this is bbc news. the latest headlines: a new test designed to check whether people have ever had coronavirus gets the green light. we are keen to get as many as we can

and get them out, primarily to the front line first, nhs and social ca re front line first, nhs and social care and then more widely. this will be, as the prime minister said,. the government will outline plans to provide more support for care homes in england — as senior health figures warn the sector has been neglected during the coronavirus outbreak. healthcare charities warn it could be many months before routine nhs services in england get back to normal. concern in spain about the high number of medical workers who've been exposed to covid—19 — nearly 50,000 health staff are known to have been affected. and the tottenham and england midfielder, dele alli, suffers minorfacial injuries — after being held at knifepoint during a burglary at his home in north london.

good morning and welcome to bbc news. i'm annita mcveigh. in the latest developments on the coronavirus outbreak in the uk, a test which can tell whether you've ever been infected with coronavirus has been approved by health officials in england. the test looks for antibodies in the bloodstream to see whether a person may now have immunity. at the moment, tests can only check whether you are currently infected. it comes amid warnings from three think tanks that re—starting nhs care, including cancer care and routine surgery, could take months due to the effort of reorganising services as well as supplying ppe and extra cleaning. the latest figures for nhs cancer treatment — which will be released today are expected to show a surge in the number of patients waiting to be treated.

meanwhile, the government is expected to set out details today of how it plans to provide more support for care homes in england, where thousands of residents have died with coronavirus. charlotte rose reports. an antibody test has long been seen as an important part of the toolkit for plotting a route out of lockdown. until now, officials had said tests like this shown here have not been sufficiently reliable. but one made by swiss company roche could be the first to offer a serious potential. it means for the first time people can find out if they've had covid—19 and developed the immune response to fight it — particularly important for those on the frontline. meanwhile, the government's being questioned about its response to the epidemic in care homes. it led to this exchange between the prime minister and labour leader yesterday. until the 12th of march,

the government's own official advice was, and i'm quoting from it, "it remains very unlikely that people receiving care in a care home will become infected. does the prime minister accept that the government was too slow? it wasn't true that the advice said that , we brought the lockdown in care homes ahead of the general lockdown. the advice did say infection was unlikely until mid—march but number 10 said mr starmer had quoted it out of context. the government yesterday announced £600 million of new funding to residential homes to stop the spread of infection. it's to purchase protective equipment stop staff rotation and the use of agency carers, to reduce the chance of covid getting into care homes. while some in the care sector believed the cash is coming too late, the government insists it was not forgotten. even prior to that testing, there was a policy whereby an individual who is moving into a care home would be retained, if you like, in safe isolation

within the care home because it was recognised that this was a risk group, so they are all having a test now but they would have been treated in much the same way for quite a few weeks before this. meanwhile, the bbc learned about the increased risk from the virus facing people with a learning disability. this programme has been told by care watchdog for england last month there was a 175% increase in the death rate in the places where they may live compared to the same period last year. nhs england say that data on covid—related deaths in people with learning disabilities will be published this week. on wednesday, the official uk death toll from covid—19 in all settings rose by 49a to 33,186. and it is those workers we will be

thinking of again tonight as the country comes out to clap for carers in an act that has become a ritual. a show of togetherness against a virus which still keeps us apart. charlotte rose, bbc news. let's get more on public health england's approval of an antibody test to find out whether people have been infected with coronavirus in the past. we can talk now to our medical correspondent, fergus walsh. good morning. the issue around an antibody test, first of all, has been about whether it would be reliable or not. there have been various tests looked at but they haven't been reliable enough to use? yes, we need to make a distinction between the finger prick blood test, the once the government bought 3.5 million of and then said they would

be rolled out within days, but then found they were not accurate. this isa found they were not accurate. this is a different test, it involves having a blood draw, so you cannot do it at home and then it is sent off toa do it at home and then it is sent off to a laboratory for a very sophisticated analysis. public health england has approved this, it sent the test to its reference laboratory at porton down in warwickshire and found it was almost 100% accurate. so this test really will tell you if, at some point in the past, you have come across coronavirus and now have antibodies in your blood. now, the next big question i think everybody will want to know the answer to, is a reliable antibody test the same thing, fergus, essentially as a reliable immunity test? well, that is the big question and at the moment, i am afraid i cannot give you a definitive answer. it is likely, it

is likely that if you have antibodies to this and you have a good, strong antibody response and in fact, we are finding in laboratories that some people have stronger and some people are having wea ker stronger and some people are having weaker antibody responses, but if you have antibodies to coronavirus, it probably will give you some protection. whether or not it com pletely protection. whether or not it completely protects you is another thing, and how long that immunity lasts for, is also questionable. but those questions will become clearer in the months ahead. there are lots of la bs in the months ahead. there are lots of labs around the world who are looking into this question of reinfection. it will hopefully give you some level of protection, it could be very important to front line health workers. also, it will help us get a really firm grip on how many people in the uk have had coronavirus. the current estimates are somewhere between 4% uk wide and may be up to 10% in london.

