this is bbc news. i'm lewis vaughan jones. our top stories: protests in brazil's largest city, opposing the state's lockdown, but the mayor warns the health system is about to collapse. the uk government says it's confident schools in england can safely reopen in as little as two weeks. daily coronavirus deaths in spain fall below 100 for the first time in two months. and, in fiji, the economic impact of the virus has hit so hard that some households are giving up cash and turning to the barter economy.

hello and welcome to audiences in the uk and around the world. we're covering all the latest coronavirus developments here in britain and globally. first... brazil's coronavirus death toll has risen to more than 16,000 with more than 240,000 cases, making it the fourth worst—affected country in terms of confirmed infections. on sunday the mayor of brazil's biggest city sao paulo warned the health system was close to collapse. earlier we spoke to doctor marcelo kalichsztein who is working on coronavirus intensive care wards in rio and asked him how brazil is coping with the rapid rise in cases. social distancing is important to secure our health system against the effect of the coronavirus in hospital admission.

but brazil is a poor country and some people need to work on a daily basis to bring money home. it is a very difficult decision to make. of course, we support social distancing. i asked my parents and my patients to stay home and not go out but we know that for some people and some part of the population it is impossible and brazilian people used to be a happy people but we are changing the way of living a lot and we are using masks. i'm nowjoined by our americas editor, candace piette. a desperate situation on the ground. tell us what it is like there and how it has got there. the brazilian government and many other states and governors

of those states around the country has been trying to get people to stay indoors, to socially distance. a few states have attempted complete lockdowns. the main problem is, brazilians do not want to stay indoors. they don't have any financial help, very much financial help, very much financial help, very much financial help, from the government will stop it is a very poor population and very difficult for them to stay indoors. they have also been receiving very mixed messages from the president, jair bolsonaro, who is very sceptical about the value of social distancing and wants the economy to get back on people out to work again. the trouble is, as this pandemic really hits and brazil is now the fourth largest number of cases in the world, you have got a

situation where in some of the real for example san paolo, situation where in some of the realfor example san paolo, the cases are growing. —— sao paolo. six of the cities in the city were now completely full, according to the mayor. thinks they will reach 90% capacity within a couple of weeks and is now calling for a lock down which is pretty amazing because sao paolo is brazil's economic engine and it will be very difficult if you stop some part of it. you stop brazil. if that was the case, if it was shut down, if people did start obeying lockdown across the country, is there any kind of government support economically in place? they are supplying less tha n in place? they are supplying less than $100, i think two payments for the next few

months for people. but there has been a lot of delays with people getting hold of that money and it is not in handy in oui’ money and it is not in handy in our easily for many families who need it. people are applying and finding out they are not eligible. this is another reason why the lockdown is not working. after a few works of being indoors, people have just got to go outside ——. they need to feed their families. —— after a few weeks. there is a real difficulty with asking people to be locked down ina asking people to be locked down in a place like brazil. the uk government says it's confident children and teachers will be safe under its plans for schools in england to open to more pupils next month. cabinet office minister michael gove said while it was impossible to completely eliminate the risk of contracting coronavirus, it was extremely unlikely that a school would be the source of an outbreak. the number of daily deaths in the uk dropped to 170 — the lowest since the day after the lockdown began — though there is generally a lag in the reporting of deaths

at the weekend. vicki young reports. could this be what primary schools in england look like in a fortnight? in denmark, pupils are put into small groups with one teacher and kept apart. it's a model the government's suggesting here, but many teachers and parents want to know whether it's safe. none of us, none of us can guarantee that anyone will be entirely free, unless effectively they're perpetually imprisoned in their own home. and therefore, what we need to do is to make sure that people are as safe as possible, and in any widespread understanding of the word, schooling for a limited number of children with social distancing is a safe environment. but some councils, like liverpool and hartlepool, say earlyjune is too soon to reopen the gates. labour wants more information. what gavin needs to do,

the education secretary, is publish the science to why they're making the decision they're making now, and ensure there is a testing and tracing which he promised yesterday that on the first ofjune that would be available, but at the moment we've not seen any evidence that they can provide that, they haven't got the staff in place they said they needed to have the tracing, so testing and tracing and isolation is really important to tracking the virus. schools in wales won't reopen on the first ofjune and may not restart at all before the summer in scotland or northern ireland. some parents think england should take the same approach. valerie brooker lives in surrey and has two daughters. she thinks it's too soon to go back to school. my youngest bronwen, she has asthma, she's on two inhalers. charlotte, she has full on learning difficulties, and she has had pneumonia when she was five years old. i don't want her getting a second bout of pneumonia. it's just not viable, i don't want bronwen unknowingly coming home

