tonight at ten — borisjohnson changes his mind on making health and care workers from outside the eu pay a charge for the nhs. it means the workers involved will not have to pay a £400 annual charge — much to the relief of the staff themselves. to me and my family it is a great relief, because it was always in our mind that whenever we have to extend our visa, we have to collect a certain amount of money. the prime minister, applauding nhs staff this evening, had said yesterday that the surcharge should stay, to secure income for the health service. we'll have more on the abrupt change of policy. labour says it's a "victory for common decency". also tonight... a test for coronavirus antibodies. health and care workers, hospital patients and care home residents, will be given priority.

we look ahead to an official review into links between ethnicity and the incidence of covid—19, set to be published next week. in the us, more queues for food banks as another 2.5 million people claimed unemployment benefits in the past week. applause benefits in the past week. and we talk to the family in greater manchester with a particular poignant reason for taking part in tonight's clap for health workers and carers. and coming up on sportsday on bbc news, next year or never — ioc president thomas bach says the olympics could be cancelled if the rescheduled games in 2021 don't go ahead. good evening. nhs staff and care workers who come from outside the eu will not after all have to pay a surcharge for the right to use

the health service. barely 2a hours after the prime minister told mps that the fee had to stay, the policy was abruptly reversed. a group of conservative mps had joined opposition parties in calling for the £400 a year surcharge to be dropped. borisjohnson, who's acknowledged that he owes his life to nhs staff from overseas, said yesterday it would be "very difficult" to find alternative sources of income. the labour leader sir keir starmer said the about—turn was a "victory for common decency", as our correspondent jessica parker reports. the prime minister clapping for carers tonight, after accusations it could have looked like an empty gesture. he had rejected a call to exempt overseas health and care workers from an extra charge that goes towards the health service. then, at the downing street press briefing, the u—turn. the prime minister has asked the home secretary and i to work on how we can remove nhs and care

workers from the nhs surcharge as soon as possible. we talked many times during this crisis about the enormous contribution that people from overseas make to the nhs and to social care. the prime minister... yesterday the prime minister said he'd thought about the issue a great deal. hospitalised with coronavirus, care workers had recently saved his life, but... we must look at the realities. this is a great national service, it's a national institution, it needs funding. the surcharge, that's on top of normal taxation, is currently paid by non—eu workers from abroad. it will rise to more than £600 a year in october. but for social care workers, health workers and nhs staff including porters, cleaners, a burden now lifted. this family say they are set to save

nearly £2500 a year. we have to collect a certain amount of money and keep it aside just for nhs surcharge and we have to pay in advance, so it is a huge relief for us now. labour said that you can't clap for carers one day and then charge them extra to use the nhs the next. he's been challenged. i asked the prime minister to reconsider. he's done that, he has u—turned, this is a good thing, a victory for common—sense. but it wasn'tjust opposition parties and unions calling for a change of course. there were rumblings too, some of them public, from conservative mps — a warning that the government may begin to look mean—spirited. perhaps they feared too that ministers might be at odds with the public mood, a country showing its gratitude each week for those fighting the virus on the front line. jessica parker, bbc news. health and care workers in england, along with hospital patients

and care home residents throughout the uk, will be among the first to be tested for coronavirus antibodies, from next week. the tests will show if someone has already had the virus. but the nhs confederation has warned of "severe" consequences for staff and patients if the right system for tracking and tracing is not established quickly. the latest figures show the number of deaths reported in the last 2a period has risen by 338. that brings the total number of people in the uk whose deaths are directly linked to coronavirus to 36,042. 0ur health editor hugh pym has the latest. shah scratch. it's a test that can tell you whether you've already had coronavirus and whether you might have immunity and that's important for someone wanting to know if it's relatively safe to go into work. the test, which looks for antibodies in the bloodstream, is going to be my made available from next week to

tens and thousands of nhs care workers and patients every day. we are developing this critical science to know the impact of a positive antibody test and develop the —— to develop certification so people can be assurance about what they can safely do. antibody testing has already been used in a study to find out how many people have had the virus. 17% in london and 5% elsewhere in england, with the capital having seen rising case numbers early on. if you lower your window... another part of the testing jigsaw is finding out who currently has the virus. nasal and throat swabs are taken and sent off to labs. the government target to provide 100,000 tests a day was met yesterday. but of the total just over 63,400 were carried out at drive—through centres or hospitals, more than 41,000 were test kits sent out to individuals and care homes