are somewhere between 4% uk wide and may be up to 1096 in london. fergus, in your role as medical correspondent, you have had an antibody test, not this one but a number of weeks back you had an antibody test, what was the process like? it is quite simple, i have a couple of antibody test. the fingerprint ones, they are like a pregnancy test, except it is blood. those tests have improved a lot in terms of accuracy in the last couple of months. and what they tell you is, what they should tell you is whether or not you have antibodies. but they have not been accurate enough at an individual level. but they still have some use at a population level. because even if they are not completely accurate, they are not completely accurate, they will also give a very good indication on a popular ——

population level, how much antibodies is out there. but in some way, the roche test will supersede that because it will give an individual and population level, a clear idea of who has had coronavirus. you say in this new test, the one that has been given approval, blood has to be drawn. so presumably for this test to be rolled out in any meaningful way, the government will need to set up some sort of method to ensure that large numbers of people can have the blood drawn and the tests can be processed and results can get back to them pretty speedily? absolutely, you have seen the problems we have had over the swabbing tests for anti—gents, to tell you if you currently have the infection. that involves a cotton bud at the back of the throat and up your nose, so it doesn't involve any invasive blood

tests. this is more complex, you need a health professional to do it and you cannot do it at home. so getting that set up so that potentially 200,000 people a day could have that, that will take a lot of organising, it really, really will and then lab capacity to process those. we have this promise from borisjohnson we will be moving to 200,000 tests a day, we will have to 200,000 tests a day, we will have to wait and see whether the capacity for that, as you say, in pharmacies 01’ for that, as you say, in pharmacies or where ever for that, as you say, in pharmacies 01’ where ever oui’ set for that, as you say, in pharmacies or where ever our set up to deal with this. fergus, very interesting. thank you for talking to us this morning, fergus walsh, our medical correspondent. lots of questions to explore throughout the day as we look at this antibody test. let's get more from our political correspondent chris mason. this is very interesting, the news of the antibody test on the other big story this morning as the government's response to what is

going on with the pandemic in care homes. what detail are we going to get from the government today about what it is going to do for care homes, both the patients and the staff, chris? good morning, i need to. an announcement of an extra £600 million support for care homes in england. this as there are more questions being asked about the crisis in care homes. the reality that it very much is the front line of the battle in this pandemic right 110w. of the battle in this pandemic right now. questions being asked about decisions being made at the beginning of the pandemic which has made it worse. there was the potential scenario of the nhs being overwhelmed and a lot of people were discharged from nhs beds to ensure there was sufficient capacity for there was sufficient capacity for the anticipated spike in cases. some within the care home sector felt the

nhs will prioritise and care homes we re nhs will prioritise and care homes were not. the nhs saying it is not true there was an attempt to discharge patients when it was known they had the virus into care homes. but there is an acknowledgement there may have been some who are asymptomatic you are not showing symptoms and because of a lack of test at the time, may have ended up ina care test at the time, may have ended up in a care home without any symptoms of covid—19, but with the virus and therefore, spread it to others. but those in the nhs saying that would have been a relatively small number of cases. nonetheless, given pressure from the labour leader, xi keir starmer, the government is facing some sharp questions on this this morning. here is the health minister, edward aga. the pictures from hospitals in italy, and indeed some hospitals in spain, showing the italian health system overwhelmed with people from the community, people from care homes, unable to get in and be treated or being treated

in corridors because their health system has been overwhelmed. one of the key things we did for care home residents and for everyone, was make sure that the nhs always had the capacity, which it has done, to treat people and care for them. chris, given that pressure from the leader of the opposition, which we saw in pmqs yesterday, are we expecting to hit anything more from borisjohnson himself on the care home sector? i think it is a question that will be continued to be put to him. there was the sharp exchange between the two leaders yesterday. sir keir starmer brings a schooled approach to his interrogations, it feels a little like a court room, given the absence of plenty of mps from the chamber and social distancing in parliament. there was an exchange about a particular bit of advice the government was giving back in march. up government was giving back in march. up until mid—march, about whether the care sector was particularly vulnerable. that advice to change

when the evidence changed. it shows we will have a different approach to the scrutiny are boris johnson we will have a different approach to the scrutiny are borisjohnson with sir keir starmer as labour leader than used to be the case. but on the broader question, borisjohnson than used to be the case. but on the broader question, boris johnson made the argument the advice changed when the argument the advice changed when the facts change so i don't think he will be heading to parliament to fulfil sir keir starmer‘s requests that he comes and corrects the record. the questioning around care homes will definitely continue. the government hoping this injection of money announced for england this morning will ensure, for instance, fewer staff work in more than one ca re fewer staff work in more than one care home, reducing one vector of transmission in terms of a member of staff who may be an asymptomatic carrier of the virus, going from one ca re carrier of the virus, going from one care home to another spreading the infection. but as the months roll on the potential for some public enquiry afterwards, the government have not said it will happen, but plenty think it is inevitable. what has happened in care homes will be

