hello, this is bbc news. i'm carrie gracie. a review of the two metre social distancing rule in england will be announced in the coming days. the chancellor, rishi sunak, says it's important for businesses to be able to trade again. particularly for hospitality industry, pubs, restaurants, they are keen to see if there are changes that can be made. that is why we are reviewing the rule and that the outcome will be released later this week. passengers arriving at uk airports may soon be able to pay for a coronavirus test and avoid 1a days in quarantine. the white house tries to fire the prosecutor investigating donald trump's associates, but he's refusing to step down. brazil becomes only the second country in the world to report more than a million cases of coronavirus.

climate campaigner greta thunberg says the coronavirus crisis and anti—racism protests show how governments can take dramatic action. now on bbc news, with coronavirus outbreaks at different stages around the world, we explore what might happen as restrictions change and people adjust to a new reality. hello and welcome to the latest in our special programmes on the coronavirus pandemic. i'm annita mcveigh. on today's programme:

a widely available steroid can help some of the most seriously ill coronavirus patients, according to new research from the uk. plus, what kind of long—term changes cut the pandemic have on our urban landscapes? and a reminder that you can keep up—to—date with the latest information about the pandemic on our website. but first, official figures show more than 400,000 people have died because of coronavirus. but what is the real number? how many people died because they couldn't get treatment for other illnesses? a bbc investigation has looked at 27 different countries and has found that the total number of deaths caused by the virus, both directly and indirectly, is much worse than it has been reported. at least another 130,000 deaths haven't been counted. this report about starts in indonesia. a father buries his youngest son. a mother distraught.

three—year—old rafer did not have coronavirus but his parents say he died because of it. he had leukaemia. when his condition got worse, his parents raced to hospital. translation: it was around midnight. the hospital said he would need to be tested for covid—19 before he could be admitted anywhere. another hospital told us there wasn't a children's doctor on duty and the quick covid tests they had were only being used for pregnant women. rafa's parents drove him to three more hospital that night with no success. the next day, they eventually found a hospital that would accept him but he died before doctors could see him. translation: i still believe that if my son was given prompt treatment, he would still be alive. but he was turned away and tossed from one hospital to another.

i could do nothing. rafa is one of tens of thousands of people whose deaths are not officially counted as being coronavirus but are still are not officially counted as being caused by coronavirus but are still victims of this pandemic. since the outbreak of the virus, lots of countries are recording more deaths than usual. you can see a bump in the graph here. these are called excess deaths. now, many of these have officially been linked to coronavirus, as you can see here in red, but that still leaves a huge number of lives lost which are not accounted for in the covid statistics. the italian region of lombardy saw more than double the number

of deaths than expected. one of them was luca's mother. luciana had pancreatic cancer. when she tested positive for covid—i9, her chemotherapy was stopped immediately. but when she got better, her treatment was never resumed. translation: yes, i believe so, because her doctor said everything was under control as the cancer had spread to her liver. ——was under control as the cancer hadn't spread to her liver. my mum was optimistic. we made the plans for the future. but the virus accelerated her death. she could have been with me for many more months oi’ even years. in brazil, a similar story of grief. translation: my mother was a warrior who fought for her children all her life. andrea says that after her mum had a stroke, the hospital discharged her too soon because they needed to free up

beds for covid patients. a few days after she came back home, her heart suddenly stopped beating. she did not die from the disease but she died because of the disease. and so many other people are dying in brazil and in the world that they are not counting. it is scary, it is scary. for the first time, a drug has been shown to reduce the risk of dying from covid—i9. a cheap and widely available steroid called dexamethasone has been found to help some of the most seriously ill patients. trials in the uk have shown the drug cuts the risk of death by a third for patients on a ventilator. for those on oxygen, it cuts deaths by a fifth. our medical correspondent fergus walsh reports. for those laid low by covid—i9,

for the very sickest hospital patients, at last, a drug that can tip the odds in their favour. 6,000 nhs covid patients were part of the trial and the results were so overwhelmingly positive, they were rushed out days after the study was completed. it found that dexamethasone saves one life for every eight patients on a ventilator. and one life saved for every 25 patients on oxygen. if it had been used from the outset of the pandemic, it is thought it could have saved 4,000—5,000 lives in the uk. catherine milbank from buckinghamshire spent 12 days on a ventilator with covid—i9. she received dexamethasone after her husband paul gave consent over the phone for her to take part in the trial. when someone tells you that your wife is hanging on the edge of something that could go either