and around 23,800 were for research and around 23,800 were for research and surveillance. it was frustrating... some key workers like ludmilla, who works in a care home, say they are struggling to get tested. she had to get a lift for a long drive to a test centre after she couldn't book a home test kit. it would always come up that home testing kits were unavailable, there was also no mobile testing when people come to you to your home to test you, so nothing like this. the only option is to drive, so if you don't drive you are basically stuck. widespread testing and then tracing people who might have been infected by those who tested positive is seen as essential if any future spread of the virus is to be curved, but it's a complex process. here is how contact tracing should work. if i test positive for the virus i would be contacted by officials by phone 01’ be contacted by officials by phone or e—mailand be contacted by officials by phone or e—mail and asked who i have met up or e—mail and asked who i have met up with in recent days and that

means meetings at less than two metres, face—to—face, not someone i might have bumped into in a shop. that might include, for example, friends and i spent time with and work colleagues i might have been in meetings with, or a wider circle of recent contacts. all that would then be assessed by a clinical team and those people might be contacted and told to self—isolate for 14 days. there will also be a mobile phone app to help the tracing process. the prime minister says the full system will be in place by earlyjune but some health leaders are sceptical. i'm less concerned about a june the 1st date. the question is have we actually got an effective system in place and we don't introduce further lockdown measures until we are absolutely sure that that system works effectively. for nhs staff there is now a trial of a fast action test with results coming back in 20 minutes. it can be done on site without having to sent samples to lapse. it's another step in the

wide—ranging attempt to get to a comprehensive testing and tracking strategy. hugh pym, bbc news. the lockdown in scotland will start to be eased from the end of next week. the first minister nicola sturgeon says that as long as the virus continues to be suppressed, people will be allowed to do more outside their homes, similar to the current rules in england. schools are also expected to reopen in the middle of august. 0ur scotland editor sarah smith has more details. a sunny day like this in glasgow is called "taps aff" weather. running around with your top off is currently permitted, but it will be the end of next week before people in scotland can picnic or play sports. when they'll also be able to meet up with one other household, outside, at a safe distance. i don't think we should be rushing into this too much. i think everyone should take their time with this. i think it's high time we get back, you know, to people working. scotland is doing a really good job, so i think we should trust nicola and just go with what she says.

nicola sturgeon is completely upfront about being very cautious as she slowly and gradually eases lockdown. the opposition parties here broadly agree. the question will be whether the public are prepared to comply. there are stricter rules north of this border because the rate of transmission in scotland may be slightly higher. but as there's more freedom in other parts of the uk, beach scenes and official figures show that lockdown in scotland is starting to fray. nicola sturgeon is facing criticism over the high proportion of deaths in scottish care homes, and she's been accused of trying to cover up a coronavirus outbreak at a conference in edinburgh. today's announcement won't please everyone either. for me this is not and never will be a popularity contest. every single choice i and the government faces right now is a hard choice and we have to get that balance right. as we try to mitigate harm in one area, we open up the risk of doing harm in another area and that's

a very difficult balance to strike. scottish schools will not reopen before the summer holidays. they'll prepare for students to return part—time from mid—august. before covid, building social housing was a top priority. but the virus halted all construction on these homes in wishaw. now they've installed all the safety measures they need, they're impatient to restart in a week's time. i think we're ready to go. you'll be able to go on to that site and it will be as if you're going to a supermarket in terms of social distancing. garden centres opening, supermarkets etc. what's the difference ? if we're ready, we're ready. 0utdoor construction is the exception. unlike in england and northern ireland, most scots are not being encouraged to return to work. three further phases of lockdown easing will be introduced gradually as long as the virus is kept under control. it's a plan similar to other uk nations, but that bit slower and more cautious. sarah smith, bbc news, glasgow.

