this is bbc news, i'mjane hill. the headlines... durham police say dominic cummings‘ trip to barnard castle might have been a minor breach of lockdown rules, but no action would be taken against the pm's chief advisor. a coronavirus contact tracing programme has got under way in england and scotland — people who've been in close contact with someone who has the virus will be asked to self—isolate. the overwhelming majority of people, when instructed to self—isolate by the nhs, will do so, but, of course, we have the legal powers to make this mandatory if we need to. scotland's first minister has confirmed its lockdown restrictions are to be eased slightly, from tomorrow. from tomorrow, the regulations on meeting other people will change.

you and your household will be able to meet with another household out of doors, for example, in a park, or in a private garden. thousands ofjobs at risk at easyjet, as the airline says it will cut up to 30% of its workforce because of the pandemic. nissan announces the closure of its factory in barcelona. however, its sunderland production plant in the uk will remain open. and, why tonight's clap for carers could be the last. durham police have said that

dominic cummings' trip to barnard castle "might have been minor breach" of lockdown rules. but the force said no retrospective action would be taken against the pm's chief adviser. mr cummings said he drove to the town from his parents‘ home in county durham to test his eyesight, after recovering from coronavirus symptoms. in a statement, durham police said... with regards to the 26—mile journey mr cummings made to barnard castle with his wife and son, durham constabulary said... the statement continued...

our correspondent fiona trottjoins us from northumberland. people might or might not remember the details. there are two big things going on, because there is the overall decision to travel from the overall decision to travel from the capital to durham, but then while at his parents‘ property he did that day trip to barnard castle, and that is the key thing that the forces talking about. one thing that the police have not talked about this afternoon so far as the actual trip from london to county durham, and we know, don't we, from a story that we broadcast yesterday, we know that we broadcast yesterday, we know that when we did our own freedom of information request, two people had been fined for making a jon day from

london to county durham a week after dominic cummings made his trip. they we re dominic cummings made his trip. they were from two separate households, but that is action that has been taken. —— journey. they have not commented on the journey itself, but they have said that staying at his house at his father's property in cou nty house at his father's property in county durham, they do not consider that by self isolating there he committed an offence. so, that is in relation to the stay at home advice. we mentioned the trip to barnard castle as well. like you said, there may have been a minor breach of regulations at —— durham police have said today. but there was no apparent breach of social distancing. so no further action taken there, but what they haven't talked about their is anything under the road traffic act, because we heard from members of police forces, haven't we, that have spoken about

if mrcummings felt haven't we, that have spoken about if mr cummings felt that his eyesight was impaired, should he have been in a car and what durham police have yet to speak about this afternoon also is the fact that he went to hospital when he was in cou nty went to hospital when he was in county durham to collect his wife and child. but we understand that he may have been suffering from symptoms of coronavirus himself at that time, and yet he drove to the hospital to collect them, and we know that the advice is that if you do believe that you are having symptoms of coronavirus, you should stay at home. durham police have not commented on that, and we do not know either whether or not any transport arrangements were discussed with the hospital to help that family. so, yes, we are hearing from durham police this afternoon that no further action is to be taken, but also perhaps there are more questions, too, that we still need some answers to. fiona trott,

in northumberland, thank you. our political correspondent is at westminster... jonathan blake, is this an end to the matter? i doubt it, but as far as the prime minister is concerned, it should be. the response from downing street to that statement from durham police goes as follows, "the police have made it clear they are taking no action against mr cummings and that going to durham did not breach the regulations." it goes on to say that the prime minister said he believes dominic cummings behaved an illegal manner and he now regards the issue is closed. i think the point is that this statement from durham is not conclusive. it says there might have been a breach of the guidelines but in any case they are not going to ta ke in any case they are not going to take any further action. —— in a legal manner. at the moment downing

street are sticking behind dominic cummings and it does not change anything as far as they are concerned. but his political opponents in the labour party and elsewhere are still calling for him to resign. they are pointing to this statement by the police, saying that there might have been a breakage of there might have been a breakage of the guidelines as further evidence that he acted inappropriately. the key will be what conservative mps and others in government, who are perhaps a little less inclined to rush to defend dominic cummings, what they do next. and i asked one of the first mps to call for dominic cummings to resign after this trip came to light what they thought about this decision by durham police, and the response was a shrug of the shoulders emoji. thank you! perhaps we will get more on that throughout the afternoon, jonathan blake. that statement only coming through from durham police and less than an hour, only 25 minutes or so ago. there could be more reaction to come to that.

coronavirus contact tracing systems have been launched, in both england and scotland. anyone who's been in close contact with someone who's tested positive for covid—i9 will now be contacted and asked to self—isolate. it's hoped the system will allow the easing of blanket lockdown restrictions and a move towards more localised measures. scientists believe it could prevent between 5% and 15% of cases. northern ireland has a version of the programme already up and running. the scheme in wales is due to start in earlyjune. sophie hutchinson reports. pinpointing people with the virus and tracing those they may have infected is now back on the table in england after a two—month pause. the government says its new voluntary programme was up and running this morning and it has urged people to participate. we are doing this on a voluntary basis because we think the overwhelming majority of people, when instructed to self—isolate by the nhs, will do so. but, of course, we have the legal

powers to make this mandatory if we need to. i'd just rather not do that. so how does the test and trace service work? anyone with symptoms should self—isolate and book a test. if the result is positive, an nhs official will call or e—mail to ask who you may have had recent contact with. anyone you have been within two metres or less from for 15 minutes, or closer than one metre face to face, so colleagues or friends, will be called by the tracers and told to self—isolate for up to 11! days. members of their household do not have to go into quarantine unless they develop symptoms. at least, that's how it's meant to work. the government has recruited 25,000 contact tracers and some were surprised when they received this last night, informing them the service was starting in the morning. we didn't get an e—mail through from the public health people until 9:50pm last night with logins that didn't work. this morning it still didn't work.

just a happy, cheery e—mail saying we're going live tomorrow but that's all i heard about it. even yesterday, they didn't mention it. it seems like it might have been rushed through. the government did say there were issues today that have now been resolved. it is estimated an effective tracking system could cut the new infections by up to 15% but it all relies on test results being turned around quickly. 0ur trust leaders tell us that often when they are testing staff or patients it can take between 3—5 days for those test results to come back, on average, rather than the 2a hours which is the kind of international gold standard. the official tracers will ask infected people for the names, addresses, phone numbers and e—mails of those they may have infected. public health england insists this data will be protected and doctors say that is essential.

the only way this will work is if the patients have the confidence that the information they disclose to those that are doing the contact tracing will remain confidential. and concerns have been raised about how to recognise a genuine call from an nhs tracer apart from a hoax. 0ne security expert said there is no real way of telling. if somebody calls you and say they are a track—and—tracer, you pretty much have to take them on their word, which is really problematic because i think this is something scammers could then potentially take and really run with. all they would need to do is really phone you up, ask for your e—mail address and say, we're about to send you a form, then send you an e—mail, you click on a document and your computer is infected with malware. northern ireland has had a contact tracing system in place for some time. scotland's begins today and wales is hoping to launch a similar programme next week. sophie hutchinson, bbc news.

nicola sturgeon has announced that people in scotland will be able to meet outside from tomorrow. the first minister said the move would allow people to meet with residents from one other household at a time. but they will need to remain outdoors, and in groups of no more than eight. but she urged people to stick to social distancing guidelines, warning the virus had not gone away. 0ur scotland correspondent lorna gordon is in glasgow. just a slight easing of restrictions there, is that what nicola sturgeon is pointing to here? yes, slow, gradual, cautious, ithink is pointing to here? yes, slow, gradual, cautious, i think would is pointing to here? yes, slow, gradual, cautious, ithink would be the words to describe this easing. the first minister said there had been a sustained and unmistakable downward trend in the spread of the virus in scotland and the reproduction rate of the virus has been between 0.7% and i% now for more than three weeks, and she said thatis more than three weeks, and she said that is the reason why they think the changes that they are proposing

can now be made. there has been a warning, it does not mean a free for all in scotland, and there is still all in scotland, and there is still a big element of constraint. but what it will mean is that some noncontact sports that are outdoors, like golf and tennis, angling, for instance, will be allowed from tomorrow. and most crucially, according to the first minister, families, friends, households will be able to meet up, as long as it is outdoors, as long as they maintain a distance of two metres, and that they don't go inside at any point, and that the numbers are limited to eight people at a maximum. she has been keen and re—emphasise this for several days now, she knows how hard it has been for some families to be separated for more than eight weeks now, and she admitted to feeling a little bit nervous about the limited changes that are being brought in, and she really asked people to

respect them, and said, well, a lot of people who might be meeting family for the first time in sometime tomorrow, they might have an instinct to hug their grammys or hug their brothers and sisters. she urged them not to do that. she said don't put your loved ones at risk, maintain that to metre physical distance at all times. and, of course, she underlined the message, the underlying message that is to still stay at home if at all possible. lorna gordon, thank you, for now. let's get more on the news that dominic cummings' trip to barnard castle "might have been minor breach" of lockdown rules, according to durham police. a round trip of 50 or 60 miles, depending on what you read. let's go now to our home affairs

correspondent, daniel sandford, who is in north london. tell us more about what the police force is saying, daniel? what we are dealing with now is what kind of police enforcement there should be, it is not for the police to find someone it is not for the police to find someone guilty of hypocrisy, their job is to work out whether there has been a breach of the health protection regulations and if it was a serious enough breach to warrant a punishment orfine. a serious enough breach to warrant a punishment or fine. do a serious enough breach to warrant a punishment orfine. do not a serious enough breach to warrant a punishment or fine. do not forget that throughout this crisis, the police's method has been to educate people firstly, to make sure they are aware of what the guidelines are and to get them to stay at home, and it was only when people repeatedly breached those guidelines or refuse to do what the police said, that enforcement in the form of fines has been used. and i think that is what you are seeing here. firstly, in terms of dominic cummings staying at his parents‘ house. the police have taken the view that there was an attempt by him to take himself out of circulation safely, along with

his family, and they did not want to get involved in that. in terms of the trip to barnard castle, they feel that there has been a breach of the regulations, because he has travelled further than he was supposed to have done, but they have talked about it as being a minor breach of regulations, because when he has got to the castle he has not actually mixed with anyone, he has kept social distancing and their view seems to be, that if a police officer had actually seen him doing this and had seen him sitting on the grass, or whatever he did at barnard castle, they might have had a word with him, asked him to go home, and only if he had refused to do so, would they have taken any enforcement action. so, therefore, they are calling this a minor breach. and in terms of whether they should pursue it now given all of the publicity, what they seem to be suggesting is that would be unfair because they have not been doing retrospective punishment on other people they have found out and about several weeks later, and so just

because dominic cummings is a very high profile figure now, they should be beating him differently to any other members of the public. hence, this description of it being a minor breach and there being no retrospective further action. yes, and a quick thought to your point is well about the police's role and responsibility in all of this and it is worth reminding that perhaps they make the point in the statement that we are concerned here with the breaches of the regulations. they have used a capital r, not the general guidance to stay at home, there is an important distinction there. yes, very important. i do not know how many of ever viewers have encountered the police during this period. we have spent time filming with them and firstly they are asking people what they were doing and if people had a reasonable excuse, they allowed them to go about their business, if not, they have encouraged him to go home. but they have been saying, listen, what they have been saying, listen, what the government is asking you to do is x, y, z. that is the guidelines,