and passing the virus. she might be a carrier. children rarely become seriously ill from coronavirus. less is known about how they might transmit it. teaching unions have quizzed government scientists, and some are reassured. critically, are teachers and other staff in schools at greater risk than if they were returning to other professions? and that was the key bit of information — they are not at greater risk as teachers and other people in school, and for me that was a very significant moment in allowing us to be able to say, let's start planning even more carefully to open our schools, which were already open, to more pupils and more students. it will be huge logistical challenge, but the government believes schools can be made extremely safe, and with scientists warning that we could be living with this virus for a long time, they think it would be very damaging to keep children out of the classroom indefinitely. vicki young, bbc news, westminster. in spain, the number

of covid19 deaths has fallen —— in spain, the number of daily covid—19 deaths has fallen below 100 for the first time since before the country entered lockdown in mid—march. the head of emergency health centre has welcomed the news but warned there's still a danger of a second wave of infections. despite the reduction, spain's prime minister wants to extend the nation's state of emergency for another month. here's our madrid correspondent, guy hedgecoe. the prime minister pedro sanchez has said he wants to extend the state of emergency, the legal framework that allows him to keep the lockdown in place. he wants to extend that at least another month and he will go to parliament this coming week, on wednesday we expect a vote in parliament and we will find out whether or not he will be able to extend that state of emergency for another month. the feeling at the moment is that it is likely but there has been increasing opposition to the prime minister's handling of this crisis.

it has been difficult for him to get these extensions to the state of emergency. let's get some of the day's other news. india has extended its lockdown until the end of the month. however, some restrictions have been eased. 0ffices can open with staggered business hours. and shops have been allowed to open with a limit on customers. there have been more than 90,000 cases and almost 2,900 deaths in india. healthcare workers in belgium turned their back on their prime minister as she visited a hospital. sophie wilmes arrived by car at the saint peter hospital in brussels on saturday. some staff turned away to show what they thought of the government's handling of the pandemic. new york state governor andrew cuomo has undergone a covid—19 test live on tv. mr cuomo said he wanted to show how quick and easy the process is. a doctor dressed in full ppe conducted the nasal swab test. the governor said he didn't experience pain or discomfort. he told new yorkers there's ‘no reason why you should not get tested.‘

health ministers from around the world are meeting online for the who's annual world health assembly. with over 4.6 million people infected globally, and a third of a million deaths, questions will be asked about how the pandemic spread so quickly. the chinese authorities didn't allow the who to send in experts to help with the outbreak there until february. 0ur global health correspondent tulip mazumdar reports. the world health organization is facing immense pressure over its handling of the covid—19 pandemic, with the us president leading the charge against the agency. the us is the who's biggest single donor, but last month, president trump withdrew funding and launched a blistering attack on both the who and china. had the who done itsjob, to get medical experts into china to objectively assess the situation on the ground, and to call out

china's lack of transparency, the outbreak could have been contained at its source, with very little death. the who did get teams into china to work alongside chinese officials injanuary and february, and says since it was first alerted to the outbreak, china has shared crucial information, which has helped other countries prepare. founded in 19118, the world health organization's goal, both then and now, is ensuring the highest attainable level of health for all people. it works on a wide range of life—saving programmes, from mass vaccination campaigns to sounding the alarm when international health emergencies hit. but it is just an advisory body. it doesn't have the power to enforce or compel countries to share information. now, at this year's world health assembly, there are calls to give the agency more powers, with who inspectors able to go into countries at the start of outbreaks and carry out

independent investigations. the big challenge with outbreaks is that no country wants to have one, every country wants to deny it's there, and every country wants to play down deaths. right now, countries are required to notify. if there's some emerging pathogen in their country, they're supposed to notify the who within 2a hours of this. so this would be an extension of that, to actually have who's international mission investigate the origins of this. representatives from 194 countries who are meeting virtually this year will also consider calls from the eu, the uk, australia, new zealand and others for an international review of the global response to the pandemic. another thorny issue at the meeting is likely to be around taiwan, which has been praised for a very successful response to the pandemic, but is banned from attending because china and the un doesn't recognise it as an independent state. there will also be renewed

calls for equal access to vaccines against covid—19, once they are developed, for all nations, rich and poor. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: from the philippines, the story of how one woman's lockdown art turned into a fundraiser for people in need. this morning, an indian airforce plane carrying mr gandhi's body landed in delhi. the president of india walked to the plane to solemnly witness mr gandhi's final return from the political battlefield. ireland has voted overwhelmingly in favour of gay marriage. in doing so, it has become the first country in the world to approve the change in a national referendum. it was a remarkable climax to what was surely the most extraordinary funeral ever given to a pop singer. it has been a peaceful funeral

demonstration so far, but suddenly the police are teargassing the crowd. we don't know why. the prelaunch ritual is well—established here. helen was said to be in good spirits, butjust a little apprehensive. in the last hour, east timor has become the world's newest nation. it was a bloody start for a poor country, and the challenges ahead are daunting. but for now, at least, it is time to celebrate. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: the mayor of brazil's biggest city, sao paulo, has warned that its health system is close to collapse because of the impact of coronavirus. he called on residents to start respecting social distancing. the british government insists that it's safe to start a phased reopening of schools in england, from the beginning of next month.

