this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. people are urged not to attend anti—racism protests amid fears they're accelerating the spread of coronavirus, after the number of deaths in the uk hits 40,000. the world health organization now says face masks should be worn in public, as nhs trusts in england say they weren't consulted on a decision to make all hospital staff wear them. i can't breathe. black lives matter protesters in the australian state of new south wales win an 11th—hour appeal to rally. a u—turn from the bosses of american football, admitting they were wrong to ban players from protesting against police brutality.

and in the uk there are fears that thousands of small businesses could miss out on coronavirus grants because of rising demand. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world — and stay with us for the latest news and analysis from here and across the globe. people are being urged to stay away from mass—protests against racism this weekend, over fears they could increase the spread of coronavirus. there have already been large demonstrations in australia and japan over the death of george floyd in the united states, and rallies are planned across the uk later. in a tweet, the uk home secretary, priti patel urged people to stay away ‘for the safety of all of us‘. the warning to avoid

large gatherings comes as the world health organization changes its advice on face coverings, saying they should now be worn in public to help stop the spread of covid—19. here in the uk, some scientists are concerned the ‘r' number is increasing, meaning the virus may be starting to spread again, especially in the north—west and the south—west of england. ourfirst report this morning is from our correspondent, jon donnison. your silence is racism! mass public protest while social distancing is a difficult ask. and after a week which has seen several uk demonstrations over the killing of george floyd in the us, the government here is asking people not to take to the streets this weekend. the reason that it's vital that people stick to the rules this weekend is to protect themselves and their family from this horrific disease. so please, for the safety of your loved ones, do not

attend large gatherings, including demonstrations, of more than six people. in the united states, the protests are on a scale not seen in decades. but there, too, there are concerns about what impact they might have on the spread of covid—19. black lives matter! here, some of those demonstrating have tried to keep two metres apart. but on twitter the home secretary, priti patel, also urged people not to attend, saying coronavirus remains a real threat. last night the world health organization changed its advice on the wearing of face masks. in light of evolving evidence, who advises that governments should encourage the general public to wear masks where there is widespread transmission, and physical distancing is difficult, such as on public transport, in shops, or in other confined or crowded environments.

in england, it will be compulsory to wearface masks on public transport from the 15th ofjune. the government hopes such measures will keep infection rates down, although some argue the advice has come too late. and the uk has passed another grim milestone, with more than 40,000 people having now died from covid—i9. the number of new deaths in all settings confirmed yesterday was 357. and there are concerns about the r rate, the number of people each infected person passes the virus onto. one computer model shows that in most areas of england to be just below the key figure of 1.0, except in the north—west and south—west, where it is estimated to be right on 1.0. a different study says scotland, wales and northern ireland are on 0.8.

all right, then, off we go. so as children return to school in many parts of the country, the infection rate remains on a knife edge. too much so for tameside council in greater manchester, which is now strongly advising its schools not to reopen on monday. our political correspondent helen catt told us this morning that the significance of the r number, relating to the infection rate, could be what's informing government lockdown decisions. politicians have put a really big emphasis on that r rate, and keeping it below one, because once it is below one, the virus is in decline. when it is above one, it can spread exponentially, so there has been a big focus on that. as you said there, we are now hearing from scientists that it may vary across the country, so that tells us a couple of things. the first one is, you will have seen from john's report, that nowhere in the country does it seem to be a lot below one. so when the government ministers

come to weighing up those decisions between the benefits of starting to unlock the economy and give more freedoms with the risk, well, it means they may not have much room for manoeuvre. regionally, also, this idea of regional variation seems to have become more important in recent weeks as we move into the next phase of starting to gradually unlock the country. we have heard the government talk about this idea of having localised lockdowns to stop outbreaks, and also, we are talking about either relaxing restrictions perhaps more slowly in some places, or reimposing them when needed, so i think this idea of regional differences may well become stronger as you move into the next phase. the government is expected to announce this morning whether it's met its target of testing all residents and staff in elderly care homes in england for covid—19 by early june. bbc news understands that testing kits have been sent to most homes, but one group of providers says hundreds of results have gone missing, and others argue that repeated testing is needed to curb the spread of the virus. it's being claimed that many care home residents have seen a steep increase in fees because of the extra costs

of the coronavirus pandemic. the charity, age uk, says people who fund all, or part of, their care are having to pay well over £100 a week more. it's estimated that more than half the 400,000 people who live in care homes in england fall into the self—funding category. our social affairs correspondent, alison holt, reports. for many years, care home residents who fund themselves has effectively subsidised the care system, paying far more for the for by their local authority. age uk says that on average, self funders are charged just over £850 per week. now some are saying their fees rise by 15%. the charity said it is adding insult to injury that self funders find themselves picking up the bill for extra protective equipment and increased staff costs resulting from the pandemic. the government has allocated £600 million towards helping care providers cover the costs

