this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the children's commissioner for england calls for teaching unions and the government to ‘stop squabbling' over plans for primary school pupils to return to the classroom. the whole kind of debate descended into what i would call a squabble, and the positions have really become entrenched, and i fear that actually, the best interests of children, which is what we are all meant to be looking out within this debate, are being overlooked. as one of the strictest coronavirus lockdowns begins to ease, people in italy will be able to travel both internally, and in and out of the country, from the beginning ofjune. but despite looser travel restrictions in england, a warning to day—trippers not

to visit rural and coastal areas this weekend amid fears the number of infections could rise. us democrats back a new three trillion dollar coronavirus relief package, but republican senators and president trump say they'll oppose it. the german bundesliga is back. it'll be the first major european football league to restart later, with matches held in empty stadiums. and could sniffer dogs be trained to detect coronavirus? a new government—backed trial begins in the uk. hello and welcome. you're watching bbc news. i'm shaun ley with the latest on

the coronavirus outbreak in the uk and around the world. the uk government and teachers‘ unions should "stop squabbling" and agree a plan to reopen schools in england safely. that's the message from the children's commissioner for england, who says disadvantaged children are losing out from schools being closed for so long. teachers‘ leaders met the government's scientific advisers yesterday to seek assurances over safety, but have not yet agreed on how schools should open. the government has set out plans to begin a phased reopening of primary schools in england from the 1st ofjune. the public is being urged to "think twice" before heading to england‘s beaches and country parks this weekend, despite the easing of lockdown rules. councils in beauty spots are worried that a surge in visitors could result in a rise in coronavirus infections. meanwhile, in a major step to re—open its economy, italy has announced plans to lift its strict travel restrictions. from the 3rd ofjune,

travel will be allowed to and from the country, as well as between regions. football fans in germany, and around the world, are eagerly awaiting today‘s resumption of the bundesliga. it‘s the first top flight european league to restart since coronavirus forced the suspension of play across the continent. all games will be played behind closed doors. and in the united states, the democrat—led house of representatives has passed a 3 trillion dollar stimulus package to help americans impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. but it‘s unlikely to be approved in the republican—controlled senate. more now on those comments from the children‘s commisioner for england, anne longfield, who has urged the government and teachers‘ unions to ensure schools open as quickly and as safely as possible. i have been really disappointed over the last week, as the whole

kind of debate descended into what i would call a squabble, and the positions have really become entrenched, and i fear that actually, the best interests of children, which is what we are all meant to be looking at within this debate, are being overlooked. i don‘t think we are ever going to get to the stage, without a vaccine, that this is going to be 100% safe, but i think what we can see from where schools have stayed open, and in other countries, and indeed, with nurseries that have stayed open around the nhs hospitals, it can be managed. proper testing as well, and proper monitoring, is absolutely essential. the children‘s commissioner for england there. i have been speaking to our political correspondent jess parker.

the context, of course, is, borisjohnson set out his road map for easing lockdown, a conditional road map with lots of ifs in there, but the plan for england, a staggered return for primary schools, years one and six from earlyjune. unions say they have safety concerns for their members, teachers, and they want more information, and they have this meeting yesterday with government scientists and left saying that whilst it was a step forward to have this meeting, they felt that there were some more questions than answers at this stage. let‘s listen to what the national education union‘s kevin courtney has said to the bbc this morning. the government says that schools will only open on during the first ofjune if certain tests are passed, and we are not clear what those tests are. we think they are around the r rate, but we are not clear what number they think they have to have to safely reopen schools. what we know from denmark is that when they opened their schools, in a much better way than our government is proposing, we think, having studied it, even then, the r rate went up further when they opened schools.

