this is bbc news. the headlines: after a 100—day absence because of coronavirus, the premier league kicks off this evening with fans forced to watch on television at home. i'm excited and looking forward to what is going to happen. i shall be sitting in the lounge with a television on and a bottle of wine ready. after his successful campaign over free school meals, england striker marcus rashford tells us there's more he wants to do, to help people in need. this is only going to be successful throughout the summer period and then, you know, we've got... we've bought ourselves an extra six weeks of time to sort of plan and figure out what's next and how we keep taking steps forward. scotland's first minister says

scottish schools could open in august without social distancing if it's safe to do so. inflation hit its lowest level forfour years in may — with the price of fuel seeing its biggest fall on record. the husband of a nurse who died after contracting coronavirus says his wife shouldn't have been allowed to work while she was heavily pregnant. and, one of the great snooker stars of the 1980s, willie thorne, has died at the age of 66. hello and good afternoon.

in a few hours‘ time, the premier league will kick off for the first time since lockdown began. it's a moment millions of fans have been waiting for — but they'll have to stay at home to watch the rest of the season. all the games will be played behind closed doors. it is 100 days since we've had the top flight game, and players have been training for the last few weeks. it comes as the england striker marcus rashford has vowed to continue speaking up for disadvantaged families — after he won the campaign for children in england to continue receiving free school meals over the summer. in other developments, the world health organization has hailed the success of a drug trial by oxford university as a life—saving scientific breakthrough. dexa—methasone is a cheap widely available steroid which has shown to be able to save the lives of seriously ill covid—i9 patients. with a look at how football is able to make a comeback — this report from our sports correspondent andy swiss. ready for the big restart.

match day once again at villa park as football's 100 days of waiting is nearly over. this was the last time we saw the premier league. villa's game against leicester on march 9th. that was before the sport went into shutdown. now it's back with plenty of flags but no fans. the only ones inside here tonight will be projected on giant screens. i started to support aston villa... it is some a0 years since anne edwards missed a game at villa park but, like everyone this evening, she'll have to watch at home. i'll be sitting in the lounge with a television on, a bottle of wine ready! all the family are villa fans. i've been in touch with family and friends about it all. but ijust really can't get my head round what it's going to be like. how much have you missed football over the past three months? just generally. 0h, terribly! life is so boring! while the premier league

is finally back, and it is now frantically playing catch up, the match here between aston villa and sheffield united, the first of 92 games injust six weeks. a finale to the season the like of which football has never seen before. premier league champions, manchester city. titleholders manchester city are also back tonight, against arsenal, but after such limited training, even their manager doesn't know what to expect. for example, in germany and spain they have had, like, five or six weeks, and in the premier league, we have only had three weeks, three and a half weeks. of course, we know it is not enough, but it is what it is. we are tired of screaming for help. we are tired of discrimination. but football is also addressing far bigger issues. a group of players have released this new antiracism message, including raheem sterling. i will never tire of being black. in training, teams have already shown their support for the black lives matter movement.

it will be written on their shirts tonight, along with a badge to honour the nhs. it's really important to have black lives matter at this point, this period of time, and what sport is doing, particularly football, around it, but also hand—in—hand with the idea that the nhs will be promoted on those shirts as well. alan hansen, league championship winner. 0n the pitch, the focus will sooi'i winner. 0n the pitch, the focus will soon turn to liverpool, their 30 year wait for the league title could be over as early as sunday. but for the entire sport, this extraordinary season the entire sport, this extraordinary seasonis the entire sport, this extraordinary season is now heading for an unprecedented finish. and a swiss, bbc news, villa park. our sports news correspondent, laura scott explained what the major differences will be for the first ever premier league matches played behind closed doors. the fans are going to have to stay at home and they are being urged to do so. the broadcast experience they will get on their television will be entirely different to anything we've had before.

there will be some enhancements to what they will get. they will have the option of having artificial crowd noise if they want it and if they don't, the noise inside the stadium will be incredibly quiet. you'll be able to hear the players and indeed the managers much more than you've ever heard them before. there are some initiatives that some clubs are doing with fans on the big screens. some are having screens in the stands and there are also some club flags to try to bring the fan base into the stadium but it will be incredibly different. and we've seen in lockdown the players have found their voice and they will be showing that with their tributes to the nhs and the black lives matter movement. this is going to be football in a unique time, 100 days hiatus, but it will look and feel very different indeed. laura scott looking ahead to tonight's action. off the pitch, one of the premier league's biggest stars marcus rashford says he wants to do more to help those in need after winning a battle with the government to have a free school meal voucher scheme in england extended. at westminster, the government has been questioned about child poverty and has come under further criticism for it's coronavirus policies.

