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tv   BBC News at Ten  BBC News  May 18, 2020 10:00pm-10:31pm BST

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if you've lost your sense of taste and smell, you may have coronavirus — it's added to the official list of symptoms. that's if you also have a high temperature or a cough — doctors say the new symptoms should have been included weeks ago. in excess of 100,000, maybe 200,000 cases, would have been missed, would have been out there infecting other people. england's deputy chief medical officer warns that without a vaccine, we may have to live with the virus for several years. also tonight... anyone aged five and over can have a coronavirus test — but nhs leaders say the testing system is still falling short. in northern ireland groups of up
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to six people not in the same household will be able to meet outdoors from tomorrow. three men have been arrested after a 19 year old student was killed in a drive by shooting. and it's chelsea flower show but with a difference — you'll be able to get a tour of the designers‘ own gardens. and coming up on bbc news... nine in a row. the end of the scottish premierhsip season sees celtic crowned champions again while fans are urged to celebrate at home. good evening. if you're one of those who've experienced a loss of taste or smell in the last few months, you may have had coronavirus as it's now been added to the official list of symptoms. until today the list only included a high temperature and a new, continuous cough. the new guidance was set out
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by the chief medical officers of england, scotland, wales and northern ireland, although some doctors say that new symptoms should have been added weeks ago and hundreds of thousands of cases may have been missed and spread infection as a result. the total number of people who have died with coronavirus reported in the last 2a hours is 160. the number is usually lower following the weekend. it means the official number of people across the uk who are known to have died with the virus is 3a,796. 0ur medical correspondent fergus walsh reports. we would spray some pepper spray into this hood, and if we could smell it, then the mask wasn't fitted properly. surgeon sinan barazi realised he had lost his sense of smell when he was being fitted with personal protective equipment. he kept on working and it was only days later, when he'd developed a fever, that he was swabbed and found to have coronavirus. i couldn't smell it, after 20 or 25 sprays. clearly if you're walking around unaware that you're covid positive,
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then you're a potential source of spread of the virus. so, i could have infected colleagues, i could have infected patients without knowing it. until today, the only coronavirus symptoms people in the uk were told to self—isolate with were a high temperature or a new and continuous cough. now, loss of taste or smell have been added, but that's weeks after the world health organization included them as symptoms. the who also lists tiredness, aches and pains, sore throat, diarrhoea, conjunctivitis, headache and skin rash as other possible warning signs. 0n the ist of april, this symptoms app from king's college london found that six in ten users who tested positive for covid—i9 had reported a loss of smell or taste. researchers say the uk has been slow to act and so missed a huge number of cases. we're talking in excess of 100,000,
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maybe 200,000 cases, would have been missed, would have been out there infecting other people, increasing the r value, and i think this hasjust made the problem worse, caused problems in care homes and hospitals, that we will regret we didn't act earlier. loss of smell — technical term anosmia — was added only after government scientists were sure it would help improve detection. how many cases of covid—i9 do you think have been missed as a result of not including this earlier on? the important thing was to work out if this would add any sensitivity to the diagnostic cluster we were using, and the answer is, it makes a small, very small, difference, and we have therefore decided to do it. former love island star rachel fenton was another whose loss of taste and smell was her main symptom. a nurse, she later tested
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positive for covid—i9. it was very difficult for me at the time because i didn't have anything to refer to, i didn't realise it was a symptom. it was so severe, i could have literally drunk a cup of vinegar, the loss of taste and smell was so strong. adding loss of sense of smell as a key symptom should ensure fewer positive cases fall through the net — crucial, if the epidemic is to be brought under control. fergus walsh, bbc news. anyone in the uk aged five and over with symptoms of the coronavirus can now have a test. the government's made the pledge, despite frequently failing to reach its current target of 100,000 tests a day. and as our health editor hugh pym reports, some key workers already eligible are facing long waits to get their results. getting tested for the virus — these key workers queueing today had booked online for swabs to be taken at a drive—through centre and were told the results from labs should be sent to them
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within 48 hours. very easy. we logged on yesterday only. we got the test today. there was hardly any cars there. very efficient. it was very easy to get an appointment, i didn't get much trouble to get that. i'm a carer, that's why. just picked a convenient time and that was it, we drove straight here. but some, like michael, have had long waits for results. he's been told it will be at least five days. if you're going to make testing a central part of how we deal with this virus, you've got to get it right, no questions, it has to be efficient and right. and it may bejust me and i don't want to be the one complaining, but from my point of view, it's been disappointing, and i still don't know the results. the health secretary, matt hancock, set a target of 100,000 tests a day by the end of april. since then, the number provided has dipped below that and has only been back above 100,000 on some days since. that total includes home testing
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kits sent out to those who request them rather than those returned to the labs. today, the health secretary said he wanted to increase the overall number of tests. every day we're creating more capacity, and that means more people can be tested and the virus has fewer places to hide. today, i can announce to the house that everyone aged five and over with symptoms is now eligible for a test. but labour said getting results back quickly was the priority. 0n tracing, i have long argued that the safe way to transition out of lockdown is by having a test, trace and isolation strategy in place, but it depends on quick turnaround of test results. slowing any future spread of the virus will depend both on testing and tracing recent contacts of anyone who tests positive. contact tracers have been recruited to phone, text or e—mail people who patients say they've met recently. that's 21,000 new staff in england.