of infection control as well as an extra £3.6 billion for council services generally. a day of protests in response to george floyd's death is under way in australia. many thousands are demonstrating against racism and police violence, under the banner of ‘black lives matter‘. they are also highlighting the treatment of indigenous australians, who are often marginalised in society, and disproportionately represented in prisons. the australian prime minister, scott morrison, warned that demonstrators risked undoing the progress made in fighting the coronavirus by protesting. in sydney, the rally went ahead, despite initally being banned by the local authorities. the bbc‘s shaimaa khalil is at the protests in sydney.

the protesters now on the move. they are touting black lives matter. no justice, no peace. a few minutes ago, as they were walking, they stopped and took a knee which has become a global gesture of protesting. this is notjust in solidarity with what is happening in the united states after the very public killing of george floyd, but also, they wanted to bring to the fore, an issue that has been ignored here, which is indigenous deaths in police custody. in the last three decades more than 400 people have died in police custody, indigenous people. the momentum of what is happening around the world and what is happening in the united states is being used to try and bring attention to the issue here in australia. many families feel that they haven't gotjustice. i was

feeling to the mother of a young aboriginal man who died almost four yea rs aboriginal man who died almost four years ago in the exact same manner as george floyd and saying the exact same words, i can't breathe. when she saw what was happening in the united states she said it was very difficult. this was the catalyst and she had to speak not atjust under behalf of her son, but on behalf of many people here in australia. there are many people behind you and masks. what are the protesters say about going out in the street in big crowds during the coronavirus. it said that they really risk undoing the progress they have made. absolutely, and this has really been the message from the leaders, politicians and police. australia has done so well so far in controlling the spread of the virus, and big protests and gatherings like this one could undo what the country has done so far in controlling the spread of covid—19. protesters have

been adamant to go out onto the street and made a point of wearing masks and people are going around handing out hand sanitisers. most of the people we have spoken to say, yes, we hear you, we understand there is a big issue about mass rallies at the time of covid—19, but it is important for us to be here. that the authorities, i must say this has now been allowed to go ahead. these mass rallies are a covid—19 nightmare, because the last thing anybody wants is a second wave, for the spread to happen again, after australia has can stroll it for so many weeks now. i am joined now by senator mehreen faruqi (05) from australia's greens party,

who was at the rally in sydney. you thought there was another principle other than the coronavirus in view. thousands of people came out. because the indigenous people in the community had asked us to come out and support them to stop indigenous deaths in custody. it was also in solidarity with george floyd, his family, and the black lives matter movement. literally eve ryo ne lives matter movement. literally everyone was wearing a mac, everyone —— people had sanitisers, masks were being handed out and people were distancing as much as possible. we have seen centuries of violence and oppression against indigenous people as well as black americans. you know what? racism kills as well. this is a time in history where we really have to stand up. just to explain

further that parallel that you are drawing between events in the united states, subsequent to the death of george floyd, and events in australia, tell us more about the situation of australia's indigenous population, and why you think that resonates. indigenous australians are the most discriminated against. there is violence that happens against them, they are the most disadvantaged and the worst of racism occurs against them even to this day. we have seen 434 deaths in custody me —— in custody since 1991. 30 years on, not even all the recommendations of the commission have been implemented. we know the parallels between the horrible, horrific and senseless death of george floyd and of the young

aboriginal man five years ago whose family was there. their last words, where i can't breathe. that has opened old wounds for the family as well as for the indigenous community. that is why they are so united with black lives matter at this time. but the movement has been getting bigger and bigger by the day. this is one of the biggest rallies that i have seen. earlier in the year, on january rallies that i have seen. earlier in the year, onjanuary 26, which we call invasion day, there was a huge rally as well. more and more people are showing solidarity —— solidarity with indigenous australians and demanding justice. demanding what exactly? demanding justice. demanding what exa ctly 7 a re demanding justice. demanding what exactly? are there very concrete demands that today the's rallies or

is it more a cry of rage and empathy? of course they were a cry of empathy, sadness and frustration and rage. but people want aboriginal deaths in death —— aboriginal deaths in custody to end. people want police brutality to end. people want structural racism that is institutionalised in australia to end. and they want those recommendations of the royal commission, 30 years ago, to be implemented now. senator, we have to leave it there but we are grateful we you arejoining us leave it there but we are grateful we you are joining us today. in the united states, the nfl has responded to the anger about police brutality and racism, by saying players should be allowed to drop to one knee in protest during the national anthem. the league had previously banned them from doing so, and president trump had said