central to the work of such an investigation. and on the antibody test, chris, how quickly do you think we might hear some detailfrom the government on how it would aim to deliver these tests in meaningful numbers, asi to deliver these tests in meaningful numbers, as i was discussing with fergus. clearly on the testing regime so far, the government has not been able to deliver the sorts of numbers it has been talking about. now we have a test that has been given approval, a reliable antibody test to show whether somebody has had coronavirus. this could be key to think starting to approach a new normal again, so the government will have to work on delivering these tests? yes, what is striking picking up on your conversation with fergus, there is an acknowledgement within government that previous, potential big moments as far as that previous, potential big moments as faras an that previous, potential big moments as far as an antibody test was concerned in the last few months, turned out to be less than that because they were not reliable. the noises we are hearing from government on the positive side as

regards this swiss pharmaceutical company roche test, thinks it might add up to something. there is negotiation going on between the pharmaceutical company and the governments around cost and scale and clearly, they are big questions. then of course, the ultimate question you put to fergus that we don't have an answer to, is does this amount to immunity? if you have had it are you afforded some immunity? because that is the key thing in determining the extent to which those who have had the virus and recovered, are able to return to and recovered, are able to return to a normal life, so the rest of society can slowly begin that journey as well. chris, thank you very much. chris mason. there's a warning that it could be many months before routine nhs services in england get back to normal. a number of health care charities will tell mps today that more clarity is needed on which services are re—opening and how.

here's our health correspondent, lauren moss. is this the new normal? since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, the royal berkshire hospital has been using artificial intelligence to process brain scans undiagnosed rotations. it's one of the way to mark the nhs is adapting to treat patients faster. but figures to be released are expected to show a significant drop in a&e in england. if you are concerned about a stroke, heart attack or perhaps cancer, do come forward. at the same time, the nhs will be redesigning the way services are offered to keep them safe. some trusts start nonurgent care, there are concerns of a backlog. roxanne had stomach pain for several months but her colonoscopy was postponed in april. i feel very abandoned in a way.

because it is kind of like before the covid—19 situation, it was like, go to your doctor, see the doctor and then you get your appointment. now the appointments are not happening and i am sure there are many people in the same boat as me that are all thinking the same question and all wondering, what is going on? what if it is something sinister? it's estimated urgent cancer referrals have fallen by 70% since the outbreak began, which could have consequences. we need to make more and more people survived cancer through early diagnosis. clearly people are delaying going to their gp and delay in getting into the system, it isn't going to help at all, it's going to make things worse. think tanks including the health foundation safe restoring health services would take many months and coronavirus is still a major threat. services may be reopening now, but for those who have already waited, it will be difficult if the uncertainty lasts any longer. lauren moss, bbc news.

and within the next half hour, nhs england will be revealing its cancer waiting times results for march. that will be the first official indication ofjust how badly cancer diagnosis and treatment is being hit by the pandemic. we'll be talking later to cancer specialist, professor karol sikora, and steven mcintosh, from the cancer charity macmillan, as well as a cancer patient. in spain, the pandemic is being brought under control, but there are concerns about the sheer number of medical workers who've been exposed to the virus. almost 50,000 spanish health staff are known to have been affected — and they now account for one in two new cases being detected in the country. 0ur europe correspondent damian grammaticas reports. in madrid's puerta de hierro hospital, applause, not to thank the medics, but from them. to console the family ofjavier ruiz, a porter, one of two workers here who've

lost their lives to covid—19. in this hospital, 200 out of 5,000 staff have caught the virus. across spain, more than 50 medics have died. two months into this crisis, what's becoming evident in spain is notjust the toll covid—19 has taken on patients, but on medical workers too. spain has started testing them all and is revealing just how many have been infected. when there was such a pressure coming from the people that got infected in the community, they did not test us, but now the whole country is testing, every single one. even if we haven't had any symptoms at all. so now that's why there's a lot of cases being reported. covid—19 patients require close contact. it's why the risks are so high. the line on the floor is how

the doctors try to stay safe. no doctor can cross it without full protection. while they tend to patients, staff in the clean zone pass over what they need. and leaving every room, they disinfect hands. these are procedures that have had to be learned since the outbreak began, and they're followed scrupulously every single time someone comes out of one of the rooms, so there's no contagion spread from the dirty areas over there to the clean ones here. it's helped ensure no intensive care staff are among those who've caught the virus. elsewhere, where it's harder to control things, the risks are even greater. 0scar rodriguez, an emergency doctor, had covid—19. he's one of around 50,000 medical workers in spain to catch it. now back on callouts to old people's homes, he takes the same precautions as the intensive care doctors.