0ur political correspondent nick eardley reports. the demands here just now are huge. the government has a growing to—do list with questions over its handling coming thick and fast. a prime minister under pressure after being forced into a u—turn on free school meals in england. facing claims he's out of touch with what the crisis means for people around the country. last week, the government's own social mobility commission said 600,000 more children are living in poverty than in 2012. labour echoed fears from the watchdog that the current shutdown could make things even worse. they are really concerned that these projections were made, 5.2 million, before the impact of covid—19. and they go on to say, "which we expect that to push more families into poverty. " this is a serious issue. i'm sure the prime minister

would agree that an even higher child poverty rate would be an intolerable outcome from this pandemic. so, what's he going to do to prevent it? the government, though, says its actions at the start of the crisis will help protect the vulnerable. 11 millionjobs protected by the coronavirus job retention scheme, unlike anything done anywhere else in the world, £30 billion worth of business loans, and we intend to make sure that we minimise the impact of coronavirus on the poorest kids in this country. not for the first time, the prime minister accused labour of being unclear when it came to the return of schools but once again mrjohnson was pressed by opposition parties to do more. marcus rashford has shown more moral leadership in tackling poverty in a matter of days than this tory government has in the past decade of cuts. but, as he says, people are struggling all year round

and more needs to be done. the snp want an extra £20 a week added to the child element of universal credit. the pm's response... this is a government that has done everything we possibly can, so far, to help families in need, to make sure that nobody is penalised for doing the right thing. there are significant questions facing the government in the next few weeks. how to get schools back in england, whether to relax the two—metre rule, whether the guidance for people who have been shielding for months now can be changed. none of the answers are easy. but some have raised concerns that, after some high—profile u—turns, the governmentjust isn't on top of this crisis. the government's decisions are under more scrutiny than ever. nick eardley, bbc news, westminster. 0ur political correspondent, leila nathoo, is in westminster. it was a slightly curious pmqs, lots of different topics coming up, but a

scatter—gun. it feels like a slightly strange time at westminster at the moment. that is definitely right, there was an odd dynamic in prime minister questions. keir starmer, the labour leader being subjected to quite a lot of questions from boris johnson subjected to quite a lot of questions from borisjohnson and there was a moment when the cap! speaker called keir starmer the prime minister when mistake when introducing him. —— the speaker. the roles reversed. keir starmer came under pressure about his position on the reopening of schools, whether he was advising schools to reopen and whether he should be saying to schools that it was safe. interestingly, the teaching unions and education unions were appearing this morning before the education select committee. they came under pressure as to their opposition to schools we opening at this point. and there tests for schools are safely reopening. it was quite interesting because it is something borisjohnson should be under pressure himself. 0ne borisjohnson should be under pressure himself. one of his u—turns that keir starmer mentioned was having to say primary school years

would not go back. all primary school years would not go back before summer, as originally intended. that is now what the government is saying. there is a pack pack were —— patchwork picture. the labour leader came under pressure on schools in prime minister's questions today. although labour are saying they want to work with the prime minister to get a task force set up to enable schools to reopen safely. thank you. scotland's first minister nicola sturgeon has endorsed a suggestion by a public health expert that scottish schools could open in august without strict social distancing. ms sturgeon said something nearer normality might be possible if virus was sufficiently suppressed and other measures were in place. i agree with her in the totality of what she says, not just the bits of her analysis that

suit my particular argument. i want to get schools back to normal as quickly as possible. i want to get our economy back to normal as quickly as possible. but i also know that all of that has to be safe. we cannot have memories so short that we already forget we are dealing with a virus that is dangerous and potentially deadly. and it has not gone away. so we must continue to move forward in a careful and phased way and that's what i will continue to do because the key part of what professor sridhar, and other experts, will say is that we must supress this virus even further if we are to have that ultimate and hopefully speedy move back to normality. so i would ask people to bear in mind the totality of her advice when, tomorrow, i stand up here and yes, announce further steps out of lockdown but continue to do that in a very careful and cautious manner. let's get more from our scotland correspondent james shaw. it's really interesting, there are a

lot of caveats around the idea that schools could reopen. explain where we are, what is nicola sturgeon driving at? it started with a tweet that professor sridhar put out yesterday, she is the head of global health at edinburgh university and an adviser to the scottish government. in that tweet, she said that she thought pupils could go back full time on the 11th of august, the scheduled date for scottish schools to start the autumn term and with children playing and interacting with each other. but the important caveats she put in place in that tweet was that the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in scotla nd confirmed coronavirus cases in scotland would have to be less than 20. bearing in mind it is probably in the thousands at the moment and there would have to be an effective test and protect programme in place.

what is interesting is that it did appear to be way beyond what the scottish government had been suggesting before the tweet went out. but nicola sturgeon did endorse it in out. but nicola sturgeon did endorse itina out. but nicola sturgeon did endorse it in a tweet this morning and as you had at first ministers questions, she said she wholeheartedly agreed with the profession —— as you heard. but it had to be taken in its totality. the caveats had to be there in other words. it might be possible but at the moment, the scottish covenant is planning for social distancing to be in place. the concern is that some scottish councils have said there may only be one day a week for some school pupils. the scottish government thinks that is not enough ofan government thinks that is not enough of an effort being made to restore normality. interesting, isn't it? that is something that is playing out nationwide, still so much anxiety that children are missing out on vital months of education. that's right. you get a sense of the anxiety that parents have. i noticed that particularly on my twitter feed

