so, if it saves it getting worse. you just have to obey the rules. it's not hard work, is it? everybody's, "yes, sir, no, sir, three bags full, sir." this country has gone to the dogs. a similar story in south wales — where almost half a million people in rhondda cynon taff will have stricter lockdown rules from 6pm this evening. the head of nhs test and trace admits there aren't enough coronavirus tests available. it's clear from today that demand is significantly outstripping the capacity that we have. and, so, we are all going to need to work on this together. a warning from the bank of england — that the rising rate of coronavirus infections and a lack of clarity over brexit, could threaten economic recovery. and coming up — cold, flu, or coronavirus? we'll help you recognise the symptoms for each.

almost two million people in north east england will be banned from meeting other households, as new local restrictions are introduced. health secretary matt hancock announced the temporary restrictions will be in place from midnight due to "concerning rates of infection". the rules affect newcastle, gateshead, sunderland, northumberland, south tyneside, north tyneside and the county durham council area. matt hancock, the health secretary, said the government was acting after seeing concerning rates of infection in the region. it means that one in seven people across the uk now faces some kind of extra restriction to their lifestyle. our special correspondent ed thomas reports. hello? hello, grandma, just to speak to you about the new lockdown rules and see what you think about it. lives are about to change once again. isolating people in and outside of home, i think it's crazy. we were told to eat out to help out and now we were told

it is young people's fault, and it's just like what you want us to do, really? it is awful because it is so close but i can't see them. that's what gets us but i don't even want to think about it yet. nearly 2 million people are affected by these new rules across the north—east. for weeks, coronavirus cases in places like south shields have been rising, and at quicker rates. today, the health secretary tried to apply the brakes. data says that we must act now, so we can control the virus and keep people safe. this means a ban on households mixing. it's horrible. onlyjust started going out a little bit. obviously will have an effect on your mental health, isn't it? of course, because i won't be able to see grandchildren, my great grandchildren. sean is on the phone to his grandma, she 69. from midnight, she can't see him or his children.

i think issues will rise with mental health and other things. a massive distance to keep her safe but i have been doing that anyone. even though the these are against the new rules? yeah because at the end of the day, i feel like she needs that. most here support the ban, but still there is confusion and worry. you can see other people in a bar but not be with your families in different houses and stuff. closing the pubs at ten o'clock as if the virus isn't existing any time prior to them closing. moved to northumberland, and it is a quieter pace of life, with fewer cases of coronavirus, but the same rules apply here. and once again, three generations will be a part. and once again, three generations will be apart. how much do you rely on your support from your mum? massively, she is a great support system for me. so midnight tonight, everything changes. i know, again. it's not ideal. so i don't know why we have been included, no.

but then, what can we do? one fear is that when thousands of students return to newcastle the virus will come with them, so bars and restaurants will now close at 10pm. with these new restrictions, what do you want to happen? i think i would rather have a full lockdown rather than a few restrictions. but i understand that would badly affect businesses. we don't know how long these measures will stay in place, public health officials say it is essential to stop the rise and protect the most vulnerable. ed thomas, bbc news, newcastle. we are nowjoined by paul smith, a pub owner in gateshead who says he still doesn't understand how the measures will impact his pub — or what to expect from tomorrow. just explained to us your public effectively have to close now at ten p:m., is that right. yes, that is

right. and how do you feel about that? disappointed because we have had business for couple hours past couple days. it will impact but we understand we have our part to play. what other researchers will directly impact the schooner pub and your clients? i think there is an awful lot confusion about what they can can't do. and we are not sure either. we will have to act as responsibly as we can in trying to make the best of it. when it comes to serving food for example, are you one of those pubs that serves food, can you do that any more, do you understand what is going to happen? yes, of course we serve food and we have been doing table service anyway so it is not really going to affect us so it is not really going to affect us too much but i know some of my other colleagues in other pubs will find it difficult. when it comes to clients, have you had a chance to talk to them about it to pre—warn them? we have but it is a very big