way and you know that there that there is current proven drugs that are already in the medical industry already that are prescribed to people, when you know that they are around and there is a chance that might help, you grab it. without trying these things, without the researchers, no—one is going to get anywhere finding out the right drugs, to help the pandemic that is happening and still going on. we are coming through it but i am just eternally grateful and will be for the rest of my life. dexamethasone has been around for decades, a steroid, it is widely used for arthritis, asthma and other conditions. this is a genuine breakthrough in the treatment of covid—i9. dexamethasone, either in tablet or injectable form, is available in every hospital pharmacy. the treatment costs around £5 on the nhs and will be even cheaper in developing countries. this drug has the potential to save lives across the world.

we have been on a huge search for treatments that actually will improve survival for patients with covid. this is the first drug, not only is this the first drug that improves survival, but is available worldwide immediately and is affordable. that is fantastic news for patients. the drug helps stop the immune system from overreacting to covid. it is not a cure but it will help more of the sickest patients to overcome this disease. fergus walsh, bbc news. to the united states now and businesses around the country are beginning to reopen amid the covid—i9 induced economic collapse. there was an improvement in the overall unemployment numbers last month but the unemployment rate for african—americans went up, making it the highestjobless rate for black americans in more than a decade. it is a reminder of economic inequality that could serve as an early warning sign for the recovery to come. samira hussain reports from new york.

natasha's waterson‘s hair salon has been closed since the middle of march. she has had to lay off her entire staff who are all african—american, and has been using her savings to stay afloat. i think i was more concerned about clients because they were anxious, just trying to manage the anxieties, not only around their hair but their own personal issues, and then, of course, employees. you are responsible for seven people, how are they going to get money? cristo has been struggling since the pandemic in new york. he is out of work and found himself depending on food banks again. i only saw people that looked like me in my line, and thatjust made me so angry. and i see all of these unemployment has gone down and, oh, thejobs are opening up now, and it's like i don't see that in my own community. he has a point. the latestjobs report may have shown unemployment fell overall but not for african—americans.

america's racial divides have shown up vividly in this pandemic. the virus may not discriminate on who it infects but death rates in predominantly black communities like this one are higher than in a mainly white communities, just like unemployment disproportionately affects african—americans. what do we want? justice! when do we want to? now! so while the protests over the past few weeks may have started because of the death of george floyd, they have also reflected a wide—ranging anger about america's systemic racism. before the coronavirus hit, black unemployment was actually at an all—time low but those gains have now been obliterated. once again, black america is bearing the brunt of the country's economic failures. what we often find is that black workers are among the last group of workers to recover fully from an economic downturn. both in terms of the peak

unemployment rate experienced by black workers and the amount of time that it takes to bring that unemployment rate down to anything near what we would consider normal. we are going to be openjuly 1st. do you want me to take down your information? despite the uncertain future, particularly if you are black, natasha is looking forward to when she can reopen her business and get back to work. optimism and endeavour that america's battered economy needs now more than ever. samira hussain, bbc news, new york. samira hussain reporting. job loss, self isolation and the fear of contracting covid—i9 are just some of the factors affecting people all over the world during this difficult time. a report now on the mental health effects of coronavirus and how our brains are processing the pandemic. the pandemic has been described

so often as an invisible enemy. the problem is, it isn't completely invisible because we see its effects everywhere. every time you turn on the news, everything on your twitter feed, people with facemasks socially distanced — nothing about life as normal. nothing about life is normal. the coronavirus pandemic has taken over the world and it's notjust the virus itself that poses a threat. our brains and our bodies don't really know what to do with this ongoing strain that reallyjust outdoes anything any of us have been exposed to. so how is our brain processing the pandemic? we are processing this in fits and starts, i would say. in part, we are processing things very well and we are adapting and people are coming up with all sorts of creative solutions to the many challenges of daily life,

and in part we arejust running really scared. we are looking over a cliff that we cannot see the bottom of. and the uncertainty surrounding job losses, the economy, isolation and fear of getting the virus all lead to stress. when it is a stress that is ongoing, you are constantly aroused, your autonomic nervous system is going with the fight or flight syndrome but there is no flight. you end up with your blood pressure higher than normal. it is much more difficult to process, cognitively even, and you find yourself distracted and worried and preoccupied. so all of these reactions are existing simultaneously in your body and in your mind and you don't know and are trying to figure out how to sort this all out. and then there is

