in factories and warehouses. there is an assumption that certain ppe would already be given for the dangers you face in that role, and thenit dangers you face in that role, and then it is about adapting the workplace to make that more possible, so perhaps it is taping to me to markets on the floor, giving a separate entrance and exit for the start and finish of a shift so that workers are not crossing each other. perhaps it is about looking at things like toilets and stairways, making sure that there is one up, one down, may be a separate entrance or exit without having to touch handles, may be putting a foot push on so handles, may be putting a foot push on so that you can enter those places by using your foot rather than your hand, so specific changes that might be brought in for workplaces that way, but not requiring specific masks or ppe. and of course if you are in retail, for example in shops, again those same sort of rules would apply, perhaps

thatis sort of rules would apply, perhaps that is about erecting perspex or glass screens between you and customers so there is not that face—to—face contact. if you are working in an office as well as all those other things, may be your boss might think about sitting you side by side rather than facing someone if you are at a desk or computer. so i think the advice is to concern yourself with how you get to and from work, avoiding public transport as much as possible, may be walking or cycling if you can, but if you are on public transport then making sure that you do have a face mask to cover your mouth and nose, but nonetheless when you get to work, your employer has a duty to make sure that that workplaces save, and we saw some of the recommendations, the covid safe recommendations brought in by the government yesterday to make sure that workplaces are adequate to get people back to work. thank you. the last one to nick, this one comes from s oliver and coventry. again on

masks, so many questions about masks and face coverings. we are told that it does not prevent you from contracting the coronavirus, although as we have said, the science around that is a little bit confused and contradictory, isn't it? but why, then, to nhs workers wear masks? if it doesn't stop you getting it, why are nhs workers wearing masks? you have to consider that the equipment health workers are given is completely different to the face coverings we are talking about. they often have high grade masks that have respiratory and filtering systems in, they also wear gowns and aprons and gloves and visors to protect them, and that is because they are in close contact with people who are infected, who have a high viral load, so they are at very high risk, and the equipment, the kit that they have, is very high—grade. so it is com pletely is very high—grade. so it is completely different to the face coverings that we are talking about the general public wearing. thank

you, nick triggle, and ben thompson, our health correspondent and business presenter. thank you to both of you for asking our viewers' question's. a five—stage plan for easing the covid—19 lockdown in northern ireland has been published by the stormont executive. unlike plans announced in england and the republic of ireland, northern ireland's blueprint does not include a timetable for moving from one step to the next. first minister arlene foster told the assembly that progression will depend on when certain public health criteria is met. the executive agreed that now is not the time to lift restrictions, and we made that announcement on thursday of last week. we also agreed that the time is right to set out our thinking and explain how we will approach decision—making, what we will take into account and how we see restrictions easing. as of today, we remain subject to

restrictions which no one wants to last a day longer than is absolutely necessary. these are measures we would not contemplate in normal times. we know that they are having a significant effect on people's ability to live their lives the way they and we want. so we wanted to set out for the assembly today our thoughts on how we may move forward when the time is right. just as there was no rule book for putting restrictions in place, there is no set pathway for lifting the restrictions either. countries and jurisdictions are taking some tentative steps to lift restrictions. some have published criteria and principles, and some have outlined a timetable. each are different, and there are good reasons for that. our decisions must be based on what is happening here, taking account of our particular circumstances within the four nations approach. differences and nuances between the areas of the knighted kingdom will emerge. the four nations discussions continue,

and to that end we welcome the announcement by the prime minister on the establishment of a newjoint biosecurity centre to monitor the levels of infection and identify specific actions in regions where spikes occur. the devolved administrations will participate in and contribute to its work. so that was arlene foster. meanwhile in edinburgh, first minister nicola sturgeon gave the latest daily briefing for scotland stressing that lockdown restrictions remain in place in scotland. she said workers were not being encouraged to go back to work and asked scottish employers to follow scottish government advice and not urge workers to return prematurely. right now, for the reasons i have set out, because our progress against this virus is fragile, we must be cautious. we must not prematurely lift these restrictions and risk the virus running out of control, or before too long it won't just be questions about should we or should we not have gone into lockdown more quickly, it will be

why did you lift lockdown early? so i make no apology for being cautious about this, and i would say to employers of all shapes and sizes in all sectors that you should be following in scotland scottish government advice. we are not yet encouraging any businesses that are not open right now or any workers who are not working right now to be backin who are not working right now to be back in operation. of course that will change in the weeks ahead, and we want to get back to as close to normal operation for businesses as quickly as possible, but that has to be done safely, and it has to be donein be done safely, and it has to be done in the right order, so as i said earlier on, we can give workers that we are asking to go back into workplaces confidence that they are as safe as they can be. and i think every worker across the country has every worker across the country has every right to expect that. nicola sturgeon there. we'll shortly bring you this afternoon's government press conference live from downing street. it's being led by the business secretary alok sharma, and he'll be joined by professor stephen powis of nhs england and sarah albion

of the health and safety executive. our chief political correspondent, vicki young is in westminster. i guess quite a lot of questions about the furlough scheme, which has been extended by the chancellor until october. i think there will be questions about that and with business secretary alok sharma, it's about preparing workplaces for people to come back. the advice is still if you can work from home to do that, but they are trying to set out guidelines for people and that may include reconfiguring offices and making sure wherever possible people can be socially distance to, involving a lot of work and consultation. it will not be the workplace as in offices, it will be places like schools where we have seen places like schools where we have seen guidelines as well about reducing class sizes, all the repercussions and all these places will need time to prepare. and also reassure people who are being asked to go back to work that it is as safe as it can be. how they get to