and then the regulations say that you must do this. and they have taken the view here, i think, that a lot of stuff around the first incident, the moving from london to durham to isolate because of the contraction of the virus, that probably fits more into the government guidelines bet rather than the health regulations. in terms of health regulations, dominic cummings was doing his best to keep his family isolated from the public. i think that is the view from the police, their interpretation of the law in this case. daniel sandford, oui’ law in this case. daniel sandford, our home affairs correspondent, thank you. the headlines on bbc news... durham police say the prime minister's chief aide, dominic cummings, may have committed a minor breach of lockdown regulations. a coronavirus contact tracing programme has got under way in england and scotland — people who've been in close contact with someone who has the virus

will be asked to self—isolate. scotland's first minister has confirmed its lockdown restrictions are to be eased slightly, from tomorrow. easyjet has announced plans to cut up to 30% of its workforce, because of the collapse in demand for flights caused by the coronavirus pandemic. the company employes about 15,000 people. 0ur transport correspondent tom burridge told me it's been a difficult time for airlines. we quantify up to 12,000 jobs going at british airways, 3000 at ryanair, 3000 and virgin atlantic, now 11,500 at easyjet. most of those jobs are in the uk, and the list of airlines goes beyond that. the ripple effect through the aviation sector is severe, so we can affectjob redundancies, i think, also at airports so we can expectjob redundancies, i think, also at airports in the near future, ground handling companies, aircraft manufacturers have already made big job announcements also. now this is the starting gun

on what will surely be a very fractious negotiation between the airline on the unions. between the airline and the unions. the airline, easyjet, says, like other airlines, it doesn't think as many people will be travelling on its planes as did last year until we reach 2023, and therefore, it says it has to resize and restructuring this radical way. but the unite union representing cabin crews said this was unnecessarily hasty, the representatives of pilots said it was a knee jerk reaction and a kick in the teeth for staff. i think what airlines now are concentrating on is how to get flights moving again, and i think there is this intriguing contradiction at the moment between the government's advice on the one hand, and that is, broadly speaking, do not book a holiday abroad at the moment, and the fact that airlines are ramping up their schedules into june, certainly in july, very much into august. and, yes, borders remain open, but the foreign office's advice is still against all nonessential travel abroad. and of course, most people coming back into the uk, virtually everyone, under the current rules that are going to be brought in, will have to self—isolate for two weeks.

so there is a human element to this, of course, tens of thousands of people are going to be out of work and they won't have jobs to go back to in the aviation sector in the immediate time. tom burridge, our transport correspondent. the japanese car firm nissan has said its plant in sunderland remains an important part of its business. the pledge to maintain production in the uk came after nissan announced the closure of its factory in barcelona, with the loss of nearly 3,000 jobs. in barcelona, with the loss sarah corker reports. in barcelona, with the loss in barcelona this morning, nissan workers burned tires and uniforms at the factory gates. the japanese car—maker is closing this site with the loss of nearly 3000 jobs. in the north of england, though, there is a brighter outlook, the sunderland plant is safe for now. the area is so dependent on this plant and the fact that now we have certainty about the future, fantastic news. it's brilliant news for the area and the workforce who work there, to save any redundancies, i suppose, but bad news for spain, isn't it?

the car giant confirmed today that it's restructuring its global business as it deals with massive losses. it's certainly a pivot from the previous strategy that was very much based around expansion and hitting volume targets. now it's much more about doing things profitably. the global car industry was already struggling before this pandemic hit. the spread of coronavirus sent sales tumbling. production at the sunderland plant was suspended back in march but today's news has come as a huge relief for people here in the north—east. the first nissan bluebirds came off the line last april... nissan has been here since 1986, japan's route into european markets. fast—forward more than three decades and today it's britain's largest car plant. but since the brexit vote and concern over export tariffs with the eu, the future of sunderland has been uncertain. union leaders said today's announcement has recognised the significance of production here.

there are 6000 directly employed, with potentially an additional 30% in the supply chain in the north—east, so on a huge scale, it's of huge importance, so the relief has come today that the site is unaffected, subject to efficiency cuts. 1000 furloughed workers are expected to return to this factory next month and there is also growing speculation that renault, nissan's partner, could move some of its production here. sarah corker, bbc news in sunderland. the office for national statistics has just published figures, which estimate thatjust under1 in 400 people in the england have coronavirus in community settings.

so that it doesn't include hospitals and care homes and so on. robert cuffe is our head of statistics. and we're learning more about the regional breakdown of coronavirus cases. what more is the 0ns saying, what does this tell us? the figures are broadly stable compared to last week, perhaps a little bit down. last week they were saying they were just under 9000 new infections every day in england and this week it is just under 8000. there is a margin of error, perhaps around plus or -1000, but of error, perhaps around plus or —1000, but not enough to say we are definitely coming down but it is not going up. perhaps a tiny hint of going up. perhaps a tiny hint of going down. there are caveats, these are self administer test going out into the population at large, targeting random household, asking them to do their own swab test and send it back on. you could get a chunk of false negatives because it is difficult to do that yourself.“

done properly, it is apparently quite an unpleasant process. that brings its own challenges for statisticians. yes, so the rate could be higher. but if you look at the trends in that, it helps us to get to the question, what is r? an estimate of do you think the number of infections is going up or down, and this is the most direct estimate of what is happening to that number because it is estimating the number of infections. so when we see those weekly trends, that gives us the most real—time estimate we have of what is going on. that is the overall number, what is also interesting is geographical variation, what are we learning today on that score? well, u nfortu nately, today on that score? well, unfortunately, when you only have one in 400 people coming back with a positive test, even when you asked thousands of people, you only get about 36 people who have actually tested positive. so you cannot use these figures directly to take you —— to tell you about the regional picture. you have to look at things like the deaths. and we can show that. there has been discussion in

recent weeks that many regions are falling behind. if you look at this graph, you can see how quickly deaths have been following this month. you can see that they have maybe been following fastest in london on the south—west, but even in the likes of the midlands, which is behind a pack on this measure and a number of others, it is only slightly behind the middle, it is not that they are lagging way behind. perhaps there is the suggestion that london has been doing better are coming down faster, but there is no evidence in this or any other kinds of information be used to estimate r to suggest that regions are particularly growing in cases 01’ regions are particularly growing in cases or deaths. across the uk hospitalisations and deaths have been following, you confirmed cases have been falling, and they have said that across the uk they are confident that tee is below one, we do not have the official estimates yet but people have called on the government to publish those estimates. thank you very much for

the moment, robert. a grim milestone has been reached in the united states, where 100,000 people are now confirmed to have died with covid19. died with covid—19. it means that about as many americans have died with the virus as in the korea, vietnam, iraq and afghanistan wars combined. aleem maqbool reports from washington. president trump: the coronavirus. .. this is the new hoax. we have it totally under control. siren blares. i think it's going to end up being such a rough patch. when we open, especially if we can open it, the sooner the better. # happy birthday to you...#. friends and relatives of more than 100,000 people in america can nowjust cling to the memories of happier times. doug lambrecht was one of the first confirmed deaths, back on the 1st march. it's scary, it's sad. i feel angry. we should have been listening to the doctors and the scientists. we should not have been

listening to people talking about the stock market. it's natural that people are reaching for answers, for someone to be accountable, after scenes like mass graves being dug in new york and refrigerated trucks lining up to receive the dead once the morgues were full. if the lord says so, i'll see you saturday. we now know that african—americans, like rhoda hatch, are still dying in disproportionate numbers. some of us in the black community are very concerned that disproportionately impacted by the virus, that there was also then a push to open up the country, that many of us think prematurely, that, again, suggested devaluation of black lives. my body, my choice! open 0hio now!

we will reopen! those calls to reopen go on, even as the number of dead continues to mount and as the nation mourns. well, flags have most recently been lowered here after tragedies like mass shootings, and even then, it's been difficult to grapple with the scale of loss after sometimes dozens of people have been killed. but how, then, does america even begin to count the emotional cost of such a staggering number of deaths that have happened in fewer than 90 devastating days? to really do justice to the stories of those lost would take many lifetimes. for people left behind, the question lingers — could more have been done so these americans and tens of thousands of others might still be around? aleem maqbool, bbc news, in washington.

much more to come in the next half an hour. now it's time for a look at the weather with darren bett. hello there, another warm and sunny day today. there was a bit of rain in northern scotland first thing, but that has cleared away. this evening and overnight there will be more cloud continuing for the northern isles of scotland, some of that cloud will push its way down the north sea and arrive into some eastern coastal counties of england. otherwise it is clear skies, the lowest temperatures probably across the east anglia, around six, seven degrees or so. 0therwise, double figures. tomorrow we will see more sunshine arriving across the northern isles of scotland, that cloud in eastern england will soon break up and fade away, and then we've got blue skies. again, bit of a breeze blowing, an easterly or southeasterly breeze, get that onshore and it will be a little bit cooler. the heat is moving its way northwards, we are likely to make the mid—20s in scotland on friday. into the weekend, more of the same, a bit of patchy cloud

here and there, but otherwise it is dry again. there will be lots of sunshine also, the highest temperatures throughout the weekend, more towards the western side of the uk. those temperatures again, around 26 celsius or even 27 celsius. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines... durham police say dominic cummings' trip to barnard castle might have been a minor breach of lockdown rules, but no action would be taken against the pm's chief adviser. a coronavirus contact tracing programme has got under way in england and scotland. people who've been in close contact with someone who has the virus will be asked to self—isolate. scotland's first minister has confirmed its lockdown restrictions are to be eased slightly, from tomorrow. thousands ofjobs at risk at easyjet, as the airline says it will cut up to 30% of its workforce because of the pandemic.

nissan has announced the closure of its factory in barcelona with the loss of almost 3000 jobs, however, its sunderland production plant in the uk will remain open. and, tonight's clap for carers is the tenth and is planned to be the last. sport now and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's katherine downes. good afternoon. world rugby have announced a series of new optional law trials hoped to help the sport restart, particularly at grassroots level. drastically reducing the amount of scrums during a game, removing the choke tackle, limiting numbers in the maul and speeding up rucks are among 10 optional rules which will be trialled to help reduce the risk of coronavirus transmission during matches. speaking before the announcement was made, exeter‘s rob baxter

gave his view on the proposals. take away blocks of time that were taken up with scrums and with mauls, we are going to move the ball from rucks quicker. what is the one thing that we can 100% guarantee were going to have more of? well, 100% more, we are going to have a lot more tackles and a lot more collisions. with fitter players running harder, not being tired out in scrums, none of those moments. and so what are we going to do? because of this, we are going to create another crisis in our sport. a significant step will be taken today on the timeline towards restarting the premier league. a decision on a restart date and venues for matches could potentially be made. it comes as players are given the green light to begin contact training. until now, training sessions have been conducted with social distancing measures in place. championship players returned to non—contact training this week, with fulham confirming two of their players are self isolating after testing positive for coronavirus. meanwhile, the charlton manager lee bowyer says three of his squad have chosen not to return

to training, having consulted with players over their wish to play. i met the players on saturday before we did our first test. i asked them all individually, it is your choice, do you want to come back and play the remainder of the season? every single player i have asked, i have said there is no pressure, it is your choice, and all but three have said yes. staying in the championship, and luton have reappointed nathan jones just 16 months after he left the club for stoke. he replaces graemejones — and led the club to promotion from league two in 2018, before departing injanuary last year when they were second in the league one table. manchester city women have announced gareth taylor as their new head coach. he played for city's men's side during his career and has recently been coaching in the club's academy. he replaces nick cushing who left

city earlier this year to join new york city in america's mls. the son of former liverpool owner george gillett has made a formal approach to buy hearts. foster gillett, who once sat on the board at anfield, is looking to purchase a controlling interest in the edinburgh club. bbc scotland understands he made contact with hearts owner ann budge through a third party last week. she has confirmed the interest, but says now is not the right time to sell. the dutch grand prix has become the latest formula one race to be cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. the race was set to return to the calendar for the first time since 1985, and had initially been postponed. it'll now not take place this year, although all 300,000 tickets sold for the race will be valid for 2021. formula one organisers hope to start the season in austria injuly. the 2021 special olympics gb national summer games, due to take place in liverpool next year, have been postponed.