when i was tweeting about this earlier on today. and the number of retweetss and likes i was getting. probably many of them from parents, that indicates this is one of the most important thing is that people are thinking about at the moment because of the repercussions not just because of the education of people's children but also being able to get back to work on the fact that education in many ways underpins the possibility that that sense of normality might not be resumed. thanks very much. the headlines on bbc news: the premier league kicks off this evening, 100 days after lockdown measures came in. fans are urged to watch on television at home. after his successful campaign on free school meals, england striker marcus rashford says there's more he wants to do, to help people in need. scotland's first minister says scottish schools could open in august without social distancing

if it's safe to do so. yesterday saw the highest number of daily confirmed covid—19 cases globally since the pandemic began. infections in brazil are continuing to rise dramatically. nearly 35,000 new cases were reported yesterday, a daily record for the country. and more than 115,000 people have died in brazil with the disease. 0ur correspondent, katy watson, in sao paulo says despite the high number of cases, major cities are starting to open up. in the next few days, we're looking at brazil hitting 1 million cases of coronavirus. just last week, it surpassed the death toll. we're now looking at more than 115,000 deaths. every few days here in brazil, there is a new grim milestone reached. the government seems to do very little. jair bolsonaro hardly talks to the public. just yesterday, one of his officials

said the virus was under control. jair bolsonaro last week encouraged people to go to the hospitals to see the empty beds because of this continual playing down of the virus. but the world health organization still says that brazil is a major concern. and, of course, this is a moment of crisis in brazil, but we're seeing here in sao paulo and rio dejaneiro the shops continuing to reopen and that's the major concern right at the peak of the crisis or even whether we've reached the peak or not, the country is starting to open back up again. new zealand's prime minister, jacinda ardern, has put the military in charge of coronavirus quarantine facilities, after two women who travelled to the country from london were allowed out of quarantine early and later tested positive for the virus. the cases are the first in new zealand for more than three weeks. jacinda ardern said the military‘s rigour, confidence and discipline are now needed for the programme.

more than 1,000 flights into and out of beijing have been cancelled, as officials in china try to contain a fresh outbreak of coronavirus. another 31 cases have been reported in the city. schools which had begun to re—open have been ordered to close again and residents have been urged not to leave. from beijing, stephen mcdonnell reports. beijing is now inside a huge coronavirus prevention bubble. it's very difficult for anyone to leave the city. you need to have completed a virus test over the past seven days. but limited testing capacity is being diverted to high—risk groups who are all prohibited from departing under any circumstances. 1,255 flights into and out of beijing were cancelled today. all schools are now closed again. translation: when i got up this

morning, our dormitory manager said, "you're going home today." how do i feel? i think it's good that i'm going home. translation: i'm leaving now because the outbreak is serious and i'm really afraid of being infected so i wanted to escape back home as soon as i can. they're all expected then go into home quarantine. in addition, hundreds of thousands of residents who live near the market aren't allowed to leave their housing estates. a key difference between this time and the initial coronavirus outbreak is that, for the moment, businesses and government departments are remaining open. the authorities are trying to isolate this cluster within key pockets of the population, hoping to avoid a full blown second wave without having

to shut down this city of more than 20 million people. stephen mcdonell, bbc news, beijing. let's hearfrom marcus rashford now. he says he wants to do more to help people in need, following his successful campaign to persuade the government to extend the free school meals scheme in england to cover the summer holidays. the manchester united and england striker has raised more than £20 million during lockdown, to help feed disadvantaged children. he's been speaking to sally nugent about what else he'd like to achieve. when you heard the news, how surprised were you? yeah, i was obviously shocked. it's a big decision for someone to make. i'm grateful the prime minister changed his decision. and, you know, i'm just grateful that the prime minister did change his decision. and, you know, he understood.

and, you know, i spoke to him earlier on today and just thanked him for that. and, you know, it was a nice conversation to have with him and just that we understood each other. how did that chat go? and what does it...does he phone up and say, "hi, marcus, it's boris"? no, he was just, obviously saying thank you for, you know, using what i've sort of built in a positive manner. and, you know, it sort of was just thanking each other, really, because he didn't have to do what he done and neither did i. so, you know, he wasjust grateful that someone had basicallyjust had an opinion and shared it with people and, you know, just been that voice for people that didn't really have the platform to speak out as much as they would like to. it's a nice feeling, but i'm just more happy that, you know, people's lives and, you know, people's summers especially are going to be changed for the better. and, you know, that was the important thing that i tried to change going into it. and, you know, coming out the end of it, now, it's something that, it's obviously a proud, proud moment.

your mum, obviously, we talked at length about your mum the other night. what's she said to you about the decision? yeah, she's rung me about ten times today! no, she's just very happy. and, you know, if someone when she was going through it, if somebody would have spoke out about it then, maybe the situation would have been different. and i think she's just happy that now people that are going through it, you know, people are aware of that now and they're going to try and help them as much as they can. so she's just happy that, you know, we're taking steps in the right direction. and when you started this campaign, i think it was only five days ago. who were you thinking of? were you thinking of your family or was there, you know, were you just thinking of, you know, the families of fans? who was it in your mind? just, you know, obviously, the areas that i've grew up in, i know a lot of different people and a lot of families that would have still been going through it now.

