this is bbc news, with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the uk education secretary warns the longer england's schools are closed, the more children miss out, as the government presses forward with plans to re—open them. the best way of protecting children, the best way of giving them the best opportunities in life, is actually to have them coming back into school. day—trippers are warned to stay away from rural and coastal areas of england this weekend amid fears the number of infections could rise. people in italy will be able to travel both internally and in and out of the country from the beginning ofjune as the country's strict lockdown eases. top—flight football is back in germany. the bundesliga is the first major

european football league to restart, with matches taking place in empty stadiums. and could coronavirus mean a permanent shift in the way we travel as pedestrians and cyclists get more space for social distancing? hello, and a very warm welcome to viewers in the uk and around the world. iam rebecca viewers in the uk and around the world. i am rebecca jones. the education secretary for england says the government's approach to re—opening of schools will be cautious, and based on scientific advice, but he warned that the longer schools are closed, the more children miss out. it comes after teaching unions expressed concerns over plans to re—open schools in england from the first ofjune.

a further 468 deaths of people who've tested positive for coronavirus in the uk were reported in the last 2a hours, taking the official number of deaths to 34,466. here's our education editor, bra nwen jeffreys. classrooms now in england, but in just two weeks some children are due to return. the hope — covid cases will have dropped. the education secretary said it is a tentative step, and at the press conference i asked how school governors could make the decision. and on that point about the school governors, they are going to be thinking about their legal responsibilities in terms of making each school safe. how are they meant to reconcile that conflicting advice they are getting from you and local councils? what we would ask them to do is look up the guidance very carefully,

and recognise the fact that we are there to provide the very best for every single child who goes to that school. the best way of doing that, the best way of protecting children, the best way of giving them the best opportunities in life, is actually to have them coming back into school. for those trapped in flats, for children vulnerable to hunger or domestic violence, growing concern about their need for school, for a place to learn but also a place of safety. i fear that the best interests of children which we are basically looking at within this debate are being overlooked. i've raised the issue of the hundred thousands of vulnerable children which will be carrying risks out of school, they won't be getting access to education and they may have fragile home environments

and mental health will be suffering. schools are getting ready as best they can. changing classrooms, contacting families, it will be parents choice whether to send pupils and some may need to return to work. teachers say many others remain fearful. so far, out of 28 children in my class, we have had ten responses saying they will send their children, but a lot of those still have reservations about that, and they have queries they would like answered before they make the choice. teachers unions still have many questions, and government scientists will keep it under review, and a final decision is likelyjust days before england's schools return, while those in the rest of the uk remain closed. branwen jeffreys, bbc news. the government have insisted they will be led by the science when making decisions, so what does the science say about how children are affetced? lauren moss explains. we've only known about covid—i9 for under six months, and the science community

is still learning about it. one of the big questions to answer is how are children affected. put simply, children seem to catch coronavirus as much as anyone else, and a survey by the office for national statistics published this week suggests that one in 400 people in england has coronavirus, and that children are also just as likely to test positive as adults. but they don't appear to develop symptoms which are as serious or be as vulnerable to it. in terms of the respiratory illness in adults, we have not seen this in children, which of course is great news, and the cases we have had in oxford where we have found coronavirus, it seems to have almost been an incidentalfinding. so if children catch coronavirus, how likely is it, then, that they can carry it and also spread it? any increase in social mixing could lead to an increase in the r number, the rate of transmission, children are super spreaders of diseases like flu, but we just

don't know how infectious they could be if they have little or no symptoms. if you have a low infection rate in society and you have systems in place to test and trace and quarantine, schools are a very good place to start, because the transmission will be low, and you will be able to manage the situation and work out how to open up the rest of society. it is early days as we begin to take steps to emerge from the lockdown. what we learn in the weeks and months ahead will shape what our new normal becomes. lauren moss, bbc news. the number of life—saving transplant operations in the uk dropped by almost 90% after lockdown, and operations using living donors stopped completely. transplant specialists say lives will be lost as a result. our reporter alexandra mackenzie has been to the royal hospital for children in glasgow.