work is another issue. we heard today from the transport secretary about public transport, making the point there will only be room for one in ten normal commuters if they have social distancing in place on trains, buses, tubes and trams. it's a huge logistical issue and he has actually said people should consider walking, cycling and, not something you hear often from cabinet ministers, but if you have access to a car then you should consider driving because that reduces your contact with other people. a lot of issues for people to consider and i think alok sharma will be talking about that as well as health and safety being a major issue here, which is why i think the first time we have someone representing the health and safety executive. while we wait for the briefing to begin, the government's furlough scheme has been estimated today, if you include public sector workers, the government is now paying for about

half the uk workforce, extraordinary figures. here comes alok sharma. the start of the briefing with business secretary alok sharma with professor stephen powis and sarah albion from the health and safety executive. alok sharma:: i'm joined the health and safety executive. alok sharma:: i'mjoined by professor stephen powis and sarah albion. first i want to update you on the latest data from the coronavirus response. 2 million tests for coronavirus have now been carried out in the uk,. 226,463 people have tested positive. that's an increase of 3403 cases since

yesterday. 11,605 people are currently in hospital with coronavirus, up from 11,465 the previous day. sadly, of those tested positive for coronavirus across all settings, 32,692 have now died. that's an increase of 627 fatalities since yesterday. this is of course devastating news for families across the united kingdom. we all need to stay alert and control the virus. i wa nt to stay alert and control the virus. i want to remind people of the details of the next phase of our fight against coronavirus that will be set out this week. we turn to the first slide. in order to monitor our progress, we are establishing a new covid alert level system, with five

levels. each relating to the level of threat posed by the virus. the alert level will be based primarily on the r value and number of coronavirus cases. in turn, that alert level will determine the level of social distancing measures in place. the lower the level, the fewer the measures. the higher the level, the stricter the measures. the social distancing measures remain critical in our efforts to virus. throughout the period of lockdown we started on march 23, we have been at level four. meaning a covid—19 epidemic is in general circulation and transmission is high or rising exponentially. but thanks to the hard work and sacrifices of the british people in this lockdown, you have helped to bring the r level down and we are now in a position to begin moving to level three in

careful steps. as you'll on the next slide. we have set out the first of three steps we will take to carefully modify the measures, gradually ease the lockdown and begin to allow people to return to their way of life, but crucially, whilst avoiding what would be a disastrous second peak that overwhelms the nhs. after each step, we will closely monitor the impact of that step on the r and the number of that step on the r and the number of infections and all the available data, and we will only take the next step is safe to do so. step one, from this going back to work. you can now spend time outdoors and exercise as often as you like. outside, provided you stay two metres apart. the second step, from

june one, at the earliest, as long as the data allows, we aim to allow primary schools to reopen for some pupils in smaller class sizes. nonessential retail to start to reopen where and when it is safe to do so. cultural and sporting events to ta ke do so. cultural and sporting events to take place behind closed doors without crowds. and then step three, no earlier than july four, and again, if only the data says it is safe, we aim to allow more businesses and premises to open, including potentially those offering personal care such as leisure facilities, public places and places of worship. many of these businesses will need to operate in new ways to ensure they are safe, and we will work with these sectors on how to do this. as you'll see from slide

three, having ta ken this. as you'll see from slide three, having taken the first step in carefully adjusting some of the measures and our advice to people on what to do, we have also updated our messaging. we are now asking people to stay alert, control the virus people should stay at home if they can. if you go out, stay two metres apart where possible. wash your hands regularly. wearing a face covering in an enclosed space where it is difficult to be socially distant, for example in some shops and on public transport. if you or anyone in your household has symptoms then you all need to

self—isolate. as slide for shows, if eve ryo ne self—isolate. as slide for shows, if everyone stays alert, and follows the rules, we can control coronavirus by keeping the r down and reducing the number of infections. that is how we can continue to save lives and livelihoods as we begin as a nation to recover from coronavirus. livelihoods as we begin as a nation to recoverfrom coronavirus. to underpin this in the workplace, we have published new covid—19 secure guidance on working safely, available to uk employers across eight work settings which are allowed to be open and where employees cannot work from home. this also includes guidance for shops, which we believe may be in a position to begin a phased reopening at the earliest from the 1st of june. firms, unions, industry bodies and the devolved administrations have all fed into this guidance to give businesses and their employees

the confidence they need to work safely. i believe we have reached a consensus in doing that. we have also worked with public health england and the health and safety executive to develop best practice on the safest ways of working across the economy. the guidelines outlined practical steps for employers to take, including carrying out a covid—19 risk assessment, in consultation with employees and trade unions. a downloadable notice is included in the documents which employers should display in their workplace to show employees, customers and other visitors that they have followed the guidance. we have also provided practical steps for employers to consider, such as putting up barriers and screens in shared spaces, creating fixed teams or partnering to minimise the number of people in contact with one another, and frequent cleaning of work areas and equipment between uses to reduce transmission. to

support employers and employees through this, the government has made available up to an extra £14 million for the health and safety executive, equivalent to an increase of 10% of their budget. this is for extra call centre employees, inspectors and equipment if needed. we also know how important the job retention scheme has been in helping businesses through this difficult time. and today, the chancellor has announced a four month extension of the scheme to help provide certainty to businesses. to date, 7.5 million jobs have been furloughed, protecting livelihoods across the nation. until the end ofjuly there will be no changes to the scheme. from august to october, the scheme will continue for all sectors and regions of the uk, but with greater flexibility to support the transition back to work. employers currently using the scheme will be