an official review into links between ethnicity and incidence of covid—19 is set to be published next week. the latest figures from bbc analysis suggest 193 health care workers have now died in britain during this pandemic. the majority — 130 of them — were from black, asian or other ethnic minority backgrounds. the latest intensive care figures show 34% of deaths are also among those, from black, asian and minority backgrounds. 0ur correspondent tolu adeoye has been studying the latest figures. since it was created more than 70 years ago, the nhs has recruited workers from other countries to help build and sustain it. today, it's one of the most diverse workforces in the uk. that's never been more evident than when looking at the faces of some of the staff who have died with covid—19. they were very proud to work for the nhs, they were very proud to put the uniforms on every night.

sisters esther and mary worked as health care assistants in london. both were infected by the virus last month. mary, on the right, is still recovering in hospital. her younger sister, esther, didn't survive. her daughter—in—law says they were inseparable. they came from nigeria together, they had jobs together, they've always lived together, they've never been apart. when you join the army, you know the risks that you're signing up for, you know there's a possibility that you might not come home. but with a nurse, that's not what you're signing up for. last month, nhs england advised employers to risk—assess ethnic minority staff as a precaution. a government review, led by public health england, is looking at why people from these backgrounds appear to be more affected by the virus. evidence has been emerging that a higher chance of having other health conditions, so diabetes, hypertension, for example, people's living situations, the types ofjobs they do are all likely factors.

but this is an incredibly complex area, and we still don't have all the answers. when it comes to the nhs, the health and care charity the king's fund says the staff set—up could be a factor. typically, people from an ethnic minority background will work in sort of lower to mid pay bands within the nhs — porters, cleaners, health care assistants, nurses. if you're working in a hospital setting, you are more likely in those roles to come into contact with patients who have coronavirus. douglas does part—time agency work as a mental—health nurse. he says he's no longer doing shifts. i was scared, that's why i stopped the shifts, and ifelt i didn't have the confidence to go to work, because when you don't have the right ppe and you don't have the right structures in place to support you delivering the care, then that becomes a challenge. the government is due to publish its review next week. officials say it will help inform the response to the pandemic. for families and workers,

its key those at the heart of this aren't forgotten. tolu adeoye, bbc news. every day, tributes are paid by family, friends and colleagues to people who've died with coronavirus. the bbc is gathering many of those tributes. go to bbc.co.uk/news to see the moving accounts sent in by people across the uk. there is also a form where you can add your own tribute to someone you knew. over the past few months, we've been reporting on the huge pressures on social care, but the challenge of finding a new funding structure for care has been around for decades, and several governments have promised to tackle it. the bbc has now learned thatjust

before the pandemic, ministers had been close to finalising a long—awaited overhaul of social care in england. they had been discussing a plan based on limiting the costs paid by individuals. 0ur political editor laura kuenssberg has the story. hawthorns lodge is full, but the owner of this home believes care has been abandoned — the business of looking after the vulnerable, vulnerable itself, desperately short of cash. it's a disgrace, it's a joke, you know? and they know it. there's an iceberg on the radar. do we really need to hit this iceberg and then pretend we didn't know it was coming? or should we change course and miss it altogether? and politicians have known an iceberg was on the way. labour told the next generation... i don't want them brought up in a country where the only way pensioners can get long—term care is by selling their home. ..but took 13 years

to come up with a plan. the coalition asked economist sir andrew dilnot for help, designing a system to limit or cap the cost for individuals. but with a 6 billion price tag, that was ditched in 2016. who could then forget this moment a year later? nothing has changed. and when he moved in... we will fix the crisis in social care, once and for all. ..the promises began again. early this year, the prime minister, the chancellor and the health secretary had a series of meetings here in whitehall with the architect of the care cap plan. discussions, i'm told, reached 90% agreement, with final costings and details expected to be finalised by the autumn. i'm told putting a cap on care costs for individuals is still the direction of travel, but with the blatant problems in the system, every day in this crisis on full display, ministers are also exploring not just how we pay, but how money gets to the homes themselves. under a cap system, you'd keep more of your cash before having