16—year—old zach had kidney failure and was on dialysis, but now he is recovering from his transplant operation. we were waiting for two and a half years and then i finally got the news, i was so relieved. it actually happened. what was life like before you got the transplant? it was really hard. i couldn't eat a lot of food, like chocolate, crisps, bananas, and i couldn't go out with friends either, because i had a central line in, so in case that got damaged. did you think twice about it because of covid—i9? yeah, i did, i was really scared about covid—i9. when i got the transplant, i was worried about it, cos if i'd got it, it would have been really bad for me. for zach's mum, she hopes this is a second chance at life. i still can't believe it, when i look at him and i look at how

healthy he actually looks now, his colour and complexion, he was very pale before, but now he has colour in his cheeks. he's got a sparkle in his eyes. in the uk at the beginning of march, there were around 80 transplant operations every week, but in april this fell to around ten. now it has increased again to a7. we had scheduled transplants which have been cancelled and small children who are on dialysis are at risk of becoming significant problems the longer they are on dialysis for. delaying the transplant has to be done when it has to be done, but these children will get more complications the longer their transplant is delayed for. adult patients are at significant risk of covid—i9, and the rate of death in those patients is above that in the general population. covid—i9 has also brought challenges to the ward.

we have dealt with things we have not really dealt with in the past, even wearing a mask in the room... zach knows who is wearing the mask because he knows us really well, but even that, that is a different thing for them all to cope with. the teenager who is even leading a poster campaign is eager to start his new life. i'm very grateful to everyone who has helped me throughout this whole time, the nurses and doctors and my family, especially my mother, because she has been here for me. alexandra mackenzie, bbc news, glasgow. it's the first weekend since some lockdown restrictions were eased in england, with members of the public now allowed out for unlimited exercise. local councils have warned people to stay away from beauty spots and beaches, and many seem to have heeded the warning, as andy gill reports. in normal times, more than 3 million day visitors come to the dales every year, and it's not hard to see why.

the national park and local authorities, though, think it is too early to loosen the coronavirus lockdown. the big fear was that the car park would be full all week, and the river bank was going to be like blackpool when blackpool was busy and open, nobody social distancing. but as it is, we have a slow increase in the amount of people coming, that feel safe to come. but in garsington today, some people were taking advantage of the new guidelines, some travelling from harrogate and leeds. if you follow the guidance and you socially distance, you make sure that you are not touching anything. we have not seen anybody, really, but everyone we have seen has been a friendly and kept to a safe distance. we feel fine. they reopened the car park here so visitors don't park in the centre of the village or on verges, and the idea is that that will reduce contact,

and possible infections between tourists and locals. tourism is vitalfor this part of yorkshire, and they do want visitors back here once it is safe. one estimate is that the economy in this part of the yorkshire dales has taken a 30% hit because of the lockdown. but one local pub landlord thinks it is time to let visitors come back to the countryside. striking the balance between saving lives and saving livelihoods is the challenge here as everywhere else. andy gill, the yorkshire dales, bbc news. 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.

italy is one of many countries in europe which are now starting to ease their lockdowns. austria is among them. quite significant steps where you are to ease lockdown, tell us more about the situation there. well, yesterday ca barets and about the situation there. well, yesterday ca ba rets a nd restau ra nts opened after two months of lockdown. —— cafe is. people have been out today having pizzas and things like this, it is slow but steady, we are told so far, people going out to visit. also, some of the border controls between austria and its neighbouring countries, like germany, are beginning to ease. germany, are beginning to ease. germany is now allowing people who have family on both sides of the border is to cross more easily, and instead of having systematic controls at the borders of germany, austria and switzerland, they are

now spot checks instead, although people still have to have a valid reason to visit and cross the border, it is not for tourist to visit yet. the hope is that if the infection rate remains low, that the borders can be completely opened by the middle ofjune. austria has announced plans to slowly start allowing theatres and arts festivals to slowly ramp up again injune and july and august. but small numbers so july and august. but small numbers so far, and we are told that major cultural events, like the salzburg festival, will be taking place in quite a limited way compared to normal, and some festivals are thinking about cancelling completely. you talk about the easing of border restrictions — it does lead me to wonder how much there has been a political and economic impact from the cold virus

pandemic on the idea of a common europe? -- the coronavirus pandemic. it is very difficult in terms of border crossings, they were imposed to try to stop the spread of infection, and it is interesting that austria has been in talks with many of its neighbours and has announced the relaxation of measures on the borders, but they say it is too early to start doing that with italy yet, there is too much concern about the spread of infections. but these countries need to keep their borders open, for business, to restart the economy, and crucially for tourism. austria is very much dependent on tourists coming from germany in particular, and if they can't move across the border, it is very bad news for holidays and resorts. at the moment, we are

seeing groups of countries working together to try and figure out a system, we have seen the baltic states also announcing an easing of border amongst themselves, but we have not got a europe pick to get, and governments are saying for the moment they will wait and see what happens with the number of infections. —— not got a european picture yet. the headlines on bbc news: the education secretary for england warns the longer schools are closed, the more children miss out, as the government presses forward with plans to re—open them. day—trippers are warned to stay away from rural and coastal areas of england this weekend amid fears the number of infections could rise. and in and out of the country from the beginning ofjune, as the country's strict lockdown eases.