able to bring employees back part—time. as the economy reopens, we will ask firms to start sharing with government the cost of paying peoples salaries. to be clear, the same level of support of 80% of people's current salary, up to £2500, will continue to be met, but through a shared effort between employers and government. we will set out more details on the changes before the end of the month. throughout this pandemic, i have been struck by the way people have looked out for one another. these measures are produced in that spirit. to employers i say, use the support and guidance to know you are doing the right thing and work with your unions and workers to keep each other safe. and to workers i say, we are looking out for you. we want you to feel confident that you are financially supported and returning

toa financially supported and returning to a safe workplace. because in this time, like no other, we all need to work together safely as we rebuild our economy. thank you. steve, can you go through the rest of the daily slides. thank you, secretary of state. good afternoon. it is critical we will continue to comply with the rules around social distancing as we move into the next phase. the benefits of doing that have been clear and are shown in the data slides i will present this afternoon in an updated format, to the format you have previously seen. the first slide looks at social distancing and how compliance with those rules has been undertaken by the public. the chart, dated from the public. the chart, dated from the department for transport, shows

data reflecting the use of transport, both public and private. as you can see, as you have seen before, we are still seeing reduced levels of usage, particularly on public transport. in this slide also is some data from the office for national statistics opinions and lifestyle survey, this data taken from the latter half of april showing that 44% of employed adults we re showing that 44% of employed adults were working from home compared to 1296 were working from home compared to 12% last year. 82% of adults only left their home for permitted reasons if at all. and 92% of adults avoided contact with vulnerable people, so a high level of compliance with social distancing rules and going forward it is critical that we continue to comply with social distancing rules that we are asked to comply with. the next slide is data on testing. and new cases within the uk. the top chart

shows daily tests, which has increased over the last few weeks towards capacity above 100,000. and the daily confirmed cases shows the number of positive cases that are being detected in that testing programme. as i have said before, the number of daily confirmed cases is remaining static, and remains good news in the context of increased capacity and an increased number of tests and suggests we are seeing a stable level, or a reduced level in the proportion of confirmed cases as respects to testing. the next slide shows data on deaths. of course, every death is a great tragedy and my heart goes out to the friends and family and loved ones of those who have died. this shows daily deaths in all settings of those who have tested positive. the key thing here is to look at the

seven day rolling average. the data varies from day to day, particularly as we come out of weekends where there is a reporting lag. you can see on the seven day reporting average, the number of daily deaths is reducing. the next slide is data from the office for national statistics, and this shows deaths were coronavirus was confirmed or suspected, so this is not just cases was confirmed or suspected, so this is notjust cases where a test has been positive. this is also inclusive of people where, in the death registration process, a suspicion of covid—19 has been included in the registration. this is the very latest data i think that was published today. there is a lag on it, it goes up to the 1st of may. but this again shows the additional deaths that can be included when you look at suspected cases and notjust

test confirmed cases. and in the bottom chart, you can see how that is changing over time in the ons data. and you can see that in the settings of hospitals in particular and now in care homes, we are seeing and now in care homes, we are seeing a reduced number of deaths, a falling number of deaths that are either confirmed by positive testing or suspected and noted in the death certificate. in the next slide, we are now moving on hospital data. so this is data in the top chart from nhs england, and in the bottom chart from all four nations, and this is showing the estimated admissions with coronavirus into english hospitals. you can see in the top chart that that number has been declining since the middle of april, and again that is a reflection on the fact that we are all complying with those social distancing measures. and that in turn is translating into a fall in the most

critically ill patients, those individuals who unfortunately require care in our critical care facilities, and you can see that in all four nations at the bottom chart, the proportion of patients in critical care has been reducing, and that trend is reducing quite consistently now over time, and that is also reflected in the absolute numbers of patients in critical care beds with covid—19. and then finally, in the next slide, broken down into countries and regions of england, this is the number of people in hospital with covid—19. so, currently 11,605, that is a reduction from over 13,000, reduction from over 13,000, reduction of 2000 in the last week. that reduction has been most marked in london, but it is also now occurring in other regions in england and in the other uk devolved

administrations. so again, this reflects the success of the social distancing measures and all our compliance with those measures, and in order to ensure that these trends continue to be downwards both in hospital admissions and in deaths, it is critical that in the various phases of coronavirus, we comply with those social distancing instructions that we've all been given. thank you. lets move to the questions. i think the first question from the public is from hannah. i would like to know if the uk government have considered universal income for uk residents of working age. considering that the furlough has cost so much, is considering something that is not means tested at least been discussed, i did it on the cards as a future solution? thank you,

hannah. there is an enormous amount of support that the government is providing to businesses and individuals. earlier today the chancellor of course announced an extension of the furlough scheme, and that will provide a huge amount of reassurance. i think what is very important in the way that we provide support particularly more widely in the welfare system is that we target it at people, and universal basic income is an issue that has been tested in other countries and hasn't been taken forward. the next question is from alan in a newcastle. allen, do we have your question? he asks, after already surviving intensive care and ventilation from covid—19, i ask what plans does the government have for clinically vulnerable members of the population once the 12 shielding weeks have ended on the 15th of june. the first thing to say is that