protesting players should be fired. our north america correspondent, david willis, reports. it is the national conversation — racial inequality, police brutality, injustice in america. unity in the cause symbolised by a simple gesture. police and protesters dropping to one knee. all that started with this man, back in 2016. san francisco quarterback colin kaepernick refused to stand for the national anthem in protest at the racial injustice of the time. a single—minded act that led to him being mocked by president trump and ostracised by the league. kaepernick‘s contract was not renewed, and he has not played professional football since. four years on, the sentiments he expressed then have come into sharp relief following the death of george floyd, prompting kaepernick‘s former colleagues to join the growing chorus for change. how many times do we need to ask

you to listen to your players? what will it take? for one of us to be murdered by police brutality? what if i was george floyd? if i was george floyd? some of the league's biggest names took part in this video calling on league officials to reject racism, and admit they were wrong back then in preventing the players from protesting peacefully. president trump, who four years ago called on team owners to sack players who took the knee, has re—entered the fray, taking to twitter to echo his previous refrain, "no kneeling." and while 75% of nfl players are black, the majority of team owners are white, many of them supporters of the president. the league's commissioner would normally be expected to support mrtrump, but these are different times. admitting they had made mistakes, he instead backed the players.

without black players, there would be no national football league. and the protests around the country are emblematic of the centuries of silence, inequality and oppression of black players, coaches, fans and staff. we are listening, i am listening. from the inner cities to the corridors of one of the most popular sports in the land, the calls for change are echoing in every corner of american life. nhs trusts in england say they weren't consulted before the government announced that all hospital staff will be required to wear surgical masks. nhs providers said they had been left ‘in the dark‘ about significant changes in policy, and accused minsters of making last minute decisions ‘on the hoof‘. it comes as the world health organization changed their advice on face masks, saying they should be worn in public to help stop

the spread of coronavirus. saffron cordery is the deputy chief executive of nhs providers, shejoins me now. thank you for talking to us. tell us more about this announcement and the degree of consultation, or lack of it. the government, later yesterday afternoon announced that all nhs staff, no matter what role, would have to wear a type one or type two ppe mask, and also the announced very late yesterday that they were going to make changes to the visiting regime that is currently under operation across the nhs. they are going to loosen up their visiting regime. both of those, without any consultation with the nhs, trust leaders themselves. we are ina

nhs, trust leaders themselves. we are in a situation where we saw a major change with little... well, no consultation or notice. i think that is the critical thing. let separate out those two issues, to separate policy areas. and then your views on the change itself and the manner of the change itself and the manner of the change. in principle, do you agree on face masks for nhs staff? we need to think about this. we know that evidence is growing that facemasks are helpful to stop the spread of coronavirus. however, what we need to be clear about is whether we need to be clear about is whether we actually have the supply, the sustainable supply of type one and type two masks in order to be able to make sure that day in, day out, we can supply our 1.1 million staff with the masks that they need. it is

this balance between supply and intention of the policy. i don't think we have those two coming together yet. on the masks, this is a really difficult question because if staff are asked to wear masks they are rightly expected to have them when they need them. if the supply of masks runs out, and we know that worldwide stocks of ppe are not necessarily flowing with the ease that we would like to see, so if staff are seeing a situation where one day they have a mask and the next day they don't, that is going to get incredibly challenging. it also puts them in a position where they are not in line with the rules. it is notjust challenging, but puts in are very sort of protocol problem. absolutely, and that's why we would have liked to have seen a longer time to discuss this with the government and to consult front line leaders about what is the right way to go on this.

for us to work together with the government. if we are all in this together to fight with the government, then the government has to work really closely with the front line and with organisations like us who was represent the front line. so we get to the right solution, that is right for staff and patients and the public. about the public, the visiting rules that you mentioned at the start. in principle, do you think it is a good idea to start relaxing the visitor rules ? idea to start relaxing the visitor rules? we want to be absolutely clear that patients and families will be safe and relaxing these visiting rules. it has been on each individual trust, a real negotiation in partnership with families and patients about how they visit and when they visit, and also helping them overcome the real challenges of not being able to see their loved ones when they are seriously ill, so

putting in place skype calls all people on hand to help really ill patients to communicate in another way with their families. they have done that to keep everybody safe. i don't think, from what i have heard from trust leaders yesterday, that they feel they are in a position to open up the visiting rules right now. some of them will be doing it. others will be thinking really carefully on their own situations about what that means and how they will do it. they are going to take this policy slowly, rather than jumping in with both feats and having to backtrack. i think it is really important that everybody really important that everybody really understands that trust leaders want to open up visiting but wa nt to leaders want to open up visiting but want to do it safely and say —— want to do it safely and sensibly. with a look there. thank you.

