you're watching bbc news — and we welcome viewers on bbc one and bbc world news as we expect today's coronavirus government briefing from downing street to start shortly. it's led today by the culture, media and sport secretary, oliver dowden, and professorjonathan van tam, the deputy chief medical officerfor england. with me now is our health correspondent catherine burns. a quick few headlines of what we might expect today? the interesting thing today will be seeing what the scientists say. we have had the government starting to bring in some levels of us opening up we have seen in the last day or so a bit of controversy about that. we have seen scientists from sage, the group that advises the government, saying this

is too much, too soon. so it will be interesting to see what questions are asked about that and why this is happening now. particularly as the government has been so keen to say they are following the science. if there appears to be dissent in the ra nks there appears to be dissent in the ranks now, this could cause a problem, as the unions are already... actually, let's go to downing street now. jonathan van tam and oliver dowden. good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to the afternoon downing street briefing. let me begin as usual with the latest figures. 4,000,170 tests for coronavirus have now been carried out in the uk. that includes 127,722 tests carried out yesterday. 272,826 people have tested positive. that is

an increase of 2445 cases since yesterday. sadly, of those tested positive for coronavirus across all settings, 38,376 have now died. that is an increase of 215 fatalities since yesterday. this new figure includes deaths in all settings, not just in hospitals. and of course, each one of those deaths is a tragedy for the family involved and oui’ tragedy for the family involved and our thoughts are with all of them. as the chancellor outlined yesterday, those numbers show that we are now passed the peak and as we continue to flatten the curve, we are able to start reopening parts of the economy. we are also looking at how to begin relaxing other measures so how to begin relaxing other measures so that we can re—establish some normality in other parts of our lives. which brings me to something which many people have been eagerly awaiting news about, and that is the return of live sport. for more than

two months after sport stopped, and after weeks of round the clock discussions with medical experts and professional sports bodies, i am delighted to announce today that the government has published guidance which allows competitive sport to resume behind closed doors from monday at the earliest. and crucially, only when safe to do so. it is up to each individual sport to decide when to resume competition. they know their sports best. but football, tennis, horse racing, formula 1, cricket, golf, rugby, snooker and others are all set to return to our screens shortly, with horse racing first out of the gate in the north—east next week. it has been a huge challenge to get to this point. we have taken a forensic, clinicians led approach, working with public of thinking that the department of health every step of the way. we have had dozens of meetings and published pages of detailed guidance outlining first how to get athletes back into socially distance training and then

back into close contact training. and throughout all of this, we have put the safety of the athletes, coaches and support staff first and foremost. by working closely with the sports themselves, we have made sure it has been a collaborative, consensual effort to create the safest possible environment for eve ryo ne safest possible environment for everyone involved. the guidance outlines various measures that need to be in place for an event to go ahead and to keep everyone involved safe. that includes a screening process for coronavirus symptoms at the venue, a one—way system for people and vehicles, minimising the use of dressing rooms and of course maintaining social distancing wherever that is possible. and as all sports recognised, ensuring the mental health of their athletes and staff is as important as their physical health, particularly in these times. and our guidance today reinforce that. it has taken a lot of ha rd reinforce that. it has taken a lot of hard work to get us here today, so thank you to everyone involved. i

know this will be welcome news for many. of course, much of the media attention has focused on football because it has that special place in oui’ because it has that special place in our national life. recognising its significance, i set two challenges for football's return. first, significance, i set two challenges forfootball‘s return. first, that a reasonable number of remaining premier league games will be broadcast free to air and second, that the financial benefits of returning will be shared throughout the entire football family. i am glad to confirm today that a third of matches to finish the season will 110w of matches to finish the season will now be free to view, including the liverpool versus everton derby, and live premier league football will be on the bbc for the first time in its history. this is an open invitation for all fans to be part of this significant moment in our sporting history, and it also of course has the serious public health benefit of encouraging people to watch at home, which will be essential. getting top leagues back up and running will also release much needed funding to

support the lower down, many of whom are cornerstones of their local communities. with both of these benefits, i can now make it official. football is coming back. of course, these headline sporting events a re of course, these headline sporting events are only part of the story. i am keenly aware that even as we reopen some domestic competitive fixtures, not all events will be back on. given the deserve meant that built up behind women sport after football, cricket and that built up behind women sport afterfootball, cricket and netball world cups, i will be working with the sports minister to make sure we don't lose any progress. visibility matters, and our daughters deserve to see female athletes on the main stage. ourfocus is also on how we can get grassroots sports back up and running safely so that people can reunite with their local team—mates. while those teams can't compete together yet, today i am glad to confirm that we are relaxing the rules on exercise further so

that from monday, people will be able to exercise with up to five others from different households, crucially so long as they remain two metres apart. that means that people who play team sports can train together and do things like conditioning and fitness sessions that don't involve physical contact. it isa that don't involve physical contact. it is a vital step in the right direction. now, we have all become a nation of early morning walkers, joe wicks work out thing people and many have discovered how valuable physical activity can be and i hope we will make time for even as life to normal. we still have a way to 90, to normal. we still have a way to go, but for a sporting loving nation, today is a significant step. we will not be sitting in the stands for a while and things will be different to what we are used to, but live sports will be back on our screens next week. the british sporting recovery has begun. with that, i would like to hand over to

professorjonathan that, i would like to hand over to professor jonathan van tam. that, i would like to hand over to professorjonathan van tam. thank you. iam professorjonathan van tam. thank you. i am not going to present the daily update to you, beginning with the first slide, please. this slide shows google mobility data. you can see on the left of the slide the vertical dotted line which shows when our lockdown measures started, and you can see the rapid diminution in all forms of mobility and an increase in people staying in the residential home. over time, there have been small increases across the piece until the end of this slide on the 21st of may, but the big difference has been in the use of parks, as it has been possible to ease social distancing. that is clear from the data. to the right of the slide, you will see for the period of the 21st of the 24th of may, from the lifestyle survey of

great britain, that almost 40% of adults worked from home compared to around 12% the same time the year before. and 98% of adults, very reassuringly, said they have continued to try to stay at least two metres away from other people when outside the home. next slide, please. in terms of testing and new cases, to recap on the figures given to you by the secretary of state, as of the 30th of may, 127,722 tests we re of the 30th of may, 127,722 tests were conducted or shipped. please remember again that some individuals, a small proportion, may have been tested more than once. but to the right—hand side of the top of the slide, you can see that the level of testing is staying steadily now in and around the 120,000 tests per day mark. in terms of confirmed

cases, there were 2445 new cases as of the 30th of may and if you refer to the bottom graph, you will see there is data arrayed in graphical form. now, idon't there is data arrayed in graphical form. now, i don't want to pass away from this slide without being clear that i have noticed at the tail end of the right side of the graph some increase in cases in the last few days, but i want to be clear that thatis days, but i want to be clear that that is a trend that we have seen before in these data, and what is more important is that you look at the seven day rolling average, the blue line, which continues to show a clear downward trend. that is important. next slide, please. in terms of the data from hospitals, there have been further declines in estimated admissions with covid—19

in england, 562 compared with 675 one week ago. and the graph shows this continued decline. in terms of the percentage of ventilated beds occupied by covid—19 patients, this has also continued to decline across the four nations and now stands at 10% compared with 12% one week ago. next slide, please. these data of course show the total number of people in hospital with covid—19, as opposed to the new admissions. we are currently running at a little under 8000 people in hospital with covid—19, down from 9400 this time last week. with the exception of wales, where there have been changes to the reporting methods, you can see there are continued declines in all other parts of the uk. next