the games were scheduled to take place next august, but organisers say the heightened risk to athletes with intellectual disabilities means postponing is the right decision to protect competitors and the integrity of the games. it is hoped the event can be rescheduled. rugby league has returned today in australia with brisbane broncos beaten 34 points to six by parramatta eels. with no supporters allowed inside the stadium, cardboard cutouts and virtual crowd audio was the closest fans got to the live experience. that didn't bother the visitors though who went on to secure a comfortable victory. that's all the sport for now. see you in the next hour, thank you. let's get more now on the government's test and trace scheme which has launched today.

northern ireland already has a system northern ireland already has a syste m u p northern ireland already has a system up and running, whales will follow in earlyjune, but this is a first big day for england and scotland. it is hoped that this could help with the blanket lockdown that we have and it might mean that we could have regional variation and local lockdowns, or local restrictions, that is part of the thinking behind this system. let's discuss all of that with the assistant director of the health foundation. hello, good afternoon. good afternoon. how important, how helpful do you feel this new system could be? as we all know, covid has taken a terrible toll in the uk and has caused much grief or families, and we are looking at the moment at approaching 60,000 more deaths than usual, so that's when you compare the death that we've had so far in

2020 with the usual number that we would expect looking at previous yea rs. would expect looking at previous years. deaths directly related to covid, about 7000, that is a figure that we here in the news, in contrast, germany has had about 8000, so we can do something different here. in the uk, 17,000. in this system, is this one of the things that germany has done well in your opinion? i think when you look at other countries, there are many reasons why different countries have different death rates. there are two different death rates. there are two different factors, when lockdown happened and how it happened, and the other is the kind of testing and tracing system that they had in place. so as you said earlier, lockdown is a blanket approach, test and trace is a much more targeted approach. as it is currently set up in this country, is it enough in your opinion? 25,000 tracers might

sound like a lot, but we have a very large population in this country, they have a lot of phone calls to make and a lot of e—mails to send to make and a lot of e—mails to send to make this work. i think time will tell, we have come quite late to this compare to some other countries. this is obviously a lot better than having nothing at all, different countries do take different countries do take different approaches. as we know, south korea has got an approach based on technology, germany does rely on a more human approach. that is closer to the system that has come in today in england and scotland, isn't it? how much does germany's experience tell us about whether that person who gets a phone call, unbeknownst to them, and they are told, you might not know it, but you're been in contact with someone who has tested positive for covid—19, yuck to self—isolate now, not work, not see her family... covid—19, yuck to self—isolate now, not work, not see herfamily... do

people in germany respond well to that? this sm occurred while they had a lockdown in place as well, and how these systems work, and european countries when you have not gone lockdown, i think this has remained to be seen. it is also true to say that we do have anna norma's amount of regional variation in our country. an end norma's amount of regional variation. in brent, country. an end norma's amount of regionalvariation. in brent, in london, in the worst year, there we re london, in the worst year, there were five times as many deaths in one week is normal, at the other end of the spectrum, northeast lincoln chair only had 43 more deaths. compared to the five times as many, thatis compared to the five times as many, that is much better. it does show that is much better. it does show that we need an approach that recognises the variation that we are getting around the country. regional variation is interesting, but there

are so many variation is interesting, but there are so many factors, density of population must be one. the average age of that population, all those factors come into play, don't they? absolutely, the way i have been thinking about it is that before we had lockdown, how much of a population —— are population were infected? so then there's what happened after lockdown. when it comes to social distancing, populations where there were people that had to go out to work and cannot practice as much social distancing, so after lockdown, the infection was likely to spread. so then there is the other part of the population, not just then there is the other part of the population, notjust age, but poverty, having to live in multiple households, deprivation generally, and then there is a health system itself. and i think, fortunately, we have the nhs that out, so i don't think there are very big differences in how the nhs people treated people

who work very sleep sick with covid. in the interest of the tracing system that we are focusing on today, could not ultimately lead to possibly regional variations in restrictions? so if you can show that one particular part of the country is really doing well, there are not many cases, that people in that part of the country could be living in a rather different way to somewhere else with mike is a possible? i guess that is possible, and that surely must go to the opposite of a blanket system, that is the target system, so almost inevitably if you have a targeted system, you might target individuals, you might target some sort of areas, so i guess that is possible. but how that is going to work exactly, i don't think we yet know. and they kind of degree of acceptability to the public, because all the systems to rely on trust,

trust in the kind of leaders and what people are being told. interesting, all right, they give very much. thank you. we will talk more about that new system over the course of the afternoon and i think the questions will be coming up around 330 for that as well. just to tell you a tweet that is just come through from president trump because we we re through from president trump because we were reflecting about the death toll in the us, and donald trump just saying that we have a very sad milestone with the number of deaths reaching 100,000 people. to the all the families and friends of those who have passed, i want to extend my heartfelt love for everything that these people stood for and represent. that is the latest accomack there from president trump.

most children across the uk haven't been into school for more than two months. for some, the pandemic has affected their confidence and mental wellbeing. with some pupils in england due to return to the classroom next week, the children's commissioner is now calling for a mental health counsellor in every school. sima kotecha reports. sunshine and cricket. but lockdown hasn't always been like this. for ten—year—old umun, the youngest of three brothers, it's led to anxiety and distress. on one occasion he had what felt like a panic attack. i was very tense inside. it was very hard because i was thinking about what was going to happen next, like, is anything going to happen between the family? i couldn't do it any more, so ijust wanted to go out and just let it all out, but i couldn't. his mum's worried about the impact it will have on his long—term mental health.

trying to support him now, and in the future, we don't know how this is going to impact him. the constant question of when will it end? what if it comes back? what if one of us gets it? what if we die? it's quite a lot for a ten—year—old. a survey by one charity suggests 67% of parents and carers are also concerned about the mental health impact the coronavirus outbreak will have on their children, with many noticing an increase in depression and anxiety. the children's commissioner for england wants schools to be at the forefront of providing mental health support. so, what i'm calling for is a mental health counsellor in every school, to help children recover from the covid emergency and help them gain the confidence and resilience they need to move forward and make the most of their education and their childhood,

which has been on hold for so many weeks. but at a time when the country is facing a recession and there's likely to be tighter budgets, there's doubt over whether this idea is financially viable. the government says it recognises the importance of mental health during this time. in a statement it says... "that is why we have published guidance for schools and families about how to support their children's mental well—being and education at home." it says... "we have also placed significance on mental health and well—being in our planning framework for the wider opening of schools." coronavirus has affected the lives of all of us. its impact on the minds of the youngest in society might only be properly understood in years to come. sima kotecha, bbc news. the headlines on bbc news... durham police say the prime minister's chief aide,

dominic cummings, may have committed a minor breach of lockdown regulations. a coronavirus contact tracing programme has got under way in england and scotland. people who've been in close contact with someone who has the virus will be asked to self—isolate. scotland's first minister has confirmed its lockdown restrictions are to be eased slightly, from tomorrow. china's parliament has rubber—stamped a hugely controversial national security bill that looks likely to limit freedoms in hong kong. out of nearly 3,000 parliamentary delegates, there was only one vote against. the law will criminalise conduct in hong kong that undermines beijing's authority, it also allows china's intelligence agencies to set up in the territory for the first time. stephen mcdonell reports. at china's rubber—stamp congress, the vote was never going to be close.

in the end, 2878 in favour and only one against. the bill for tougher security measures in hong kong now goes to a standing committee and should be law by the second half of the year. in hong kong the local legislature saw more pushing and shoving today. the numbers in the mini parliament are stacked so it will always remain under the control of the pro—beijing camp. it hasn't been able to pass a national security law, so the central government imposed its own legislation on the city. it's unclear which types of speech or actions might constitute treason under the new law, but secession and subversion crimes could mean decades in prison for activists. many in the pro—democracy camp are calling on the united states and others to impose sanctions on both hong kong and mainland china.

action is what will make the chinese hesitate to impose this draconian law on us. supporters of the law say it's needed to rein in protests which have become at times destructive and violent. others say it will mean the end of free speech in hong kong. it has certainly reignited tensions there. stephen mcdonnell, bbc news, beijing. a fijian veteran who served in the british army has thanked the uk public for helping to pay £30,000 pounds for emergency surgery to remove a brain tumour. tatiusi ratucaucau was ineligible for free nhs treatment due to his immigration status. he's one of a number of com monwealth vetera ns who are now taking legal action against the government over their rights to remain in the uk, as our defence correspondent, jonathan beale reports. growing up in fiji, taitusi ratucaucau had a dream to play rugby and tojoin the british army.

he fulfilled both, but now passing a rugby ball is part of his therapy after major surgery to remove a brain tumour. medical treatment that's left him with a bill of nearly £30,000, which he can't afford. taitusi served in the british army for more than a decade with tours of iraq and afghanistan. when he left in 2011, he thought he'd be looked after by the country he served, and which his family's made home. but in hospital, he found out he wouldn't be treated like any other veteran, and would have to pay the nhs as an overseas patient. right now, i feel betrayed because i gave my life to fight for this country, and this is what happened in return to me. i didn't expect to be like this. if i know the first time it's going to be like this, i would have never come here.

with the kindness of friends and strangers, his hospital bill is now being paid. but he and other fijian veterans still face visa charges to legally remain in the uk. for taitusi and his family, that would cost nearly £10,000. campaigners say the policy needs to change. if somebody can sacrifice their lives to serve for queen and country, i'm absolutely certain they deserve to be here. there's no doubt about that. commonwealth countries like fiji have long been a fertile recruiting ground for the forces, but lawyers now representing a group of fijians, including taitusi, argue many were not given clear guidance on their immigration status. they have no status, they can't access the nhs, they can't work, they have no settled status here at all. that feeds a real sense, not only of uncertainty, but injustice.

0fficials here at the ministry of defence and at the home office say they cannot comment on individual cases, but as to the immigration status of commonwealth recruits, a government spokesman insisted they and their families are all made aware of how they can settle in the uk and the costs involved. taitusi's faith in britain has been partly restored by the generosity of the public, who helped pay his hospital bill. he now hopes the government will show the same generosity by waiving the visa fees so he can legally remain in the country he served. jonathan beale, bbc news. every thursday evening, the nation has come together to applaud the front line workers in the coronavirus outbreak. tonight marks the 10th week of ‘clap for carers', and the woman who started it has suggested it should be the last. 0ur correspondent tim muffet looks at how a simple idea has impacted so many. applause

the sound of thursday nights at 8pm. neighbours... car horn beeps. ..shoppers. .. ..hospital staff... ..on land... ..at sea... ..across the uk... ..and abroad. a simple idea that grew and grew. cheering and applause on this council estate in north london, the impact of their weekly clap for carers has been profound. it's brought the community together. even though i've lived here 17 years, i've got to know people that i never would have met. it's basically brought love, which is the key thing, to all of our lives. have there been neighbours you've seen because of the weekly clap which you maybe wouldn't have seen otherwise? definitely. i mean, windows open, curtains pull back and people show themselves, and you see an exuberance for being part of this

big celebration. but after ten weeks, this estate is bringing its weekly nhs clap for carers to an end. tonight's will be the last. we'll be out again tonight, you know, cheering these people to the rafters, but some people feel it's time to end on a high. the idea of ending the weekly clap is shared by the person who started it. the reason why i will stop giving support to the weekly event is because i think it's good to end it whilst it still has such a positive impact. i hope that the legacy will be how much it brought us together and that we will always feel that gratitude and appreciation that we have towards the essential workers. some have said the weekly clap has also become too politicised. but not everyone wants it to end. some nhs staff say it still inspires them. a really, really positive impact on us. it's made us feel really valued, as well.