we need to do everything we can to support individuals, and we have set out the measures that we require for people who are shielding and indeed in the workplace guidance we have produced we have also looked at vulnerable groups, but i wonder whether, stephen, you might want to ta ke whether, stephen, you might want to take this question further. the first thing is to say how pleased i am, allen, that fortunately you appear to have caught covid—19 but you have got through hospital and intensive care and ventilation, and i'm sure you will be grateful to all the nhs staff who managed to through that illness, and i think it is particularly important to recognise their contribution, especially today, because today is the international day of the nurse, the 200th anniversary of florence nightingale, and i think it is a really important day for us to recognise all the work our nursing collea g u es recognise all the work our nursing colleagues have done to manage you and all the patients who have come

through our nhs facilities in needing care because they have caught covid—19. in terms of going forward , caught covid—19. in terms of going forward, as you know, we have asked particular groups in our population who are at highest risk from coronavirus, so that is in particular those with conditions that put them at risk, so people with cancer, people with organ transplants, because they have drugs that suppress the immune system, people with severe lung conditions such as cystic fibrosis. so for that group that we are shielding, and have asked for 12 weeks to stay at home and avoid all possible contact, i think it has been really important that during the peak of this virus in april, that we have protected those particularly vulnerable members of the population. we will

need to continue doing that as we get through the next few weeks. i think clearly that will need to be kept under review, but it is important to say that we are not through this yet. the virus is still circulating. it is still reducing the population. the r number is still below one and we intend to keep it that way, but while it is still in the community, those at highest risk are still vulnerable, and we would all want to make sure that we do everything we possibly can to protect them. so it is very difficult to predict what will happen over the next few months, but i think the key thing is that while the virus is still circulating, we all have a duty to ensure that we do all have a duty to ensure that we do all we can to keep those at highest risk safe from this virus. thank you, stephen. and just to add, alan, i know it will be difficult for many people who are being shielded are not seeing members of their family, it is difficult. but this is about protecting them and ultimately about

saving lives. i think we will move to the journalists' question's. simonjack from to the journalists' question's. simon jack from the bbc. to the journalists' question's. simonjack from the bbc. simon, we can't hear you. you may be on mute. as business secretary, you know that some businesses simply cannot operate economically viable under social distancing rules, for example hospitality. many of them are protecting zero income this year. you are asking businesses to start to contribute towards the furlough costs from july. what happens if they can't? what i would say is firstly the furlough scheme extension has been welcomed by businesses, by employer organisations and trade unions, and that has given people reassurance that has given people reassurance that they are going to be secure financially. it will have been eight months from march until october where we have provided that

security, and that has been absolutely the right thing to do. the chancellor has said he will set out more details later in the month on this issue, but for now, what businesses will be very pleased with those that they have got certainty, which is something i know they have been looking for, and in all the conversations i have had, i know they have welcomed this change. would you like a follow—up?m they have welcomed this change. would you like a follow-up? it is an enormous intervention, probably the largest single intervention the government has engaged in. you are paying the wages of over 7 million people. the government has conceded that not everyjob can be saved, and that not everyjob can be saved, and thatis that not everyjob can be saved, and that is true of the 7.5 millionjobs here. do you acknowledge that there are hundreds of thousands, potentially over a million, people who are effectively now unemployed butjust don't realise it yet?|j butjust don't realise it yet?” think it will depend on the support they are providing overall and how quickly we can come out of this particular situation. the reality is the reason we have provided the support, and so we are talking about

the grant schemes that have been operating, over £9 billion now paid out, the support that is provided through the bounce back loans, through the bounce back loans, through the bounce back loans, through the other extensions and loa ns through the other extensions and loans that have been put in place. the reason we have done all of that is precisely so that we can keep people in roles in their workplace so that when we come out the other side, we are able to bounce back. of course, as the chancellor has also acknowledged, we are not going to be able to protect every single job, but by every international comparison, the fact that we are supporting 7.5 million people with the furlough scheme should be something that should be universally welcomed. thank you, simon. i think we moved to paul brandt, itv. business secretary, iwant i think we moved to paul brandt, itv. business secretary, i want to ask you about care homes, most of which you will be aware of businesses and therefore do fall underyour remit. businesses and therefore do fall under your remit. they are telling us tonight that many are on the brink of closure, one is closing its

doors this evening because of the financial crisis of covid—19. care homes are saying not enough funding is getting to them, so what more can you do to help? thank you for that question, paul. ithink you do to help? thank you for that question, paul. i think it is a difficult time for business. i com pletely difficult time for business. i completely understand that, and every day, i talk to businesses. i talk to business organisations. and we are listening very hard, and we are providing support. the chancellor today has announced the extension to the furlough scheme which will help all businesses. it will help care homes. and indeed you have also seen the increase in terms of the loans that have been provided, so i can give you some statistics. in terms of the bounce back loans scheme, the accumulated value is over £8 billion, the coronavirus business interruption loa n coronavirus business interruption loan scheme over 6 billion. so there is support that we are providing, and we will continue to do that. and what i would recommend to any business is to have a discussion

with their banks and see whether they are going to be eligible for they are going to be eligible for the support that we have provided. many of the schemes you mention aren't really relevant to care homes. they don't need to furlough their stuff, they need staff more than ever, and it is not as if business is being interrupted by covid—19. if anything they are just desperately trying to get through this pandemic, they are busier than ever. so are there any extra measures that the government will be coming up with specifically for care homes to help make sure they don't" white i think what we're doing in of supporting care homes. we are providing mobile testing to support staff and those who are in the care homes and we will continue to do that, and of course we keep all of our policy is under review, but what i would say to you again is that if you look at the measure of support that we have provided to business by any international comparison, it really is very, very favourable. thank you very much for that. let's