translation: i feel bad. we don't want to be the european champions when it comes to infected medical workers. it's because we have been exposed so much. at another hospital, a protest. medics who believe they've been failed. the black bin bags they had to wear to try to stay protected. this is you? hector castineira says more than 1,000 staff at the hospital caught the virus. his photos include masks issued to medical workers then withdrawn as unsuitable. we are afraid to go to work because we don't know if the mask is good or is fake, or if we are appropriately protected against the virus. back at the puerta de hierro hospital, ordinary wards take the extraordinary precautions too. full safety gear for every covid patient. translation: they make miracles, the staff.

we're here on our own without family. these hands consoled us. we don't have the words to thank them. thanks shared by a grateful nation as spain's medics continue to risk their help to save others. damian grammaticas, bbc news, madrid. the world health organisation is warning that covid—19 may be something that people have to learn to live with and, "may never go away". there are currently more than 100 potential vaccines in development. but the organisation's emergency director says even if one is found to work, it may not be possible to completely eliminate the virus. more lockdown restrictions have been relaxed in new zealand, with the country reporting no new cases of covid—19 for the third day in a row. shops, cafes and restaurants are among the businesses now allowed to reopen, but with strict social distancing.

0ur correspondent shaima khalil says it felt like a "normal day". the country's back in business. we saw traffic flowing as people return to work, they went to shops, to cafes, to gyms even. we saw pictures of parking lots that were filling up as shoppers went to their local shopping malls. i think one of the pictures that really stood out to me was these long queues of people outside hairdressers and barber shops across the country. when was the last time you saw long queues outside a barber's shop? they opened a bang after midnight and they were working through the night serving people who were anxious to get haircuts after weeks in lockdown. but while life is beginning to get back to normal, there are still restrictions, so people can go and visit friends and family, but all social gatherings are still restricted to ten people with the exception of funerals, they are allowed 50 people. sports will be coming back with no

spectators and travellers can travel across the country, but they have to keep a record of where they have been and who they have been in contact with. so really still the advice is social distancing and hygiene measures. don't we all really want a chance to get our haircut don't we all really want a chance to get our hair cut properly. good to see some positive news from new zealand. the lockdown has already had a significant effect on the uk economy, with many people losing theirjobs or unable to find enough work to pay the bills. joining me now is paul sweeney, the former labour mp for glasgow north east — who tweeted yesterday that for the first time since the age of 1a, he has become unemployed. it is good to have you with us today. you described in your tweet as it is a disorientating feeling to be in this position. you were a working mp, you were on angela rainer‘s campaign to be elected as

deputy leader of the labour party. the labour market has ground to a halt, the opportunities are very far and few between. it has been quite disorientating, the expectation was there would be something coming up to do, something useful. but when you are stuck at home all the time with the lockdown, it is very tricky to do that. there is little alternative other than to apply for universal credit. i only serve two yea rs universal credit. i only serve two years as an mp and you don't get a large redundancy package, it is two months salary, and that quickly runs out when you have a mortgage and other ongoing costs. but there is no shame in having to resort to social security, it is therefore everyone regardless of how prestigious people thought they jobs well. regardless of how prestigious people thought theyjobs well. if regardless of how prestigious people thought they jobs well. if they are ina thought they jobs well. if they are in a sticky situation, that is the reality for many people on universal credit. many people like you will

have worked for as long as they have been able to and they may feel awkward, some how about going to the state for help. what is your message to them and go through the process how you found it because you often hear from people who, how you found it because you often hearfrom people who, when how you found it because you often hear from people who, when applying for help, is a complicated process? certainly, there has been some effort to reduce the complexity to an extent. it was a particularly difficult to fill out the form. i am a 31—year—old and i am it literate, but that is not the case for everyone. it was straightforward questions about your employment history, your personal details and bank details and confirming your identification. that was more or less it. now rather than having to book an appointment with a job centre advisor, you have got to sit and wait for someone to phone you back. that is still to happen obviously, only having made the application this week but the

initial phase of doing the online application, i was able to do it within half an hour. the proof is how long it takes to get money to people, hopefully that can be simplified as much as possible. did it feel like a strange experience, to be going through that process, given that is an experience you are going to be sharing right now with many thousands of people? yes, six months i went out as an mp helping people with the department for work and pensions and universal credit and pensions and universal credit and now i find myself having to apply for it myself. it is a bizarre six months, to say the least. but it shows, if you are working class or a middle—class background you rely on your salary to live, so if you don't have your salary, within a couple of months, you will find yourself in difficulties. in the slightly longer term, what are your hopes, your plans? i am just