i think a lot of people would like to carry on. i'd be happy for it to carry on for another period of time. tonight at 8pm, we'll gather again and clap for the tenth time. and, for some, the last. tim muffet, bbc news. a perfectly preserved ancient roman mosaic floor has been discovered under an italian vineyard. after decades of searching, experts in verona finally unearthed the well—preserved tiles buried under tonnes of earth. apparently, scholars first found evidence of a roman villa there more than a century ago. archaeologists are still excavating the site to see the full extent of the ancient building. now it's time for a look at the weather with darren bett. hello, there.

another warm sunny day, for most of us completely dry again. this was a weather watcher picture taken earlier in the south—east of england, and it is across the south—east, just one part of the country that is expected to have the driest may on record. about four millilitres of rain has fallen in south—east england, 7% of average. if we look to highland scotland, the weather has been improving, this is one part of the country that has had above—average rainfall, 150% of expected rainfall, most fell about a week ago. we have had some rain earlier on in northern scotland, that has pushed away out into the north sea and sunny skies pretty much across—the—board. that is how it will stay over the next few days. evening out in the highlands and south—east of england, lots of sunshine and temperatures around 23 celsius. the reason it has been so dry all month, persistent areas of high pressure. we have one dominating

the weather at the moment. around the top of that, more cloud this evening and overnight, up towards the northern isles, with some of that cloud pushing down across the north sea, and heading into eastern parts of england later. 0therwise clear skies, the lowest temperatures around east anglia, 7 degrees or so, but many temperatures remaining in double figures. friday, more of the same, probably a bit more sunshine pushing into the northern isles. the cloud across eastern england will soon fade and there will be blue skies across—the—board. a breeze noticeable, an easterly or south—easterly. 0nshore breeze in coastal areas, a little bit cooler. plenty of heat around and that heat is pushing its way northwards, so temperatures will be rising in scotland, even into the mid—20s. moving into the weekend, higher pressure still in charge, centred over scandinavia, keeping those weather fronts at bay and we draw in the warmth from continental europe. more importantly, it

is going to stay dry. this sums it up for the weekend, sunny and warm and there is no sign of any rain, and also the uv levels will be high, perhaps very high in some areas. city forecasts for the weekend, patchy cloud here and there, but plenty of sunshine around, temperatures peaking at 26 or 27.

this is bbc news i'mjane hill. the headlines... durham police say dominic cummings' trip to a castle might have breached lockdown rules, but no action would be taken against the pm's chief advisor. a coronavirus contact tracing programme gets under way in england and scotland — people who've been in close contact with someone who has the virus will be asked to self—isolate. the overwhelming majority of people, when instructed to self—isolate by the nhs, will do so, but, of course, we have the legal powers to make this mandatory if we need to. scotland's first minister confirms its lockdown restrictions are to be eased slightly, from tomorrow. from tomorrow, the regulations

on meeting other people will change. you and your household will be able to meet with another household out of doors, for example, in a park, or in a private garden. thousands ofjobs at risk at easyjet, as the airline says it will cut up to 30% of its workforce because of the pandemic. nissan announces the closure of its factory in barcelona. however, its sunderland production plant will remain open. and, why tonight's clap for carers could be the last. durham police have said that

dominic cummings' trip to barnard castle "might have been minor breach" of lockdown rules. but the force said no retrospective action would be taken against the pm's chief adviser. mr cummings said he drove to the town from his parents‘ home in county durham to test his eyesight, after recovering from coronavirus symptoms. in a statement, durham police said they... with regards to the 26—mile journey mr cummings made to barnard castle with his wife and son, durham constabulary said they... the statement continued...

0ur political correspondent is at westminster... good afternoon, jonathan blake. there were a sizeable number of conservative mps who had wanted him to go because of everything we have been discussing in the last few days. any reaction from many of them, jonathan? very little after them, jonathan? very little after the statement from durham constabulary, that dominic cummings might have breached the locked—in regulations and that if he had been stopped by an officer, he would have been advised to adhere to them in future, but no action would have been taken. the political pressure from conservative mps on the prime minister for from conservative mps on the prime ministerfor keeping dominic cummings and hisjob ministerfor keeping dominic cummings and his job was always going to be what clench this in terms of whether he survived in his

job are not, but it seems in the wa ke job are not, but it seems in the wake of the statement from durham police, which is to an extent inconclusive, it does not definitely settle the augment one way or another, whether he broke the rules are not, and i think in the wake of that, they are perhaps taking time to see what the response from their constituents and from the wider public is, in terms of what they should do next. but certainly, all of those who have called for dominic cummings to resign or be sacked haven't immediately piled in and jumped on this as further proof that he should do so. certainly, as far as number ten is concerned, this should be the end of the matter, but i doubt it will be, and i suspect what will happen, as we have seen, while conservative mps have had a relatively muted response, their opponents, the labour party, and others at westminster, they are saying that this is indeed further proof and further evidence and adds weight to their argument that dominic cummings should go. and it

is interesting that it comes today, when we are talking so much about the new contact tracing system, because government ministers have been making it clear that that system relies on a huge amount of public support and public compliance, and durham police have made the point that they are asked to rule on the actual regulations, they are not making a judgment on they are not making a judgment on the general stay at home guidance. that is correct, and that is why this is so important, because if dominic cummings remains in hisjob, the prime minister has clearly calculated that the government can continue to communicate its message and command the support of the public at large when asking them to comply with lockdown restrictions that have been in force for several weeks now, and into that test and trace programme, where people will be told to self—isolate if they have come into contact with someone who has tested positive for coronavirus. and as we have been hearing, that really relies on people being compliant and going along with it.

ministers certainly hope at this stage that people well, but as that system is put in place and is put into action in the coming days and weeks, we will have to wait and see whether people do continue to comply with the rules or not and stick to the guidance. yes, and a quick word about lockdown before you go. we have heard comments, changes from nicola sturgeon today, and we might get more on that later this afternoon in relation to england, jonathan. yes, it is the legal requirement from the government today to review the restrictions of lockdown, it must do that every three weeks and the prime minister hinted heavily yesterday that he is expecting to give the go—ahead for those trailed easing of restrictions on the days ahead. so, on the 1st of june some schools opening up in england and towards the end of the month other nonessential businesses opening up as well. that will come

later this afternoon, more on that to follow. thank you for that, jonathan blake. earlier, our home affairs correspondent, daniel sandford, explained the difference between the government guidelines and the health regulations on coronavirus... i do not know how many of our viewers have encountered the police during this period. we have spent time filming with them and firstly they are asking people what they were doing and if people had a reasonable excuse, they allowed them to go about their business, if not, they have encouraged them to go home. but they have been saying, listen, what the government is asking you to do is x, y, z. that is the guidelines, and then the regulations say that you must do this. and they have taken the view here, i think, that a lot of stuff around the first incident, the moving from london to durham to isolate because of the contraction

of the virus, that probably fits more into the government guidelines bit rather than the health regulations. in terms of the health regulations, dominic cummings was doing his best to keep his family isolated from the public. i think that is the view from the police, their interpretation of the law in this case. daniel sandford. coronavirus contact tracing systems have been launched, in both england and scotland. anyone who's been in close contact with someone who's tested positive for covid19 will now be contacted and asked to self—isolate. it's hoped the system will allow the easing of blanket lockdown restrictions and a move towards more localised measures. scientists believe it could prevent between 5 and 15 % of cases. northern ireland has a version of the programme already up and running — the scheme in wales is due to start in earlyjune. sophie hutchinson reports. pinpointing people with the virus

and tracing those they may have infected is now back on the table in england after a two—month pause. the government says its new voluntary programme was up and running this morning and it has urged people to participate. we are doing this on a voluntary basis because we think the overwhelming majority of people, when instructed to self—isolate by the nhs, will do so. but, of course, we have the legal powers to make this mandatory if we need to. i'd just rather not do that. so how does the test and trace service work? anyone with symptoms should self—isolate and book a test. if the result is positive, an nhs official will call or e—mail to ask who you may have had recent contact with. anyone you have been within two metres or less from for 15 minutes, or closer than one metre face to face, so colleagues or friends, will be called by the tracers and told to self—isolate for up to 14 days. members of their household do not have to go into quarantine unless they develop symptoms. at least, that's how it's meant to work.

the government has recruited 25,000 contact tracers and some were surprised when they received this last night, informing them the service was starting in the morning. we didn't get an e—mail through from the public health people until 9:50pm last night with logins that didn't work. this morning it still didn't work. just a happy, cheery e—mail saying we're going live tomorrow but that's all i heard about it. even yesterday, they didn't mention it. it seems like it might have been rushed through. the government did say there were issues today with staff logging on, but that has now been resolved. it is estimated an effective tracking system could cut the new infections by up to 15% but it all relies on test results

being turned around quickly. 0ur trust leaders tell us that often when they are testing staff or patients it can take between 3—5 days for those test results to come back, on average, rather than the 24 hours which is the kind of international gold standard. the official tracers will ask infected people for the names, addresses, phone numbers and e—mails of those they may have infected. public health england insists this data will be protected and doctors say that is essential. the only way this will work is if the patients have the confidence that the information they disclose to those that are doing the contact tracing will remain confidential. and concerns have been raised about how to recognise a genuine call from an nhs tracer apart from a hoax. 0ne security expert said there is no real way of telling. if somebody calls you and say they are a track—and—tracer, you pretty much have to take them on their word, which is really problematic because i think this is something scammers could then potentially take and really run with. all they would need to do

is really phone you up, ask for your e—mail address and say, we're about to send you a form, then send you an e—mail, you click on a document and your computer is infected with malware. northern ireland has had a contact tracing system in place for some time. scotland's begins today and wales is hoping to launch a similar programme next week. sophie hutchinson, bbc news. dr bing jones is a retired gp who was part of a team that set up the uk's first covid—19 contact—tracing scheme in sheffield last month. (0s in sheffield last month. good afternoon. hello. please explain this, many people might not know that this went on unless you live in that area. you set it up, explain how that worked and how it came about, please? a group of

retired doctors, we were gobsmacked and dumbfounded about one month ago, that contact tracing was not going ahead. it is such a basic building block of public health medicine. it is recommended by the world health 0rganization, is recommended by the world health organization, and it has been the key to all the really successful countries. so, we just key to all the really successful countries. so, wejust thought, well, we are frustrated. why not just have a go? so, in about a week orso, we just have a go? so, in about a week or so, we sorted out some protocols and training manuals. we were very fortu nate, and training manuals. we were very fortunate, because we had a very lovely community development trust, and they provided volunteers, and we had a very small group of half a dozen volunteers, who, amazingly, over 21 days, found nearly 60 contacts. so, we just over 21 days, found nearly 60 contacts. so, wejust went over 21 days, found nearly 60 contacts. so, we just went ahead and did it. so, those haffa dozen

volunteers, where they operating in exactly the way that the scheme would operate? —— half a dozen. where are they phoning up individuals who had tested positive for covid—19 and then doing all the things that the scheme is meant to do, saying, right, who have you spent time with recently? is that essentially it? yes, more or less. it isa essentially it? yes, more or less. it is a little bit different. the government scheme is dependent very much on a positive test. it is dependent on the person who has covid—19 going to the trouble of getting a test, and then depended on them getting the result back. we decided at the start, will be thought that we might have no help whatsoever. so, we included people that just have whatsoever. so, we included people thatjust have symptoms, and there are thatjust have symptoms, and there a re lots of thatjust have symptoms, and there are lots of problems with the test. the test, about 30% of negative tests can be false negatives. so, we decided that if we worked with the