move to ben kentish at lbc. ben. good afternoon. secretary of state, the mortality rate for people in their 50s is more than 20 times higher than that of people in their 20s, yet when it comes to the advice you have issued about going back to work tomorrow, it applies the same to everyone under the age of 70. why, despite the very different risks, have you taken a blanket approach? and are you asking employers to take into account in conjunction with workers at those sorts of risk factors like age when deciding who should go back to work and what roles they should be doing? and if i could ask a related question around the statistics, it isjust over a month since government scientists predicted that the death toll in this first wave in the death toll in this first wave in the uk would be somewhere between 7000 and 20,000, and the figures released this morning suggest the excess mortality in that period has surpassed already 50,000. do you think that initial modelling was flawed, and if not, are you able to

say a little bit about why you think that figure is so much higher than that figure is so much higher than that predicted by members of sage la st that predicted by members of sage last month? thank you. thank you, ben. let me take the question on workplaces, and perhaps even you might want to take the second part of the question. in terms of workplaces, absolutely every single death, every mortality that takes place, whether it is in the workplace or elsewhere, is com pletely workplace or elsewhere, is completely something that we would definitely, absolutely not want to happen. it is a tragedy. but what i would say to you is that that is precisely why we have worked to produce the workplace guidance that we have done, and we have done that through a process of consensus. we have talked to over 250 stakeholders as part of that process, and that has involve the devolved administrations, the unions, workers, business representatives, businesses, and we have come up with a set of proposals which is a framework to support businesses across the uk. it is absolutely the

case that absolutely every single workplace has a duty to keep their employees are safe, and that is why we have made it very clear that we wa nt we have made it very clear that we want people to undertake covid—19 risk assessments and to make sure they involve their employees as part of that process, and to involve unions if they are unionised. and it is also the case that, and i might ask sarah to come in on this point, that if an employee feels unsafe, they should talk to their employer, and if that doesn't produce a result, they should of course contact the health and safety executive or indeed their local authority. and we have made sure that we are providing additional funding to the hse for precisely that reason. do you want to take that reason. do you want to take that particular point before we go back to stephen? i think the thing to be really aware of in conducting risk assessments is an employer needs to have regard to

the evidence and scientific information given by the government about different cohorts of people and their individual vulnerabilities. the government has described effectively a group of people who are so vulnerable they are in the shielded category and who are in the shielded category and who are asked to remain at home. there are asked to remain at home. there area are asked to remain at home. there are a second category of people, who because of their clinical personal situation are more vulnerable should they contract coronavirus and they have asked to be particularly scrupulous in following social distancing guidelines and other guidelines. in conducting a risk assessment, an employer has to have regard for those things and also then try to ensure those employees it has who are in those more vulnerable categories but are still working, are facilitated to be particularly scrupulous in following all those guidelines. that should form part of their risk assessment. clearly things about different cohorts of people who have different vulnerabilities is under constant review by sage and other scientific advisors. in the event a different

group is discovered to be more vulnerable and those recommendations change then we expect employers to keep that risk assessment up—to—date and make appropriate arrangements for employees. thank you, sarah. steve, do you want to take the second part of the question? on the question of age, as you rightly pointed out, the severity of the way this virus affects people does increase with age, including unfortunately the risk of death. in fa ct, unfortunately the risk of death. in fact, it increases through all ages and is at its highest in our most elderly members of the population, in their80s and elderly members of the population, in their 80s and 90s. it's important to say that it's notjust in their 80s and 90s. it's important to say that it's not just age. in their 80s and 90s. it's important to say that it's notjust age. there are other risk factors as well, including existing medical conditions, obesity, you will have heard us talk about it as well. and unfortunately ethnicity, which we are looking into. i think it's not a single risk factor, as is often the

case, it's looking at those risk factors in the round. that's exactly the reason we have asked the most vulnerable, the highest risk members of the population to shield, as i described in response to alan's question from newcastle. i don't think it's sensible just to simply look at a single risk factor. it's important to look at the range of risk factors. on the question around the predicted number of deaths, in fa ct the predicted number of deaths, in fact the original reasonable worst—case scenario produced by sage predicted around 500,000 deaths, half a million, a very large number that were likely to occur if no action was taken, to try to control the spread of the virus. so the fact the spread of the virus. so the fact the social distancing measures were introduced in march has meant the peak that we saw in april is many thousands of deaths lower than the original reasonable worst—case

scenario. i think that shows how effective those measures have been. clearly going forward what is important is that the measures put in place a void that second peak. that was one of the five tests the government has set. it's by keeping the r number below one, which drives down the rate of new infections in the population and that in turn drives down the number of hospital admissions and deaths. but it was a very large numberof admissions and deaths. but it was a very large number of deaths, 500,000, originally modelled in the original reasonable worst—case scenario. let's move to nigel morris at the i. good afternoon. business secretary, you say to britain's workers, we are looking out for you. could you help me with the scenario ofan could you help me with the scenario of an unscrupulous employer dragging staff back work before their

workplaces are truly safe. under those circumstances do workers have the right to receive some support in terms of wage subsidies from the government? and i also have a question for professor stephen powis, the nhs guidelines set out la st powis, the nhs guidelines set out last month relating to relatives being there at the death of loved ones, they are pretty vague. it is basically left to individual trusts to decide. shouldn't this area be revisited to give close relatives a guaranteed chance to say goodbye to their loved ones under these circumstances? nigel, thank you. employers, as i have said, have a duty to keep employees safe in the workplace. that is absolutely enshrined in law. of course, if someone enshrined in law. of course, if someone feels their workplace is not