term, what are your hopes, your plans? i amjust hopeful term, what are your hopes, your plans? i am just hopeful that lockdown, you know, and covid we are able to get a handle on it and put in rigid health measures to track and trace, which has been lacking so far. using universal credit as a way to help the country recover because we have millions of people now signed up to it as a way of putting money into people's pockets and an efficient way for the government to get away from quantitative easing, and get the country fired up and get and get the country fired up and get a handle on the transmission rate and ease the lockdown in time. i hope that is a way of doing it. in the future, for me, like many people i have got many skills to offer and i hope it will pick up in due course and we will have many opportunities ahead of us. i appreciate you sharing your experiences with us, thank you very much, paul sweeney,

former labour mp for glasgow north east. at half past eleven this morning, we will be answering your questions on how an antibody test might work, and what the results would mean for us and how the country tackles the pandemic going forward. we look forward to getting lots of interesting questions from you to be a nswered interesting questions from you to be answered a little later on. right now, let's take a look at the weather forecast with matt taylor. i truly start this morning, temperatures rising quite nicely now, a little bit higher than yesterday. a bit of a breeze in the english channel. for scotland and northern ireland more cloud this afternoon and showers in the north and west of scotland. temperatures

between 11—16, sew up a degree or so on yesterday. 0vernight more cloud around in the north and west of the country, the clearest skies in the south. this is where we will see temperatures drop low enough for a widespread frost later in the morning. northern ireland had its cold est morning. northern ireland had its coldest may night in 43 years last night. nowhere near as chilly. showers continue across scotland, longer spells of rain for shetland and a chilly breeze. elsewhere, the cloud builds up and the temperatures rise.

hello, this is bbc news with annita mcveigh. the headlines... a test to find out whether people have been infected with coronavirus in the past has been approved by health officials in england. the government will outline plans to provide more support for care homes in england as senior health figures warn the sector has been neglected during the coronavirus outbreak. healthcare charities warn it could be many months before routine nhs services in england get back to normal. there's concern in spain about the high number of medical workers who've been exposed to covid—19. nearly 50,000 health staff are known to have been affected. and the tottenham and england midfielder dele alli has spoken of his "horrible experience" after being punched by armed raiders who stole watches and jewellery

from his london home. sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's mike bushell. absolutely horrible. yes, horrendous for him. yes, horrendous for him. england and tottenham midfielder dele alli says he's 0k after being held at knifepoint during a burglary at his home in north london in the early hours of wednesday morning. two men broke into his house, threatening and punching alli, who suffered minor facial injuries. the intruders stole items ofjewellery including watches. now alli has been thanking fans for their support on social media. alli has been back in individual training with spurs at their training ground and the club have offered their support to alli and all those isolating with him. his brother and their respective partners.

his brother and their respective partners. they want anyone with information to come forward and help police with their investigation. the government have labelled their 14—point plan, for elite athletes returning to training as a "milestone" on the road to sport's return. but it warned no—one should be forced back into action. there are two phases, the first, something many premier league clubs such as arsenal, whose training ground we can see from the air here, have been doing already, so allowing athletes to train, as long as they maintain social distancing guidelines. venues also need to be deep cleaned and individuals screened. the next phase will allow closer contact, like tackling. it comes as premier league captains and managers held discussions with their unions on how england's top flight will return safely. june 13th has been earmarked as a potential return date. you don't say we are never going to play again, ever, or when we are able to play and it may be one year, two years, whenever we decide why can't we then just finish the nine games and then start the following season straightaway?

the players have already had three, four, five, six months off, so having played nine games you don't need to have another three or four months of and you can go straight into the next season. with the teams who should be relegated and the teams who should be promoted. and with more and more players heading back to training, could this be what's in store of them? barcelona returned back last week. and they have a strict regime when they arrive. players arrive in masks and then their cars get cleaned down by staff, in full bio—hazard clothing. that is what it could look like at training grounds across the uk. grounds across the uk. and that's all the sport for now. the government has announced a support package for universities that includes the reintroduction of capped student numbers, for the first time since 2015, which could result in students missing out on their first choice places in september. so what could that mean for prospective students? and how are students already at university coping

with the unexpected change to their courses? and what if you are hoping to start university in the autumn but cannot visit for open days. a lot to discuss. a lot to discuss. with me is siri hampapur, a masters student, and izzy moran, who is hoping to go to university in september. i'm alsojoined by diego fanara, the ceo of unibuddy, a website that aims to connect universities to prospective students. good morning to all of you, thank you so much forjoining us. so much to talk about. easy, let's begin with you, an a—level student, but no a—level exams to do. are you hoping that you will be able to actually get on the course, which you are hoping to start in september, which is injournalism. i do maths. maths, sorry. i am is injournalism. i do maths. maths, sorry. iam mixing

