in a community in the heart of london who have been coping with the pandemic, to hear their fears about the possibility of a second wave. the bbc‘s clive myrie reports from the royal london in tower hamlets in east london, with cameraman david mcilveen and producer sam piranty. it's in times of crisis we find out who we really are. i've felt broken on many occasion and i think a lot of my colleagues have. when souls are laid bare. in this time of coronavirus, one hospital and one community reflect on these troubled times. coming upforairto reveal their souls to us. we saw the fragility of life.

this guy's not going to survive. i'm going to take out your tube now. we saw its strength. gasping for air. how does that feel? and all the while, one fear looms, another peak of infections to rival the first. don't be fooled by the gentle pace... time is twisted here. on the royal london hospital's coronavirus wards, while many patients inhabit ventilated worlds, of slow motion dreams and hallucinations, the doctors and nurses charged with bringing them back to life inhabit the real world where time moves too quickly, as this cruel disease eats away at human lungs with frightening speed. can we just do a couple more suctions? but the medical staff, including consultant pj zolfaghari, have their own nightmares. are you expecting a second wave?

yes, i mean, i have to say yes because i think once the lockdown is relaxed, people of course are going to have more contact with each other, so that's the way this is going to spread. but if the lockdown completely disappears, then i suspect that the cases willjust rapidly rise again. then, as our interview ends, he's called away. i'll be two minutes. his two minutes turned into several agonising hours. i see you're working hard to ventilate him, aren't you. we had permission from all the patients or their families to film. krishna's vital signs have worsened. he's just 55. he's going to cause a bit of a problem here... and again— go, go, go, go, go, go. the professionalism of the team is stunning, years of experience are gathered around this bed, as the duality of time, the drifting oblivious patient and the rush to save his life, merge into a tableau for our times.

alert sounds so, there's a final roll of the dice. so you guys, lift him up, i'll push the pillows down. ready? this is a last resort, maybe by turning him onto his front they can force air into his lungs, oxygen into his body, it's all they can do. his lungs are just getting worse, they're more inflamed again. and you've been preparing to talk to his family? yes, that's right. just to let you know, have you called the family yet? sister becky smith, a presence on the covid ward for absent relatives. their eyes and ears.

imagine this stress for the team multiplied every day for weeks. now you understand what the peak of the pandemic was like. sister carlene kelly bore witness to those dark days. i've felt broken on many occasion and i think a lot of my colleagues have, it consumes you. it's what you think about when you go to bed, when you wake up, you're preparing for your next shift, you're relieved that the previous shift is over, you're sad. it's a huge emotional burden and it's the time of our lives that we will never, ever forget. the peak almost broke minds and according to consultant nick bunker, almost broke the royal london. in normal times we manage

about 44 patients. at the peak we were managing just shy of 90 patients. almost double. we were 20 beds away from being overrun. we were keeping people alive. that's what our goal of care was, keep as many people alive as long as we can until we can get back to being able to deliver the quality of care that we always aspire to deliver. sometimes it's hard to find light in the darkness. but you're about to witness what medicine can do. we're going to take out your tube now. this is one of the defining moments in an intensive care unit. give me a big puff, big puff. that's it. when a patient‘s ventilator tube is removed. it's a procedure full of expectation and dread. will it work? nice big puff again. he's grimacing as the tube

inches up his throat, and finally leaves his chest. everything's 0k, you're at the royal london hospital. the heavy breathing of a man given a second chance. but there are other defeats. sadly, that evening, krishna died. another soul, lost. as scientists and governments race to stop a second outbreak, one of the key questions being asked by medics is why some people get more severe symptoms than others. it's hoped some of the answers might lie in research being carried out by a team of scientists, clinicians and volunteers in cambridge.

richard westcott has this. why does covid—i9 put some people like george gilbert here in hospital, yet others get no symptoms at all? how are you doing? lovely. that's good. he's volunteered to help find out because part of the answer might lie in his blood. i didn't think there was any left. once it's sealed up, the blood's passed to volunteer ben. his medical research had to go on hold because the virus so he's set up a team that every day carries covid samples to be analysed. ben, it's quite an odd way to interview someone. it is, yes. how did you get involved in this? i'd normally be working in the lab on pulmonary hypertension, a rare lung disease, and it's quite frustrating because i can't do that so ijust e—mailed my colleagues and asked how could i get involved, how could i help. samples are taken to a brand—new lab just around the count corner

on the cambridge biomedical campus. your blood contains cells that play a key role in fighting off the coronavirus. some of them make antibodies, others directly kill infected cells, but yo analyse them, first you have to separate them off. —— but to analyse them, first you have to separate them off. at the very bottom, we have the red blood cells that are the heaviest and go to the bottom of the tube. at the top, the plasma, the solution your blood flows in normally. then we are looking at these white small band, that is the white blood cells fighting off your infection. then it gets more complex. there are lots more types of white blood cells, playing different roles. so next door, a machine uses lasers to count how many you have got of each key type. it can then separate millions of them off for more tests. incredibly, each blob here is a droplet of salty water with one cell inside. 260 addenbrookes patients and staff are giving their blood for this research.