slide, please. the final slide reca ps slide, please. the final slide recaps again on the secretary of state's announcement that as of the 30th of may, there were 215 further deaths attributed to patients with a confirmed positive covid—19 diagnosis. the graph on the right shows the continued long—term decline with those week on week variations day by day. but again, importantly, the seven day rolling average, the orange curve, continues to be downwards. that is the update on the statistics for today. thank you, professor van tam. on the statistics for today. thank you, professorvan tam. first, on the statistics for today. thank you, professor van tam. first, we will go to questions from the public and the number one comes from kim from county durham via video. as you are starting to reopen public spaces such as beaches and parks and you are planning to reopen shops in the future, i would like to know when

you are playing to allow more access to public toilets, many of which remain closed, to allow those individuals who have disabilities to be able to get out the same way those who are able—bodied are able to do. thank you for your question, kim. it is an important point you are raising, particularly people who suffer from is abilities do need to have access to public toilets when they go out —— for people who suffer from disability. as soon as we are able to do so, consistent that we can do so in a safeway in accordance with health guidance, we will do that. my friend the secretary of state, the person in charge of communities, housing and local government, is looking into that as we speak. hopefully, we will be able to make progress on that. question number two comes from leslie from whitstable, who has sent it via text. i will read it out. why have

england, scotland, wales and northern ireland got their own track and trace systems, and how will these interact with one another to ensure you capture everyone who may have been in contact with someone who has the virus? i may ask professor va n who has the virus? i may ask professor van tam to add a little more detail on this, leslie, but in response to your question, it's important to understand what we are trying to do with track and trace. as we begin to get the numbers of people with the virus under control in this country, an important part of keeping the numbers down will be ensuring that we identify people who have the virus by testing them, and then we track who else they have beenin then we track who else they have been in contact with. that is where we have recruited 25,000 people who will do that. if they come across people who have been in contact with someone who has had coronavirus, they will ask them to self—isolate if appropriate, and that is to stop the disease spreading. we began that

in earnest on thursday and it will be up and running fully from the 1st ofjune, monday. in terms of the detail on the interaction, would you like to address that? yes, thank you for the question. the nhs is a com pletely for the question. the nhs is a completely nationwide uk service for all its citizens, but the nhs is configured slightly differently across the devolved nations, as it is in england. hence the organisation nhs england, as opposed to nhs uk. therefore, it is logical that there are slight differences to the track and trace system as it is going to be used across the different nhs jurisdictions and the different nhs jurisdictions and the different devolved administrations of the uk. but the real point here that i want to reassure people about is that identifying cases and tracing contacts is bread—and—butter

and business as usual for the health protection agency is of the uk. they do this as a matter of routine for tuberculosis cases, for meningitis cases, for food tuberculosis cases, for meningitis cases, forfood poisoning outbreaks and believe me, those don't always occur. you can't say to a disease, we wa nt occur. you can't say to a disease, we want you to stay this side of a border. it doesn't happen that way. the health protection agency is of the uk are very used to working together and passing contacts and patients through as necessary. so i have no real worries that they won't be able to cope with this in the covid—19 circumstances. thank you. now we go to questions from the media and the first one comes from chris mason from the bbc. good afternoon, can you hear me? yes, thank you. a question to you

both, if i may. what do you say to those scientists and others who say that you're using the lockdown in england too quickly? thank you for that question, chris. well, ithink there are a couple of things to note before i asked professor van time to give his reflections. first, it is worth bearing in mind that the scientific advice from the advisory group consists of more than 50 scientists, all of whom will have their different perspectives, and their different perspectives, and the government takes a collective view on the entire advice from sage. secondly, the scientists who i have heard speak this morning are absolutely right to urge caution. we are ata absolutely right to urge caution. we are at a risky point. that is to say that we have got the health protection agencies number below one, it is in the range of 0.7 to 0.9, but we have not got that much headroom. that is why the prime minister has been clear that we need to proceed in a very cautious way. we have set out a roadmap but at

each stage we have said we are not going to proceed with that unless we are confident that we can do so in a safe way. and indeed, if we are not confident, we will delay measures, will be may even reimpose measures, thatis will be may even reimpose measures, that is the baby step path that we are going down. so i think the governor is broadly in agreement with what they are saying, but because of jonathan van with what they are saying, but because ofjonathan van tam, perhaps you would like to say something. because ofjonathan van tam, perhaps you would like to say somethinglj would say that scientific opinion a lwa ys would say that scientific opinion always varies, to some extent, across the piece, that is natural. sage i think has been very clear, andi sage i think has been very clear, and i and being very clear, that the easing of social distancing, the easing of social distancing, the easing of social distancing, the easing of lockdown, has to go slowly, it has to go painstakingly, and we have to be extreme cautious about how we do it. and the scientists will continue to give that advice to the government. no apologies for that, we will absolutely continue to do that. i believe, and you will recall i was at the podium when the disease

activity was very high in the uk, andi activity was very high in the uk, and i said it's a very dangerous moment. i believe this is also a very dangerous moment. we have to get this right. now, the sage papers have been published, they are online, many of them, and it's very clear that the measures already taken to ease social distancing, sage have been very clear on that, that the chances of those easement private allowing r to go above one rx low indeed. now, the measures that have been announced to take place beginning monday next week, sage again i think has been very clear, it has looked at a similar package of measures through the modelling, and has taken a view that it is likely that more with good compliance from the public, and with a test and trace, contact tracing, system in place, that these will not

either violate us going above one. that is not an absolute guarantee, that they won't, but it is a high degree of confidence, avoiding contact tracing goes well and providing the public adhere to the limited easement in lockdown that is taking place. and so i think there isa taking place. and so i think there is a dual responsibility here, that contact tracing has got to go well, but the public have also got to engage with it and to take the advice about self isolation, if it is given, because it is very serious. in terms of advice about, for example, being able, from monday, to meet five people outdoors socially distanced, you know, again, that has got to be taken seriously, and it has got to be taken in a reasonable measure. if you go out

and you meet five people from different households in the morning, you being the sixth person, you then go and do the same in the afternoon and the same in the evening, you can see how the number of additional contacts that are potentially possible we'll just contacts that are potentially possible we'lljust rack up. so, people have got to be sensible and proportionate with the freedom that we have absolutely wanted to give to people, because we need to see loved ones. and if people go further, and think, oh, itjust won't matter, i'lljust go a little further with the measures that have been announced, then this won't work, either. this virus, as i said the last time i was at the podium, has a natural r of three. one case will infect three more people. it's like having a spring in a box and you've got the lid on. now, you can take the lid off a little but you haven't disconnected the spring or broken

the spring in anyway. if you take the spring in anyway. if you take the lead right off, off it will go. and so, this is a dual responsibility, of government, to go slowly and carefully, and to take the advice from the scientists, of the advice from the scientists, of the scientists, to watch this whole thing very closely over the next few weeks, and of the public in general, to actually follow the guidance. don't tear the pants out of it and don't go further than the guidance actually says. any follow-up? tearing the pants out of it, that is quite a phrase. just picking up on what you have both said, do you acce pt what you have both said, do you accept that if you have to slam on the brakes, or even reverse the measures that you've taken, getting people to comply then may be much trickier than it was in the earlier stages of the lockdown? yes, in short, i think that is correct, that's why we've been so at pains to