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a new app will also be alerting people if they've been with anyone with symptoms. they're then told to self—isolate. the app is being tried out on the isle of wight. it's set to be rolled out across england. devolved administrations are considering whether to use it. contact tracers are ready to start work. ministers said the whole system would be up and running by the middle of this month, but it's still a work in progress. well, hughjoins me now — some criticism tonight from the head of nhs providers about the government's approach to testing. yes, and providers represent trusts in england and they have said the test setu p in england and they have said the test setup is a patchwork quilt with too many gaps and he says they should be a lot more priority for nhs staff and patients. we should not forget that capacity has been built upa not forget that capacity has been built up a lot since early february when it was 2000 a day, and it is 110w when it was 2000 a day, and it is now 130,000 per day. contact tracers in england, 21000 and the original contact in england, 21000 and the original
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co nta ct was in england, 21000 and the original contact was 18,000 are many said that was too ambitious, but the app is still not ready to be fully launched across england. more of them are needed and that might be a couple of weeks away. there are still delays with some people having to wait to get their test results back. all this is very important because until a vaccine or drugs are developed, this testing and tracing and tracking is the main weapon to try to keep the virus in check. the deputy chief medical officer of england said in a briefing that the virus could be with us for many months to come if not years and could well pick up in the autumn and winter. thanks forjoining us. having continued with a stricter lockdown than england, northern ireland has now decided to relax its lockdown more than any other part of the uk. from tomorrow groups of up to six people not from the same household will be able to meet outdoors. drive in church services and cinemas will also be allowed. emma vardy is in belfast,
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quite a turnaround, why the change? northern ireland has its own scientific advisers who give their bespoke guidance to the devolved government here, based on the individual situation on this island and ministers who have made their decisions based on that. it isn't immediately clear what is different but things like less population density and more rural areas may well be factors. so for people who are not shielding, you can meet up with other households, with social distancing, it will feel like quite a change, but ministers who have still urged caution in saying we are not out of the woods yet. —— ministers here. belfast have been —— has been like a ghost town but tomorrow six people from different households will be able to meet outdoors, far more than
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in england where you can only meet one person from another house. the northern ireland executive says it is down to scientific advice, they say there is less chance of the virus being passed on outdoors so they will now allow drive through church services and cinemas, golf and tennis to restart. we are told that outdoor activities are able to be accommodated because the virus does not spread as easily outdoors as indoors and so we have been told that we will revisit the issue again and we will keep it under constant review. we understand that whenever people look to the pathway document which we set out, where in the first phase we had identified the families could get together, so we understand people would be disappointed, people are desperate to get together. northern ireland had been moving more slowly than england in lifting their restrictions but now that is changing, but it is do a balancing
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act, leaving things too long can leave a greater effect on the economy while political leaders here still worry that moving faster could see the transmission of the virus starting to rise again. there's a nice fish. anglers arrived at dawn as fishing la kes were anglers arrived at dawn as fishing lakes were also reopened. to get out today, it's better than a lottery win. it's a medicine that you can do without a prescription. once, this might have looked bizarre, but today, for gardeners, it feels like a return to normality. fabulous. i love walking round garden centres and looking at the plants. and queues formed outside recycling centres. what is the purpose of your trip? across the border...