the social isolation. we have never had to self—isolate and shelter in place like we have today and i don't think anybody alive has experienced something like this. prolonged social isolation is definitely detrimental. we need people, we need human contact, and in a world where we don't have that, there is a risk for a number of disorders to become exacerbated. mood disorders, anxiety, depression and worry are all a function of prolonged social isolation. we can look at other pandemics and other epidemics and we can make predictions on how well we are going to do. the pandemic of 1918, eventually people started hugging again and holding railings and shaking hands. memory for this will fade as the risks fade. throughout history, pandemics and public health crises have actors as catalysts for

urban development and shaped the way people in and around cities lived. my people in and around cities lived. my colleague spoke to three experts, professor richard sennett in london... about what lasting effects covid—19 might have on our urban landscapes and how cities could change as a result of the pandemic. i think we are going to have to figure out new ways to make cities dense so that we have got all the advantages of a dense, efficient environment but where people don't crowd themselves in ways that can be unhealthy as they would be during a pandemic. that probably means we have to change the way we think about transport and the way we build buildings. the impact is going to be

lasting if we want to create a healthy city that is also efficient, sustainable in terms of climate issues. let's go to solly. new york issues. let's go to solly. new york is densely populated, people live in small apartments. do you think attitude just starting to change given we have been in this lockdown for so many months? i think that new york is geared up to go back to where it was before. i don't think that the pandemic will create lasting changes in density. i think people are addicted to the buzz that is associated with density and with the rubbing shoulders with each other, and they are not going to give up on that. i think the pandemic has exposed the limitation of zoom and skype and interacting on

the internet and that companies might want to take advantage of that to lower their labour costs by decentralising some jobs, to lower their labour costs by decentralising somejobs, but density is with us to stay. but do you think it becomes a public health issue in a city like new york when we are being told for the foreseeable future, until a vaccine is found, we need to socially distance, we need to be mindful of those around us and frankly in a city like new york it is quite difficult? new york is very disciplined. new york is like the example of how to behave during the pandemic. it has had many, many cases and now has a very small share of new cases and new debts. people are very disciplined, they keep distanced, they keep their masks on and they learn how to live in a pandemic, which doesn't mean that they won't go back to where they we re they won't go back to where they were before once this is over. what

about places like mumbai, rio, jakarta? about places like mumbai, rio, jakarta ? the about places like mumbai, rio, jakarta? the developing world? just like richard and sully have mentioned, i don't think it is really about density or the scale of the cities. it is notjust the large densities that got pally hit. they we re densities that got pally hit. they were the ones where density is poorly managed and by that i mean neighbourhoods that have substandard housing, lack of public spaces, they have either poor infrastructure or absent infrastructure and these are the places where slums and poor settle m e nts the places where slums and poor settlements and the like have had exacerbated the inequalities and have become hotspots for the transmission of the virus. when we are rethinking or when we are thinking about how to reshape some of these cities, what do you think

needs to fundamentally be done going forward ? to needs to fundamentally be done going forward? to protect health and reimagine cities? i think the first and most important thing is to tackle the inequalities that have been laid bare by covid—19. fixing the infrastructure and housing and open spaces, conditions in the settle m e nts open spaces, conditions in the settlements where the poor and vulnerable live. i think the second thing that is needed is also particular attention to the poor and the vulnerable, especially those who work in the important sectors whose livelihoods have been affected and therefore quality such as social or physical distancing have hit them worst because their livelihoods are at stake. richard, iwill come worst because their livelihoods are at stake. richard, i will come back to you. tell us about what smart cities out. there has been this push for smarter cities and more surveillance during this pandemic.

yes. i think that would be a very sad outcome of the pandemic if what remained permanently in place where many more surveillance cameras and in general more control of cities. we had to have a lot of control to deal with the crest of the pandemic but we shouldn't maximise that. technology has been used in privileged places like new york to create social networks, people who don't have much access to public services or weak public services, and that is a good thing, that is a smart use of smart technology, but a frightening use of it would be the pandemic receives and the control remains. are you talking about places like hungary for example?