move with extreme caution. and it is worth noting that there has been quite a lot of loose talk about the ending of the lockdown, that sort of thing — we are taking very tentative steps, principally focused around activities outside, where the risk of transmission is much lower. and we are emphasising through all of this the need to maintain social distancing. so, most of the pillars of this remain in place. but professor va n of this remain in place. but professor van time, is there anything else? yes, just to add a little bit of science, and say, infections pass on in a moment, with covid—19, and the incubation period is five days, typically. and so, the next round of infections appears fairly quickly afterwards. in other words, this gets out of control quite quickly, if you allow it to. and then, as you've seen from the previous lockdown period, it then ta kes previous lockdown period, it then takes many weeks to get the breaks on it. you can't slow it down as fast as you can let it go, let it

ta ke fast as you can let it go, let it take off. and that's because these cases then become problems for the healthcare system, and regrettably, some of them die. and it takes awhile for them to work back out through the healthcare system, because they require prolonged care. and from that perspective, don't see this as a curve that is the same going up as it is down. it is quite easy to go up, it is quite hard then to get the breaks are back on. and soi to get the breaks are back on. and so i really hope that people will follow the advice that is given, to the letter, and not any further than that, therefore, we're never in that position again. thank you. now, next question is from paul brandt at itv. thank you. secretary of state, you're announcing further lifting of lockdown measures today, despite the fa ct lockdown measures today, despite the fact that some of your own scientific advisers are expressing concern. is this government still

led by science? and tojonathan concern. is this government still led by science? and to jonathan van tam, ifi led by science? and to jonathan van tam, if i may, you mentionedjust then that one of the key things is having contact tracing in place to allow these lockdown measures to be lifted, but some of your colleagues are concerned that actually the contact tracing is not well established yet, and it may take another couple of weeks to really kick in? thanks for your question. the simple answer is, yes, we continue to be led by the science. i think today's guidance is an excellent exa m ple of think today's guidance is an excellent example of that. i pay to two professor van tam and others who have been involved in this. we have had extensive discussions with the sporting bodies concerned over a number of weeks, and we have come together with a package of guidance which we are confident will minimise risks and actually, i will leave professor va n risks and actually, i will leave professor van tam to elaborate on it, but in terms of the narrow measures of allowing the return of elite sport behind closed doors, within a stadium, the impact is

going to be exceptionally minimal. of course, we need to guard against wider impacts, for example, to ensure that people don't congregate around stadiums and so on, and that is why i welcome the fact that we have got more games on free two—hour. it will be a very important message for the fans, and i think the fans will behave responsibility, the british people have shown really good common sense throughout all of this, i'm sure they will understand the need to watch this at home, and that is an important message that will be getting out. so i think today's announcement is an example of us working hand in glove with the scientists. over to you, working hand in glove with the scientists. overto you, professor van tam. thank you. so, elite sportsman and women are a very tiny but important fraction of our society. and it's very clear that playing elite sport again, in those very limited circumstances, with carefully controlled measures about how you get those sportsmen and

sportswomen to the pitch, that is not going to have any meaningful impact on r. it would be potentially com pletely impact on r. it would be potentially completely different if there were lots of full stadium and all of the activities that go around going to a sports game, the restaurants, the pubs, the bars, et cetera. but we are not in that space at the moment. and so i think the actual return of elite sport is something that will bea elite sport is something that will be a nice philip to us all after the lockdown, at a psychological level, but i don't think it in anyway is releva nt to but i don't think it in anyway is relevant to a conversation about r. now, in terms of the track and trace system, yes, it is new, yes, it was announced last week, of course, many countries are now putting these systems in place, and there will, as

my secretary of state has said, be some bedding in time required. but baroness harding has been very clear that the system is ready, and i think we have to move forwards on that basis. thank you, any follow—up? yes, ifi that basis. thank you, any follow—up? yes, if i may, just on this point about the government following the scientific advice — wales, scotland and northern ireland ta ke wales, scotland and northern ireland take a slightly different view, more cautious with their lockdown lifting, so, what is it about the particular circumstances in england that makes you confident that it is 0k to lift the lockdown measures to a greater degree? well, each nation has to make its own decisions and it is up to the welsh and scottish governments to explain the decisions that they have taken. in respect of the decisions that we have announced, three things have been influential. the first is meeting those five tests which the first secretary of state dominic raab set out a few weeks ago. the second thing that has been influential in

it has been ensuring that the r, which is part of the five tests, remains below one and gives us that headroom to be able to ease, in a very cautious, careful, slow way, without endangering the number spiralling above one and the consequences which professor van tam talked about. and the third thing is, as part of our measures, we need to ensure that we have a good track and trace system in place. for the reasons that i outlined before, so that once we are aware that somebody has had coronavirus, ensuring that they are tested and isolated and the people they have come into contact with take appropriate isolation measures to reduce the spread. professor va n measures to reduce the spread. professor van tam, is there anything you would like to add? only really to say that sir patrick vallance has already said it from this podium, that the r is currently between 0.7 and 0.9. this means we do not have and 0.9. this means we do not have an enormous amount of headroom, and

we will have to go very slowly. and we will have to go very slowly. and we will have to go very slowly. and we will have to go very cautiously. and this is a time where there are potential dangers if we go too fast, andi potential dangers if we go too fast, and i am fully aware of this and i'm perfectly prepared to give that advice to the government, as needed. thank you. we now go to lisa holland from sky news. good afternoon. my question is for professor van tam. 8000 new infections every day, and thatis 8000 new infections every day, and that isjust in england, and supposedly doesn't include care homes and hospitals. can i ask you, who is catching coronavirus, and how, given that we are ten weeks into lockdown? that is a difficult question. i can't tell you who is catching coronavirus. what i can tell you is the kinds of people who are at risk

of catching it, and the kind of people who are at risk of being hospitalised. the elderly, people with chronic underlying conditions and people who are obese. that is very clear. we are also looking very carefully for other risk factors. the ons has already shown that the death rate is higher in people in elementary occupations where perhaps social distancing is more difficult. and we are in the middle of a large inquiry looking at the black and minority ethnic community. but you're quite right, it's a case in point that there are 8000 cases occurring a day according to ons statistics and we need to get to the bottom of that. any follow-up? if i could ask as the professor again,

one of your colleagues, john edmonds, another government scientific adviser, said on sky news today that the frustration has been that the government are pretending that the government are pretending that they are not making the decisions and it is us who are making decisions, but that is not the case. that is what he says. do you think that is true? could you repeat that? yes, we spoke to john edmonds on sky news today, who said "my frustration has been that the government are pretending they are not making the decisions, they are led by the science, and it is us that are making the decisions, but that are making the decisions, but thatis that are making the decisions, but that is not the case." in other words, do you think the government is listening to scientific advice?” should say, i know your question was addressed to professor van tam, but the government has been clear all along that ministers take responsibility for decisions. but we ta ke responsibility for decisions. but we take scientific advice in doing so.