there is some research attached from nurseries, backing up her argument that it is possible to do this without putting teachers and children at risk? yes, what she is saying is that you cannot eliminate risk, but you can control it. the government say that they have put out detailed guidance and talked about measure schools can take to make the environment safer. things like staggered break times, a limit to class sizes with no more than 15 children, and this idea of protective bubbles, so making sure that one class of 15 children does not end up mingling with another class of 15. all measures to try and halt the possible transmission of the virus in school environments. i think anne longfield, who was appointed by the government to stand up for children‘s rights, i think she is trying to bang heads together, and say government, unions, teachers all need to get round the table

and talk, because the children really matter here, and she is particularly concerned about vulnerable children, saying it is important that children do get into school as quickly as possible. unions say they are not against the idea of getting children back into school, but they want to be sure it is safe. well, discussions are continuing about how and when children in england, and indeed in many other countries, return to school. but there remain questions over both their risk of catching and transmitting the virus. joining me now is our science correspondent victoria gill. victoria, thanks very much for being with us. can you talk us through some of the issues that have been raised about children and the coronavirus? because they certainly don‘t seem to be that likely to develop the full—blown disease, and yet presumably, they could still be like the rest of us, carriers of it. yes, that about sums up the conundrum here, because we are

essentially... lockdown basically broke down all of the links in the network of our social work, every day kind of normal lives, in inverted commas, and by breaking down those transmission links, we broke down the links of the disease spread. so it is all about us become out of lockdown and schools reopen, every step we take is reconnecting some of those links. so in the absence of a vaccine or any other kind of pharmaceutical way out of this, it is about sort of stitching those links back to get a very, very carefully a nd those links back to get a very, very carefully and not getting to a point where the spread of this virus gets out of control. the problem with schools is that the role of children in that network is still quite unclear. there is some very clear science, as you said, and how badly children are affected by the disease, and that is the sort of good news in the evidence that we have got, in that generally, they do seem to be, if they get the virus, they do seem to be very mildly

infected. but there is still a very big question mark over their role in transmission to each other and transmission to each other and transmission more widely, which is why these very careful measures jess was talking about have been put in place, these protective bubbles, this phased reopening of schools, so there is space for social distancing. because really, what we do not know is the role of transmission, the role of children in the transmission of the disease. because they are less severely affected, they are less likely to be coughing and sneezing, and therefore, this is a respiratory infection and this is how it spreads, they are less likely to spreads, they are less likely to spread the disease to others. but whether they are ten times less likely or half as likely as an adult, that is still an open question, and of course, that is really important when you are trying to figure out keeping that our number, keeping that infection rate below that all figure of one and keeping this epidemic under control.

so that remains an open question and the only safe route is to keep those links apart. and just on that question, the children‘s commissioner anne longfield has issued some evidence from nurseries which she says does suggest that the numbers of kids becoming infected is actually really low ooh yes, and that does sort of chime and tie in with evidence of the disease within groups of children, that because they are less symptomatic, because they are less affected, the spread is going to be much lower. but that‘s still open for investigation, so the only safe way forward really is to keep these disconnects in place in schools as much as possible, something that teachers and parents might be throwing up their hands with regard to, because social distancing with small children mightjust to, because social distancing with small children might just seem to, because social distancing with small children mightjust seem like an alien concept. but reallyjust making space for that and doing it as much as possible is the only safe way forward as we figure out what

the pattern of transmission is. our science correspondent, victoria gill. thank you very much as ever. italy has said people can travel in and out of the country from the third ofjune. it‘s a significant change in a nation that imposed one of the world‘s most rigid coronavirus lockdowns, and suffered significant loss of life. more than 31,000 italians have died of covid—i9 since late february, but the infection rate has fallen quickly. 0ur reporter freya cole has more. italy is opening up. preparations are under way to welcome people back to the mediterranean for the start of the european summer. but there is still a lot of uncertainty. translation: with the measures that will be imposed, according to rumours, because we still do not know what they will be, we risk having 30—35% fewer umbrellas. tourist operators are planning as much as they can. everything could change if there

is a second wave of infection. but from june the 3rd, the government plans to reinstate free movement around the country. holidays will be allowed, and encouraged. translation: in two months, we have only had two overnight stays. this gives you an idea of the situation. the newly published government decree also reveals plans to open italy‘s borders. but it is unclear what restrictions will be put on international travellers. already at airports in rome, thorough cleaning is taking place. as well as temperature checks at customs. it is a gradual process. from monday, beauty salons, shops and restaurants are allowed to open, but business looks very different. tables must be two metres apart, and there is more cleaning than ever before. translation: the challenge is huge, so big it is hard to quantify, but most of all,