is injournalism. i do maths. maths, sorry. i am mixing you up. you are having to study maths. but i got the right university! what prospects do you have right now of getting that place the location that you want?|j think the thing is no one is sure where they stand at all. in terms of achieving my predicted grades, it is achieving my predicted grades, it is a case of you just have to wait and see. i don't think anyone is certain they will get into their first choice any more. and how stressful is that at the moment? i know you would have preferred to do the exams, get into university on merit, on your actual grades? at first it didn't feel too bad because everyone was very stressed about the exams. then they said you don't have to do them and everyone felt a bit more relaxed. then it dawned on everyone

that actually we would be relying on teacher opinions to get grades that we have worked two years for. i think that is really daunting, to know that it will not be my, like, me being tested. and how many universities have you actually been able to visit before the lockdown started ? able to visit before the lockdown started? i was able to visit three out of my five choices, but all the four days, the offer holder days we re four days, the offer holder days were interrupted by lockdown. so, one of the universities, which is my insurance choice, i have not seen in person because i planned on going to visit the offer holder day, but i was not able to go, so i have not seen one was not able to go, so i have not seen one of the universities i accepted the offer for. diego, moving to you, i guess this is where your website comes in. i believe you

can facilitate virtual open days. tell us about that. that is right. that was my experience not long ago. i was that was my experience not long ago. iwasa that was my experience not long ago. i was a prospect coming from switzerland and for logistical constraint i was not able to visit all the campuses i was applying to. i was only relying on digital information, so that is how we came up information, so that is how we came up with unibody. it is to connect current students with staff online and we are launching a new, virtual open day class forum, allowing video streaming as well with chat, so peer to peerand streaming as well with chat, so peer to peer and prospect and current students can chat together to help them make the right choice through this experience. it is essentially stu d e nts this experience. it is essentially students at universities talking to prospective students. what about the opportunity to talk to lecturers to get a virtual tour of the university

site perhaps? can you offer that as well? yes, exactly. the aim of the first was to get real experience from the students that were right now enrolled in those programmes at university that prospects wanted to apply to. but now there is the possibility to add staff profiles on the platform, so lecturers as well as recruitment staff, to help share all of the information about the process and how to enrol. let's get the experience of someone now who is already at university. you are studying journalism. what is your situation at the moment? what has teaching been like since it has moved online? i think my course tutors have tried as much as they can to salvage what we have left of the course. things have moved online, we have had virtual lectures, which have been pretty useful as well. but then as students

we feel like it is not as great as it would have been if it was a face—to—face, so we do feel like we are missing out on that experience. do you feel like you are getting value for money? no, we don't feel like that, unfortunately. we definitely want to try and get some of our tuition fees back because it definitely feels like almost like a bit of a consolation prize, having these online lectures. although they have been very good, it is not what we signed up for. speaking of money, i believe you are in privately rented accommodation, which you still have to pay for presumably? yes, unfortunately i was not able to break out of my contract, so i moved from my london apartment back to my family home because i felt like that was the safer option for me. i asked ifi was the safer option for me. i asked if i could break my contract and maybe get some of my rants back because i paid up front for my

accommodation. they basically said that i could only get four weeks' worth of accommodation credit, which does not help me at all, so that is disappointing. that is a battle that is continuing for you. returning to you, izzy, how worried are you about this cap on the number of students that universities can recruit that the government has allowed them to introduce? do you think that might have an impact on you and whether you can go to university this autumn? what is really scary about thatis autumn? what is really scary about that is obviously there is so much uncertainty about grades that a lot of students... last year i think 50% of students... last year i think 50% of students... last year i think 50% of students got into their first choice university without the grades they required. i think in the event that obviously some people will be under predicted, it is quite scary to know that they have capped the places, so the odds of there being a

space on your course places, so the odds of there being a space on your course for places, so the odds of there being a space on your course for you if you have underachieved by a grade, then it isa have underachieved by a grade, then it is a lot lower now. i think that is quite frightening for a lot of people. that could make a huge difference to the direction of someone's live effectively! diego, are you finding that many students are you finding that many students are questioning their decision about whether or not to start university this autumn is right? they are asking is it worth delaying starting university? are they going to get value for money if they start on an online basis? is that what you are hearing from people visiting your site? yes, there are a lot of unknowns at the moment. the short a nswer unknowns at the moment. the short answer is we don't know yet. we are all adapting on a weekly basis. what we have been able to see on unibody is the finance topic in the conversation is increasing, just