it's not so much about my family any more because obviously the situation‘s changed. and ijust don't want people to go through the same things. and it's just important to understand where the place that i come from, my background... and then it's quite simple, really, that the reason why i would try and help people that are in that situation. you now have a really powerful voice. you've achieved this incredible thing in such a short space of time. you have a platform, a lot of attention focused on you. what is your next focus? now you've done this, what's next? i think, obviously, this is only going to be successful throughout the summer period. and then, you know, we've bought ourselves an extra six weeks of time to sort of plan and figure out what's next and how we keep taking steps forward because i don't want this to be the end of it, you know, because there's definitely

more steps that need to be taken. the england striker marcus rashford. the world health organisation has hailed the discovery of a potential treatment for covid—19 as a lifesaving scientific breakthrough. a cheap and widely—available steroid called dexa—methasone, is the first drug shown to be able to save the lives of those seriously ill with the virus. the health secretary, matt hancock, says the uk has increased the number of doses it has in stock. as of today, we have 240,000 doses now in stock. and on order. and this means that the treatment is immediately available and already in use on the nhs. i'm incredibly proud that this discovery has happened right here in britain through a collaboration between government, the nhs, and some of our top scientists. it is not, by any means,

a cure, mr speaker, but it is the best news we've had. throughout this crisis, our actions have been guided by the science and this is what good science looks like. randomised controlled trials, rigorous, painstaking research, moving at a pace yet getting it right. and the result is that we now have objective proof, not anecdote, result is that we now have objective proof, notanecdote, but result is that we now have objective proof, not anecdote, but proof that this drug saves lives. the health secretary. the former snooker player, willie thorne, has died at the age of 66. he was diagnosed with leukaemia in march, and was taken to hospital in spain last week. willie thorne reached two world championship quarter—finals before becoming a bbc commentator. our sports correspondentjoe wilson looks back at his career. willie thorne was part of the great snooker revolution of the 1980s. in an era when the top professionals became some of the most famous people in britain, thorne was instantly recognizable. when the players made a pop song with chas and dave,

willie thorne happily played along with the bald head gang. but he carried the reputation of being unbeatable, when practising. in competitions, willie thorne seemed to reach the brink of greatness. the big wins, the big titles, went to his contemporaries. willie thorne remained a popular figure in world snooker long after his retirement as a player. his voice on commentary was part of the texture of the bbc television coverage. when steve davis defied time to win a famous match at the 2010 world championship, thorne was watching it and describing it. thorne: steve davis has somehow, and i say somehow, rolled back the years and beat one of the all time greats! willie thorne's flaws were never far from view. his struggles with gambling were well—known and widely reported. but throughout it all, willie thorne remained one of the most endearing figures from snooker‘s golden age.

willie thorne, who has died at the age of 66. now it's time for a look at the weather with helen willetts. hello, there. another summer's day. sunny spells and scattered showers. but the showers this time can be very lively indeed. this was the isle of wight through this morning, the misty and low cloud still with us in parts of northumberland. it has been plaguing northumberland. it has been plaguing north sea coasts most of the week. the most notable weather is the torrential showers. lots of lightning and hail and gusty winds. those torrential downpours could occur just about anywhere throughout the remainder of the day and they will continue rumbling on into this evening. most likely across southern and western scotland. further east,

the son's energy being taken to burn back that low cloud. sunshine coming through. the shower is more prevalent further east but they could occur anywhere. slow moving, giving a lot of rain for, 30—40 millimetres injust giving a lot of rain for, 30—40 millimetres in just the space of an hour. well in excess of an inch. it could be too much for some drains and we could see excess spray and standing water. they will ease away for a time overnight but this next area is more significant rain coming back, more widespread rain coming back, more widespread rain coming back in. another murky night as the low cloud returns. in land. the firth of forth and the firth of clyde taking a while to ease away but a cool night and more sunshine for scotland, fewer showers in northern ireland. but the rain will work in across england and wales, working west and to the south it will brighten up and allow those torrential downpours to develop as a slow—moving summer storms. again, it could give us 30—40 millimetres of

rain in the space of a couple of hours, leading to lots of spray and standing water. rainfall further north will edge its way further north. it will feel cooler here but quite muddy because of that humidity, 21 and 22 potentially in the sunshine in scotland. friday, more of an atlantic drift, pushing rain to the north and the west. a bridge of high—pressure things down. lots of showers and thunderstorms in central and eastern areas. feeling warm. the weekend will feel fresher because we have the atlantic influence and some rain, widespread rain potentially. more online.

hello, this is bbc news. the headlines... after a 100—day absence because of coronavirus, the premier league kicks off this evening, with fans forced to watch on television at home. i'm excited and looking forward to what is going to happen. i shall be sitting in the lounge with a television on and a bottle of wine ready.