there is uncertainty. but we are used to working hard, rolling up our sleeves, and providing the best for oui’ customers. italians have waited more than two months to share their love of food with others, but the new era will come with new traditions. marina lalli is the president of italy‘s tourism federation and shejoins me now. thank you very much for speaking to us on thank you very much for speaking to us on bbc news today. how important is this announcement for the italian government? oh, this is wonderful news. this is the type of news that we we re news. this is the type of news that we were waiting and hoping for. we have been preparing for this moment all this past week‘s —— these past weeks, and therefore, we are extremely happy with the decision. how different will the tourist

experience have to be in visiting italy because of rules on things like social distancing, requirements to space people out on transport, limits on the number of people, let‘s say, who can sit in a restau ra nt let‘s say, who can sit in a restaurant at the same time? what impact do you think that will have? well, it will be a different way of travelling, that‘s for sure, but we have to live with this virus, and therefore, we have to make adjustments. that‘s exactly what all the companies working in the tourist industry are doing, just working their standard procedures in order to adjust to the measurements that are to adjust to the measurements that a re necessary to to adjust to the measurements that are necessary to welcome the tourists. what sort of measure have you been able to make, what sort of assessment of the damage has been done to the industry by the lockdown? because these are months where in italy, at least, you would have already experienced quite a significant number of travellers in

the run—up to the summer season. well, of course, this is going to be... it has had a huge impact on oui’ be... it has had a huge impact on our economy, and i am sure with the measures that we are going to take, the impact is going to be strong, meaning that social distancing will allow companies to host many less people than we are used to, and the same one other means of transportation, buses, aeroplanes, everything. so, it is going to be a big impact and a damaging everything. so, it is going to be a big impactand a damaging impact everything. so, it is going to be a big impact and a damaging impact on the economy of our companies. are you worried it might price out some visitors? if there are fewer seats in restaurants, and planes, things like that, it is going to mean that those who provide those services are going to have to put their prices up ina going to have to put their prices up

in a order to remain profitable and survive at all? unfortunately, this might be true, but we are also very much working in order with the idea that we want to go back in business. we really want this very much, therefore, we are making all the effo rts therefore, we are making all the efforts to keep our costs down, even with all the measures that we have to take, and therefore, we are trying not to impact on the prices at all, and this is going to be a big challenge for everybody. the uk government has warned british people, and i don‘t know how many british people go to italy every summer, but probably quite a lot, because it is so close, has warned british people that if they travel out of the uk in the next few months, they will be forced to go into quarantine on their return. they will have to stay home for two weeks. are you worried about that decision? well, yes, of course, but

we hope that in the weeks that are from here to the beginning ofjune, things will change in the uk also. i mean, italy has been struck by the pandemic as the first country in europe, and we are recovering earlier, therefore, our transmission data is now approaching 0%, butjust because we started earlier, so i‘m pretty sure this is going to be the case also for british people very soon, and so, i am also sure that after a ll soon, and so, i am also sure that after all this week‘s if not months of isolation, people‘s desire to travel again will be as strong as ever, therefore, i‘m pretty sure people will want to go back to travel. marina lalli, president of italy‘s tourism federation, with the message

that italy will very soon be open again for tourism. thank you for being with us on bbc news. thank you. italy is ready to welcome you again. in england, "stick with the rules and don‘t take risks" — that‘s the message from the health secretary matt hancock, during the first weekend since lockdown restrictions were eased. local councils are warning people to stay away from beauty spots and beaches, fearing a surge of visitors will lead to an increase in infections. it comes after scientists revealed the infection rate across the uk has risen. john mcmanus has the latest. in southwold in suffolk, they are hoping for visitors this weekend, so long as they follow the distancing rules. they don‘t want to see a repeat of these scenes from march. with warm weather on the way and the resumption of travel in england, resorts across the country are worried that day—trippers may bring more than just their suntan lotion. but ministers in london say they trust the public‘s common sense. this weekend, with the good weather, and the new rules, i hope that