anything to add? that is right. our science advice has been so far that the social distancing that has already been eased is consistent with keeping the r below one. the consensus of scientific advice is that the next set of measures announced for monday, with contact tracing in place, should also keep the r within one. our advice is to continue to watch this very carefully, and we will continue to give further advice to the government about whether we think it is possible to make further easements after that. and that will absolutely be a matter of advice for us and decision for the politicians. thank you. we now move to ian herbert from the mail on sunday. question for you, secretary of

state. police forces have identified yesterday six premier league games which present public health concerns and require neutral venues. which present public health concerns and require neutralvenues. but clubs and fans are resisting that and insisting that their own home stadia will be safe. so if police expressed public health fears, should clubs and fans accept that and accept neutral venues? the short a nswer and accept neutral venues? the short answer is yes. it is worth understanding what we are announcing today. the government is publishing guidelines which are setting out how elite sports can resume behind closed doors in a safe way. it is then up to each individual sport to apply those guidelines and determine their way in which they do so. in respect of where matches take place, there is a well established mechanism through the local safety

authority, which brings together police and local authorities to determine if it is appropriate to have a match as scheduled at a home venue or have a match as scheduled at a home venue or not. if that determination is made that it is not safe, they have to be mindful of risks such as fa ns have to be mindful of risks such as fans congregating, particularly if it isa fans congregating, particularly if it is a crucial match or a home match around the stadium, if they advise that they shouldn't do it, then fans should listen to that. but i pay then fans should listen to that. but i pay tribute to fans, because i think that in common with most of the british people, they have taken a sensible approach. they understand what we are doing. most people i have spoken to welcome the fact that if we can get live sport back again ina if we can get live sport back again in a safe way behind closed doors, we should do so, but they understand the limitations in the current environment. professor van tam? the issue of fans congregating outside stadiums is clearly a police matter,

and is clearly something we would not want in the current stage of social distancing. that is clear. but beyond that, in terms of the staging of the game itself, the premises have to be suitable for the new conditions in which we find ourselves. this is about an end to end journey for the players, the officials, the media and the medical staff, coming from wherever they live to take part in what is required for a game behind closed doors. and there has to be enough understanding that the venue can cope with the segregation and organisation and the social distancing right up until the kick—off whistle. and again, from the end of the final whistle, to make that the safest possible experience for everybody there. that will be a crucial factor in choosing

these venues. i know the premier league are all over that and thinking about it carefully. any follow—up? thinking about it carefully. any follow-up? yes, thank you. it was interesting to hear you say, secretary of state, that the everton— liverpool game secretary of state, that the eve rton— liverpool game will secretary of state, that the everton— liverpool game will be one of the free to air fixtures, which isa of the free to air fixtures, which is a significant gesture from sky to give that to the bbc. is that designed to stop fans gathering at what would be a very high—profile game, and therefore, does that make it more likely that the game will be staged at goodison park, everton?” should just clarify that it will be free to air but not all free to our matches will be on the bbc. some will be on other platforms which are free to air. but your point is correct nonetheless. one of the reasons why i was pushing for free to air broadcasting was precisely

this point, to discourage fans from going to other people's house to watch these matches, but also to the stadium itself. in terms of the actual decision as to where a match should take place, that is not a decision i can best take as a politician. that is decision which is best taken by the local authorities and the police through the local safety authority. on the subject of fans gathering, i am a devout boston united season ticket holder and i'm desperate for football to come back. but i have also talked earlier in this press briefing about sticking to the rules and not going further. fans gathering is exactly the kind of thing which would be something that went far beyond the kind of social

distancing that we need to continue to practise and the kind of small numbers that we need to stick to as of monday. this is how these guidelines begin to decay at the edges, and this will cause trouble for all of us if it happens. ijust wa nt to for all of us if it happens. ijust want to be clear on that. next, we have lucy want to be clear on that. next, we have luchohnson from the sunday express. professor van tam said we need a period of bedding in before the contact system, before we know if it goes well. how will people know if they have had a genuine call from a compact tracer and not a scam? that is a good question. firstly, we have made progress with this in terms of recruiting the 25,000 contact tracer is and we have done a lot of work leading up to this, covering exactly those points so that people can have that

reassurance. professor van tam, you are best placed to talk about the mechanisms of how that would work. all of that has been carefully considered by the test and trace system. i don't have the details, but they know there may be attempts to make malicious interference. actually, it would be quite difficult to do that. it would become apparent quickly that this was a professional talking who understood about contact tracing and the elements of it. i don't think people are going to fall for this. any follow—up? people are going to fall for this. any follow-up? there are scientific estimates that potentially tens of thousands of healthy people will be asked to unnecessarily self—isolate at significant personal and economic cost after contact tracing. how can you stop this happening? i'm afraid

we can't stop it happening. this is pa rt we can't stop it happening. this is part of the cost of track and trace. we have made a decision as a government, and i will leave it to jonathan to confirm, blood based on scientific advice and discussions, this is the trade—off we are making. we are saying in order to help facilitate a wider easing of the lockdown that will benefit everyone, it will be the case that if people have had coronavirus, been tested and they have then been in contact with others, those people will be asked to isolate. for those people, it is not something they will particularly wa nt it is not something they will particularly want to do, but there has been an understanding of why we are doing this. this is to benefit the wider public health and in isolating, they are helping to ensure that we keep the r rate low and we can continue to ease at is

safe to do so. and i think that is an improvement on the very stringent lockdown measures we had before we commenced this process.” lockdown measures we had before we commenced this process. i am going to go back to my spring and the fact that the coronavirus is like a coiled spring, ready to get out and start infecting many people again if we don't keep on top of it. the epidemiological principle of stopping that transmission occurring is taking people who have the infection who are infectious out of the system through isolation at home, and also taking out of the system temporarily people they may already have infected. if you and i wear contacts in a meaningful way that public health england said you might in the next 14 days, because

thatis might in the next 14 days, because that is the incubation period, develop coronavirus infection and you might become infectious to others one or two days before your symptoms show, the only thing i can do is say to you that your risk window is for the next 14 days and please will you isolate for the good of others? we will all have to take that on the chin if it happens to us, because we can't look inside people and say you have definitely been exposed and your symptoms will appear on day x. it isjust been exposed and your symptoms will appear on day x. it is just not possible. we can't even say of the people who are exposed, which ones will be the ones who go on to be the next round of cases of coronavirus infection. so yes, it is going to be painful for some infection. so yes, it is going to be painfulfor some people infection. so yes, it is going to be painful for some people when they receive a notification, when phe contact them and say, you are a

definite contact of somebody who has had coronavirus infection, we need you to stay at home for the next 14 days. but as the secretary of state clearly said, and he is right, the alternative is that we go back to stopping those contacts occurring through whole of society isolation, otherwise known as lockdown. so we either try and live with this in the best way we can and have something towards a normal life, or we have to tolerate this system with some of the difficulties it will bring for some people. thank you. finally to toby helm from the observer. could i ask the secretary of state first of all, the prime minister, when talking about dominic cummings earlier this week, said that while he wanted him to remain in post, he

said he was leaving it to the public to decide what they thought of the controversy surrounding him. if you days on, it is clear what the public think. we are running an opinion poll which has a high majority of people believe he should be sacked. there is a petition showing more thani million there is a petition showing more than 1 million people there is a petition showing more thani million people believe the same thing, and mps' inboxes are groaning with complaints. so will the government to listen to the public, or will it simply ignore them? and could i ask professor van tam, you say this is a dangerous moment. what do you say to people in authority? should people in authority? should people in authority give a lead and obey the rules above all? let me deal with your first question

first. as you very well—known and many viewers will no, dominic cummings gave a very extensive explanation of his behaviour on monday, and answered all questions in relation to that, and the prime minister accepted that explanation. and on that basis, kept him in post, and that remains the position. professor va n and that remains the position. professor van tam, anything you want to add? thank you for the question, iam quite to add? thank you for the question, i am quite happy to answer it. in my opinion, the rules are clear, and they have always been clear. in my opinion, they are for the benefit of all, and in my opinion, they apply to all. any follow-up, toby? follow—up to the secretary of state, you didn't actually address the direct question, as far as i remember is the prime minister, is government actually going to listen to the public or is itjust going to...? well, of course