safe, they have to take that up with their employer. and if they don't feel they are getting any traction there then they absolutely should get in touch with the health and safety executive or local authority. in the guidance we have produced, we have set out how they can get in touch with the health and safety executive either by e—mail or over the phone. and the hse will absolutely take action. i will ask sarah to comment further, but that will include spot checks on employers as well. i have been conducting a lot of discussions in preparation for this guidance, and it has struck me, the amount of employers who are still open who have people coming into the workplace, and they are working incredibly collaboratively with trade unions and employees to keep employees safe. i think it will be a very small number of workplaces where people might feel like that, but of course if they do then they

can but of course if they do then they ca n follow but of course if they do then they can follow through and action will be taken. sarah? as you say, secretary of state, i think it's important employees do try to solve things with their employer if they possibly can but we absolutely recognise there will be some employers who do not do the right thing or don't know what the right thing or don't know what the right thing to do is. and we are absolutely there if you want to contact us to make a complaint. people have been contacting us already because many businesses have been working throughout this period of lockdown and our experience so far is that it is rather more that employers haven't understood the right thing to do than they are deliberately trying to do the wrong thing. in the vast majority of cases, when our inspectors have got involved, employers have been only too willing to do the right thing and we have been following up every time an employer has told us they made changes, improving the workplace, not only with the employer to show us what they have done, but with the original

complainant to check they are now satisfied their employer has done the right thing. in the absolute vast majority of those cases, employers have made the right decision, have done the right thing, to the satisfaction of their employees. there are a small number of cases where we continue to pursue that further and we will certainly ta ke that further and we will certainly take enforcement action if required. thank you, nigel. i understand how ha rd thank you, nigel. i understand how hard and heartbreaking it is for relatives who are not able to be with their loved ones at the time of death. i can't imagine how hard that is. as you rightly say, we issued guidance a numberof is. as you rightly say, we issued guidance a number of weeks ago as we we nt guidance a number of weeks ago as we went into this epidemic to restrict visitors to hospitals. i think it was important that that was done because really important we protect everybody from this infection, particularly as more and more people we re particularly as more and more people were coming into hospital. of course it is right local organisations have some discretion in certain

circumstances. we can't produce guidance that fits all circumstances in all situations, and even within a hospital there will be areas which are harderto hospital there will be areas which are harder to allow people into than other areas. i am sure that guidance will evolve over time as we come out from the peak and we get into lower rates of infection within hospitals, but what i can say is that for all our nhs staff, they will find this ha rd our nhs staff, they will find this hard too. they will absolutely want to relatives as much as possible to be with loved ones. and i am sure going forward local organisations will be thinking about how within the guidance they can do as much as possible for relatives. thank you, nigel, for your questions. we now turn to alex mirallas at bloomberg. secretary of state, thank you. you have mentioned several times you are working closely with unions. your

government now needs the goodwill of those unions to encourage people back to work. as a gesture of good faith, would you drop a commitment on your manifesto to restrict the actions of unions. a second question for sarah albion, you mentioned enforcement on employers. what penalties are at your disposal if employers don't comply with the requirements to carry out a risk assessment and don't make their workplaces safe? thank you, alex. what we are focused on right now is working collaboratively across the piece. whether it is with unions or employers or employees to provide support that families, businesses needin support that families, businesses need in this country, so they can be ina need in this country, so they can be in a position where they can bounce back and get back to normality. that work will continue, and as i said in terms of my own interactions with unions, i have had regular dialogue and have seen the response they have provided both to the workplace

guidance and to the job retention scheme. this is a collaborative effort and we will continue to take this as a collaborative effort. as we look to produce safer work environments for other workplaces which are not currently open, my commitment is very clear, that i wa nt to commitment is very clear, that i want to continue to work with all parties and that absolutely includes unions as well. steve?” parties and that absolutely includes unions as well. steve? i don't have anything to add. i will take the second question. there are a range of different penalties that are capable of being taken. the inspectors can require businesses to do certain things, enforcement notices, requiring them to take particular kinds of action. in the most extreme circumstances, if there isa most extreme circumstances, if there is a risk of serious injury to an individual employee, they can issue a notice which prohibits certain activities taking place. and breach of those kinds of enforcement notices is essentially a criminal offence and we can prosecute people

who fail to do the right thing. alex, did you have a follow—up? secretary of state, does the manifesto pledge to crack down on the powers of the unions stay in place? as i have said, what i'm focused on right now is making sure we get through this particular pandemic and make sure we provide support and work collaboratively. frankly, that is across the piece. all colleagues in government are doing that. the prime minister, the first secretary, absolutely everyone is focused on working together. let me give that commitment, i will sit and do that with the trade unions. thank you. the final question is from matthew lodge at the lincolnshire life and eco. the restriction of lockdown restrictions

allows people to drive to the beach. many people on the lincolnshire coast have told us they are worried about this guidance and that it will lead to an influx of visitors exposing them to a greater risk of infection. they will also see minimum economic benefit because hospitality, tourist and accommodation businesses will largely remain closed. firstly, what is the message to people who plan to travel to coastal areas, and to the residents of those areas who fear they will be exposed to a greater risk? secondly, can the panel give a clearer indication of when hospitality businesses in tourist areas might be able to reopen and whether there will be additional support provided to them, whether this is before the lockdown is over or after they are back up and running? thank you for the question, matthew. as the prime minister said, we are taking baby steps rather than giant strides in terms of the way we go forward. we are being cautious. what we have said to people is they are now able to travel, but we have