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..the republic of ireland saw the return of construction workers, as well as golf and tennis. but people are still not allowed to travel more than five kilometres from home. people both north and south of this island continue to be urged to use caution. although some small slices of life are being unlocked, the advice is still to remain home as far as possible. emma vardy, bbc news. well, that's northern ireland and the republic, but scotland will have to wait longer for restrictions to be eased. 0ur scotland editor sarah smith is in glasgow for us, no change for some time yet? the scottish government is planning to publish a document, a route map on thursday this week, which will outline how they plan to cautiously and gradually ease lockdown restrictions but no changes will be introduced until the 28th of may at the earliest. it will be the end of the earliest. it will be the end of the month before people in scotland can sit in the park and play a game of golf or tennis or visit a garden centre or restart outdoors work. the scottish government says like all of the uk nations, they base their advice on expert advice they are given and that it has got nothing to
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do with politics, but it has been obvious that nicola sturgeon has enjoyed the opportunity to set her own lockdown rules are not have to follow what is happening in england and other parts of the uk. —— and not. the gamble is whether people will continue to support her taking a different path when they are living under more stringent restrictions like other people in the uk. thanks forjoining us. two weeks today some primary school children in england should have finished their first day back at school, but the details of how to make this work are still not certain and opinion on the way forward amongst both teachers and parents is divided. research from the institute for fiscal studies said today that children from less well off households are spending far less time on educational activities whilst at home during lockdown. 0ur education editor branwenjeffreys has been to one primary school in leeds. schools are eerily quiet now. that is meant to change in less than two weeks. england, the first in the uk to ask more children back. nikita has three kids.
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0nly willow, in year one, would be able to return. it's very difficult. i have two of them that really want to learn, and i have one that doesn't want to do anything. so, you're fighting a battle constantly. but her son has dyslexia, and she misses the school's support. i don't understand the stuff he needs. where, the lady that works with him in the school has that, she knows what he needs and what he doesn't need. yes, he misses his school... mariola is bringing up two boys on her own. brian, in year six, has autism and wants to come back. is it harder to learn at home? yeah, it's harder to learn at home. it's easy to work in school. normally we have up to 30 children in a class. the head teacher is planning for small groups. that means twice as many classrooms, twice as many teachers.
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she's already worried what children are missing. some of our families live in very difficult housing conditions. on top of that, we've got issues like access to technology, whether that's the actual device, so we know some families where siblings are having to share one tablet or one mobile phone between many siblings. some children of key workers have been at lessons, but 70 others at the school can't get online, creating a bigger gap between them and the better—off. children from richer families are spending around 75 minutes a day more on educational activities than those from the poorest fifth of households. over the 3a days that children will have been out of school by the 1st ofjune, that adds up to more than seven days of full—time school, and the longer that children are out of school, the bigger those gaps will grow to be. families are under pressure, stuck at home with each other, many worrying about money.
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it's no wonder parents are finding it difficult to get their kids to learn. and even if some go back injune, most children won't be in school until september. that means around 5 million children, just in england, relying on learning at home. branwenjeffreys, bbc news, leeds. as well as discussing coronavirus, mps have been debating a new post—brexit immigration system for the uk. the home secretary says it will help in the recovery from the pandemic. labour describes the plans as a threat to the nhs and care sector. the proposals include an end to free movement of eu citizens, putting them on an equal footing with other nationalities. though full details won't be revealed until the autumn, it paves the way for a points—based system which would reward being able to speak english to a certain standard and having a job lined up from an approved employer. but it could also require applicants
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to earn at least £25,600. critics argue this will shut the door on the type of workers who've been key to getting the uk through the coronavirus crisis, such as carers and other health workers. here's our political editor, laura kuenssberg my name is carolina, and i came over here from poland 12 years ago and i have been a care worker ever since. carolina heading off for another day. like aourn on in six care workers, she came from her home to help the vulnerable and their‘s, here. she now works for a care charity as well as doing shifts. but from next year, new immigration rules will make it much harder for lower paid workers to make the move. if it was in place 12 years ago i wouldn't have been able to come into the country and support as many people as i have over the years. people who come from abroad to work in care, don't
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do it for the money, you know, for obvious reasons. the majority of care workers are paid around the minimum wage. they do it because they want to help. labour claims the corona crisis should force the government to think again as week after week ministers applaud the work of those who care. what our front line workers earn does not reflect what they contribute to our society. those who clapped on thursday are only too happy to vote through a bill today that will send a powerful message to those same people, that they are not considered by this government to be skilled workers. the snp says now is not the time. pushing ahead with this bill in the midst of a public health and economic crisis, without paying heed to the recent windrush review is spectacularly misjudged and shows the home office remains totally out of touch with reality. but there's no sign of ministers budging and if there are serious shortages in any industry, exceptions could be made. it is almost four years since the british people voted for independence from the european union. we promised the british people we would end free movement, take back control of our borders and restore trust in the immigration system.