to the public or is itjust going to. . . ? well, of course the to the public or is itjust going to...? well, of course the prime minister and the government listen to the public. in respect of ms dominic cummings, this has been dealt with extensively, the prime minister has answered questions on it repeatedly, dominic cummings has a nswered it repeatedly, dominic cummings has answered questions repeatedly on it. i understand that people have a range of views in respect of it. it is worth noting that durham police have made their statement in respect of that, in respect of not taking any further action, so i think this has now been dealt with. on that note, i think we are now finished. thank you very much and that concludes the afternoon press briefing. thank you. studio: there is a lot to mull over there. let's just remind studio: there is a lot to mull over there. let'sjust remind ourselves of the main points made. domestic competitive sport is back from monday. starting with horse racing, other sports given the go—ahead to

resume behind closed doors include football, tennis and rugby, also added to the list of sports, to resume from monday. as is cricket, snooker, golf and formula 1. now, football will also be broadcast on terrestrial television, a third of the premier league matches will soon be free to our. this comes as it was announced there were a further 215 deaths from covid—19, taking the total death toll to 38,376. oliver dowden also announced that people in england can exercise outside with up to five others from different households from monday, provided that strict social distancing guidelines are followed. with me now, our health correspondent catherine burns. there is a lot to moldova, and i am just trying to establish, on that last point, catherine, professor van tam, establish, on that last point, catherine, professorvan tam, in

response to a question about dominic cummings, ask by the telegraph, in his opinion, he said, the rules are to the benefit of all and they apply to the benefit of all and they apply to all. and i'm just trying to get the sense, because it was quite difficult to listen in a properly, but whether that was his way of saying, actually, that he agrees with public opinion over this. what was your...? with public opinion over this. what was your... ? what with public opinion over this. what was your...? what he certainly didn't say was, dominic cummings was 0k to didn't say was, dominic cummings was ok to do what he did. his statement was quite bleak. he said, i am quite happy to answer this, which is in contrast to some of the others we have seen over the last few days. the rules are clear, they have a lwa ys the rules are clear, they have always been clear, in my opinion they apply to all... interesting. make of that what you will! that surely will get picked up upon. let's turn to the issues of health. so many questions today not least by some scientists on the sage committee saying that for them, this easing of lockdown is coming to

soon, they are not comfortable with it, so, in terms of what we have just heard, do we think that their fears are going to be allayed?m just heard, do we think that their fears are going to be allayed? it is interesting, oliver dowden was very clear to say, we take response billeting for our actions as ministers. he said the scientists are to be concerned but we are taking baby steps, was his phrase. and if it's not safe, we will not proceed, and we may even go back and reimpose different measures. he also pointed out that sage, the scientific committee which advises the government, has more than 50 people on it, and there will be different perspectives. throughout the day, we've heard from some of those scientists saying, we're happy, we think this is too soon. so it was very interesting to see what jonathan van tam, the deputy chief medical officer, had to say about it. he said it is natural that they will be a lot of different opinions and this has to go painstakingly slowly. and he said the scientists will continue to give the government that advice. however, he did say the

measures that have been announced, he says the general consensus is that they will keep that all—important r that they will keep that all—importa nt r rate that they will keep that all—important r rate below one. once it gets beyond one, then the virus is going to start to grow exponentially. but it was very interesting, he put it as a dual responsibility on us, the public, and also the government themselves. he said for the public, in england, you are able to go out and meet five other people, but if you meet five in the morning, five in the afternoon, five in the evening, then obviously the number of contacts is going to rack up, so he said, don't tether pants out of this policy. also he said it would only work if the test and tracing system is up and running. and he said we have to go very slowly and very cautiously. there are potential dangers if we go too fast, and the scientists, he said, will keep giving the government that advice. so he was

telling an interesting line. he did, and he said britain is at a very dangerous moment as it starts to ease some of its lockdown measures. he was clear, it is very much dependent on compliance from the public, but also on the contact tracing, so where are we with that, because there are many questions? we are because there are many questions? we a re early because there are many questions? we are early days in. i have been trying to get some figures from the government on how many contacts have been traced, that data is not available at this stage. i have also been speaking to a contact tracer and some of their network. this put ina and some of their network. this put in a person has done 24 hour shifts, and in that time they were given one contact and in that time they were given one co nta ct to and in that time they were given one contact to trace, and they left a voicemail, that was it. —— they have done two four hour shifts. other collea g u es done two four hour shifts. other colleagues said they had been sitting for two—and—a—half hours, they had not got a contact to trace, nothing to do. at the same time, they say that this has been the sense from the beginning, we're only a couple of days in, and they feel the numbers are starting to pick up. so it is one to watch and wait and

see what happens. let's have a look at some of the other headlines. there was a question, why have we got 8000 new infections everyday in england, who is catching the virus and how, given that everybody should be under such strict lockdown still? yes, we've been in lockdown for ten weeks essentially. there wasn't really a very clear answer to that, what we were told instead was who is in risk, but we were not told who is getting the virus right now, which isa getting the virus right now, which is a question that all of us need to know. 8000 new cases a day, they think that the r number is just below one, and this is after lockdown. we've been shutdown for almost ten weeks. so, who knows what is going to happen in the next few weeks. but jonathan van is going to happen in the next few weeks. butjonathan van tam did feel that these measures are not going to post this above one. what are your other headlines from what we heard? the interesting thing was the sport, which is going to open up.

grassroots sport open again but social distancing, social distancing, everything must be painstaking. we're not going to be see in contact sport, people are not going to be out playing with their friends in that way. i found that very interesting, as a sport loving nation, live sport will be back next week. obviously people are going to be pleased about that. but really, the focus for me was on this divide between the easing up that we're having, and the statements were having, and the statements were having from the scientists, which is something i've been looking at all day. i've been ringing round, checking the twitter of various on both sage and the subcommittee, and the picture has mainly been, i have to say, of the ones i've managed to speak to, to say, of the ones i've managed to speakto, a to say, of the ones i've managed to speak to, a lot of them do not want to speak to the press, a picture of concern. some are saying things like, we're easing a lot of things at the same time and maybe it would have been better to do one, and see what impact it has a few few later,

do another. but one person who does not want to be named said that there isa not want to be named said that there is a real concern that scientists do not want to be seen to be calling for more lockdown. maybe instead, we need to have more specific measures are next measures around care homes. so, the one person we managed to speak to who wants us to continue did not want to be named. you spoke about sports, let's go to our sports correspondent, john watson, at the bbc sports centre. let's get a take from you in terms of what you have heard with regard to sport, what is this going to do? just to follow on from what you were talking about, we understand that as from monday, competitive sport will be allowed to resume in england, which really puts horse racing front and centre. we know that there is a full fixture list of races planned for newcastle racecourse on monday morning. there

is going to be ten races there, 12 horses running in each. we know that the sport has been planning for a return behind closed doors for a number of weeks now. as far as racing is concerned, it means that the biggest sporting event to be staged since the easing of lockdown restrictions is likely to be the 2000 guineas, which will be run at newmarket on the 6th ofjune. we know that ascot as well, royal ascot, are planning to stage races behind closed doors later on in the summer. so, horseracing will be front and centre as competitive sport returns next week. now, it must be pointed and phrased that all of this takes place amid the backdrop of strict guidelines. oliver dowden outlining that today, saying that elite athletes must still maintain social distancing guidelines where possible, which as we know with competitive sport and contact sport, is not going to be easy. so, with the return of contact