three standard symptoms of a cough, a fever and this loss of taste and smell, that that might be equivalent. so, we started similarly but slightly differently, and thereafter, it is the same process. that problem with the test you are talking about, are you talking about the self—administered test? talking about, are you talking about the self-administered test? well, all of the swab tests, which are testing for the virus itself, have a very substantial false negativity rate. they are very rarely wrong if they are positive, but they are quite often wrong if they are negative. and this is very important for contact tracing, because if you only put people in at the beginning of this process when they have got a positive test, and some of the people who are ill appear to have a positive test and it is wrong, then thatis positive test and it is wrong, then that is a weakness. ok, sorry, i

appreciate that you say that you feel the whole tracing system has started too late in this country, but now that we are here and it is up but now that we are here and it is up and running today, certainly in england and scotland today, how much confidence do you have that it will still be of benefit, and that there will be that public compliance, that public acceptance that is needed to make it work? ok, that is a really good question. i have a lot of doubt, i have a lot of doubt about the governmentmatch performance in almost everything that they have donein almost everything that they have done in this process. but it is really important that we do get this contact tracing working. but it does have to work really well to be effective will stop and there are lots of problems. it is like a long chain and a chain is only a strongest as its weakest link. the

fa ct strongest as its weakest link. the fact that the government has really only given the contact tracers minimal warning as to when they are going to start, this does not bode well. so, my confidence is not high, but i think it is really important. we have to get out of the lockdown and one of the main keys in terms of getting out as contact tracing with the really nimble system that can jump the really nimble system that can jump on any of these tiny microbes, micro epidemics that are going to occur, all over the country, possibly in very unexpected places, and a school, or in a nursing home, and a school, or in a nursing home, and we need to have good systems, ideally local systems, to jump in there and sort them out. ok, very interesting to hear your perspective. thank you so much, dr bing jones, a retired sheffield gp. really interesting. but before you 90, really interesting. but before you go, cani really interesting. but before you go, can i ask, is that your work

behind you? yes, sorry, i am in my studio. don't apologise! we were very interested and we thought it made quite a change from people's book shelves. nice of you to give us something different to look at. we aim to please! all the best to you, thank you very much, dr bing jones there with some possible evidence of how to spend retirement! marvellous. let's turn our attentions at 3:18pm... in fact, let's turn our attentions at 3:18pm... infact, before i move let's turn our attentions at 3:18pm... in fact, before i move on, we are talking about the new tracing system essentially in england and scotland. lots of questions have been coming through about all of that throughout the day on bbc news. so, to that end, coming up in the next 50 minutes, we will be answering as many of your questions as we can. that is coming up at 3:35pm. if you have any last minute questions, send them to the address below... that is coming up at

3:35pm. two experts willjoin me to get through as many questions as we can in that regard. before i move on, we are getting news through from the premier league. we are hearing that the premier league season is set to restart on june premier league season is set to restart onjune the 17th. there will be two matches played, aston villa versus sheffield united and manchester city versus arsenal. the matches being the two games left to play in hand. clubs are still discussing the idea at a meeting right now, but it is understood all have agreed, in principle, at this stage. so, that isjust coming through from our sports editor in the last few moments. so, the premier league season to restart on june the 17th. doubtless much more

reaction on that to come in the sports news in the next little while of course. more reaction on that to come. easyjet has announced plans to cut up to 30% of its workforce, because of the collapse in demand for flights caused by the coronavirus pandemic. the company employes about 15,000 people. 0ur transport correspondent tom burridge told me it's been a difficult time for airlines. we quantify up to 12,000 jobs going at british airways, 3000 at ryanair, 3000 and virgin atlantic, at virgin atlantic, now 4,500 at easyjet. most of those jobs are in the uk, and the list of airlines goes beyond that. the ripple effect through the aviation sector is severe, so we can expectjob redundancies, i think, also at airports in the near future, ground handling companies, aircraft manufacturers have already made big job announcements also. now this is the starting gun on what will surely be a very fractious negotiation between the airline and the unions. the airline, easyjet, says, like other airlines, it doesn't think as many people

will be travelling on its planes as did last year until we reach 2023, and therefore, it says it has to resize and restructure in this radical way. but the unite union representing cabin crews said this was unnecessarily hasty, the representatives of pilots said it was a knee jerk reaction and a kick in the teeth for staff. i think what airlines now are concentrating on is how to get flights moving again, and i think there is this intriguing contradiction at the moment between the government's advice on the one hand, and that is, broadly speaking, do not book a holiday abroad at the moment, and the fact that airlines are ramping up their schedules into june, certainly in july, very much into august. and, yes, borders remain open, but the foreign office's advice is still against all nonessential travel abroad. and of course, most people coming back into the uk, virtually everyone, under the current rules that are going to be brought in, will have to self—isolate for two weeks. so there is a human element to this, of course, tens of thousands of people are going to be out of work and they won't have jobs to go back to in the aviation sector

in the immediate time. tom burridge, our transport correspondent. the japanese car firm nissan has said its plant in sunderland remains an important part of its business. the pledge to maintain production in the uk came after nissan announced the closure of its factory in barcelona, with the loss of nearly 3,000 jobs. sarah corker reports. in barcelona this morning, nissan workers burned tires nissan workers burned tyres and uniforms at the factory gates. the japanese car—maker is closing this site with the loss of nearly 3000 jobs. in the north of england, though, there is a brighter outlook, the sunderland plant is safe for now. the area is so dependent on this plant and the fact that now we have certainty about the future, fantastic news. it's brilliant news for the area and the workforce who work there, to save any redundancies, i suppose, but bad news for spain, isn't it? the car giant confirmed today that it's restructuring its global business as it deals with massive losses.

it's certainly a pivot from the previous strategy that was very much based around expansion and hitting volume targets. now it's much more about doing things profitably. the global car industry was already struggling before this pandemic hit. the spread of coronavirus sent sales tumbling. production at the sunderland plant was suspended back in march but today's news has come as a huge relief for people here in the north—east. the first nissan bluebirds came off the line last april... nissan has been here since 1986, japan's route into european markets. fast—forward more than three decades and today it's britain's largest car plant. but since the brexit vote and concern over export tariffs with the eu, the future of sunderland has been uncertain. union leaders said today's announcement has recognised the significance of production here. there are 6000 directly employed,

with potentially an additional 30% in the supply chain in the north—east, so on a huge scale, it's of huge importance, so the relief has come today that the site is unaffected, subject to efficiency cuts. 1000 furloughed workers are expected to return to this factory next month and there is also growing speculation that renault, nissan's partner, could move some of its production here. sarah corker, bbc news in sunderland. a grim milestone has been reached in the united states, where100,000 people are now confirmed to have died with covid—19. it means that about as many americans have died with the virus as in the korea, vietnam, iraq and afghanistan wars combined. aleem maqbool reports from washington. president trump: the coronavirus. .. this is the new hoax. we have it totally under control. siren blares. i think it's going to end up being such a rough patch. when we open, especially if we can

open it, the sooner the better. # happy birthday to you...#. friends and relatives of more than 100,000 people in america can nowjust cling to the memories of happier times. doug lambrecht was one of the first confirmed deaths, back on the 1st march. it's scary, it's sad. i feel angry. we should have been listening to the doctors and the scientists. we should not have been listening to people talking about the stock market. it's natural that people are reaching for answers, for someone to be accountable, after scenes like mass graves being dug in new york and refrigerated trucks lining up to receive the dead once the morgues were full. if the lord says so, i'll see you saturday. we now know that african—americans, like rhoda hatch, are still dying in disproportionate numbers. some of us in the black community

are very concerned that as the narrative became that african—americans were disproportionately impacted by the virus, that there was also then a push to open up the country, that many of us think prematurely, that, again, suggested devaluation of black lives. my body, my choice! open ohio now! we will reopen! those calls to reopen go on, even as the number of dead continues to mount and as the nation mourns. well, flags have most recently been lowered here after tragedies like mass shootings, and even then, it's been difficult to grapple with the scale of loss after sometimes dozens of people have been killed. but how, then, does america even begin to count the emotional cost of such a staggering number of deaths that have happened in fewer than 90 devastating days?

to really do justice to the stories of those lost would take many lifetimes. for people left behind, the question lingers — could more have been done so these americans and tens of thousands of others might still be around? aleem maqbool, bbc news, in washington. there's been a second day of clashes between police and demonstrators in the us city of minneapolis, following the death of a black man who'd been detained by a white police officer. police fired tear gas and protesters threw rocks and sprayed graffiti on police cars. the city's mayor has asked prosecutors to charge the officer, who was filmed restraining george floyd — by kneeling on his neck. we will talk more about the contact

tracing scheme in the next 30 minutes. we will get through as many of your questions as we can. now it's time for a look at the weather with darren bett... hello there, another warm and sunny day today. there was a bit of rain in northern scotland first thing, but that has cleared away. this evening and overnight there will be more cloud continuing for the northern isles of scotland, some of that cloud will push its way down the north sea and arrive into some eastern coastal counties of england. otherwise it is clear skies, the lowest temperatures probably across east anglia, around six, seven degrees or so. otherwise, double figures. tomorrow we will see more sunshine arriving across the northern isles of scotland, that cloud in eastern england will soon break up and fade away, and then we've got blue skies. again, bit of a breeze blowing, an easterly or southeasterly breeze, get that onshore and it will be a little bit cooler. the heat is moving its way northwards, we are likely to make the mid—20s in scotland on friday. into the weekend, more of the same, a bit of patchy cloud here and there, but otherwise it is dry again. there will be lots of sunshine also, the highest temperatures throughout the weekend, more towards the western side of the uk. those temperatures again, around 26

celsius or even 27 celsius.

hello, this is bbc news. the headlines... durham police say dominic cummings' trip to barnard castle might have been a minor breach of lockdown rules, but no action would be taken against the pm's chief advisor. a coronavirus contact tracing programme has got under way in england and scotland, people who've been in close contact with someone who has the virus will be asked to self isolate. scotland's first minister has confirmed its lockdown restrictions are to be eased slightly, from tomorrow. thousands ofjobs at risk at easyjet, as the airline says it will cut up to 30 percent of its workforce

because of the pandemic. nissan's factory in sunderland will stay open as the japanese car—maker carries out a global restructuring to cut costs, but its factory in barcelona will lose 2,800 jobs. and, why tonight's clap for carers is the tenth and likely the last. and we are going to catch up now with all of the sports news and news about the premier league. the premier league will restart on the 17thjune, with a full fixture list returning on the weekend ofjune the 19th. clubs are still discussing the idea at a meeting now, but its understood they all agree in principle at this stage. lets talk to our sports editor dan roan now.

he has been with this from the beginning, what more we know about what they have been discussing and how the resort might look? there's been a lot of talk in the recent weeks about when the season may resume, first of all, we heard it may be the early stage of next month, not seem to be pushed back. my month, not seem to be pushed back. my latest information is that in principle the clubs have agreed that onjune 17 principle the clubs have agreed that on june 17 the two principle the clubs have agreed that onjune 17 the two matches that are still to be played, that are in hand, manchester city and arsenal being one of them, those games will being one of them, those games will be played first onjune 17. and then on the weekend ofjune 19, be played first onjune 17. and then on the weekend ofjune19, 20th, zist, on the weekend ofjune19, 20th, 21st, there will be a whole list of matches to be played, now is when the season will probably get back on the season will probably get back on the way. as you just said in your

introduction, they ski meeting, the latest crisis meeting to be staged between the clubs on the conference call is still going on. they have been talking since half ten this morning, it is one of the most important things taking place. they have agreed to get behind that idea, june 17 restart, i would add that it is all dependent on everything going to plan. so far, in terms of the number of positive tests that have been recorded since last week, there have been three batches of test done by the premier league since players and staff that clubs were made to go the covid—19 test. there has not been the kind of numbers that would've been feared at one stage. at the moment, all seems to be going to plan, but if there was suddenly a large spike in cases, a lot of squats would have to go into quarantine, and those plans could be derailed. but as it stands, right now, june 17 looks like the date when the season we get under way

again. thank you so much for bringing us out breaking news, we will have more on that throughout the afternoon as clams come out of that meeting and we get reactions from those clubs and players. the england and wales cricket board has extended the shutdown on domestic cricket until at least the 1st of august. the season was due to start in the middle of april, but was postponed until the 28th of may and then the 1st ofjuly because of the coronavirus pandemic. england are set to begin a three—test series against west indies injuly. world rugby have announced a series of new optional law trials hoped to help the sport restart, particularly at grassroots level. drastically reducing the amount of scrums during a game, removing the choke tackle, limiting numbers in the maul and speeding up rucks are among 10 optional rules which will be trialled to help reduce the risk of coronavirus transmission during matches. speaking before the announcement was made, exeter‘s rob baxter gave his view on the proposals.