also made it clear this is not about going and staying somewhere overnight. we have also been very clear about how they should interact with people outside their household as well. what i would say in terms of the hospitality sector, i know this is actually very difficult for hospitality, leisure and parts of the retail sector, this is very difficult. that's why one of the first things we did was provide a one year rates holiday. we have also made sure we are providing support through grants, more than £9 billion of grant support has gone out to small businesses. and we will continue to do and have a look and see how we support businesses. but we have to look at the full measure of interventions we have put in place. as i say once again, by international comparisons, it's incredibly favourable. in terms of when we open hospitality businesses,

which i think is the point you were making, ithink which i think is the point you were making, i think what we all understand is that we absolutely wa nt to understand is that we absolutely want to avoid a second peak. people across our country, in lincolnshire and across the country, have worked incredibly hard to make sure we suppress the r factor. that is so vital and i think people understand that across the country of course it is very difficult for businesses and for individuals. but people do recognise we need to continue to do that and i am confident people will do that. and if we are able to do that then of course we will move to a phase where we are able to open some of those businesses. but i think the worst possible thing for business would be right now in terms of confidence and future openings, is if we allow the r factor to rise and asa is if we allow the r factor to rise and as a result of that we had a second peak. what i would say in conclusion is that we know it is difficult but that's why we are providing support, that's why the

chancellor has brought forward the support he has done and i will continue to talk to businesses in the hospitality and leisure sectors as we go forward and see whether we can try to provide and make sure they are getting the right level of support in terms of schemes we have in place and ready. i don't know whether steve wanted to mention the r factor and the science behind it. i have mentioned before that in all parts of the country it is important that the compliance with social distancing rules in whatever phase we are in is complied with to make sure that the transmission rate is kept low and is not rising, because if it does rise above one for a sustained period of time, it will put pressure on the health service. i know the health services in lincolnshire, and i know the particular challenge of health services in a rural and spread out

community. pilgrim hospital in boston not so long ago, and i talk to staff there, and under normal circumstances, the particular challenges they have a health care. so it is critical that we keep this virus under control. and finally to pay tribute to all the health and ca re pay tribute to all the health and care staff in lincolnshire who have been doing a magnificentjob in very challenging circumstances. they have done an absolutely wonderfuljob, and it is all our responsibilities in keeping the r below one to make sure that they continue to do that great work and not come under increased pressure. well, thank you all very much. we have come to the end of this press conference, and i cani end of this press conference, and i can ijust end of this press conference, and i can i just reiterate end of this press conference, and i can ijust reiterate once again, thank you for everything that the british public is doing to make sure that we suppress this virus. and the key m essa g e that we suppress this virus. and the key message going forward is, stay alert, control the virus, save

lives. thank you. studio: there we are. that daily briefing from downing street coming to an end. let's just look at the key points. the key points, that the uk death toll has risen by 627 to 32,692. those are the latest figures from the department of health. alok sharma also said that england would be able to move to level three of the new alert system and careful steps, referring there to measures announced by the prime minister on sunday. the government confirmed that it has once more failed to hit its daily target for 100,000 covid—19 tests. a total of 85,293 tests were carried out yesterday. alok sharma urged bosses to work with employees and unions to develop safe ways of reopening following the lockdown. he added that the extension of the furlough scheme to

the end of october gives business certainty. and nhs england medical director stephen parris has said that the number of covid—19 deaths is continuing to fall, but he did add that it was critical that people continue to follow the social distancing guidelines. our chief political correspondent vicki young is in westminster. a lot of talk about the workplace, people returning to the workplace, and also the extension of the furlough scheme, alok sharma saying it brings more certainty, although he did say that we cannot protect everyjob. that is right. this is the week where people are being encouraged to go back to work if they can. the main message is still that if you can work from home, you should do that wherever possible, but of course they are saying to companies you have now got to start looking at your workplace to make sure that you can make it safe for workers, and what alok sharma said was that he wanted people to feel that they were confident and

financially supported, that is the furlough scheme and the fact that from august some people can go back pa rt from august some people can go back part time but still receive 80% of their salary, but also returning to a safe workplace. and this is going to be absolutely crucial. he talked there about working with the unions, there about working with the unions, the tuc yesterday did say they felt it was a good first step, some of the measures put out as advice, but it is going to be an ongoing issue as people return to the workplace, and we have already heard from some of the teaching unions are very concerned about schools in what will happen there if by the 1st ofjune some of the people start to go back. there are all sorts of things companies can do to do with social distancing and extra cleaning, even putting up barriers so that if people have to sit close to each other, there is some kind of protection. but it will mean people working together, and that is what alok sharma has said, that they will bea alok sharma has said, that they will be a consensus, and they have managed to come together and try to work through some of these issues, but it is going to be a problem, and people getting to work will be an issue as well, and there is more

guidance on all of that, but that is the main emphasis for ministers at this point, really preparing people and preparing workplaces for small steps, as he said, to opening up the workplace. just as we mention the testing figures, 85,000. that 100,000 tests a day was what matt hancock, the health secretary, set great store by. he has been saying that we have pulled up level with germany, we are doing better than south korea. but the government does keep failing to hit that 100,000 ude mark. we have headed couple of times, and in terms of the politics of it, they did hit it on the deadline that matt hancock himself had set. there was a lot of talk about the fact that it includes tests that are posted to people's homes, there were a lot of those on that particular day. it is not the time that the test is processed. now, they are in a much better place than they were a few weeks ago, but testing is going to be absolutely crucial because the next thing we