in the pacific islands, cash has become so scarce that residents have been turning to bartering in order to meet their household needs. the islands have been hit hard economically, and many popular facebook pages have sprung up, attracting thousands of members, to swap anything from groceries to gardening services. marlene dutta is behind one such page on the island of fiji and shejoins us now, from the capital suva. thank you for talking with us. how does this come about? how does cash and money become so scarce and such a problem? well, because, with the closing of borders, we have lost basically our tourism industry which is one of our highest gdp earners. so we have thousand upon thousands of people who

have directly lost theirjobs 01’ have directly lost theirjobs or indirectly from other indirect services that feed the tourism sector that have indirectly lost their job. tourism sector that have indirectly lost theirjob. how does this bartering work? basically, it is a facebook group and it is open to anyone to become a member and you get onto the group, write down what your location is, what you would like to trade and what you have betrayed for. what you have to exchange and what you wa nt have to exchange and what you want in return. and what kind of things are being bartered? food and grocery items, to cleaning products, to lots of vegetable seeds, food crops stop a lot of people are turning to backyard gardening to survive. we have had electronic goods exchanged, a lot of people have lost their

jobs and are trading in event services and time, in it feels, carpentry, garden services, maintenance, all those type of services have been popular and a whole range, anything from high end goods down to basic necessities. so in this difficult times this has become a bit ofa difficult times this has become a bit of a lifeline? yes, definitely it has and i am sure that, as things get tougher, as people's savings and the little financial help they have received start running out, more and more of the bartering system, this exchange of services will become more popular and a useful tool to survive. thank you for your effo rts survive. thank you for your efforts and your involvement helping people out as people try innovative ways to help themselves. thank you very much. in south africa, no—one has been able to buy alcohol

or cigarettes for the last seven weeks, as part of its lockdown. health experts say the measures have helped reduce crime and injuries, allowing the police and hospitals to focus on tackling the virus, but critics argue it's playing into the hands of criminal gangs, and damaging a fragile economy. 0ur africa correspondent, andrew harding, reports from johannesburg. patrolling the dark streets ofjohannesburg, south african police trying to enforce much more than just the lockdown. they've spotted a woman with something in her hand. could she be selling cigarettes? she is bundled into the van. the sale of cigarettes and alcohol is now strictly prohibited here. well, this is how south africa's new prohibition is being enforced — the police on the streets at night, seeking out anybody dealing or

carrying alcohol or cigarettes. it is a deeply controversial part of this country's lockdown. the south african government says its prohibition is working, that, by restricting alcohol, they're reducing public violence and keeping hospital beds free for coronavirus patients. but the ban is also fuelling organised crime. these schoolchildren are now selling contra band cigarettes on behalf of powerful gangsters. these people are quite scary, are they? yes, they are very scary. they carry guns around. they can't trust anyone. do you feel ashamed of doing this criminal activity, or do you think this is a stupid law? i feel ashamed. it's not ok. you'd rather have a properjob. exactly. as for bootlegging, it seems like everyone is at it now, kitchen gin being distilled for sale in the suburbs, and home—brewed pineapple beer the only source of income now

for a mother—of—three, who lost herjob because of the lockdown. what would happen to you if you were caught? the police, if they can catch me, they'd put me in the jail. are you afraid of that? yes, i'm afraid, because my kids — who can look after my kids? and those who aren't breaking the new law are in danger of going out of business. in the stunning wine lands around cape town, dozens of vineyards are going bust, and thousands of workers losing theirjobs. and then there's this — 7 million litres of beer are being poured down the drain, to clear a nation's clogged breweries. another unintended consequence of south africa's divisive coronavirus prohibition. andrew harding, bbc news, johannesburg. we've heard fantastic stories of those in lockdown taking up new hobbies or coming

up with ingenious ways to raise money for worthwhile causes. 0ne holidaymaker in the philippines is using her love of art to fundraise for food packages and other essential items for rural communities there. jasmine barcelona was in the philippines, where her family is from, when travel restrictions came into place. she immediately took up her paintbrush and painted this image of a guardian angel nurse, which she has then turned into postcards that have helped her raise more than $6,000 for those in need. we can speak to jasmine live now from the rural area where she's spending lockdown in santa catalina. thank you very much for speaking with us. where did this idea come from? one of my friends in london started selling one of her paintings for the nhs and she said, are you going to do one? and i