mix. some people are annoyed and alarmed by it and others are very realistic. we have to beat this virus and the council leaders are in a difficult spot and had to do what they thought was best and we have to go along with them. and the regulars when it comes to abiding by the kind of things like social distancing and all the rest of that that comes with this virus, have they been quite willing to get involved and help out and support the pub? they have been excellent and i mean to a man. we had been diligent in track and trace and social distancing and all the other aspects, and the customers have been fantastic, we have had no issues whatsoever and they had been willing to do their bit and rightly so. willing to do their bit and rightly so. you have been doing the tracking tracing of people coming in and taking addresses? yes, of course. finally going forward now, what will

a night out at schooner pub look like? it will go a little different but we are adamant that we have to follow the rules because this is a nasty thing and we need to have this goes quickly as a paul we wish you the best of luck and all the regulars at schooner pub, paul smith the owner of the schooner pub in gateshead. a local lockdown has come into force affecting almost a quarter of a million people in south wales. those living in rhondda cynon taf aren't allowed to leave the area without good reason for at least a fortnight, and they're banned from seeing anyone indoors who's not from their own household. our wales correspondent hywel griffiths sent this report. back to lockdown, afterjust a few weeks of freedom. coronavirus is once again spreading through this community, with clusters across the county. one is here in abercynon, where members of this social club went on a coach trip together to doncaster last week. donna's partner was on board.

she says some of the group had been tested for covid just before the outing, but hadn't had the results. there was about 15 of them on the bus. they'd done the same as they'd done every year. they didn't take precautions, because nobody had covid, so you wouldn't take precautions. they had a bed, they had a pint — same as what happens every year. nothing was done any different. the spike in cases has triggered new, tougher rules — an iipm curfew and a ban on meeting anyone not in your household indoors. for sian, it's all deeply frustrating. she'd managed to bring all her our staff back from furlough, and even hire more workers, but now 30% of her bookings have cancelled. she blames the pubs who've not enforced social distancing. -- all —— all of her bar staff. they'vejust been idiots, really, and spoiled it for everybody, because i'd say about 90% of businesses, 95% of businesses in the area, they're all really, really trying, and they're trying their hardest to do everything by the book,

and then you get the minority that's spoiling it for everybody. while no—one is meant to leave here without good reason, some are being encouraged to arrive. a new university term starts at this campus on monday. students are being told it is safe to move in, even though most staff have to work from home. if we have fewer staff here, only essential staff on any one day at any one time, that makes the campus more socially distant, and it's a way of helping to protect our students. this whole community will now be in lockdown until at least october. the fear is that could last even longer if cases continue to rise. hywel griffith, bbc news, pontypridd. dido harding, the head of the nhs test and trace programme, has been facing some tough questioning from mps today. it follows new figures which show that only a third of tests carried out at community sites were processed within 2a hours in the week up to the ninth of september.

that's the lowest turnaround rate sincejune. baroness harding said there was now more demand for tests than expected. our health editor hugh pym has more. i will show you where to step. that's ok. sarah and her son are looking forward to a new member of the family. she is 41 weeks pregnant and was due to have an important midwife appointment but she had to postpone it as she had a cough and needed a test, but couldn't get one on the official website. it's really important, just to put my mind at ease that everything's ok with the baby, and it's frustrating, you know, not knowing, not being able to get the care and not being able to get the test. i don't know how my care's going to proceed. paul, who is a teacher, has been trying and failing to book a test for members of his family. four days of trying to get testing and nothing at all, not even being offered testing 100 or 200 miles away, which at this stage i would take. if there was frustration for people

at home, there was even more for those in sunderland, who secured a booking, arrived at the site, but found no sign of any testing. it is an absolute joke — i've had to bring my three kids out of school, they are now missing out on vital education because of covid—19 and there's not one person has turned up on the site. nobody here, so what do you do? so we just have to go back home and try again, i guess. it beggars belief. it takes you ages to get an appointment, then you come and there is a car park full of people and they are not testing people. it'sjust ridiculous. elsewhere, though, some other testing stations like this one in west london appeared to be working normally. at this testing centre, people who have managed to get a booking are moving through. each morning, there is an allocation for those who haven't booked to just turn up, but people arrive very early and it goes quickly. one of those who did get a slot here told us it had meant a long walk with her child.