after weeks of boredom for football fans, top—flight action has returned in europe. germany restarted its bundesliga just a few hours ago. games were played in front of empty stadiums with strict hygiene protocols put in place. players used several changing rooms, while celebrations were modest. 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 were leading the division. 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.

joining me is lutz pfannenstiel, sporting director of fortuna dusseldorf. so, mr pfannensteil, how did your team do today? no goals to cheer on, unfortunately, but can you give a sense of what it was like for the players inside the empty stadium? yeah, of course, it isa empty stadium? yeah, of course, it is a very different atmosphere, because in dusseldorf we are used to playing in front of 50,000 people, so playing in front of 50,000 people, so that was not the case, but it is a very good thing, because the regulation, the concept of the league is very detailed, very strict, travelling in the bus with masks on, with big gaps between the players, looking at the substitutes bench with social distancing, with the masks on, very strict regulations inside the changing rooms. of course, that makes it very difficult for the players, because they really need to concentrate on

everything else. but once they hit the field, i think, it was all pretty normal. of course, you prefer to play in front of lots of people, but definitely a very important day and not just for german football but for all the other leagues to see if the concept really works. how have you managed to restart football in germany while other leagues have not? well, i think it was a good system and a good communication between the football clubs, the football league and the politicians. we always said that we, as clubs, or in general the league we could not make the call about when we were allowed to play, but we can make the best possible preparations for when we get the green light from the politicians. so the concept we developed, i think it shows lots of trust of the politics that they gave us trust of the politics that they gave us the right to start actually playing today, but now it is up to the players, up to every individual involved to really show

responsibility, show discipline. that is the only way to really finish the league. and it is important for you because you are fighting relegation, i know. if the season fighting relegation, i know. if the season had not restarted, what with the impact have been on the game and clu bs the impact have been on the game and clubs in germany? well, economically, it would have been very difficult, because like some of the other big leagues, we are dependent on television money, that is no secret. i think that the restart was important, yeah, for the emotional thing, because people are really very keen to watch some sports again. if we had not played now, i mean, iwould say sports again. if we had not played now, i mean, i would say the financial impact, you couldn't really say what it would have meant for some clubs. so i am happy not just for fortuna, but for everybody, that we are back in safe waters. if we re that we are back in safe waters. if were able to finish the season, i think this is something we will shout now wee completed match day

one, still another h2 girl, and we have to think for a match day to match day, then we will know if it is possible. if we see that there is problems, that it goes up again, obviously we cannot play football, but so far it goes well, and if it stays that way it is, we are the lead which shows the example to the other leagues, and others can hopefully follow. polite i know you are fighting to stay up, so good luck with that, great to talk to you, lutz pfannenstiel, sporting director of fortuna you, lutz pfannenstiel, sporting director of fortu na dusseldorf. and for more sport, we're heading to the bbc sport centre, where gavin has a full round—up. hello there. let's start with the resumption of the german bundesliga. players saw the lighter side of having no fans cheers them on, due to the strict coronavirus measures in place. but borussia dortmund's players still put on a heck of a showing. their rivierderby match

against schalke was the highlight of the day's matches. but take a look at this — a strange sight before the game, with no spectators on hand to greet the teams, as they arrived into signal iduna park. security and police were present, though, to make sure coronavirus safety guidelines were carried out. staff and stewards for the match weren't taking any chances either — with sophisticated cleaning equipment to minimise the risk of infection. some of those measures included spraying and cleaning the balls before use. all eyes on the bundesliga right now, being the first major top flight division in europe to restart after a 66—day shutdown. and who else to score the first goal back? erling haaland, the prolific norwegian with his tenth goal in 11 games. the celebrations with team—mates, though, kept at a distance, as players were instructed not to physically congratulate one another. that the first goal in a 4—0 victory over schalke, keeping dortmund in second place. one later kickoff to bring