because we are living through a financial crisis as well. now all of the questions about our fees and money become a question from a personal point of view. 0nline learning, is it worth it? going to university is about getting the full package. and also the student experience, going on campus, networking, meeting students, and for international students a new culture. if you are missing out on this experience, you are missing pa rt this experience, you are missing part of the fees of what you are paying. so is it worth it to start in september? either universities doing a good job in trying to put in place as much information as they can for students? 0bviously they can't replicate the physical experience of going to an open day, but are they doing a reasonable job in the circumstances in your view? 0h, in the circumstances in your view? oh, yes. beyond the obvious financial pressure, we have seen a

rapid adaptation to digitising the process. especially with the virtual open days and the welcome days, it was not a question about cancelling them but more adapting to the situation and maybe give a better experience. we have got a partner, like leicester university, that have put such effort into tailoring and personalising their experience that they couldn't have done it any better. for example mixing peer to peer with 360 degrees software for a virtual tour, as well as our collaboration to allow every prospect to talk to different institutions in the uk. we are definitely seeing extraordinary collaboration in the sector at the moment. to bring what is the most

important communication and bring that confidence and trust to students. we must live there, but really interesting to talk to all three of you. good luck to you. i hope you managed to get back to university soon and good luck with getting on the course that you want to be on, izzy. thank you all very much. the department for education has given us a statement. universities are autonomous and can set their own fees up to the maximum level. however, the government has been clear that if universities want to charge full fees, they will have to ensure that good—quality courses are delivered which are fit for purpose and help students progress towards their qualifications. if students are concerned, there is a process in place. they should first raise this with their university.

if their concerns are unresolved, students can contact the office of the independent adjudicator for higher education. on a levels: cancelling this summer's exams was a necessary step to help fight the spread of coronavirus by asking people to stay home, protect the nhs and save lives. despite the difficult circumstances we are facing, 0fqual guidance provides assurance to students, parents and schools that grades awarded this summer will accurately reflect students' abilities and will be as valid this year as any other. some breaking health news. we are getting figures for a&e attendances at hospitals in england, which were down 57% in april, compared with the same month a year ago. that has fallen to the lowest figure on record. that is new nhs data. let me repeat that, a&e attendances at hospitals in england were down 57% in april, compared with the same month a year ago, falling to the lowest figure on record. perhaps not surprising, but still quite a stark

number two here. well, we're also expecting figures this morning on how cancer diagnosis and treatment has been affected by the way the covid—19 pandemic has absorbed so much nhs time and resources. with me is professor karol sikora, chief medical officer at rutherford cancer centre. steven mcintosh, director of policy, campaigns & influencing at macmillan cancer support. i'm also joined by mary huckle who is living with treatable but incurable breast cancer and has had her treatment paused due to suspected coronavirus. mary, i will begin with you. thank you all forjoining us. mary, tell us more about how your treatment has been impacted by this pandemic.- the beginning of lockdown i had coronavirus symptoms, which started off with the usual temperature and then a headache and then a few days

after that more symptoms started to surface. so the fact that it was actually quite dangerous for me to carry on with my treatment, oral chemotherapy, my treatment was put on hold basically. so, yes, it was quite worrying, a worrying time. evenif quite worrying, a worrying time. even if you had not had those symptoms, would your treatment still have been put on hold? possibly, possibly because of the risk of contracting the virus. yes, it would probably have been put on hold as well. obviously many people very anxious about going to a hospital setting for treatment. has that been running through your mind? definitely. 0bviously with this pandemic it has just added to my worries, like many other stage iv

cancer patients, i am sure it has gone through their minds as well, it has really added to our concerns and worries. not only do we have to deal with dealing with cancer and all the emotional baggage that comes with it, but also the fact that getting the virus could have disastrous consequences, eventually. of course. turning to steven mackintosh of macmillan cancer support, i am sure what mary has been saying something you have been hearing from cancer patients, contact at macmillan? that is right. i know being diagnosed with cancer can be the most lonely and anxious experience and never more so and anxious experience and never more so than now. people who have got cancer are living in fear of coronavirus infection, they are distraught they cannot see their loved ones and frustrated they cannot live their lives to the fullest. but they are also worried about disruption or changes to their

cancer ca re about disruption or changes to their cancer care and treatment. that demonstrates the message from macmillan, you might be in isolation, you are not alone, so please reach out for support from ourtrainers and please reach out for support from our trainers and nurses on the phone. it also demonstrates the importance of cancer not becoming forgotten in this crisis and government having recovery plans to get cancer services back on track. what would you like to see by way of detailfrom the what would you like to see by way of detail from the nhs, what would you like to see by way of detailfrom the nhs, from the government, to get that message out to people that it is safe to come to hospitals, two hubs that are dealing with cancer, to try to be tested or to continue with treatment? firstly, we have already seen from figure is a really worrying drop in the number of people going through gp referrals with suspected symptoms. we want to send out a clear message, if you have a lamp or a bomb or other cancer symptoms, you should not