there are fears that thousands of small businesses could miss out on government grants to help them survive the coronavirus lockdown, amid a rising number of applications. it comes as the government pledges a further £600 million to firms in england who'd missed out on earlier schemes. our business correspondennt, emma simpson has more. helena and simon are trying tojuggle childcare and saving their business. selling coffee in this office building in bristol is a non—starter right now. they're trying to boost online sales instead. they have got a loan, but are banking on a new cash grant as well. like so many other businesses in the uk, our coffee shop has been forced to close, but also so many of our customers are in hospitality, cafes, universities, workplaces, that are all closed, so we lost 90% of our revenue overnight. the government has done a huge amount to help small businesses get through this crisis. this new fund is a top—up designed to help businesses who have missed out on earlier cash grants, but demand could well outstrip supply. in bristol, the applications

have been pouring in. we think there are 2,100 businesses that qualify for the new grant scheme. if we gave each of those £10,000, that would be roughly £21 million. of course, we've been given 3.5 to 4.5 million. so you can see the gap, it's huge. you've got a trickyjob, then. yeah, it's very, very difficult. it's going to be very hard. and we will of course face the brunt of a lot of those businesses, who, we're unable to support them because we just don't have the funding from government. meaning helena and simon may not be on track for what they had hoped for. i found out that while we would have been eligible for a £25,000 grant under the original fund, had we paid rates directly, now we'll be lucky to receive £2,500. it's still a helping hand. the treasury says it keeps all schemes under review. for small businesses, every penny counts in these uncertain times. emma simpson, bbc news.

events to mark the 76th anniversary of the d—day landings have been scaled back because of the lockdown. there'll be a short ceremony in normandy this afternoon. tributes will also be laid at graves and memorials on behalf of those unable to attend this year. prince william has revealed that he has become a volunteer counsellor for a mental health charity. he's been trained to answer messages sent in to a helpline called ‘shout‘ which allows people to have conversations by text messaging. angus crawford reports. i've felt miserable for too long now. in a time of need, help can be just a text away. as we reported last month, shout, the crisis text service, is a year old. its highest profile backers, the duke and duchess of cambridge, met volunteers on a video call to say thank you —

and we can now reveal william had something special to tell them. i'm going to share a little secret with you guys, that i'm actually on the platform volunteering. are you! yes, iam. when he revealed that to us on our recent zoom call, the conversation suddenly changed. it became the six of us chatting about what it's like to be a volunteer, and he was asking us for tips on how to cope with various things. it was just like talking to a number of the team, and i think that was just so refreshing. a life of public service, here flying east anglia's air ambulance. shout is a new text line that supports people who need a voice. he is now fully trained by shout and local volunteers, works from home, answering texts from people in need — anonymously, of course. we are hugely proud that the duke is now one of our family of 2000 crisis volunteers. he has great skills and experience and empathy with people in difficulty, and those are exactly these skills that we need

in our crisis volunteers. the royal couple at a shout event last year. now william hasjoined their ranks — a prince raising awareness about mental health, making a very personal connection with those in crisis. more on coronavirus now: and it's hard to believe thatjust three months ago the lombardy region of italy became the first area outside china to be locked down because of the coronavirus outbreak. yet the seismic changes to everyday life that have followed now span the entire globe. our world affairs editor john simpson has this assessment of what the long term effects might be.

as china went into lockdown, pollution started to disappear.m italy, the same thing. 7.8 billion of us have been locked down in a way that has never happened before in our history. we have coped, pretty much, but not all of us, the health systems in brazil, venezuela and ecuador, where the bodies pile up in the streets, have cracked under the strain. italy's hospitals have come under huge strain, but italians have stayed at home because it made sense. but human history is like a river. there are moments when it changes direction, and this seems like one of those moments. some politicians and academics here in oxford for instance say we need new systems because the old ones have failed us. the united nations was created to be the forum where

international problems were sorted out, yet in the biggest world crisis for 75 years, the un has scarcely featured. we need to rethink our world. the savage downturn is already starting. world trade could drop bya already starting. world trade could drop by a third this year. some economists say it is the worst recession in britain since 1720. at first, after the lockdown is over, there will probably be a bounce in sales as shops offer their goods cheaply. but tens of thousands of businesses will go bust, and the international labour organisation says gloomily that half of the worlds workers, 1.6 billion, could lose theirjobs. in the past, this brought real trouble. the spanish flu epidemic of 1918, coming on top of the huge upheavals of the first world war, led directly to the rise of the nazis in germany. in