some got very sick, some didn't. the key question for scientists, can you see the difference in their blood? we've found a number of severe abnormalities in patients with advanced covid disease and some of those point very clearly to potential therapeutics that might impact on that disease. what we're hoping is that when people develop symptoms that make them suspect they might have covid and get their very first test, when tests become more readily available, at that point we might be able to predict who might go want to get severe disease. by understanding the science of the disease, it is easier to find drugs to fight it. that's it for now, you can follow me on twitter or head to the bbc news site for the latest information. thank you so much for watching. yes, good evening.

elite sport in england can resume from monday after the government confirmed a further relaxation of lockdown restrictions. elite athletes should still adhere to social distancing guidelines where possible. where it isn't, rigorous testing must be in place for some events will be stationed behind closed doors. speaking earlier, deputy chief medical officerjonathan van—tam says its return will not increase the spread of the virus. it's very clear that playing elite sport again in those very limited circumstances with carefully controlled measures about how you get those sportsmen, sportswomen to the pitch, that is not going to have any meaningful impact on r. it would be potentially completely different if there were lots of stadia and all of the activities that go around going to a sports game. it means that after almost three months without it, competitive sport will return. football in the premier league aiming to restart

on the 17th ofjune. there were no positive tests at the 1170 players and support staff who were tested in recent days. but it is racing that will be front and centre come monday as our reporter laura scott explains. and they are off and racing from monday. after nearly three months of no live—action, elitist sport has been given the green light to return in england behind closed doors. horse racing will be first out of the stalls, starting at newcastle, before the first classics training yards have been full of fit horses with nowhere to go so the move has brought a sense of relief. it's going to be a funny year but we look like we're going to have royal ascot and the guineas, and it's so important for careers, livelihoods, stallions, pedigrees, and we can't do without them, so thank god we're back. the premier league plans to restart the season on the 17th ofjune. some sports will take longer to meet the government's strict guidelines but fans have been given

a clear message. snooker‘sjoe perry, who will be back in action next week, says he is happy with the safety measures that have been put in place and hopes the return of sport will give the nation a boost. we won't know it's the right time until we go back and, hopefully, there's no repercussions from it. i'm on a commission committee for snooker and i know a lot of work has gone on behind—the—scenes. i'm pretty confident that they've done everything they can. getting live sport back on screens, whether it's your sport or not, will give the country a lift, a much—needed one. the stands will remain empty for some time and jockeys in masks a reminder that this is far from what sports‘ fans are used to, but with the return of sporting action to our screens, saturday afternoons might soon feel a little bit more normal. laura scott, bbc news. so, on monday, we will see a full fixture list at newcastle racecourse. ten races are set to be staged in the afternoon with 12 horses and jockeys in each. the sport has been planning a full return for a number of weeks behind closed doors. liam mottershead from the racing post says getting racing going again is vital but far

from straightforward. the provisions are very, very strict. to the extent that if a horse box arrives and the driver or anyone else that horse box has a temperature reading above the norm, they will have to leave in the horse can't run. so very, very strict set of protocols, but they are essential for getting the sport back going again. jockeys haven't had enough sets of races and race courses have had no income, so, they will be extremely pleased for monday, newcastle, we can get going again. well, the german bundesliga has been held up as the example, having already returned to action this month. bayern munich continuing to close in on an eight successive title following the resumption of football there. a 5—0 win over fortuna dusseldorf taking them ten points clear at the top of the table. robert lewandowski with two of those five goals. and that is all from the bbc

sports centre for now. hello there. our warm and sunny weather will continue into sunday, as well. now, yesterday's highest temperatures tended to be to the northwest of the uk, although london did quite well. in the highlands of scotland, was the warmest place in 27 celsius. at the moment, clear skies for most of us, but we're watching of the development for low cloud just heading into eastern areas of scotland, there could be some mist and fog patches and may be an odd patch of mist as well at the northeast of england. temperatures in the towns and cities around 8 to 13 degrees, so tomorrow, getting up to a sunny start for most of us although there will be some low cloud in eastern scotland before sunshine comes out. then, through the afternoon, the highest temperatures tending to the west of the uk in 27 degrees comes out across the northwest of wales that is likely to be one of the hotspots. from that point on, the weather is slowly going to be offered next week will see some rain pushing southwards into tuesday

and into wednesday as well. this is bbc news — i'm martine croxall with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. demonstrators gather again in minneapolis as state troops prepare to impose a weekend cu rfew after four nights of rioting over the death of george floyd. these are live pictures from los angeles — where groups have confonted law enforcment officers as nationwide protests are held over police brutality . over police brutality. the first commercially— built rocket to carry astronauts into space has lifted off from florida. the uk government defends plans to ease lockdown — as scientific advisors say they fear restrictions are being lifted too quickly.