after his successful campaign over free school meals, england striker marcus rashford tells us there's more he wants to do, to help people in need. this is only going to be successful throughout the summer period and then, you know, we've got... we've bought ourselves an extra six weeks of time to sort of plan and figure out what's next and how we keep taking steps forward. scotland's first minister says scottish schools could open in august without social distancing, if it's safe to do so. inflation hit its lowest level forfour years in may, with the price of fuel seeing its biggest fall on record. the husband of a nurse, who died after contracting coronavirus, says his wife shouldn't have been allowed to work while she was heavily pregnant. and, one of the great snooker stars of the 1980s, willie thorne, has died at the age of 66.

sport now, and for a full round—up from the bbc sport centre, here's olly. you know where we will start, it feels like christmas morning for a lot of football fans. three and a half hours to go. the premier league returns later today, exactly 100 days after the last match. aston villa against sheffield united is the first of 92 games behind closed doors packed into the next six weeks. that kicks off at 6:00pm, followed by manchester city—arsenal at the etihad stadium. the former manchester united and england defender gary neville says it's important to have football back. it's a different type of football, but one that we are going to have to live with for the next i would think six, 12 months. we know obviously what this country has been through and what this world has been through in the last three or four months, so

we can't just wipe in the last three or four months, so we can'tjust wipe it in the last three or four months, so we can't just wipe it away from football and allow fans together in the stadium again, we have to make sure that health goes first. the premier league are doing that, the football clu bs premier league are doing that, the football clubs are doing that, but i think it is welcome. i think fans do wa nt football think it is welcome. i think fans do want football back. i think in the next few weeks it will give some welcome relief to what has been a very challenging few months for eve ryo ne very challenging few months for everyone in this country. one complication with the late finish of the premier league is that some players will be out of contract at the end of the month, before the season finishes. four bournemouth players have agreed extensions to see them through, but ryan fraser has turned down a short—term contract. he could still play the next two matches, but will officially leave the club onjune 30th. captain simon francis, andrew surman, charlie daniels and artur boruc have signed deals to cover the remaining nine matches. the take—over at newcastle has ta ken another turn. the american tv executiuve henry mauriss has registered his interest in buying the club for £350

million, that's £50 million more than the offer from a saudi arabian investment group, led by amanda staveley. papers for that deal were submitted 10 weeks ago, but they need to pass the owners and directors test. that's in doubt, after this week's world trade organisation report that found evidence of saudi involvement in pirated premier league broadcasts in the middle east. the championship resumes on saturday, in the latest round of testing for covid—19 there were eight positive tests from six clubs. one of them is a player or member of staff at brentford. over 2,200 tests were carried out across the 24 clubs. there were four positive tests in league one — from two of the four teams preparing for the play offs and none from league two. royal ascot continues. it's the second day of the five day meeting, another seven races. but in the first race,

the silver royal hunt cup handicap stakes, keep an eye on the near side, as champion jockey osheen murphy in the dark silks and white cap came through to take the win with 12 to one shot sir busker from salayel and alternative fact in third. the feature race of the day is the prince of wales stakes at 3pm. reigning paralympic double world and double commonwealth champion sophie thornhill has retired from cycling at the age of 24. the british rider had planned to race at the tokyo paralympics this year — but says she won't be able to race in the delayed games because she wants to focus on furthering her education. the 100 metre world champion christian coleman has been provisionally suspended after missing a drugs test. he won the world title in doha last year but the american was only allowed to compete there on a technicality after succesfully appealing against a ban for missing three tests in a 12—month period. this latest missed test in december

has triggered a suspension and he could now miss the tokyo olympics next year. he says he was ready to take the test and was only five minutes away when the testers arrived at his stated address. and the formula e season will resume next month with six races across nine days. the three double headers begin in berlin on august the 5th behind closed doors. the season was suspended in march due to the pandemic and you'll be able to see how it ends live across the bbc. that's all the sport for now. the chinese capital, beijing, is again being locked down with fears a second wave of coronavirus could take hold. more than a thousand flights into and out of the city have been cancelled as part of efforts to control the fresh outbreak. 31 new cases of the virus have been reported today.

schools, which had begun to re—open, have been ordered to close again, and residents have been urged not to leave beijing. the outbreak is linked to a wholesale food market. let's discuss all of this and what we should make of it. professor david heymann is from the london school of hygiene and tropical medicine; he coordinated the world health organisation response to sars, which was also caused by a type of coronavirus. hejoins me now. professor, thank you so much for your time professor, thank you so much for yourtime again professor, thank you so much for your time again here on bbc news. what are you reading into what we are hearing coming out of beijing now? how worried should we be? well, actually, yesterday at the world health organisation advisory group that i chair, we had a full presentation from the chinese centre for disease control about the current outbreak, and from what we saw, it is a very meticulous investigation to figure out what really has happened, and they are taking many precautionary measures,