you between fourth placed monchengladbach at frankfurt, with half time approaching. 2—0 to monchengladbach, both goals in the first ten mins. that win for dortmund means bayern munich lead byjust one point ahead of their game against union berlin on sunday. like all bundesliga teams, their players are staying in quarantine, following rules set up by a german football league task force. they also need to travel in two buses to ensure safe distances between players are maintained. while the bundesliga is back, and discussions are ongoing about the return of the premier league, it appears that the league two season will be ended. clubs met on friday and decided to end the season now because of the coronavirus outbreak, and the fact that the option of playing behind closed doors wasn't financially viable for them. it still needs to be

ratified by the league, but it's likely to be that crewe, swindon and plymouth promoted. stevenage could be saved from relegation. we don't need to make the decision now, we can wait a week or two, the bundesliga have just begun, now, we can wait a week or two, the bundesliga havejust begun, there is a new antibody test announced this week that is described as a game changer. more generally, i think we should play the season because that is what we are here for, that is what we want to do. plus we get the chance to try to play behind closed doors now, it is almost certain that next season will start that way, so it is good practice, and we get to try streaming live games in england, which hasn't been possible before, and see if we can engage ourfans in that way and, you know, replace the gate income that we will surely lose this season and next. boxing promoter eddie hearn has announced plans to stage boxing shows in the back garden

of the house he grew up in to help the sport return from the coronavirus shutdown. the venue, now the matchroom sport headquarters, will be transformed, he says, to be able to host fights on consecutive weekends in july and august. with the sport stopped since march, hearn feels the project is something which could form the biggest challenge of his career. this isn't something that we just come up with last week, this is something we have been working on since they started, and we are in a position now where, right now, it is absolutely full steam ahead on this project, and touch wood we keep going in the direction we have, and you will see it launch in mid—july. safety is paramount, but even more so safety is paramount, but even more so now, safety is paramount, but even more so now, so safety is paramount, but even more so now, so yes, we want to be first, we wa nt so now, so yes, we want to be first, we want to be a trailblazer, but we wa nt to we want to be a trailblazer, but we want to make sure we invest more money than anybody else to make sure it is safe to follow every government guideline, every british boxing board of control guideline, and get the sport back up and running, and we will do that in july. there's also uncertainty in the nba

with the season currently on hold. the president of the players association, chris paul, says they're keen to return when its safe to do so. man, we want to play, we want to play bad, and we wanted to be obviously as safe as possible, but the biggest thing is we miss the game. not only from a player perspective, but as a fan of the game, like, i miss knowing what i am watching every night, right? without the game, seven games in, i know what i am doing. so not only as a player but as a fan, i miss it. and that's all the sport for now. 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 £500,000 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. 19 people have been arrested at a protest in london's hyde park against the lockdown. police say ten fixed penalty notices were issued. several hundred people gathered, saying they object to their rights of movement and free speech being restricted by the government's measures to limit the spread of coronavirus. today's protest was one of a number across the country after flyers were shared on social media. now it's time for a look at the weather with ben. good evening. temperatures are set to climb over the next few days, a lot of dry weather as well, but there is a chance of rain the further north and west

you are across the uk, and actually we will see some rain across parts of scotland and northern ireland through tonight, some rain across the far north, and also these outbreaks of rain pushing in from the west. i think as cloud amounts increase, parts of northern england, north wales, north midlands could just see the odd spot of drizzle. further south and east, some clear breaks, one or two places in south—east england could to 3—4 degrees. for the vast majority, it is frost free into tomorrow morning. and then for tomorrow, the further south you are, a lot of dry weather, some hazy sunshine, outbreaks of patchy rain across the northern half of the uk, will tend to ease for a time, but then wet weather likely return to northern ireland and western scotland later on. temperatures here around 15 degrees, but further south and east, warmer than today, highs of 20, temperatures climbing in the south as we head towards the middle of the coming week, but there will be some rain at times across the north of the uk.

hello this is bbc news. the headlines: the uk education secretary warns the longer england's schools are closed, the more children miss out — as the government presses forward with plans to re—open them. the best way of protecting children and giving them the best opportunities in life is actually to have them coming back into school. day—trippers are warned to stay away from rural and coastal areas of england this weekend amid fears the number of infections could rise.

people in italy will be able to travel both internally — and in and out of the country — from the beginning ofjune — as the country's strict lockdown eases. top flight football is back in germany — the bundesliga is the first major european football league to restart — with matches taking place in empty stadiums. and could coronavirus mean a permanent shift in the way we travel, as pedestrians and cyclists get more space for social distancing? now on bbc news: filming their own lives in lockdown, we see compelling, honest footage behind closed doors of families, businesses, frontline workers and others as they try to beat the pandemic. strict restrictions have been put across people to beat covid—19.