thought it was a good idea and i was looking for what charities i could give it to andi charities i could give it to and i spoke to a friend in london and i wanted it to be something linked to the philippines and toward the covid—19 crisis. i realise it could go further here stop the nhs hasa could go further here stop the nhs has a lot of help and because i'm here, we did the first round and did a fundraising pageant in the mean time one of my friends said why don't you turn your painting into postcards because they will sell more than print and it is something that people can send it is quite a nice thing for people to send to show people they are thinking of them so i did the fundraising pageant the past because amber to work together. who other people benefiting? —— the

fundraising pageant the postcards. we started with dried fish, rice, beans, sugar and some sweets for the kids as well. we then saw a lot of people and children who did not have flip—flops and some basics and we started buying those to include in the packages as well. how has the country been affected by coronavirus? in manila, it is very strict and more stringent than here in the rural areas. here, we more stringent than here in the ruralareas. here, we are more stringent than here in the rural areas. here, we arejust into a general quarantine now. you can go to the main city on certain days of the week generally people under 20 and over 60 cannot leave the house

and one person per household gets quarantine passed to buy food and medical supplies. you are obviously stuck that with the lockdown in place and travel restrictions. —— there. are you looking to come home?” am quite happy here but i will make my way back to manila and back to london. good stuff and good luck with all your fundraising and the artwork. thank you very much for speaking to us. thank you. ijust want i just want to bring your some breaking news from reuters concerning japan's economy which has slipped into recession for the first time in 4.5 years. gdp data showed that on monday and it is putting the nation on course for its deepest postwar slump. you can

get me on twitter anytime. i'm @lvaughanjones. this is bbc news. hello. there is some wet weather and some warm weather in this weather forecast. first, most of the wet weather will be found across the northern half of the uk. further south, it'll be largely dry, and quite widely it'll become very warm for a time around the middle of the week. the end of the week will feel a bit different. it'll be cooler, windier and more unsettled for all of us. now, you can see frontal systems which will be pushing across northern areas over the next few days, bringing cloud. yes, this cloud producing some outbreaks of rain, but it is to the south of those frontal systems that things will turn increasingly warm and increasingly sunny for just about all of us by wednesday. but, as far as monday goes, some rain to start off across northern scotland. that will increasingly become confined to the northern isles. the north of the mainland will brighten up, with some sunshine.

we will see quite a lot of cloud persisting across southern scotland, north—west england and northern ireland. patchy rain here, which could become heavier from the west into the afternoon. further south, some spells of hazy sunshine. it will be a breezy day, quite a windy one, actually, across northern scotland. but as far as the temperatures go, well, 18 degrees in aberdeen, 17 in belfast, but a high of 24 across some parts of south—east england. now, as we go through monday night into the early part of tuesday, we'll see more splashes of rain at times across northern ireland, northern england and scotland. some clear spells further south, but look at those overnight temperatures — 11,12 degrees the minimum values for some. so a very mild start to tuesday morning. again we see a lot of cloud across northern areas, with some patchy rain at times. it's likely to be quite misty and murky for some of these western coasts, as well. further south and further east, that's where we see the best of the sunshine and, once again, the highest of the temperatures. 25 degrees looks likely in london by this stage. now, as we move into wednesday, high pressure firmly in charge

for the middle of the week, these frontal systems being held at bay for the time being. so i think wednesday is going to be the sunniest day of the week, even northern ireland and scotland brightening up by this stage. the exception — shetland here. you'll hold onto a lot of cloud, some splashes of rain, temperatures topping out at around 9 degrees. further south, though, a high of 27 degrees is possible. now, things do change for the end of the week. we could see some thunderstorms breaking out on thursday. it turns windy for all of us on friday, with some rain at times, and by this stage it'll feel a bit cooler.

this is bbc news, the headlines: the mayor of brazil's largest city, sao paulo, says the health system is close to collapse as demand grows for emergency hospital beds to deal with covid—19. he said the city's public hospitals had reached 90% capacity. almost 3,000 people have died in the region from coronavirus. some of the european countries worst hit by coronavirus have reported encouraging drops in the daily number of fatalities. in spain, the number has fallen below 100 for the first time since before it imposed nationwide restrictions. italy has also reported its lowest figure since it entered lockdown. the uk government has insisted that primary schools in england will be safe when some pupils return at the beginning ofjune. but a leading minister acknowledged that risk could not be eliminated. teaching unions have safety concerns, in particular over how