take away blocks of time that were taken up with scrums and with mauls, we are going to move the ball from rucks quicker. what is the one thing that we can 100% guarantee were going to have more of? well, 100% more, we are going to have a lot more tackles and a lot more collisions. with fitter players running harder, not being tired out in scrums, none of those moments. and so what are we going to do? because of this, we are going to create another crisis in our sport. no date yet for the return of the by no date yet for the return of the rugby union, but the premier league coming back on the 17th ofjune. thank you very much, come back to me when you have word of wimbledon. the time right now 25 minutes to four, let's talk for a few minutes about the statement became through about dominic cummings.

trip to barnard castle "might have been a minor breach" of lockdown rules. but the force said no retrospective action would be taken against the pm's chief adviser. mr cummings said he drove to the town from his parents‘ home in county durham to test his eyesight, after recovering from coronavirus symptoms. we are going to talk about this imminent, but we have this reaction from dominic rob. i think actually they said there may have been, but they are taking no action. the prime minister has had a full account from dominic cummings and accepted that, and the whole government is now focused on helping to deliver the country through the coronavirus challenge, easing the restrictions on the road map that we set out and doing so in a safe and responsible way. nick thomas—symonds is the shadow home secretary and hejoins us via webcam from south wales. does this draw line, this statement from durham police? does not, i am

afraid, the only way to draw a line under it is for borisjohnson to ta ke under it is for borisjohnson to take divisive action as keir starmer has said, and to dismiss dominic cummings. iam has said, and to dismiss dominic cummings. i am afraid that the statement today confirms what we have always known, we know that dominic cummings broke the spirit of the rules, there are families who haven't been at the bedside of dying relatives, who have not attended funerals, who have not seen a newborn grandchildren, who have all stuck rigidly to the rules. and in a need or an anticipated need of childcare, he drove over 260 miles, and in addition to that, we now know that with regard to the trip from the property to barnard castle, that had the prime minister's chief adviser been sought by the police, the likely advice they would have given to him would have been to return to the durham property. and the reason it would been advice at the reason it would been advice at the scene is because that is the

approach that the police haven't taken —— have taken to explain the lockdown measures to people before your rest them. the cheap adviser who was so close to drying of these roles in the first place —— chief adviser should not have been in this position in the first place. number ten said pretty swiftly that this draws a line under it, he is not going to go now is? thereason that he might not is because of the moral authority of the government, the prime minister says we will be moving shortly to test track and isolate, and once again the british people will be asked to make sacrifices by staying at home and isolating themselves to prevent the spread of the virus. as people are once again asked to make those extraordinary sacrifices, they are absolutely entitled to ask why it is one rule for them and another rule

for those of the heart of government. in relation to that scheme, if somebody gets a phone call from one of the tracers, they get the news that they have been in contact with him when he was tested positive for covid—19, they are asked to self—isolate, do you really believe that that person is going to say to the person on the phone, i am not going to make the effort because ido not going to make the effort because i do not agree with what dominic's coming did —— dominic cummings did with with? i have no doubt the majority of the public will continue to follow the advice, but i cannot debate the damage that has been done to the moral authority, and has been done for the reason that people make great sacrifices even in situations where there were childcare issues and parents did muddle through it and parents did muddle through it and did not do what the prime minister's chief adviser did do. we

have seen this anger in our inboxes in the recent days, it is a justified anger because it really does appear as a people are being treated in a different way with a different set of rules. nick thomas—symonds, thank you very much. now on bbc news it's time for your questions answered. plenty of questions to get through on the government's test and trace system. to answer them i'm joined by the bbc‘s health correspondent, catherine burns. and also joined by virologist at cambridge university and host of the naked scientist podcast, chris smith.

there's a lot to get through, quite a lot to get through to that. catherine burns, i will start with you, what actually happens when you're contacted through this game because they are banging in contact with someone who has tested positive? you will probably get an e—mail with a questionnaire, then you'll probably get a phone call if you'll probably get a phone call if you do not answer that, what you will not hear is who your benign contact with and when you have been in contact with them. but essentially you will be told that you need to self—isolate for 14 days, you really need to behave as if you have the virus, that doesn't just mean thing at home, it means isolating from everyone else at home. that is a challenge depending on your living circumstances, it it's tricky. basically, the way to think about this is that it is like a life asked mike lockdown, it will

be fewer people, but more restrictions, i will not be for everyone. where are you there? they are, chris, there is a question about schools. if a child at school with other children and staff and comes down with covid symptoms, should they be sent home and asked to get a test, and should those in that bubble be isolating as well because they have been in contact with the child? i am hoping that you can ask plane the concept of the bubble with this one, but what is your take on that? if you have symptoms, you should get a test, if you get a test that is positive, that puts in contact tracing and those other people that you have had contact with will be notified and they will be asked to isolate. all they will be asked to isolate. all the time that you are feeling sufficiently unwell that you have sought out a test, you should regard

yourself as positive until you are told otherwise. or if you are positive, you then isolate for the full period and then you can regard yourself as now clear of the virus enemy them. hopefully that makes sense. is there anything you wanted to add to that, catherine? the interesting thing is how schools are going to enforce the two metres between four—year—olds and five—year—olds. between four—year—olds and five-year-olds. very tricky. you will be back next week on that one. what if i am contacted about testing and tracing, but i do not have a ca rd to and tracing, but i do not have a card to get to a testing site?“ you are contacted, you do not necessarily need to go for a test, you are not being asked to go for a test immediately, if you do not have any symptoms you're just being told to stay at home for 14 days, you only need to get to a testing site if you start to have symptoms. but actually you do not to a testing site is the answer to that, you can get a test sent out to your home, you do not need to leave. ok wassup

really interesting question from michael, in new zealand they encourage people to keep a daily diary of their movement and interactions so if they were contacted they could hand over their diary the contact tracer. should the government be encouraging everyone in britain to do that? anything good idea, it can work, one of the constraints of the present situation is that it is very user dependent. you, the person catching it, are the user any have to remember to you have had contact with while you were potentially contagious, especially if you're a busy person that can be difficult, so there will always be people can fall through the cracks, you might rememberthem. that is people can fall through the cracks, you might remember them. that is a constraint, so keeping a diary or log of what you have been doing can be helpful. this is really where the app be helpful. this is really where the app is going to fill in the gap, because the app is going to do a virtual handshake with other people

who are running the app on their device and keeping tabs on your contacts for you, including those people you do not know. because when you're asked to remember who you had contact with, if you do not know the people you sat next to on the bus, the you cannot give anyone their name or contact details. but the apple hopefully be able to do that. —— the app, there will be constraints, it is not possible to be perfect, but what it will do is enable us to keep tabs on the virus and put pressure on it to make sure that it circulates at lower levels like it is at the moment. that is interesting, i am looking down because i know we had a question about the app i'm i'm going to look for it now, this question from dave, he asked, is that guaranteed that the app and its privacy will only be used for his purpose? i think he means anything that is on your phone. what is your take on the app and privacy? i think it is a good

idea, but what it does rely on is enough people running it, and we estimate that about 80% of the population of the uk have a phone or device capable of running the app, and we estimate we need 60% or 80% of people to participate in the app for it really to work and for us to exert some control over the virus. so it is quite a tall order that enough people will actually be running it, but it has been successful when there is good update, the data from the isle of wight seem to suggest that half or more the population were using it, they suggested that it can actually work and it will fill in the gaps where people cannot necessarily rememberwho where people cannot necessarily remember who they have had contact with or they didn't know. sol remember who they have had contact with or they didn't know. so i think it will add additional agility to the system, and therefore it is a goodidea the system, and therefore it is a good idea and it is very cheap. in terms of data security, i am quite confident in that respect, because away this actually works is that my phone news who i've been in contact with, as does someone else's phone, it is only if i press the magic

button that says i have symptoms and i need a test is that data then shared centrally and then the people i have had contact with are contacted. but it is only so much as they are told that they need to now isolate, they are a contact of someone isolate, they are a contact of someone who has tested positive. it does not then take that data any further or share my data with any other parties, just tell those people that they have had some kind of co nta ct. people that they have had some kind of contact. and i understand, although it is not confirmed, that the date is only raised on a periodic —— the data is erased on a periodic —— the data is erased on a periodic basis and no further action will be taken on that. it is happening on the isle of wight. the interesting thing about new zealand, how they've been asking people to keep diaries, other countries like south korea have been using credit cards, cctv, and singapore and has been more the policing, here it is much more people being asked to help the nhs and this relies on people to tell the truth and remember what

they have been up to. same with the outcome of that relies on people being willing to do it, in terms of data and security come the government has said that security and privacy are key to the whole scheme. one thing that is important to add, this is not on the app right now, if you are to get contacted, people are worried about fraud, it is worth saying that you will never be asked for any financial details on this. if you are for those, do not answer, because that is not a tracer asking you. we cannot say that too often, people might get a call out of the blue and that raises a lot of concerns. we keep coming back to the sense of how much public support and compliance is needed in this scheme, there is a question from john the place into that saying, what financial support will be given to someone who is forced to isolate? out of the blue, 14 days,

you cannot go to work or do anything else, will there be confirmation provided by the nhs that i can prove this to my employer? depends on what happens, you may be eligible for sick pay, you may be eligible for universal credit, there is talk that the government might step up with some other forms of financial support, but the thing is that people are going to be worried about this and this game relies on them actually saying yes, i will isolate, this is voluntary right now. i spoke earlier to a contact racer who has been waiting all morning to make a call, hasn't had one all morning, but i said what training have you been given for difficult people who are saying no? and they said what we can escalate after our managers, but essentially, if someone says no, i am not cooperating with us, that we just have to put it down as a non—contactable call. so this really does rely on the goodwill of the public saying yes i will do this.“ is really striking. a question from

bill, chris, iwill is really striking. a question from bill, chris, i will put this to you. he is asking specifically about older people, that is a phrase that he is using, they say some suggest that we all have a mobile phone or an e—mail address, he says there are an e—mail address, he says there are a lot of older people who don't or people who cannot afford to have things like that, so how does that work for people in that situation? my understanding is that the people, the humans, behind this, although there is the app that is coming, the human element of this, the 25,000 human element of this, the 25,000 human tracers will actually be able to make phone calls. so what they know your phone number, doesn't matter if it is a mobile number or not, they will be able to contact people via that route, so hopefully people via that route, so hopefully people do have a landline phone that will enable them to be contacted. i do not know if they're going is far as writing to people, maybe catherine can comment on that, but picking up the phone is one way that they are going to be pursuing people. the landline is a key way, they will be taking post good