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this bill delivers on that. ending freedom of movement where eu citizens could come and live and work here without restriction was one of the promises that won the argument for brexit in the referendum, so the new system will treat anyone from anywhere in the world, exactly the same, but it goes further and closes down routes in for the less well paid in future, and it's impossible to know in this crisis was sure, if the public‘s view has really changed. with recession looming, the contest for every kind ofjob for everyone could be tougher, still. it's a hugely rewarding job. it is not easy, it is very hard. but it makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside, and it really makes you happy. the new immigration rules are change the government had planned for, but so much else is shifting, too. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster.
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three men have been arrested on suspicion of murder after a 19—year—old woman was shot dead in blackburn yesterday. law student, aya hachem, was an innocent victim in a drive—by shooting, according to the police. she was walking to the supermarket when she was hit by gunshots fired from a car. dave guest has the latest from blackburn. aya hachem was in the wrong place at the wrong time. hit by a bullet fired from a passing car in the street in blackburn yesterday. it was a targeted attack but police say aya was not the intended target. i think and strongly believe that she was a complete innocent, purelyjust walking to the shop for her family to buy food. that will be of little comfort to a family mourning the loss of a much loved daughter who'd been studying law and acted as a youth ambassador for the children's society. a remarkable young woman. she was bright and compassionate, and passionate, she was hard—working and ambitious. she wanted to be a lawyer.
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someone full of potential and it's a complete tragedy that her life has been cut short. detectives believe the bullets were fired from this green toyota avensis. it was later found abandoned in wellington road, that's about a five—minute drive from here. they're keen to hear from anyone who saw the car yesterday anywhere in the blackburn area. tonight, the police arrested three men aged 33, 36 and 39, on suspicion of murder. dave guest, bbc news, blackburn. 6,000 jobs at bella italia, cafe rouge and las iguanas could be at risk, after one of the uk's biggest restaurant operators filed notice to appoint administrators. the casual dining group says the move will give it breathing space to consider "all options". restaurant chains have been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic after the lockdown forced them to shut their doors in march. car manufacturers are among those re—opening their production lines today, after eight weeks of closure for many factories. the car industry employs more than three quarters of a million
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people and is crucial to the uk economy. but like workplaces across the country, new safety practices need to be in place, as simon jack reports. when britain's biggest car plants start to go back to work, so do the suppliers. workers at this engine parts maker in coventry arrived to some new procedures. so, how are they feeling? apprehensive, i think, because i didn't know what to expect when i got back to work, with the temperature checks and everything else. it is all new again. oh, no, there's no anxiety at all, no. i'm just happy to be back at work. why is it important for this factory to get back? so we can get some more money in and keep us going, keep the nation going. we've got a pandemic at the moment so i am worried about that, that's all. two metres is the social distancing that we need to work to within the factory. keeping your distance also means no canteen, no vending machines, no smoking areas, but the 25 out of 200 workers back today seem happy to work with that.