people can enjoy being outside, but please, stick with the rules, keep an eye on your family, and don‘t take risks. meanwhile, there have been another 384 deaths from covid—i9 across the country, bringing the total to nearly 3a,000. the travel ban remains in force outside england, and the welsh and scottish governments have already warned tourists to stay away. bosses in cornwall and devon have joined them, urging visitors to give their beaches and beauty spots a miss, and it is a similar message from brighton to whitby. and the authorities in scarborough are notjust worried about the virus. they pointed out there will be no lifeguards on their beaches, or indeed, on any across the uk. and there is a worrying development. the overall rate of infection has crept up to between 0.7 and i. if it goes above i, it means the virus begins to spread again. there are geographical variations. london has a lower rate than wales

and northern ireland, and it is thought the uptick may be down to hospitals and care homes rather than the wider community. this weekend, the rac says it expects 15 million leisure journeys to be made by car, but if there is a further rise in the infection rate, the brakes may come on again in the next few weeks. after weeks of misery for football fans, top flight action returns in europe when the german bundesliga resumes today. games will be devoid of fans, with modest goal celebrations and players not shaking hands after the final whistle. officials from other european countries will be watching closely to see if things go smoothly. the bundesliga had been mothballed for two months. at the time of its suspension, bayern munich lead the league by four points. they play sunday.

resuming the english premier league has been fraught with disagreement. particularly over the idea of neutral stadiums and whether relegation should be abolished. a resumption next month seems likely, though. spain‘s la liga could also restart next month. league officials are waiting for guidance from the government. italy‘s top flight, serie a, was suspended withjuventus leading by a single point. clubs have agreed they want the league to resume on the 13th ofjune. 0ur correspondent jenny hill is in dortmund, where borussia dortmund resume their domestic campaign later. you know, football is back, but the immediate difference is already clear. it is just a few hours to kick off. not a fan in sight. of course, they are not allowed into the stadium for the so—called ghost games. there will be no cheering echoing around the arena, no fans coming through the turnstiles, and interestingly, polls suggest that the majority of germans were not really in favour of the bundesliga resuming so soon, which is astonishing in such a footballing nation.

it will be very different the rest of this season, very different for the players, of course, who will be playing to those empty stadia. there are questions about their match fitness. they have just had a two—month enforced break from pretty much all training, and very different for teams too, expected to quarantine for a week before they play the matches, expected to stick to the social distancing rules by and large off the pitch, of course. there are big questions about whether this season might not have to be broken off again already. already, players and staff at some clubs have tested positive. others have been seen breaking social distancing regulations. a coach has had to stand down temporarily because he nipped out of the team hotel to go and buy a tube of toothpaste. jenny hill. follow that! democrats in the us house of representatives have passed a three trillion dollar stimulus bill. if enacted, it will be the largest fiscal boost to the american economy so far, all because of the coronavirus pandemic.

the bill made it through a narrow vote in the house, with 14 democratic representives breaking ranks to oppose the plan. both the president and republican senators say the heroes act, which could see direct payments being sent out, increase to as much as $6,000. they are not prepared to let it pass. so where does the us economic response to the pandemic go from here? here‘s our north america correspondent david willis. congress has already passed, of course, a $3 trillion spending to attempt to mitigate the effects of the coronavirus. a lot of that money is going to keep small and medium—sized businesses afloat, and democrats, of course, have been arguing for more money for individual states and private citizens here. tonight, the

democratic —controlled house of representatives passed another $3 trillion stimulus bill, one which does provide more money for state governments, direct payments to individual americans, governments, direct payments to individualamericans, more governments, direct payments to individual americans, more money for virus testing, and more money for hazard pay for those on the front line of fighting this pandemic. it would, as you mentioned, be the largest relief package in us history, wear it to be passed by the senate, but it won‘t be. republicans, and indeed president trump, have already stated that this bill is, as they put it, dead on arrival, a liberal wish list, if you like, and not one that they want to put their names too. so there is a feeling amongst republicans that having passed the $3 trillion i mentioned at the start, it is time now to take a break and wait and see what results come from that stimulus package. no time to rush into another one, it is thought by