details, so i imagine if they got to the point where they really could not it might be an option to write them, but i think landmines are covered for most people. —— land lines. john says that he is working ina shop, lines. john says that he is working in a shop, is he supposed to be isolating every time that he comes into co nta ct isolating every time that he comes into contact someone who has symptoms? the answer is yes or no, the person that he served in the shop is not going to have his contact details, and he is not likely to be serving them for more than 15 minutes. what is defined here is a close contact, if you are within two metres of someone for 15 minutes, the other one is if you are less tha n minutes, the other one is if you are less than one metre from someone for any length of time, but realistically if you are sticking to social distancing, this would not be happening or should not be happening ina happening or should not be happening in a shop. should not be happening, we leave it at that crucial point, thank you very much catherine burns

and david bonsall, thank you very much. in the us, the pandemic has brought forth a wave of creativity with witty customised signs being displayed on cinemas across the country. it's a reflection of the cinema owners love of movies, their humour and their concerns in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak. talking movies' tom brook reports. in america, cinemas may have gone dark during the pandemic, but the signage that adorns them, marquees as they are called, are now a creative canvas for their owners. titles of well—known movies are often altered to give them pandemic topicality. we are doing it because we want to bring smiles to people's faces that we used to be able to do in ourauditoriums, and now we are having to do it as they walk by our marquee. it's just a way that we can give back to the community,

and it is basically a billboard at our disposal. usually it is just there to advertise things to make the business money. but now that we are in this time where there is not an opportunity for movie theatres to make money, being able to put something on a marquee when you get to see people responding to it positively, it brings some of that meaning back. sometime the messages are quite elaborate and cryptic. this one... ..is actually an amalgam of several movie titles. i cobbled together a bunch of tom cruise movie titles that seemed to work. "being an outsider is risky business, but staying..." i forget how it goes off the top of my head... but people didn't quite get that reference, so i figure if we are really going to communicate, we need to stay with mainstream, big—budget titles. this wave of cinema creativity is taking place across the us, not in the big multiplexes, but in smaller arthouses,

most of which often have strong ties to the local community. arthouse cinemas attract a creative type of person and perhaps their creativity is a little bit frustrated right now, so they are taking it out on their marquees. the public has really been warming to these messages. at film forum in lower manhattan, the marquee reads... ..a famous quote from president franklin d roosevelt's inaugural address in 1933. that message went over well with chris gibson, an englishman currently residing in new york. well, i think any kind of quote which gives people hope at the moment, i think that's what people are looking for, really, any kind of positive inspiration. it's a tough time for everybody. in many ways, the public‘s strong response to these messages reflects just how much arthouse cinemas are beloved by their communities. but ultimately, it isn't the messaging which preoccupies cinema owners, it is thoughts of when will their cinemas be able to reopen? tom brook, bbc news, new york.

just to tell you an update regarding the dominic cummings durham police situation that we have been discussing all afternoon, we have just had a statement through from the acting police commissioner, the policing crime commissioner in durham, he says, i am grateful to the work that is been conducted in the work that is been conducted in the difficult circumstances and the proportionate consideration of the fa cts , proportionate consideration of the facts, it is important that the people of durham can see that our approach is firm and fair when it comes to the policing issues that comes to the policing issues that come from covid. clarity is to come if we are to defeat this, and clarity has come when we are discussing mr cummings on the dates

to stand. much more coming after four o'clock, let's just catch up with the weather. hello, there. another warm sunny day, for most of us completely dry again. this was a weather watcher picture taken earlier in the south—east of england, and it is across the south—east, just one part of the country that is expected to have the driest may on record. about four millilitres of rain has fallen in south—east england, 7% of average. if we look to highland scotland, the weather has been improving, this is one part of the country that has had above—average rainfall, 150% of expected rainfall, most fell about a week ago. we have had some rain earlier on in northern scotland, that has pushed away out into the north sea and sunny skies pretty much across—the—board. that is how it will stay over the next few days. evening out in the highlands and south—east of england, lots of sunshine and temperatures around 23 celsius. the reason it has been so dry all month, persistent

areas of high pressure. we have one dominating the weather at the moment. around the top of that, more cloud this evening and overnight, up towards the northern isles, with some of that cloud pushing down across the north sea, and heading into eastern parts of england later. otherwise clear skies, the lowest temperatures around east anglia, 7 degrees or so, but many temperatures remaining in double figures. friday, more of the same, probably a bit more sunshine pushing into the northern isles. the cloud across eastern england will soon fade and there will be blue skies across—the—board. a breeze noticeable, an easterly or south—easterly. onshore breeze in coastal areas, a little bit cooler. plenty of heat around and that heat is pushing its way northwards, so temperatures will be rising in scotland, even into the mid—20s. moving into the weekend, higher pressure still in charge, centred over scandinavia, keeping those weather fronts at bay and we draw in the warmth

from continental europe. more importantly, it is going to stay dry. this sums it up for the weekend, sunny and warm and there is no sign of any rain, and also the uv levels will be high, perhaps very high in some areas. city forecasts for the weekend, patchy cloud here and there, but plenty of sunshine around, temperatures peaking at 26 or 27.

this is bbc news, i'm clive myrie. our top stories... on the day that lockdown guidance is officially reviewed — the prime minister is expected to give further details shortly on how and when measures in england are to be eased. coronavirus contact tracing programmes get under way in england and scotland. those who've been in close contact with someone who has the virus, will be asked to self—isolate the overwhelming majority of people, when instructed to self—isolate by the nhs, will do so, but, of course, we have the legal powers to make this mandatory if we need to. durham police say dominic cummings' trip to barnard castle might have breached lockdown rules, but no action will be taken against the prime minister's chief advisor. scotland's first minister confirms lockdown restrictions will be eased slightly, from tomorrow.

from tomorrow, the regulations on meeting other people will change. you and your household will be able to meet with another household out of doors, for example, in a park, or in a private garden. thousands ofjobs are at risk at easyjet, as the airline says it's to cut 30% of its workforce because of the pandemic. the premier league season is set to restart on the 17th june with two games. aston villa v sheffield united and manchester city v arsenal. good afternoon. borisjohnson is expected to give further details, on how and when lockdown measures in england are to be eased,

at today's downing street press briefing, in about an hour's time. it comes as coronavirus contact tracing programmes began in both england and scotland. anyone who's been in close contact with someone who's tested positive for covid—19 will now be contacted and asked to self—isolate. northern ireland has a version of the programme already up and running, while the scheme in wales is due to start in earlyjune. here's sophie hutchinson. pinpointing people with the virus and tracing those they may have infected is now back on the table in england after a two—month pause. the government says its new voluntary programme was up and running this morning and it has urged people to participate. we are doing this on a voluntary basis because we think the overwhelming majority of people, when instructed to self—isolate by the nhs, will do so. but, of course, we have the legal powers to make this mandatory if we need to. i'd just rather not do that. so how does the test and trace service work?

anyone with symptoms should self—isolate and book a test. if the result is positive, an nhs official will call or e—mail to ask who you may have had recent contact with. anyone you have been within two metres or less from for 15 minutes, or closer than one metre face to face, so colleagues or friends, will be called by the tracers and told to self—isolate for up to 14 days. members of their household do not have to go into quarantine unless they develop symptoms. at least, that's how it's meant to work. the government has recruited 25,000 contact tracers and some were surprised when they received this last night, informing them the service was starting in the morning. we didn't get an e—mail through from the public health people until 9:50pm last night with logins that didn't work. this morning it still didn't work. just a happy, cheery e—mail saying we're going live tomorrow but that's all i heard about it.

even in a webinar yesterday, they didn't mention it. it seems like it might have been rushed through. the government has said staff did initially encounter issues logging on to their systems today, but that they have been resolved. it is estimated an effective tracking system could cut the new infections by up to 15% but it all relies on test results being turned around quickly. our trust leaders tell us that often when they are testing staff or patients it can take between 3—5 days for those test results to come back, on average, rather than the 24 hours which is the kind of international gold standard. the official tracers will ask infected people for the names, addresses, phone numbers and e—mails of those they may have infected. public health england insists this data will be protected and doctors say that is essential. the only way this will work is if the patients have the confidence that the information they disclose to those that are doing the contact

tracing will remain confidential. and concerns have been raised about how to recognise a genuine call from an nhs tracer apart from a hoax. one security expert said there is no real way of telling. if somebody calls you and say they are a track—and—tracer, you pretty much have to take them on their word, which is really problematic because i think this is something scammers could then potentially take and really run with. all they would need to do is really phone you up, ask for your e—mail address and say, we're about to send you a form, then send you an e—mail, you click on a document and your computer is infected with malware. northern ireland has had a contact tracing system in place for some time. scotland's begins today and wales is hoping to launch a similar programme next week. sophie hutchinson, bbc news. we're expecting the daily downing street presser at around 5pm today it will be

led by borisjohnson our along with sir patrick vallance and professor chris whitty. boris johnson signalled heavily when taking questions from mps yesterday as expected he will announce today nine weeks after lockdown restrictions were put in place in england and other parts of the uk they will be eased slightly from now on in england especially. we already know the government wants schools to openin know the government wants schools to open in england as ofjune one to welcome back some pupils who have not been able to attend so far. and also car showrooms and outdoor markets opening up in the first insta nce markets opening up in the first instance and then, later on in a couple of weeks, nonessential shops

and other retail businesses being able to open. that is broadly what we are expecting to hear from the prime minister of this afternoon. he will talk i am sure about the government's five tests they set which needed to be met before restrictions could be eased. following death and infection rates we re following death and infection rates were included and also the ability of the nhs to cope with a potential second wave of cases. there may be more, the prime minister may go further and announced other measures which haven't been trailed in advance, but we will have to wait and hear what he has to say in about and hear what he has to say in about an hour. we will bring you that life of course on the bbc here. test and traces coming into operation. some teething troubles apparently this morning with the measures, some people suggesting a rush but it is up people suggesting a rush but it is up and running. yes, a suggestion it has been launched early to iron out any teething problems but that is denied by downing street. they say

today had been scheduled for the launch date for some time. as of now, if you develop coronavirus symptoms, then you will have to self—isolate, as is already the case, and if you test positive, you will then be contacted by the nhs for a list of names of people you have been in close contact with over the last week or so, and they will be contacted in turn and told themselves to self—isolate. a similar system is up and running and scotla nd similar system is up and running and scotland and england now, and to help his people will go along with that and comply. there is not really going to be any enforcement of it from the outset of the health secretary matt hancock says they have the power to follow—up and force people to do this if need be. the hope is this is something which will be led by the nhs and doctors and something people will comply with without being told to or

ultimately forced to. finally, news of the chief adviser dominic cummings to the prime minister and the trip to barnard castle. we understand county durham police suggest that he may have perpetrated a minor infringement of the lockdown rules but they are not taking any further action. durham police put out a statement saying they won't have the evidence, concluding dominic cummings may have breached the lockdown guidelines, regulations put in place to enforce the guidelines with his drive to barnard castle, which he gave the justification for as a test of his eyesight before travelling back to london to return to work. they have also said they will not be taking any further action against him. downing street responded saying that the prime minister considers this the prime minister considers this the end of the matter. political opponents still arguing on the basis of what the police had said it is

further evidence mr cummings should resign. nicola sturgeon has announced that people in scotland will be able to meet outside from tomorrow. the first minister said the move would allow people to meet with residents from one other household at a time. but they will need to remain outdoors, and in groups of no more than eight. but she urged people to stick to social distancing guidelines, warning the virus had not gone away. from tomorrow, the regulations on meeting other people will change. you and your household will be able to meet with another household out of doors. for example, in a park, or in a private garden. we said last week this should be in small groups, and to give you greater guidance on that, we are asking that the total number of people between the two households meeting up should be a maximum of eight. please keep it to less than that if you can. now, we are not saying that you must pick one household and only meet the same one during phase one,

but we are saying that you should not meet with more than one other household at a time. easyjet says it plans to cut 4,500 jobs, and shrink its fleet, as a result of the coronavirus. the airline says the reductions will fit the smaller market it expects to emerge from the collapse in air travel due to covid—19. easyjet employs more than 15,000 people in eight countries across europe. other airlines have already announced job cuts and restructuring programmes as they fight to stay in business. these include british airways, which is set to cut up to 12,000 jobs from its 42,000—strong workforce. the airline's parent company, iag, said it needed to impose a restructuring and redundancy programme. also ryanair, which is set to cut 3000 jobs — 15% of its workforce. boss michael o'leary saying the move was the minimum needed just to survive the next 12 months. and virgin atlantic announced plans

to cut more than 3000 jobs in the uk out of a total of 10,000, and to end its operation at gatwick airport. the japanese car firm nissan has said its plant in sunderland remains an important part of its business. the pledge to maintain production in the uk came after nissan announced the closure of its factory in barcelona, with the loss of nearly 3000 jobs. sarah corker reports. in barcelona this morning, nissan workers burned tyres and uniforms at the factory gates. the japanese car—maker is closing this site with the loss of nearly 3000 jobs. in the north of england, though, there is a brighter outlook, the sunderland plant is safe for now. the area is so dependent on this plant and the fact that now we have certainty about the future, fantastic news. it's brilliant news for the area and the workforce who work there, to save any redundancies, i suppose, but bad news for spain, isn't it?