sport, it is down to the governing bodies and leagues and clubs to ensure that rigourous testing is in place, so that elite sportsmen and women can be tested for the virus. essentially, what that does is place the decision on when individual sports can return in the hands of the governing bodies, of the leagues and of the clubs, to ensure that they feel, when they feel the safest time to return is made the backdrop of those strict government guidelines. we know that the premier league plan to return on the 17th of june. we know that the 20 clubs still have to vote on that. that has dominated the conversation with regard to sport and when we might see the return of sport. but i guess as well, if you think that we're going to see a return of mainstream sport shooting entirely, it is worth pointing out that rugby union hasn't even set a date yet to return to contact training, alone playing competitive fixtures. so i think we

are someway short of that. we know that the government, the latest advice today, as part of their 3—step strategy, that it was revised as well back on the 25th of may, when the government allowed elite sportsmen and women to return to contact training, so, interesting that even though rugby union is allowed to return to training, as yet, they haven't done so. so of course we're all looking to the premier league. that should be set to return on the 17th ofjune. but horseracing will return with that full calendar at newcastle on monday. but certainly, a very significant announcement nonetheless today, with the return of competitive sport for the first time in what has been some three months. very welcome news i'm sure for a lot of fans, just specifically on racing, how is this going to play, given it is behind closed doors, for those who are so dependent on the sport, particularly racing, the bookies, not least? well, we know that there will be no bookmakers at

the course, there will be no fans, no spectators, but again, it is all about the sport adhering to these strict government guidelines. interesting to note that newcastle racecourse are going to be introducing a one—way system for jockeys to gain access to the premises, and when leaving as well. so, there is a very clear and in place to still try to adhere to the social distancing guidelines. we know that the jockeys' room, which is always a very packed and rather tight place, with the jockeys rubbing shoulders with each other, they've enlarged the room somewhat there so that jockeys they've enlarged the room somewhat there so thatjockeys can still try and attempt to stay two metres apart and attempt to stay two metres apart and adhere to those government guidelines. so, for racing, they have been planning for a number of weeks now try and implement a return behind closed doors. and with those checks in place, they feel that the safety of all of those involved, the

trainers and the jockeys, the owners as well, worth pointing out, they won't be allowed inside the venues, but as far as adhering to those guidelines is concerned, i think horseracing feels that they are able to do that behind closed doors and ensure the safety of all of those involved while not placing any additional impact on the wider society. john, thank you. i'm joined now by lee mottershead. he's the senior writer on the racing post. following on from whatjohn was saying, welcome news for the industry? it is fantastic news. the british horseracing authority which governs the sport has been working very closely with the government over recent weeks, trying to bring the sport back, but only when the government felt it was right to do so, in conjunction with other sports. so it is great news that it is coming back. it is notjust a

sport, it is an industry that contributes £4 billion every year into the economy. 20,000 jobs are connected to horse racing. so for those people, it is important that racing comes back. it is important to society because as well as being a sport, it is a form of entertainment and now more than ever, people need to be entertained. yes, but what impact do you think it will have, given that it is nothing like the real thing and will be behind closed doors? it will be behind closed doors? it will be behind closed doors? it will be behind closed doors, but it will be the real thing. for those watching the real thing. for those watching the action on television, the horse racing will look exactly as it a lwa ys racing will look exactly as it always has. if people are watching royal ascot or the derby injuly, what they see is the action that ta kes pla ce what they see is the action that takes place on the track and that action won't look any different. for those on the racecourse, it will be

different is only the people essential to staging the meeting will be on the track. those people will be on the track. those people will have to have their temperature taken when they get there and confirm they are in good health. and the provisions are very strict, to the provisions are very strict, to the extent that if a horse arrives and anybody in the horsebox gives a temperature reading above the norm, they will have to leave and the horse can't run. it is a strict set of protocols, but they are essential for getting the sport back. you mentioned the finances and what the industry brings to the economy. what financial impact has this hat? industry brings to the economy. what financial impact has this hat7m industry brings to the economy. what financial impact has this hat? it is difficult to say because there are so many different groups in racing. but you can give a good estimate of £50 million lost in the industry since mid—march when racing stopped. and the longer it goes on, the harder it will be. there is a lot of gratitude in racing to those owners who have kept their horses in sta ples who have kept their horses in staples instead of selling them off.

that has meant that horses are able to race as soon as racing resumes. those who have been hardest hit at the moment arejockeys those who have been hardest hit at the moment are jockeys and racecourses, who have had no income. they will be extremely pleased. from monday, we can get going again. thank you forjoining us. i'm joined now by former government chief scientific officer sir david king, who's head of the independent sage group. the group was established to look at how the uk could work its way out of coronavirus lockdown after the government's official panel of scientific advisers, sage, faced criticism over a perceived lack of transparency. so you are looking with a critical eye. what do you make of what you have heard today? well, i think it

is too much, too quickly. that is the general view. we should not be moving on loosening up the lockdown until the test, track and isolate capability has been developed. we arejust rushing into capability has been developed. we are just rushing into this to open on the 1st ofjune before we know it is all operating at scale. and if it is all operating at scale. and if it is not operating at scale butjust for the small number of people, that will not be good enough. that is the first thing. the second thing is that we know schools are also reopening on the 1st ofjune, also the government would like to see. but in addition to the test, track and isolate odyssey coming to play, there hasn't been a good communication with local communities. clearly, the local community has schools in those local communities and that is where the final session has to be reached. we

don't have the details from the government on what the infectivity rate is in local areas, but we know the infectivity rate varies considerably from one community to another. even in a city like london and birmingham, there are areas where the r rate is quite high and other areas where it is quite low. but the question is, what is the infectivity rate? my concern in looking at the data is that the curves that professor van tam showed indicate that while the public has done a wonderfuljob in the lockdown, while we have brought the infectivity rate down significantly, we still haven't quite reached the point when we went into lockdown. so as we move forward, wouldn't you think at least that we would go beyond the point where we decided it was serious enough to go into lockdown? i think we are moving too

quickly. we have to surely be patient. we have put three months of effort into this, the british public. and to suddenly lift it on the 1st of june because public. and to suddenly lift it on the 1st ofjune because that date was chosen a little while ago seems to mejust rushing into the possibility of a second wave of the epidemic emerging. what is interesting as well, travellers into the uk have not been quarantined. we are one of the very few countries in europe that has taken that line. in other parts of europe, we see that eve ryo ne other parts of europe, we see that everyone has to go into quarantine for 14 days for many months now, but we are not even introducing that entered june the 7th. we need to be much more aware of the fact that we could lose so much by opening up so quickly. i fully understand that we need to get over this epidemic as

quickly as possible with the least number of further deaths. that is also going to get us back into a functioning economy. and on that, you will know more than most, working within government when you did, the pressure is on the government right now in terms of the fears over the economy and in terms of those people who are saying they cannot sustain this, the self—employed, the small business owners, the economy as a whole. you will understand that balance the government has to make at this moment. i fully understand that and i also fully understand, because we had a lot of communications from pa rents of had a lot of communications from parents of schoolchildren, that they are also keen to get their children back into school. but what i am saying is that we mustn't lose all the advantage we have had, otherwise we go back to square one and off we go on we go back to square one and off we goona we go back to square one and off we go on a second wave. then it is another three months before we are out of it. ijust feel we should be

more cautious. we should be more patient and ask businesses to understand that we will not manage to get back into full functional businesses in the uk until we have managed to get this epidemic virtually over with. we are nowhere near our neighbours in europe for two reasons. one, the epidemic came to britain after any of our mainland neighbours. but at the same time, we we re neighbours. but at the same time, we were slower than each of them in reaching lockdown. so in our case, the number of infected people in the country is much larger. the number of fatalities per head of population is now probably the largest in the world. so we have come into it too late. if only our business collea g u es late. if only our business colleagues had been pushing government to say, get into lockdown quickly and get this over quickly with as few fatalities as possible, and we can get back to business.