republicans. what all this could mean is that there may now be new negotiations to try to work out some kind of bipartisan bill that will further stimulate this moribund us economy. david willis there. scientists in britain have begun a trial of sniffer dogs, to see if they can be trained to detect the presence of coronavirus before symptoms appear. the clinical trial is being boosted by half a million pounds of investment from the uk government with the hope that if the scheme works each dog would be able to screen around 250 people an hour. dogs are already able to sniff out diseases such as cancer, malaria and parkinson‘s. professorjames logan is one of those working on the trial. so, what we know about other respiratory diseases and lots of other diseases, in fact, for hundreds of years we have known that diseases create changes in our body odour. we think the same thing is happening with covid—i9, and that‘s what this study is about. it is to determine whether our body odour changes when we have that infection,

and if it does change, then we are very, very confident that these dogs would be able to detect it, and we could have a new way of diagnosing people with covid—i9. dogs —— truly man‘s best friend. you‘re watching bbc news. almost half of patients severely ill with coronavirus are also developing dangerous blood clots. medical experts have told the bbc, the virus is changing the blood in the worst affected patients, increasing the risk of fatal heart attacks and strokes, as richard galpin reports. here in the laboratories of king‘s couege here in the laboratories of king‘s college hospital in london, staff test blood samples from patients with coronavirus to see how the virus changing their blood. and in particular, how sticky it has become, because sticky blood means a risk of blood clots, also known as thrombosis. i was taken around the

laboratory by this professor, a specialist in the field. and also, the airwaves are a bit squiggly... he showed me a scan of the lungs of a patient seriously ill with pneumonia due to coronavirus. highlighted on the second screen, blood clots. the result of severe inflammation in the lungs activating blood clotting, or fragments inflammation in the lungs activating blood clotting, orfragments of clots getting into the lungs from other parts of the body. thrombosis isa other parts of the body. thrombosis is a major problem, but clearly, in severely affected covid patients in critical care where some of the most recent studies show that almost half the patients have pulmonary embolism or blood clot on the lungs. 71—year—old artist brian mcclure was rushed to hospital last month with coronavirus. now recovering back home, he told me how doctors had discovered he had medical problem.

i went for discovered he had medical problem. iwent fora discovered he had medical problem. i went for a long screening, and that showed i had blood clots in the lungs, and that that was very, very dangerous, and that is when i really started to get worried, because i wasn't improving. beverly hunt, medical director of the charity thrombosis uk, says the sticky blood which coronavirus patients are developing is not just which coronavirus patients are developing is notjust causing blood clots. we also have higher rates of heart attacks and strokes when you have got such sticky blood as you have with covid, so, yes, the sticky blood is contributing to a higher mortality with covid. doctors are treating covid patients who have blood clots with blood thinners. but it doesn‘t always work, and high doses can lead to patient bleeding. global trials are now taking place to find the best way of treating

this latest medical condition caused by the virus. now it‘s time for a look at the weather with tomasz schafernaker. hello. it has been fairly pleasant for most of us. there has been a little more clout across northern areas, certainly scotla nd across northern areas, certainly scotland and northern ireland, and here, still the chance of a few spots of rain through the course of saturday. to the south and east, the weather is better, and by the end of the afternoon and early evening, temperatures will still be around 16 degrees in london and the midlands, but a little cooler in glasgow, only i3 but a little cooler in glasgow, only 13 with that cloud cover. through tonight, south—westerly winds were pushing more cloud, and there will be damp weather in belfast and the western isles scotland, but much of england, particularly the south and east, will be dry, and a very mild night, temperatures in many areas 7-10. night, temperatures in many areas 7—10. tomorrow, the cloud are weather in scotland and northern

ireland. at times, there will be some rain. further east and south it looks good, temperatures in the rise, up to 20 in london. the headlines. the children commissioner of england have requested the government and teachers unions to reopen schools safely with a plan. they say that many disadvantaged children in an england are losing out. as one of the strictest gun of logos going to be at ease, people in italy will be able to travel both internally and in and out of the country from the beginning ofjune. democrats in the us house of representatives now have a vote pledging another $3 trillion to coronavirus relief. republicans say they will cross the measure when it reaches the senate. top—flight football will resume in germany on

saturday after a two—month break.