are going to be looking at is that track and trace, and that is going to involve again a huge logistical exercise, there is an nhs app which needs to work at which they were hoping to roll out from the middle of this month. they have to recruit people to do all of that as well, so this is going to be a big important factor in terms of trying to ease more of those lockdown measures, and they really need it to be working and to be working effectively. ok, vicki, thank you very much indeed. let's also talk to our health correspondent, nick triggle. it was announced there that the uk death toll has risen by 627. just put that into a little context for us today. well, it means that the total number of deaths has gone above 32,600 since the epidemic started, but what we do know is that hospital deaths have peaked, and have been falling for the past month, and they showed

in the slides early on in the press briefing, figures for care homes, which suggests that they may also have peaked and are slowly coming down. and of course the government has struggled to contain the outbreaks in care homes. it says it has put in more testing, provided staff with personal protective equipment, and it seems that that mayjust be starting to help, and those deaths are beginning to come down. let's also talk about the app, test and trace app which is trialled on the isle of wight. matt hancock, the health secretary, talked about that the other day. what is going on with those trials? do we know how successful they are and when it might be rolled out across the whole country? officials have said they are going well, but we haven't got any results or data from them. as vicki mentioned, the track and trace strategy is due to roll out nationwide in the middle of may, and thatis nationwide in the middle of may, and that is going to be crucial. we had the business secretary and stephen

powis, the nhs england medical director, talk about the importance of suppressing the virus. the r number, the average number of people a person passes on to, is now below one, and that is crucial, but we haven't got a lot of wiggle room. it is probably between 0.5 and 0.9, so the ability to test a patients quickly, get the result back and chase up their contacts and isolate them, that will be vital if we want to continue easing restrictions and moving onto the next at the prime minister set out on monday at the weekend. and the same question i was putting to vicki about the testing figures, they were putting great store by this 100,000 ude testing target, they have reached that, again, it was 85,000 today. why are they struggling to get to the 100,000 mark? the government says it can only test the people who come forward for testing, and one of the

things we often focus on is the total number of tests, but one of the things behind the scenes is turnaround time. sometimes it has taken three or even four days to get the test results back, and i know the test results back, and i know the testing system, the test are working on this to make that quicker, because that will be crucial. but the 100,000 figure is important. the prime minister has said he wants to get up to 200,000 tests by the end of may, and ensure that we have enough testing and that the system is efficient will be very, very important. briefly, what is the latest on the situation in ca re is the latest on the situation in care homes? care homes are getting more testing done. by the beginning ofjune, all care more testing done. by the beginning of june, all care home more testing done. by the beginning ofjune, all care home residents and staff have been tested. there is an online system to order personal protective equipment. so some of those pressures are beginning to

ease. there are outbreaks in many ca re ease. there are outbreaks in many care homes, but as mentioned, the numbers of people dying in care homes do seem to be coming down. across the uk there was too high —— around 2000, and we have had over 10,000 in care homes since the start of the week, so that has had a devastating impact. nick triggle, our health correspondent. in a moment george alagiah will be here with the bbc news at six, but first, let's get a check on the weather with susan powell. hello. thanks to a big area of high pressure, there is a lot of dry weather to come across the uk through the rest of this week and on into the weekend. it was, though, particularly chilly and windy to start the new week. in the next few days the wind will ease and we notice it gradually

get warmer because this area of high pressure re—orientates itself. we were sitting to the east of it on monday with a blasting northern wind. the high, as it wobbles around later in the period, eventually starts to bring us warm atlantic air and come the weekend our temperatures will hit quite a surge. here we are for the rest of today with a weather front working its way down out of southern scotland into northern england. patchy rain, perhaps even snow for the tops of the pennines. wintry showers for northern scotland, the air coming in is that cold, and we are talking about a frost for scotland, parts of northern england and northern ireland overnight. further south, more cloud around. perhaps a few showers but a milder night across southern england and south wales. a few showers in the south—east first thing. they will tend to clear but the northerly wind will bring more showers into the north—east of england through the day. very cold on the north sea coasts as well and northern scotland still chilly with the chance of the odd shower as well. the best of our sunshine perhaps towards the south—west and probably our top temperatures

here as well, 13, 14 degrees. we are still in the blue on thursday, it becomes a little fainter. on friday, the yellow, the warmer air mass starts to move across the uk and by saturday it's yellow for all areas and our temperatures really start to bolster. thursday, average figures, shall we say, at best. quite a bit of cloud around but in the sunshine actually 15, 16 degrees in the south—west and it could feel pleasantly warm. we should lose that north sea wind so a big difference at 14 for the likes of newcastle and hull. the best of the sunshine on friday, likely first thing. cloud again filling in as the day goes by. temperatures not doing so badly, around average values. perhaps a little bit above towards the south, highs of 16 or 17. but it is come the weekend that we will start to pull in that much warmer air and our temperatures get a significant lift, up to 21 perhaps in london by sunday. lots of dry weather, we could just see a weather front bothering the far north of scotland, some rain for inverness.

today at six: the furlough scheme to support those who cannot work is extended by another four months. the chancellor says he's backing britain's workers — the scheme is supporting more than seven million people. this is a plan that will allow businesses to open, have that certainty, have all that extra support and get as many people back to the jobs that they love. but what about those businesses — like this holiday park — that are teetering on the edge after making no money at all since the lockdown? there are already many staff that are furlougheded whose job is no longer exist, and that is very sad, but it is also very real.