as you just said, including closing down some of the schools, having closed down several markets, including this one, which is a major wholesale market for foods. so the fa ct wholesale market for foods. so the fact they are taking so many precautionary measures, i mean, is all of that a positive, in your mind? i mean, is the view amongst you and your peers that everything that could be done is being done? well, certainly they are doing everything, including testing the workers in the market, testing the wholesalers who buy from that market, the merchants, and also testing individuals who might have bought from that market in the last weeks, so they are doing everything that any other epidemiological investigation are doing, including looking at the virus to see if it's genetic sequence is similar to viruses that have been in china in the past, or if it has come in from somewhere else. and they have honed in on an area it in the market that

sells fish, in particular an area where there are salmon that are sold and they found in the cutting boards and they found in the cutting boards and other areas in the environment to that area some positive specimens. so they are doing a very, very thorough investigation and trying to prevent this from spreading further. right, and you have taken me on to when i thought was going, because what could this mean, what does this mean, in terms ofa mean, what does this mean, in terms of a second wave, because it is an anxiety that countries around the world have of course. yes, we are all concerned about a possible second wave, and we just know don't know when or whether that second wave will happen. we don't know the destiny of this virus but we do know that it occurs in discrete outbreaks in some instances, and that by doing good epidemiological control in those outbreaks, which includes contact tracing in order to identify those people who have been in contact and have self—isolated, we

can contact and have self—isolated, we ca n p reve nt contact and have self—isolated, we can prevent a lot of that tradition that might, if not done, go into the community, so we're helping all these measures countries are putting in place we can at least stall a second wave if it should occur, and may be in some countries even prevented by good epidemiological activities. and before i let you go, what is yourjudgment about the situation here in the uk at the moment, in terms of figures, in terms of the r value, the trajectory here, what do you make of it and now it has been handled thus far?|j don't want to comment on how it has been handled but i do want to say what has been done has been effective in keeping the masses from going into the hospital, which was the concern that the hospital system could not accept all the patients that were available. so they have done that and what they are doing now is putting in place a contact tracing system, a good testing system, which is rational, and by

doing these things and by monitoring what is going on, identifying new cases, they should be able to control and keep the reproductive number low. professor david heyman, very good of you to give us your time again. good to speak to you, thank you very much, from the london school of hygiene and tropical medicine. so let's turn to another aspect of the coronavirus pandemic. the british public misses going to the gym or a fitness centre more than any other sporting or leisure activity — according to a new a survey. research from sport england has found that 87% of gym members are likely to resume their membership once facilities have re—opened after lockdown. so what does the future look like, andindeed so what does the future look like, and indeed how have gym owners and managers and fitness instructors been able to cope during lockdown? with me now is lynnejoyner — who has been a fitness consultant near bristol for 20 years. hello, good afternoon. good

afternoon. tough times for anyone who just loves going to a gym, but a particularly tough times i think if you are a personal trainer or a gym instructor, and you are in the field you are in. tell us how you have been managing. so i have had to adopt the technology and go online. i've got online classes via zoom. also, i been releasing videos to my clients and classes to keep them going, because not all of them, either they can't get on to zoom because they are older generation, or because the times don't suit them, looking after children at home and so on, so yes, just trying to keep them coming really, and keep them fit. yes, we all need that, but we also have bills to pay, and that must be, i'm assuming, a big reduction in income for you? yes, i mean, thankfully a lot of my classes have been paying me monthly, and a lot of them have carried on that payment, but because as in response

to the videos and the live classes, so they have kept that going for me. iruna so they have kept that going for me. i run a gym and studio, and that income has definitely gone down. obviously the gym memberships and so on, people didn't want to pay naturally, so that income has gone down dramatically, and my instructors that have been working with me haven't had classes to teach. so yes, it has hit the industry quite hard. it is encouraging to see the results of the survey i guess, with such a high proportion of people saying yes please, let me in the minute the doors open, effectively. we will be ready for them. but what will it all look like when we all get back inside? let's talk about classes first of all, are they going to be possible, are you going to have to runa possible, are you going to have to run a glass with literally half a dozen people in it because of social distancing? what is your expectation, what are you planning for? we are allowed to have groups of five people plus an instructor outside. we can do that now. although rooms would have to be very

well ventilated, and we would have to mark out zones for people, depending of the distance and goes down to one metre, we can get more people in, but itjust means we will have to limit our numbers. so possibly we might have to put the price up, i don't know. we're hoping for a post—christmas rush when people are desperate come back and see each other. on the zoom classes, eve ryo ne see each other. on the zoom classes, everyone has enjoyed seeing each other. that is so interesting isn't it, of course we all want to perhaps use equipment that most of us wouldn't have in our home, there is that practical element to it, but also to see people, to be in a gym with people, to have that experience. it is so interesting people have still been saying that to you. i think so, and we will take all the precaution with these sanitisers, and the masks that if people feel they need them, and gloves if people feel they need them. they one—way system. yes, people are missing people, i think.