greece went into lockdown well before any other european country, when they only had three cases and not a single death. they started talking about how to go into lockdown, and they have emerged with 170 deaths. we still have that many per day, or more than that. and they have done it absolutely by the instructions of the who. the question would be, why didn't we follow those instructions and also get it over with quickly? but we are where we are. we must not rush, otherwise it will be much worse for all of us. sir david king, thank you for joining all of us. sir david king, thank you forjoining us and sharing your thoughts. let's remind you of the announcement made by the culture, media and sport secretary oliver dowden, giving today's coronavirus briefing from downing street. after

more than two months of sport stopped and after weeks of discussions with medical experts and professional sports bodies, i'm delighted to announce that the government has published guidance which allows competitive sport to resume behind closed doors from monday at the earliest. and crucially, only when safe to do so. it is up to each individual sport to decide when to resume competition. they know their sports best. but football, tennis, horse racing, formula 1, cricket, golf, rugby, snooker and others are all set to return to our screens shortly, with horse racing first out of the gate in the north—east next week. it has been a huge challenge to get to this point. we have taken a forensic, clinician led approach, working with public health england and the department of health every step along the way. and we have had dozens along the way. and we have had d oze ns of along the way. and we have had dozens of meetings and published pages of guidance outlining first how to get athletes back into

socially distanced training and then back into close contact training. throughout this, we have put the safety of the athletes, coaches and support staff first and foremost. by working with the sports themselves, we have made sure it has been a collaborative, consensual effort to create the safest possible environment for everyone involved. the guidance outlines various measures that need to be in place foran measures that need to be in place for an event to go ahead and to keep eve ryo ne for an event to go ahead and to keep everyone involved safe. that includes a screening process for coronavirus symptoms at the venue, a one—way system for people in vehicles, minimising the use of dressing rooms and of course maintaining social distancing wherever possible. let's talk to the shadow health minister, justin madders. your response to what you have heard? well, i think what we heard from professor van tam about the dominic cummings saga was particularly revealing. he said, as

most of the public would agree, that eve ryo ne most of the public would agree, that everyone should be obeying the rules correctly and that they apply to everyone. the fact that he was at pains throughout the podcast to talk about how important it is that people comply with the rules moving forward says to me that there are still an issue with the concerns underlying the public message that the prime minister's action on the issue has led to. and we know that there are significant concerns from scientific advisers about whether the lockdown is ending too soon. and i'm not sure we got satisfactory a nswe rs i'm not sure we got satisfactory answers on those today. and in terms of the confidence of professor van tam, who was at pains to stress that britain is as a dangerous moment as it starts to ease some of its lockdown measures, he spoke about the need for compliance from the public, but also about the success of co nta ct public, but also about the success of contact tracing. yes, and that is

something we have concerns about. we know these traces who have been recruited are often sitting around not doing anything because the system doesn't seem to be working properly. we know they don't fit adequately trained and there are still issues with the tests being done by the government. they don't know how many people they are testing each day. people are still having to travel too far away to get those tests. the turnaround times are an issue. and the accuracy of these tests is also of concern. and of course, we don't have the app yet. that was what the prime minister and matt hancock said would be the big game—changer. it doesn't seem to me that we have got anything right already in terms of the testing and tracing system, and that is vital if we are to see any further relaxation. there was the balancing that professor van tam also referred to when he said, either we try to live with this the best way we can, or tolerate with

some difficulties, referring to those who may be contacted. but there is this sense now, and i am sure you can understand for a government that is trying to balance this with getting the economy back on track, given the warnings we have had as a nation, there are almighty difficulties for a government in terms of making decisions. but one does have to wonder about some descent now in terms of the scientists who say they are not co mforta ble scientists who say they are not comfortable and that the government may be making decisions which are more political. but can you understand that at least in terms of the decisions that are having to be made? there are balances that have to be made now. everyone wants to lockdown to be able to end. everyone wa nts to lockdown to be able to end. everyone wants to see their friends and family again and give them a hug, but we know we can't take chances with this. we heard today that the number of hospital admissions has gone up. the number of new cases has

been going up for a couple of days as well. and i think both the culture secretary and the professor said that we are at a very risky moment. so the concern we have got is that we may be taking too many steps to soon. what we don't want and what would be extremely difficult to get back on track again is if we get out of this too quickly and find that the second wave is even worse than the first. so i understand the pressures on government and i understand why they wa nt government and i understand why they want things to return to normal. we all want that, but the worst thing we can do is come out of lockdown to quickly and risk a second wave. police forces in england have warned the public not to break the rules this weekend and wait until monday before meeting in groups. but are people heeding the warning? anne—marie tasker reports from york. a hot day on the river bank in york, tempting families

and housemates outside. from monday, the rules relax and in england, up to six people can meet outside. but those enjoying today's sunshine think some are reluctant to wait. it's quite difficult to give people an opportunity, but then tell them they need to wait for 72 hours or so, because obviously, people's opinion will be, what is the difference in the infectious disease spread between now and monday? meeting up with friends and maintaining a safe distance and using your common sense, i think as long as you use your common sense, i don't know why it's a huge problem. tourists have been replaced by locals, and with pubs and beer gardens shut, people queue for takeaways. business here say even ahead of monday's changes, people are coming out in bigger groups. people have been allowed to come out for takeaway now for the last, well, since lockdown,

so the river's still been pretty busy, even individuals or a couple of people, and they're getting a coffee or a drink or a bottle of water or whatever and then there are no toilets. so right now, that's essential. you've got groups meeting now in sixes, having a pint, having a gin, having a coffee, nowhere to go. and the other one is bins. again, everywhere is predominantly takeaway. there are nowhere near enough bins. police forces have urged the public not tojump the gun and break the rules this weekend, but not everyone is keeping this socially distant. from monday, many primary schools in england will open more widely for some year groups. there's been opposition from teaching unions and some local authorities concerned about the risks of spreading coronavirus but the government says it's safe for children to go back. it's used denmark as an example as the first country in europe to reopen schools and day care

centres, and according to official data, that hasn't led to an increase of infections. our education correspondent elaine dunkley reports. can schools in england mirror what has happened in denmark? six—year—old hanna has been back in her class in the danish capital, copenhagen, since mid—april. hanna now learns and plays with just a small group of children. nearly all of her classmates have returned, and the infection rate for coronavirus in denmark is currently falling. meet hanna's parents, jens—christen and louise. and, in england... hello, i'm kate. i'm in liverpool. i have two boys. hi, my name is marvin harrison. i'm based in london and i have two children. can the danish experience convince these parents who are sceptical about schools in england partially reopening from monday? so, every monday, they start the working by reminding them, ok, remember distancing, remember washing your hands, and even the six—year—olds are pretty good at quote unquote self—policing these things, because they also want to do the right thing.