to contribute to your care, and the amount you'd pay over a lifetime would be limited too. ministers were even discussing a specific tax to pay. can you confirm that you were planning to introduce a cap on care costs in england and do you accept this crisis has shown that reform of the system cannot be put off again? the crisis has demonstrated the need to bring health and social care closer together. i can confirm that we're working, as we set out in the manifesto, on making sure that social care is as strong and sustainable as it possibly can be in the future. hi, andy, thank you for doing this. 0ne health secretary, who tried and failed to get a change, believes a cap would not be enough. it would be the wrong reform just to introduce a cap on care costs, because that keeps social care as a charged—for system. successive generations of politicians, including your own, just haven't got to grips with this. all of the political parties are guilty. finally, all of the country

can see how broken our social care system is. # land of hope and glory...# changing the creaking care system in england would be costly, but failing to act surely has a price too. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. in the usa, another 2.4 million people have filed for unemployment benefits in the past week. more than 38 million people have now lost theirjobs in the united states since the pandemic hit in march. these are the worst lay—offs the country has seen since the great depression of the early 1930s. 0ur north america correspondent nick bryant is in new york. 38 million, such a staggering jobless figure. that is more than the population of canada. and it's not just the population of canada. and it's notjust some the population of canada. and it's not just some abstract statistic, these are livelihoods that are being destroyed. and we are finding the economic victims of covid—19 in some

unexpected places. we don't normally go in search of hardship in the tree—lined communities of american suburbia. but now it's easy to find. and this, the looping queue for a foodbank in new york's commuter belt. cars normally used for school pickup and the weekly shop, now a marker of middle—class need. some had waited more than five hours, bumper—to—bumper, in a queue that stretched more than a mile. come here now, come here now. for organiserjamie scott, traffic control has become a major problem. eight weeks ago in the early days of the shutdown, he saw 65 families. now it's 600. and look at the cars — a mercedes, and expensive suvs. you see a lot of starter mercedes, starter beamers, high end, like, toyotas and what have you. the problem is, really, that people have gone now without four or five or six or seven paycheques, and it's starting to catch up.

they need food, it's the most basic thing. guys, it's going to be three families, guys, three families. at the front of the line, we met people who had well—paid jobs... go left, guys, all the way up to the girls. ..before the coronavirus wrought such economic destruction. people who've never had to rely on aid. michelle fernanda is a florist, struggling to make ends meet. we have to pay the rent, gas, car and other stuff. i mean, you've got a beautiful car — did you ever imagine that you'd be lining up forfood? no, never. yancey mendez is trying to feed her kids. have you got any income at the moment? no, no. no, we don't have, cos i work, like, housekeeping, so, you know, people doesn't want people to get into their houses, cos they have families, kids, and we have kids too. so you're not making any money at the moment? no. so you need this food? yes, yes, we need it. we are witnessing the biggest economic shock since the 1930s in a country still feeling

the after—effects of the financial crash of 2008. what's been noticeable since the great recession is the dwindling number of parents here who believe their kids will enjoy more abundant lives, that long held belief in generational progress that gives this country so much energy and so much drive. covid—19 has dealt yet another body blow to the american dream. what good is it if we save everybody from the virus if we let them all starve to death?! with desperation comes anger. freedom, liberty! this an end—the—shutdown protest in staten island, one of new york's most affluent boroughs. most of these people are small business owners who believe the stay—at—home order from the state's democratic governor has robbed them of their livelihoods and their liberty. members of the middle class, not used to mounting protests. open up new york, that's right! and if you can't do it,

get these democrats out! open us up! you're killing us! # i've come to seejesus... this is a convulsion that's shifting the ground beneath our feet, a disruption of immense historical scale, bigger than the great recession, more consequential than 9/11. even in the most prosperous parts of america, lives have been changed forever. nick bryant, bbc news, new york. china is planning to introduce a new national security law in hong kong, which looks set to limit freedoms in the territory. media reports say the legislation will be unveiled at china's delayed annual parliamentary session tomorrow. it's likely to be hugely controversial in hong kong, where pro—democracy activists held hundreds of rallies last year. our correspondentjohn sudworth joins us from wuhan in china.