we are social animals. absolutely, we would all echo that. just in terms of your future, i we would all echo that. just in terms of yourfuture, i mean, it is great you say a lot of people have been paying you and obviously they pay y°u been paying you and obviously they pay you for what you do online, but more long term, if we look at the industry over the next year, let's say, how confident are you or not, what do other gym instructors that you know say to you, because it could be a very different world? you know say to you, because it could be a very different world ?|j think could be a very different world?” think so, because some people are saying their clients don't want to come back into the gym, so they will carry on doing it online. we will have to review all of our classes and the gym and work outjust different shifts for people. some people say they don't want to come back to classes in person, they would rather stay shielded. so i can imagine it will be a mixture of online as well as physically in the gym and studio, as well as outside. it is lovely at the moment but when the colder weather starts to come

m, the colder weather starts to come in, that will make a difference as well. so i think it is a mixture. thank you very much. all the best to you. just while i was talking to lynn, some news came through from uefa, actually staying with the general sporting and exercise theme that seems to be dominating here today, we arejust seems to be dominating here today, we are just hearing the champions league quarterfinals and semifinals will be played in a tournament in lisbon, and we are just getting the dates for that. uefa saying that will all happen fair in portugal in lisbon between august 12 and 23rd. they are calling it a final eight tournament, so that will happen in lisbon between august 12 and 23rd. that is as much detail as i have on that right now but it might be that we will get a little bit more to come but that has just emerged from

uefa, making that announcement. as we have been reflecting, two premier league matches taking place tonight and that is the main story. the headlines on bbc news... the premier league kicks off this evening, 100 days after lockdown measures came in. fans are urged to watch on television at home. after his successful campaign on free school meals, england striker marcus rashford says there's more he wants to do, to help people in need. scotland's first minister says scottish schools could open in august without social distancing if it's safe to do so. the husband of a nurse, who caught coronavirus days before she died, has accused luton and dunstable hospital of behaving irresponsibly, by allowing her to continue working at the start of the pandemic when she was heavily pregnant. mary agyapong, who was 28, died shortly after her daughter was delivered by emergency c—section.

in his first interview, mary's husband ernest has been paying tribute to her. he's been speaking to our reporter, sima kotecha. take your time, come over, come on over... a year ago, mary encouraging her son, aj, to walk. hey! sometimes he will wake you up in the middle of the night and tell you, i want mummy, and at that point in time there is nothing i can say to him. she was just 28 and leaves behind a son and a daughter who was delivered by emergency caesarean section just days before she died. she was very kind. her heart was pure... and she was very genuine. we know, men are not perfect, everybody is not perfect, but mary was.

in the morning, going to work, without this one. hi, bubs, look... mary was a nurse at the luton and dunstable university —— hospital in bedfordshire. she was diagnosed with coronavirus in early april and died a week later. her husband says she should not have been working at the hospital because she was heavily pregnant. this was before the government had issued guidance for expecting mums. when mary passed, i had a call from one of the union reps and confidently told me, you know what, i actually met mary on the ward and i told her, mary, it is not safe for you, you need to get out of here, but she said she could not help it, she was helpless. the nhs trust responsible for the hospital says the first patient to have tested positive for coronavirus was not admitted onto her ward until after mary had gone on sick leave with pregnancy—related problems.

while holding his newborn, ernest says he does not believe that was the case. we find it a bit difficult to comprehend because, even at the time mary was off sick, some of her colleagues were even self— isolating. in a statement, the trust says... it also says... do you think that your anger that you are feeling at the moment, that you are perhaps taking that out on the trust? for me, i think mary was not treated fairly. her family has not been treated fairly and, for that matter, i believe my voice

is what i have now. mary at her son's second birthday last year, dancing with her father who died from suspected coronavirus five days before she did. painful memories for ernest as he tries to contemplate a life without what he calls "his first true love". there's no amount of ways that really can explain how i am feeling within. sometimes, you know, ijust laugh and smile about the precious moments we had together for the past three and a half years. at times too i could just be walking andjust crying and... so there are a lot of

emotions just in between. that was sima kotecha reporting. thousands of workers who've been shielding have been left without pay during lockdown — with many not getting sick pay, and being denied access to the furlough scheme. this is according to citizens advice, which says 27% of shielders have lost more than half their income. also today, the health secretary has said that people who've been advised to shield will soon be contacted. rachel stonehouse reports. as life begins to return to normal, one group still faces barriers as they are told to stay at home. but for many of them, it's not an easy decision. leanne is a dental therapist and single mum. she's been without any pay for three months. i'm currently shielding because i suffer with a rare condition called behcet‘s disease, for which i take lots of different medications.

but they obviously affect my immune system quite severely. i've fallen through the cracks with the furlough scheme because i'm self—employed, but because i'm seen as employed with hmrc i don't actually get the self—employed grant either. where are you with your work situation at the moment? i desperately want to go back to work, but i'm officially quite nervous because of the risks. it's a bit of a vicious circle to know what to do for the best. i'm lucky i've been able to extend my mortgage payment holiday another three months. but my loan payments, they won't extend it again and it's worrying. hundreds of thousands of people shielding are employed and research by citizens advice shows almost 70% of them haven't been offered furlough, despite being eligible and 27% have lost more than half their income. i've spoken to other people who have fallen through the cracks and haven't received any sick pay or been furloughed and in some extreme cases, believe their employers are trying to get rid of them.