yes, iam. places like hungary for example? yes, i am. britain, places like hungary for example? yes, iam. britain, iam sorry to say. the test and trace apps are pretty frightening. they give people much... they give the government much... they give the government much more information thanjust about whether somebody is sick or not. we have to guard against that, we have to use technology smartly and democratically. there has been a lot of discussion about infrastructure, certainly this has remained a problem in a city like new york, do you think this pandemic has further highlighted the issues with infrastructure in new york, and whether that will bring about any kind of change? yes. i do think that the main impact of the pandemic has been on the public transportation system. it has basically ground to a halt, it has lost a lot of money, it

has lost a lot of appeal, we are worried that going back will involve people bring in cars rather than going back into public transit, and i think that that might be the death 110w i think that that might be the death now of a lot of new public transit projects that will not be able to be financed because of the loss of public funds, i think much of the money is being spent giving back to people, giving back to corporations but the tax money that is lost is not replenished. a lot of interesting green projects, new infrastructure projects are going to be either postponed or completely eliminated as a result of the economic crisis brought about by this pandemic. certainly in many cities in europe, we are seeing the use of bicycles, people getting up out in bicycles and bike lanes being created, are we seeing that in new york? yes and no. yes we are seeing

bikes in new york but new york is a metropolitan area of 20 million people. most people commute far longer distances than those required by bicycles. most commuters have to rely on longer distance commuting either by cars or public transport. you have said a city is as weak as a wink this link —— weakest link. what did you mean by that?” wink this link —— weakest link. what did you mean by that? i meant places that are becoming hotspots for the virus transmission, like slums, because cities are interconnected, it is one unified labour market with mobility back—and—forth, a city that is suffering an increase in the transmission of covid—19 in certain neighbourhoods where public spaces are lacking and where social

distances is impractical, these places will affect the rest of the city. we have done some work with the world bank where we use artificial intelligence and information infrastructure to detect places that could be hotspots for transmission when communities have public water fountains and public toilets and you do not have individual connections at home, these are places that increase the risk and therefore the city will be as weak as the weakest link in terms of the epidemic transmission. that is it for now. a reminder, you can follow me on twitter or head to the bbc news website for the latest information. take care and thanks for watching. hello again. we've seen fewer showers and lengthy dry spells today. there are some showers around and they will peter out this evening. it's all change and this time from the atlantic,

so we will bring in fresh airfrom tomorrow. but this cloud is a tell—tale sign of low pressure. not only will it bring all parts some rain but also some windy weather which will freshen the air slightly. ahead of that, just a couple of showers. plenty of warmth still in that sunshine. until late on where i think through the evening time we will see the first splashes of rain reaching the shores of northern ireland which will spread to most parts through this evening and through to many other areas through the night. northern ireland and the hills of western britain could see up to 20 millimetres of rainfall on this front but it is unlikely to reach the far north—east and far south—east by dawn. a mild night with all of the cloud around and the wind and rain. that is still with us to start sunday in eastern areas. it will linger in the far north—east of scotland by midday. but it should clear east anglia and the far east by lunchtime. a good dry spell of sunshine but then some showers pushing through. they will be more frequent and heavier in the north and west closer to the area of low pressure.

it is here we will see the strongest winds, touching gale force in some places. the wind will be gusty just about everywhere. we will notice that big change tomorrow and it'll feel fresher as a result. temperatures won't be too far shy of what we've seen all week. we've just lost the humidity. average for the time of year. some sunshine. sunshine continues into the evening. one band of rain moves away, but then on monday more rain comes in particularly for northern ireland, scotland, and north—western fringes of england and wales. it is unlikely to make it's way further south or east. here we will see the biggest changes as we go through the new week as we start to build high pressure and we pull in a warmer wind. temperatures will start to escalate. we will keep that fresher air from the atlantic to the north and west. but as the time goes on through the week, temperatures will be building into the high 20s potentially by wednesday or thursday. but still cooler with some rain further north and west.

goodbye.

this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. i'm geeta guru—murthy. the outcome of a review of the two metre social distancing rule in england will be announced in the coming week, according to the chancellor, rishi sunak. particularly for the hospitality industry they are keen to see some changes. that is why we are reviewing the rule and the outcome will be announced later this week. passengers arriving at uk airports may soon be able to pay for a coronavirus test and avoid fourteen days in quarantine. the white house tries to fire the prosecutor investigating donald trump's associates — but he's refusing to step down. beijing announces the first details of a new draft security law