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if everybody will follow the rules what we've already done here, two metres distancing and everything, i think it's nothing to worry about. being part of a supply chain, though, means you're never entirely in control of your own destiny. the fortunes of this business are wedded to the fortunes of our customers, who are the car manufacturers. in the wallet of the average family, who knows where a car purchase as a priority is going to be? that thought is not lost 20 minutes down the road in solihull, where jaguar land rover brought back 2,000 workers, 25% or their workers, today. the business has been very clear, we are going to be demand—led, so i'm only bringing back the people that i need to build the engines at the moment. the expectation is over the remainder of the summer, hopefully, we will get back somewhere close to full capacity. piece by piece, little by little, the uk economy is being coaxed back
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into life, most people here genuinely happy to back at work, but they mostly drive themselves, and few we've spoken to have childcare issues. restarting the whole economy will be very complicated. it is a machine of very many moving parts. the march back to work will be long and slow, and not everyone currently off work will make it, but it's moving forward, and business prays that the virus travels in the opposite direction. simonjack, bbc news, coventry. ten weeks after it became the first country in the world to impose a nationwide lockdown, italy has begun easing its coronavirus restrictions. shops, restaurants, bars and hairdressers are re—opening, and people are free to travel within their own regions. the country was the epicentre of europe's covid—19 outbreak, and almost 32,000 people have died — but the daily number of deaths and new cases is now at the lowest level since restrictions were imposed. mark lowen reports.
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a plea for guidance as they emerge from the darkness. in milan, where europe's coronavirus plague exploded, they came today for solace, to the first mass since public church services resumed, after the world's longest national lockdown. this parish alone has lost 80 people. a 2,000—year—old church now has new traditions. the communion wafer is passed between unsullied hands. no longer directly on the tongue, but the palm, not a tissue. for some, it's hard to adjust. translation: it's a bit strange to hold the body of christ with the gloves, but it's important that people can come here to regain spiritual and moral strength, after all this suffering. for the faithful, a relief. "it seems like a new world," he says. "to start again like this is so moving.
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we missed it." "i felt so good," this lady says, but emotions stop any more words. it's been a long ten weeks for hairdressers and beauty salons, for restaurants and cafes, and for shops, like italy's oldest department store, appropriately named rinascente — rebirth. the new regulations are pretty strict. anybody coming in has their temperature checked. grazie. staff use an app to show them how many customers are in the store at any one time. there are hand sanitising points everywhere. and no more testing of make—up. and upstairs, there's more. changing rooms are disinfected after each use, and clothes tried on aren't put back, but are taken to a separate room, themselves quarantined. this, too, is helping italy's recovery. a hotel used to isolate infected cases as they wait to test negative,
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further halting the spread. after 20 days here, jacqueline is ready to go home. a step closer to this country healing. mark lowen, bbc news, milan. president donald trump has said he is taking the anti—malarial drug hydroxychloroquine to ward off coronavirus. speaking at the white house, he told reporters he'd been taking the medication every day for the last week and a half, and had experienced "zero symptoms". but the us food and drug
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administration has cautioned against the use of the drug — and there is no scientific evidence it can fight off coronavirus. the health system in brazil's largest city, sao paulo, is close to collapse as a result of pressure created by coronavirus, according to the city's mayor. brazil has the fourth largest number of cases in the world, and there's concern that many in brazil's cities, including the president, have defied lockdown rules on social distancing. this has put more and more pressure on already overloaded health services. 0ur south america correspondent, katy watson sent this from sao paulo. "how many more people have to die for the government to take action?" the message from one of sao paulo's biggest favelas? marching to the governor's palace today, they tried their best to practice social distancing. no mean feat in this poor and crowded neighbourhood. "my cooking pot‘s
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empty," shouts this man. people feel abandoned by the government in their hour of need. enough — the pandemic has become more about politics than disease. sao paulo residents have been in quarantine for nearly two months now, but there is no sign of it ending. the numbers keep rising, the situation is still not under control. the expectation is that tougher lockdown measures will be brought in in the coming weeks. but as the number of dead grows, more and more people are giving up on social distancing measures. on sunday, the mayor of brazil's biggest city warned that intensive care beds were fast running out, and he implored people to do their part in trying to flatten the curve. translation: it's difficult to believe that some would rather play a game of russian roulette with the population. the indifference to death is unseemly. it is a crime of responsibility.
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a criticism that many direct at the president himself.

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