if the death rate was higher in your country, would that have changed your approach and how you felt about going back to school at that time? i think we had the sense that a lot of the efforts that were made had an effect, although they sound really, really basic, but some of the simple guidance in terms of washing hands and keeping distance and so on has really worked. i think maybe, if we had someone at particular risk in our family or our household, we would have been more anxious about sending hanna back to school. that is very much my situation. my 11—year—old is shielding, so he is in the extremely vulnerable category, so he will not be returning to school, but then i have my other little boy, who is in year one, he's nearly six, and i have a real concern that, unless the school can guarantee us that he could maintain strict social distancing, he places his brother at risk by bringing something into the house. have you heard anything from denmark that would reassure you, or is there anything that you think

we could learn from denmark? my personal concerns are that we have seen more black people die from covid—19. at this point, the risks are way too great, and so we're just going to have to take a view stronger than what's being said and reallyjust protect ourfamilies. schools in wales will not reopen on the 1st ofjune, and schools in scotland and northern ireland are due to start in august. it's home time in denmark, but going back to school in england is a personal and difficult decision for many parents. creating confidence in the new school rules is crucial in getting children back in the classroom. elaine dunkley, bbc news. dr mary bousted is the joint general seretary of the national education union, who have called for the government to draw back from reopening primary schools in england from monday. it's a little late for that, though, don't you think? well, to be for, we

have been calling for that for quite some time. but after the evidence today, that now five members of the government's sage scientific committee have said we are using the lockdown too quickly and in particular to have them mention the particular to have them mention the particular issues with schools in easing the lockdown, saying that u nless easing the lockdown, saying that unless there is a properly running test, trait and isolate in place, and unless the incidence of infection are down and in particular until we know more about how and to what extent children transmit the virus back into their families, what extent children transmit the virus back into theirfamilies, back into their community, within the school, then it is not safe for schools to open. and you're not reassured by the official data that we've just been hearing about in denmark, that shows reopening did not worsen the outbreak, and similar findings for finland? well, i was speaking to the vice—president of the danish teachers union last week, in fact the danish teachers union last week, infacti the danish teachers union last week, in fact i have done a recorded interview with her, and there are huge differences. denmark went into

lockdown much earlier, it had a much, much lower incidence of infection in the community, and when the schools went back, there was very strict social distancing. their class sizes are much smaller. there was a lot of money put in for washing facilities, for sanitisers, and there was an agreement between the teachers and the government about exactly what needed to be in place. even strict social distancing in reception and the youngest children. but in denmark, the younger children start school at seven. we are asking for—year—olds and five—year—olds to go back and they have no concept of social distancing. so i think it is really dangerous to make comparisons between the two countries, because they are very different things. firstly, i have seen some risk assessments that schools have been asked to undertake, and they have been really applying those astringent principles, i must ask you about children's mental health, there is a grave concern about many, many parents who say, can we please

put mental health of equal value to physical health here, and really desperate to see their children back into some form of routine, what would you say to them and indeed those children who are suffering right now? so, iwould those children who are suffering right now? so, i would say that both the sage advice now and the independent sage, who have been critical of government, say, give it two weeks, in two weeks' time, if you stay with the lockdown, the infection rate will have heart, the chance of children getting the virus will have hearts, the chance of it passing on will have halved. i can see why two weeks seems like a long time, but actually, if that means that children are much less likely to get the virus, much less likely to get the virus, much less likely to pass it on and are able to come back to school in a much safer way, then i think that is better for all concerned. the worst thing that could happen is if we have to go back to school and then stop that because there is a second way. the level of concern about a second wave is now really very high. thank you

so much forjoining us. private tenants are more likely to be in financial difficulty than home owners because of the pandemic, according to a new study. the report says many renters have seen their incomes fall. the uk government insists it's taken action to support tenants, including banning evictions for three months, as our business correspondent katy austin explains. paying nearly £2,000 a month rent on herfamily home has become too much for denny while her husband's out of work and her hair salon is shut. her landlord has agreed to postpone two months' rent, to be paid back in future. at the moment we owe april and may, and thenjune is due the 1st ofjune. i feel sick, actually. because at the moment, now, that's obviously one of our biggest outgoings, the rent. citizens advice estimates that around 2.6 million tenants expect to fall behind on their rent because of coronavirus, and the resolution foundation says says one in five private renters have been furloughed or lost theirjob since the crisis began, with one in four reducing other spending to cope with meeting their housing costs.

the think—tank says renters seem to be struggling with payments more than homeowners. going into the crisis, they were in a weaker financial position than homeowners. they had lower levels of savings, for example, and critically, they also spent considerably more of their income on housing costs in the first place. but it's also fair to say that homeowners have been more successful at reducing their housing costs. the government has brought in measures to try and help struggling tenants. in march, evictions were banned for three months, but a committee of mps has warned that a crisis is looming in the private rental sector. citizens advice is concerned about what happens after the eviction ban ends in latejune. what we want the government to do is make sure that there is protection for people who have fallen into arrears due to coronavirus, and they also need to make sure the landlords have to put in place things like affordable repayment plans and make sure the requirement that government have given to landlords to work with renters has some teeth. one landlords' group says its members are

working out solutions with tenants wherever possible but that can't be sustained forever. nor can the eviction ban. a number of our members are having issues with regards to issues that arose pre—covid and are not able to get possession of their property. a careful reopening of evictions needs to take place that prioritises pre—covid debt, that prioritises anti—social behaviour and prioritises domestic violence. the ministry responsible for housing said support for renters and landlords is being kept under review. and it said strengthening welfare is also helping prevent financial hardship. denny isjust hoping herfamily income picks up again soon to avoid falling further into arrears. katy austin, bbc news. let's remind you of the announcement made by the culture, media and sport secretary, oliver dowden, giving today's coronavirus briefing from downing street.

for more than two months after sport stopped and after weeks of round—the—clock discussions with medical experts and professional sports bodies, i'm delighted to announce today that the government has published guidance which allows competitive sport to resume behind closed doors from monday at the earliest, and crucially, only when it is safe to do so. it is up to each individual sport to decide exactly when to resume competition. they know their sports best. but football, tennis, horseracing, formula 1, cricket, golf, rugby, snooker and others are all set to return to our screens shortly, with horseracing first out of the gate next week. it has been a huge challenge to get to this point. we have taken a forensic, clinician led approach, working with public health england and the department of health every step along the way. and we've had dozens of meetings and publish pages of detailed guidance outlining first how to get elite athletes back

into socially distance training, and then back into close contact training. and throughout all of this, we've put the safety of the athletes, coaches and support staff first and foremost. and by working so closely with the sports themselves, we've made sure that it has been a collaborative, consensual effort, to create the safest possible environment for everyone involved. the guidance outlines various involved. the guidance outlines various measures involved. the guidance outlines various measures that need to be in place for an event to go ahead and to keep everyone involved safe. that includes a screening process for coronavirus symptoms at the venue, a one—way system for people and vehicles, minimising the use of dressing rooms and, of course, maintaining social distancing wherever that is possible. one of the most recogisable buildings in the world — the leaning tower of pisa — is one of the tourist attractions in italy being allowed to re—open today, after an easing of coronavirus restrictions. numbers will be limited to 15 at a time, and all visitors will be

provided with an electronic device which goes off if someone breaches social distancing rules. you're watching bbc news. coming up next, the bbc news at teatime.

good evening. the government insists that it continues to be led by science, over the next stages of the easing of lockdown measures, after concerns were raised by some leading scientists. the deputy chief medical officer for england warned today that we're at a dangerous moment, but he also said that officials are confident the new measures won't lead to a surge of infections. it comes after several members of the sage advisory group spoke out against the pace at which changes

to the lockdown are