the car giant confirmed today that it's restructuring its global business as it deals with massive losses. it's certainly a pivot from the previous strategy that was very much based around expansion and hitting volume targets. now it's much more about doing things profitably. the global car industry was already struggling before this pandemic hit. the spread of coronavirus sent sales tumbling. production at the sunderland plant was suspended back in march but today's news has come as a huge relief for people here in the north—east. the first nissan bluebirds came off the line last april... nissan has been here since 1986, japan's route into european markets. fast—forward more than three decades and today it's britain's largest car plant. but since the brexit vote and concern over export tariffs with the eu, the future of sunderland has been uncertain. union leaders said today's announcement has recognised

the significance of production here. there are 6000 directly employed, with potentially an additional 30% in the supply chain in the north—east, so on a huge scale, it's of huge importance, so the relief has come today that the site is unaffected, subject to efficiency cuts. 1000 furloughed workers are expected to return to this factory next month and there is also growing speculation that renault, nissan's partner, could move some of its production here. sarah corker, bbc news in sunderland. the headlines on bbc news... a coronavirus contact tracing programme has got under way in england and scotland — people who've been in close contact with someone who has the virus will be asked to self—isolate. durham police say the prime minister's chief aide, dominic cummings, may have committed a minor breach of lockdown regulations.

scotland's first minister has confirmed its lockdown restrictions are to be eased slightly, from tomorrow. in the united states, 100,000 people are now confirmed to have died with covid—19. it means that about as many americans have died with the virus as in the korean, vietnam, iraq and afghanistan wars combined. aleem maqbool reports from washington. president trump: the coronavirus. .. this is the new hoax. we have it totally under control. siren blares. i think it's going to end up being such a rough patch. when we open, especially if we can open it, the sooner the better. # happy birthday to you...#. friends and relatives of more than 100,000 people in america can nowjust cling to the memories of happier times. doug lambrecht was one of the first confirmed deaths, back on the 1st march. it's scary, it's sad. i feel angry. we should have been listening to the doctors and the scientists.

we should not have been listening to people talking about the stock market. it's natural that people are reaching for answers, for someone to be accountable, after scenes like mass graves being dug in new york and refrigerated trucks lining up to receive the dead once the morgues were full. if the lord says so, i'll see you saturday. we now know that african—americans, like rhoda hatch, are still dying in disproportionate numbers. some of us in the black community are very concerned that as the narrative became that african—americans were disproportionately impacted by the virus, that there was also then a push to open up the country, that many of us think prematurely, that, again, suggested devaluation of black lives. my body, my choice! open ohio now!

we will reopen! those calls to reopen go on, even as the number of dead continues to mount and as the nation mourns. well, flags have most recently been lowered here after tragedies like mass shootings, and even then, it's been difficult to grapple with the scale of loss after sometimes dozens of people have been killed. but how, then, does america even begin to count the emotional cost of such a staggering number of deaths that have happened in fewer than 90 devastating days? to really do justice to the stories of those lost would take many lifetimes. for people left behind, the question lingers — could more have been done so these americans and tens of thousands of others might still be around? aleem maqbool, bbc news, in washington.

there's been a second day of clashes between police and demonstrators in the us city of minneapolis, following the death of a black man who'd been detained by a white police officer. police fired tear gas and protesters threw rocks and sprayed graffiti on police cars. the city's mayor has asked prosecutors to charge the officer, who was filmed restraining george floyd — by kneeling on his neck. china's parliament has rubber—stamped a hugely controversial national security bill that looks likely to limit freedoms in hong kong. out of nearly 3000 parliamentary delegates, there was only one vote against. the law will criminalise conduct in hong kong that undermines beijing's authority. it also allows china's intelligence agencies to set up in the territory for the first time. stephen mcdonell reports. at china's rubber—stamp congress, the vote was never going to be close. in the end 2878 in favour and only one against. the bill for tougher security

measures in hong kong now goes to a standing committee and should be law by the second half of the year. in hong kong, the local legislature saw more pushing and shoving today. the numbers in the mini parliament are stacked so it will always remain under the control of the pro—beijing camp. it hasn't been able to pass a national security law so the central government imposed its own legislation on the city. it's unclear which types of speech or actions might constitute treason under the new law but secession and subversion crimes could mean decades in prison for activists. many in the pro—democracy camp are calling on the united states and others to impose sanctions on both hong kong and mainland china. action is what will make the chinese hesitate to propose this draconian law on us.

—— impose the law. supporters of the law say it's needed to rein in protests which have become at times destructive and violent. others say it will mean the end of free speech in hong kong. it has certainly reignited tensions there. stephen mcdonnell, bbc news, beijing. south korea is re—introducing tougher social distancing measures after officials there recorded a small spike in coronavirus infections. 79 new cases were identified on thursday — the highest daily figure for nearly two months. the bbc‘s seoul correspondent laura bicker explains why the eyes of the world have been on south korea as a role model to test track and trace every case when it comes to this pandemic and they have so far been successful and remain so. however, however ha rd successful and remain so. however, however hard they try, these cases keep cropping up across the country. the latest attic distribution warehouse, a huge company that sends out basically e—commerce right

across the country. so far 79 cases as you have said, the highest number of cases in two months. today health ministers within the last hour have made an urgent plea to try to maintain some kind of distancing measures. they say they are not going to step up the social distancing measures but what they are asking people to do is stay away from mass gatherings, to look at wearing masks where possible. and also they are kind of closing public parks, museums, urging businesses to kind of maintain working from home or flexible working hours. kind of maintain working from home orflexible working hours. it kind of maintain working from home or flexible working hours. it is kind of maintain working from home orflexible working hours. it is not they say a step back in social distancing efforts, they are calling for a concerted effort for two weeks to try and get schools to maintain opening times. basically they have had this phased reopen. yesterday 2.5 million children went back. next week, more are due to go back. they wa nt week, more are due to go back. they want the education to remain open if possible. that is the plea that is

going out to the people. every thursday evening, the nation has come together to applaud the front line workers in the coronavirus outbreak. tonight marks the tenth week of clap for carers — and the woman who started it has suggested it should be the last. our correspondent tim muffet looks at how a simple idea has impacted so many. applause the sound of thursday nights at 8pm. neighbours... car horn beeps. ..shoppers. .. ..hospital staff... ..on land... ..at sea... ..across the uk... ..and abroad. a simple idea that grew and grew. cheering and applause on this council estate in north london, the impact of their weekly clap for carers has been profound. it's brought the community together. even though i've lived here 17

years, i've got to know people that i never would have met. it's basically brought love, which is the key thing, to all of our lives. have there been neighbours you've seen because of the weekly clap which you maybe wouldn't have seen otherwise? definitely. i mean, windows open, curtains pull back and people show themselves, and you see an exuberance for being part of this big celebration. but after ten weeks, this estate is bringing its weekly nhs clap for carers to an end. tonight's will be the last. we'll be out again tonight, you know, cheering these people to the rafters, but some people feel it's time to end on a high. the idea of ending the weekly clap is shared by the person who started it. the reason why i will stop giving support to the weekly event is because i think it's good to end it whilst it still has such a positive impact. i hope that the legacy will be how much it brought us together and that we will always feel that gratitude and appreciation

that we have towards the essential workers. some have said the weekly clap has also become too politicised. but not everyone wants it to end. some nhs staff say it still inspires them. a really, really positive impact on us. it's made us feel really valued, as well. i think a lot of people would like to carry on. i'd be happy for it to carry on for another period of time. tonight at 8pm, we'll gather again and clap for the tenth time. and, for some, the last. tim muffet, bbc news. one of the many frustrating aspects of lockdown is not being able to have a haircut. barber shops and hair—dressers have been closed in countries all around the world. but now in russia — those restrictions are being eased — and for one barber shop it couldn't

happen a moment too soon — as the bbc‘s tim allman reports. vladislav lives to cut hair. but thanks to the pandemic, his scissors and clippers remained unused. once the lockdown was lifted, he decided to make up for lost time. taking part in a haircut marathon, two days, nonstop, chop, chop. translation: everything went well. i was a little worried thinking that something could happen given that he's not slept for 48 hours but i sat down and everything was fine. the main thing is to keep talking to him so he doesn't fall asleep or anything. safety measures remain in place. every customer has their temperature taken when they arrive. vladislav would devote 40 minutes to each haircut, getting by on muesli bars and energy drinks. translation: this guy gives great haircuts, from the first to the last.

people were joking that they wouldn't like to be the last client because he'll cut an ear off! they were worried he would not be able to take it but it turned out completely the opposite. finally after 48 hours, the final head had been shorn, never has a haircut received such a rapturous welcome. translation: i didn't understand at all what was happening on the morning of the second day. i was just cutting and that's it, my hands were moving on their own and i was just watching. the salon manager says they plan to contact the guinness book of records. as for vladislav, with the lockdown over, he'll have plenty more haircuts to look forward to. tim allman, bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with darren bett.

hello there, another warm and sunny day today. there was a bit of rain in northern scotland first thing, but that has cleared away. this evening and overnight there will be more cloud continuing for the northern isles of scotland, some of that cloud will push its way down the north sea and arrive into some eastern coastal counties of england. otherwise it is clear skies, the lowest temperatures probably across east anglia, around six, seven degrees or so. otherwise, double figures. tomorrow we will see more sunshine arriving across the northern isles of scotland, that cloud in eastern england will soon break up and fade away, and then we've got blue skies. again, bit of a breeze blowing, an easterly or southeasterly breeze, get that onshore and it will be a little bit cooler. the heat is moving its way northwards, we are likely to make the mid—20s in scotland on friday. into the weekend, more of the same, a bit of patchy cloud here and there, but otherwise it is dry again. there will be lots of sunshine also, the highest temperatures throughout the weekend, more towards the western side of the uk. those temperatures again, around 26 or even 27 celsius.

the prime minister is expected to give further details shortly, on how and when measures in england will be eased. scotland will see some relaxation of their lockdown tomorrow. coronavirus contact tracing programmes get under way in england and scotland. those who've been in close contact with someone who has the virus, will be asked to self—isolate. the overwhelming majority of people, when instructed to self—isolate by the nhs, will do so, but, of course, we have the legal powers to make this mandatory if we need to. durham police say dominic cummings' trip to barnard castle might have breached lockdown rules, but no action will be taken against