we had to get a home test, miss that this morning, they had gone by the time i filled it out, missed the more local ones. we have actually walked six miles to get here. in the commons, one cabinet minister gave his opinion. instead of this endless carting, saying it is difficult to get them we should actually celebrate this phenomenal success of the british nation in getting up to a quarter of a million tests of a disease that nobody knew about until early in the air. the head of test and trace in england was challenged by mps on my capacity hadn't kept up with demand. we have been adding testing capacity every day, every week over the last few weeks in anticipation. but not enough. well, plainly. as the prime minister said yesterday, plainly we don't have enough testing capacity today and we are doing everything in our power to increase the testing capacity. the latest data for test turnaround times in england for the week ending september the 9th, showed thatjust 65% of results

were sent to people the next day, down from 89% the previous week, and only 33% within 2a hours. testing sites are operating, but slots are being limited because laboratories to analyse tests a re overloaded, and ministers admit it could be a few weeks before that is dealt with. hugh pym, bbc news. well, the latest government figures show there were 3,395 new coronavirus infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period. that means the average number of new cases reported per day in the last week, is 3,354. 21 deaths were reported, of people who died, within 28 days of a positive covid—i9 test, and that means on average in the last week, 14 deaths were announced every day, taking the total number across the uk to 41,705.

conspiracy theories about a possible coronavirus vaccine had been going on social media in recent months, one example of this is a fibre video which is being shared a complete by false claims that a coronavirus vaccine has been already made mandatory and it will be used to inject microchips into people. our specialist disinformation reporter mariana spring has been taking a look at this. marianna talk us through this video and how it is being shared. this video was originally posted on tick—tock mac and it is now over 3 million views and it is now over 3 million views and in the video there is a lady very upset that her daughter has been vaccinated she says without her permission while she was at school and she says things along the lines of "i don't know what they put inside her!" that video has been been picked up and shared very widely on instagram, on facebook by those who have been taken in by vexing conspiracy theories and they are using this video to demonstrate

are using this video to demonstrate a false conspiracy theory that they believe which is that mandatory vaccines have been secretly in law to enforce and that will apply to the coronavirus vaccination. we know thatis the coronavirus vaccination. we know that is not true, there is no law suggesting that there are or will be mandatory vaccinations all —— although the government has refused to stay with it that will be the case in the future and they have used at the plug false means that the coronavirus facing will be used to microchip people and to survey what they are doing. that is been shared across facebook and instagram in recent weeks and months but in the back past few days have wrapped up the back past few days have wrapped up as people have shared this video. in the video this lady is not talking about the coronavirus vaccine at all, she is talking about the hpv vaccine which her daughter was given at so and there is a loop when it comes to kids been vaccinated that means if the parent decides they don't want their child to be vaccinated but that child does wa nt to to be vaccinated but that child does want to be vexing, the nurse can

overrule with the parent has that and that's what appears to have happened in this case but it is wrongly being used online to justify and explain conspiracy theories that are untrue. and there are so many shares, when it comes to trying to tackle this kind of misinformation, what is being done? it is very difficult because the initial video is about this lady's personal expense and it doesn't breach any of tiktok‘s rules because it is not strictly disinformation and it is her stress but it is clear and motivate you can see how it has been picked up by those who have been taken in by conspiracy there is and it is the responsibly of instagram and facebook to tackle those posts which feature the false claims about micro—chipping and mandatory vaccinations which are currently unfounded but if those vaccine conspiracy theories fall into a grey area because the video itself is not starkly untrue and it is difficult for them to deal with it. this is often the case with this information with something that is otherwise true or personal expenses taken out

of context are used to confirm a certain bias in this case about the danger posed by a vaccine. the problem is these coronavirus vaccine constraint theories are a real threat and undermine real concerns about a vaccine being take —— properly test and improve and they could undermine their effectiveness when it is available if the seeds of doubt are sold in two enough people believing this vaccine will not be safe and not ok, then you could put all of us more at risk. laying on people's spears. thank you for talking us through all of that. new locking —— new icons and more hospital admissions. what are we to make of it all and is the uk doing worse than other countries in europe? arm medical editor fergus walsh has this.