ellie is a nurse in a private care home and shielding because she has severe asthma and ulcerative colitis. she's agreed to talk to me but didn't want to be identified. ellie is not her real name. she's received no sick pay so requested to be furloughed, but it came with conditions from her employer. they sent me a contract. it basically said that once my shielding period was over they reserved the right to either drop my hours or to lay me off without pay. it's very upsetting. according to the union we shouldn't even need to be furloughed, we should be receiving full pay. i have heard of situations where people are using this as an opportunity to, you know, get somebody out and that's obviously not the way to do things. marsha says she is also hearing

from people who are being forced to return to work by their employer. you know, we have heard of stories where they are being threatened with dismissal action and being told they have to return regardless of the fact they are shielding. now, employers cannot do that. employers need to really tread carefully around this issue and ensure they are treating their employees reasonably. the government says it has support in place for shareholders who can't work from home through various schemes, but for people who don't qualify, they face the tough dilemma between returning to work or protecting their health. rachel stonehouse, bbc news. some news just some newsjust coming some news just coming through from westminster. we are hearing that downing street says there are no reports of any injuries after the prime minister's car was involved in a collision outside the palace of westminster. we are being told that a protester was detained, after

a p pa re ntly a protester was detained, after apparently running in front of the prime minister's car as it was leaving the houses of parliament, and a video apparently exists, which shows the car being hit by another vehicle which was behind it. number ten confirming that the prime minister was in the car at the time but there are no reports of anyone being injured. that is what we are just hearing in the last few moments. much more coming up after 3pm. now it's time for a look at the weather with helen willetts. hello, there. another summer's day. sunny spells and scattered showers. but the showers at this time can be very lively indeed. this was the isle of wight, through this morning, the misty, low cloud still with us in parts of northumberland. it has been plaguing north sea coasts for most of the week. the most notable weather is the torrential showers. lots of lightning and hail and gusty winds. those torrential downpours could occur just about anywhere throughout the remainder of the day and they will continue rumbling

on into this evening. they are most likely across southern and western scotland. further east, the sun's energy being taken to burn back that low cloud. sunshine coming through. the showers more prevalent further east but they could occur anywhere. slow moving, giving a lot of rainfall, 30—40 millimetres injust the space of an hour. well in excess of an inch. it could be too much for some drains and we could see excess spray and standing water. they will ease away for a time overnight but this next area is more significant rain coming back, more widespread rain coming back in. another murky night as the low cloud returns inland. the firth of forth and the firth of clyde in the morning, taking a while to ease away but a cool night and more sunshine for scotland, fewer showers in northern ireland. but the rain will work in across england and wales, working west and to the south, where it will brighten up and allow those torrential downpours to develop as a slow—moving

summer storms. again, it could give us 30—40 millimetres of rain in the space of a couple of hours, leading to lots of spray and standing water. rainfall further north will edge its way further north. it will feel cooler here but quite muggy because of that humidity, 21, 22 potentially in the sunshine in scotland. friday, more of an atlantic drift, pushing rain to the north and the west. a ridge of high—pressure will settle things down. lots of showers and thunderstorms in central and eastern areas. feeling warm. the weekend will feel fresher because we have the atlantic influence and some rain, widespread rain potentially. more online.

this is bbc news. i'm jane hill. the headlines: after a 100 day absence because of coronavirus — the premier league kicks off this evening with fans forced to watch on television at home. i'm excited and looking forward to what's going to happen. i shall be sitting in the lounge with a television on and a bottle of wine ready. after his successful campaign over free school meals, england striker marcus rashford tells us there's more he wants to do, to help people in need. this is only going to be successful throughout the summer period and then, you know, we've got... we've bought ourselves an extra six weeks of time to sort of plan and figure out what's next and how we keep taking steps forward. scotland's first minister says scottish schools could open in august without social distancing

if it's safe to do so. inflation hit its lowest level forfour years in may — with the price of fuel seeing its biggest fall on record. the husband of a nurse who died after contracting coronavirus says his wife shouldn't have been allowed to work while she was heavily pregnant. and, one of the great snooker stars of the 1980s, willie thorne, has died at the age of 66. good afternoon. welcome to bbc news. in a few hours time, the premier league will kick off for the first time since lockdown began. it's a moment millions of fans have been waiting for,

but they'll have to stay at home to watch the rest of the season. all the games will be played behind closed doors. it is 100 days since we've had the top flight game, and players have been training for the last few weeks. it comes as the england striker marcus rashford has vowed to continue speaking up for disadvantaged families — after he won the campaign for children in england to continue receiving free school meals over the summer. in other developments, the world health organization has hailed the success of a drug trial by oxford university as a lifesaving scientific breakthrough. dexamethasone is a cheap widely available—steroid, which has shown to be able to save the lives of seriously ill covid—19 patients. with a look at how football is able to make a comeback — our first report is from our sports correspondent andy swiss. ready for the big restart. match day once again at villa park as football's 100 once again at villa park as football's100 days of waiting is

nearly over. this was the last time we saw the premier league. villa's game against leicester on march 9th. that was before the sport went into shutdown.