john, tell us about the potential implications of this. well, as wuhan continues its slow return to normal, china's national parliament is seizing the moment. it may have calculated, of course, that international outrage over this move will have been muted, as governments attempt to contain the virus that began in this city more than four months ago. reports suggest that china will simply attempt to impose this law on hong kong, rather than seeking the city's consent, as it did the first time around, with the aim of outlawing almost any act of subversion against communist party rule, hoping to bring to an end the months of protest and violence that have rocked the city. the trouble is, of course, that it will be seen as more proof of china's intention to undermine hong kong's special

freedoms, and critics say, therefore, it is only likely to lead to another cycle of dissent and opposition. john, many thanks again. john sudworth there in wuhan. let's take a look at some of today's other news. the police watchdog said today it will not launch a criminal investigation into borisjohnson‘s dealings with an american businesswoman while he was mayor of london. he'd been accused of giving jennifer arcuri preferential treatment, but the review decided that mrjohnson had not committed misconduct in public office. downing street said the investigation had been a waste of police time. new figures show that net migration into the uk from non—eu countries rose to more than 280,000 last year — the highest level since records began. the office for national statistics said the rise was driven by an increase in the number of students arriving from china and india. meanwhile, net migration from eu countries fell to 49,000 — a third fewer than the previous year.

at least 84 people are now known to have died in eastern india and bangladesh, in one of the most powerful cyclones to hit the region for years. thousands of homes have been destroyed and millions of people are without power. in greece, there are hopes of reviving the multi billion pound tourist industry from next month, with international flights to all popular destinations set to resume injuly. but in a country that's seen fewer than 170 deaths from the pandemic, foreign nationals could still be denied entry if the virus isn't judged to be under control in their home countries. the uk government is still advising people against all non—essential travel. our correspondent quentin sommerville has been taking a look at some of the measures introduced, as athens prepares to welcome visitors again. when you arrive here at athens airport, this is one of the first things you see. you get a swab test for covid—19. they've been doing

this since march 20th. everybody who has the test, me included, then has to go into isolation for 24 hours. in fact there's been a two week quarantine for everybody arriving in this country, but that's about to end because greece is ready to welcome back tourists. the results are delivered in less than 24 hours. i'm told i'll get mine by early tomorrow morning. this airport now is seeing about 400, 500 passengers a day. last year greece saw something like 30 million passengers — three times the population of the country. it depends on that money. this is a country that's gone through ten years of terrible economic crisis. the last thing it needed was a pandemic on top of that. so from june 15th, tourists will be welcome again, although not those from countries with high infection rates. so, i'm now in my isolation hotel room courtesy of the greek

government and i have to stay here for 24 hours and i will be staying here because the fine for breaking that quarantine is 5000 euros. greece has done relatively well compared to other countries in coping with this pandemic — fewer than 170 deaths. and the rest of europe now is looking towards this country and seeing how it manages that next phase. if it can continue with the success while opening up the country, well, then, that might get us all a bit closer to the lives that we used to lead. the acropolis has already reopened. the country's islands will be next, as greece attempts to return to a time before corona. quentin sommerville, bbc news, athens. there isn't a town in the uk which has been unaffected by the pandemic. but research shows that seaside towns, with their reliance on tourism, could be

amongst those hardest hit, in the long term. our correspondentjudith moritz has been to cleveleys on the lancashire coast, which has a particularly high number of elderly residents. the irish sea can be unforgiving, but on a sunny day the light glistens on the water and the coastline at cleveleys looks its best. it's just along the shore from blackpool, but here life moves at a slower pace. this is where folk come to relax and to retire. pensioners make up a third of the town, so many here are vulnerable to the virus. i've got a part of the lung missing, and i've just been so scared of this virus, because i think if i get it, i'm a goner. steve has multiple health problems. he lives alone, and his home has become his fortress. do you think of yourself as vulnerable? yes, i'm scared to death of it.

you're really frightened ? the doctor's already told me i was a high risk, so i stocked up with food, what i can, and then locked the door, and that was it. what do you miss most? what i miss most of all from my friends is a hug. feels lonely? uh... it does. i get depressed with it. because i can't see an end to it. steve is suffering alone, but say goodbye to him and drive the short distance into town, and you see that cleveleys is contending with wider problems too. the venue is a restaurant and weddings complex right on the seafront. this should be its busiest time of year. it couldn't have happened at a worse time... jakki has run the venue for 20 years. she can see it prospering for many more but says she needs