let's start by looking at the areas of the uk which are subject to extra restrictions, marked here in blue. by the end of the week, it's thought around 9 million people in the uk will be subject to extra controls. that's around one in seven people. it's all because of the rise in cases across the uk. we are in a much better place than we were back in mid—april, when cases were peaking at over 5,000 every day. but that figure is completely unreliable because we weren't doing much testing in the community. it was probably more like 100,000 new cases every day. then cases fell until about mid—july and started to rise again. we are now seeing more than 3,000 cases every day, but that figure too is unreliable, because many people can't get a test. so it could be much higher. it's thought that cases are doubling in the uk every seven to ten days, and what matters is the effect that will have on hospitals. if we look at england, in early april up to 3,000 patients a day were being admitted to hospital with a confirmed covid diagnosis.

the numbers now are much smaller, though at their highest level for two months. we should expect patient numbers to rise as winter approaches. the key question, though, is by how much? mortality has dropped substantially. just one in 100 death certificates in england and wales now mention covid, the lowest level for six months. let's look at some european comparisons. spain and france have both seen a big resurgence in coronavirus cases, and an increase in hospitalisation. but nowhere near the level of the first peak. the uk government has warned the uk could be heading the same way, unless people follow social distancing guidelines. finally, an outlier, sweden, never imposed a compulsory lockdown and face masks are not recommended there in public places.

they had a much higher death rate than their nordic neighbours in the first wave, but now their cases are staying low. fergus walsh. john lewis staff will not be paid a bonus this year for the first time since 1953 after lockdown forced many stores to close permanently. while sales did increase marginally, they were in less profitable lines and the company posted a £55 million loss for the first half of the year. its chairwoman told staff on thursday the announcement "will come as a blow". the bank of england has warned that the rising rate of coronavirus infections and a lack of clarity over the uk's future trade relationship with the eu could threaten the economic recovery. today the bank held interest rates at 0.1%, a historic low, citing an uncertain outlook. let's get more from our

reporter nina nanji. what does all this say about the bank of england's expectations for the economy? let's start with the good news and the bank of england today saying that the uk's economic recovery has been a bit server than previously expected. it looks at data including debit and credit card spending and what it seems to suggest is that consumer spending which is a major backbone of the uk economy has actually picked up a back to levels that we last saw prior to the coronavirus pandemic. why should we ca re coronavirus pandemic. why should we care what the bank of england thinks? because they set interest rates which is the key policy that defines all of our economic fortunes and as you said those rates today, that benchmark rate cap at historic modes of 0.1% and the bank also didn't change its wider support for the uk economy but there are still profound uncertainties ahead and in

particular there are three things that policymakers are concerned about looking forward. the first is as we have been talking about on the programme this rising rate of coronavirus, new cases across the country and clearly if that continues that could derail this fledgling economic recovery that we've seen so far. the second is fears of mass unemployment and the furlough scheme that is supported so manyjobs furlough scheme that is supported so many jobs starts to furlough scheme that is supported so manyjobs starts to be winding down. and there it is fear of a no—deal brexit we head into the end of the year. so what might the bank of england do next? normally when an economy is sluggish you see central banks considering cutting interest rates because we have a system where it encourages businesses and consumers to spend more that as we have just been saying, interest rates are already at rock—bottom levels. that is why there has been this talk of negative interest rates which means charging us interest rates which means charging us to save. it is important to note

thatis us to save. it is important to note that is not what the bank of england said today that they are planning to do but they did keep it a possibility down the line. so pointy to watch for the next few months. negative interest rates is all we need to look out for. nina nanji, thank you as always. the government has said a significant part of the spike in demand for coronavirus testing is from people who don't have symptoms of covid—19. but as we approach the annual season of sniffles and sneezes how can we be sure if our symptoms are from a cold, the flu, or, in fact, the coronavirus? here's our health correspondent sophie hutchinson. autumn is almost upon us and already a whole range of viruses are circulating. so when do you need to get tested? the official symptoms for covid—19 are a fever — that's a temperature of 37.8 degrees celsius or above — a new continuous cough — that's coughing a lot for an hour or more or having three coughing fits within 2a hours —