hesitate, you should not think you are not a priority and go to your gp to get those symptoms checked out. it is important every decision about treatment and care is made with theirgps and treatment and care is made with their gps and individual conversations with every individual. we should not be seeing blanket cancellations of essential care in treatment in the nhs and we need recovery plans to get services back on track with the testing, the beds, the staffing and the protective equipment to enable that to happen. we need extra capacity to catch up on any delay or disruption in treatment, which is what cancer patients are so worried about.|j treatment, which is what cancer patients are so worried about. i am going to turn out to professor karol sikora. just as i turn to you i am seeing some information dropping on our wires about the impact on cancer

services of this pandemic. i am just reading through this, try to pick out the key lines. the key results for outpatient services and first definitive treatments show that in england during the period of the month of march 92% of people were seen month of march 92% of people were seen by a specialist within two weeks of an urgent gp referral for suspected cancer. that is down 0.7% from the last statistic. 86.1% of people urgently referred for breast cancer symptoms were seen people urgently referred for breast cancer symptoms were seen within two weeks. i am just trying to get through the rest of this detail. there is a lot of information to try to trawl through to pick up the headlines, but we have seen that a&e attendance is down by more than 50%. are you fully expecting for there to bea similar are you fully expecting for there to be a similar impact on cancer

services? there will be. ijust go down to the pathology lab and asked my colleagues how many biopsies they have seen and that is the diagnosis where they get a piece of tissue where they get a piece of tissue where they get a piece of tissue where the cancer is, and it is right down. in one unit it is less than 8% than what they normally get in april. april has been the worst month. things are picking up again. the nhs has got a great scheme of 19 cancer hubs to move things forward. the problem is, if it is only six weeks of delay, people need not worry too much, including the lady that told us her story. it is emotionally fraught, but you should not get a poor outlook. that is one of the things i wanted to ask, what length of delay in treatment tra nslates length of delay in treatment translates into a significantly worse prognosis? in litigation when people sue the system because they have had delays in cancer diagnosis, six months is accepted as something

you have to pay out for. i guess thatis you have to pay out for. i guess that is the sort of time that really significantly affects it. three months is the limit of acceptability. we have got another three orfour acceptability. we have got another three or four weeks to get everything up and running. then of course there will be a surge of patients and everybody will be wanting radiotherapy and chemotherapy, that comes after surgery. chemotherapy, that comes after surgery. it is a matter of moving it and getting a system in place. the nhs is fully aware of that and there are ways to mitigate the future, for example, using the independent sector, looking at giving oral chemotherapy instead of intravenous chemotherapy. we need to know the capacity in the system to motor forward and we are preparing for it now. the floodgates will open soon andi now. the floodgates will open soon and i suspect the majority of new cancer patients will start coming through in june and july cancer patients will start coming through injune and july and we have to be prepared for that. just as we did so well with covid—19, we have got to do the same for cancer, heart

disease, and all the other problems we have got. is the easing of the lockdown at this time right in your opinion if it gives people some confidence that they can go out a little bit more and perhaps go and see their gp or go to hospital appointments, for example? people are appointments, for example? people a re really appointments, for example? people are really frightened. you cannot underestimate how frightened people are. the gp surgery around here looks like fort knox. you have to go in and it is barricaded off. 0lder people especially find it very intimidating. they are not used to phone consultations, certainly not skype consultations, so we have got to get moving somehow. if you know someone to get moving somehow. if you know someone who is worried about a symptom, make sure they at least pick up the phone, go and see their gp if necessary. a lot of it can be done on the phone, get a referral, thatis done on the phone, get a referral, that is how we have to go. professor

karol sikora, thank you. also steven mackintosh from macmillan cancer, and, mary, wishing you well. now the weather with matt taylor. the coldest may night in nearly 110 yea rs the coldest may night in nearly 110 years in northern ireland overnight last night. a bit more cloud this afternoon, breezy through the english channel. more cloud in scotla nd english channel. more cloud in scotland and northern ireland where we could see a few showers. but many places will be dry. temperatures up a bit on yesterday at around 11—16. 0vernight more cloud around and it should not be as cold, but there will still be some frost. it is a bit hit and miss for the northern half of the country. clearer skies in the south where we are more likely to see that frost tomorrow morning. not as cold tomorrow as it was this morning. many places will

be dry. still some showers in scotla nd be dry. still some showers in scotland and northern ireland. england and wales stay dry, but the cloud bubbles up and temperatures are very cloud bubbles up and temperatures are very similar to today.

this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. a new test designed to check whether people have ever had coronavirus gets the green light — as england follows the us and europe. we are keen to get as many as we can and get them out, primarily to the front line first, nhs and social care and then more widely. because this really will be, this has the potential to be a game changer. the government will outline plans to provide more support for care homes in england — as senior health figures warn the sector has been neglected during the coronavirus outbreak. the number of people visiting a&e units in england has