and a loss of taste or smell, or that things taste or smell different. but some parents have found it difficult to know whether their children have symptoms. one confusing factor is that while the official covid—19 symptoms seem to work for 18 to 65—year—olds, some scientists and doctors say they don't necessarily work for children and older people. for example, many children don't get a cough, and older people, while seeming unwell, might not have any obvious covid—19 symptoms at all. the scientists behind this covid—19 symptoms tracker app says people don't need to err on the side of caution. there's many more cases of cold around than there are of covid. and i think for people who are unsure whether they have the classical symptoms of cold or not,

they should probably assume it's more likely to be a cold and just wait and see how that develops without overburdening the testing system. it's important that if you have a tight chest or are finding it hard to breathe, you contact a doctor. but if your symptoms are sneezing, a runny nose, which is perhaps making you cough a bit, the likelihood is that you've got a cold and you don't need to be tested. and the government says the best way to protect yourself is to wash your hands, keep a safe distance and wear a facemask when required. sophie hutchinson, bbc news. has been a c present coronavirus infections in france today recording its highest number of daily cases, the public director of hospitals in marseille say wards are nearing saturation. with only a handful of intensive care but still available staff are discussing the option of moving patients to other regions if

necessary. marseilles is at the heart of france's new wave of coronavirus infections with more than 300 cases per 100,000 people since the beginning of september for some arbor correspondent lucy williamson has been to an intensive ca re williamson has been to an intensive care unit in the city's main hospital and i do have to warn you that her report does contain some distressing images. marseilles's main intensive care unit has become a changing room again. familiar routines resurrected for a new wave of covid patients. this time, it's a 65—year—old man on life support. they're putting a camera down his throat. one of the riskiestjobs, the ventilators on their suits purfiy the ventilators on their suits purify the air inside their masks. these are the patients only visitors. his wife calls for news once or twice a day. she is not allowed in to see him. now it is becoming very disturbing because we are certain between the desire to

treat the patient of course as best as possible and also to treat non—covid patients the appropriate way, that is to find icu beds, to have surgery, and so on. it is very difficult to manage. marseilles is the epicentre of france's new cova crisis. the director of public hospitals here says the system is nearing saturation with only a handful of intensive care beds left and 100 extra staff recruited in the past week. this i see's biggest, is now almost full. the nightmare for like this one is a sudden rise in the rate of infections. this hospital is ascending to covid patients to intensive care each day, a sudden spike would overwhelm them. rates of infection in my site are not twice that of paris. over 10% of

those tested here are positive. at this centre today, it was first—come first—served. but getting a test isn't always easy. this woman told us isn't always easy. this woman told us she'd had symptoms since monday. translation: it's a panic, a real panic, it is stressful. there are no appointments available on the government's testing wasn't and the doctor plaza website says there is nothing till the end of september. the government today admitted that there were bottlenecks in testing. translation: we put in place a system to prioritise those with a prescription, symptoms, those are ca re prescription, symptoms, those are care workers, or with contact cases. the rules and marseilles are becoming stricter by the way. rules larger than ten are now banned from beaches and parks, the price of a post locked on summer when thousands me with here together. a summit that swapped isolation for infection, now sending its waves out across france was up —— a sending its waves out across france

was up —— a summer. sending its waves out across france was up —— a summer. lucy williamson, bbc news, marseilles. nick miller has the weather now. i afternoon of sunshine although southern england is cooler than it has been, at or above average for the time of year a more noticeable is to be breeze developing with north sea coast coming in from the sea north sea coast coming in from the sea which will see temperatures just around the mid teens or so. warmer in scotland but to the far north some areas of god lingering into tonight, maybe a few white rain. and a night where temperatures in northeast england are around four or 5 degrees here. into tomorrow plenty of sunshine across the uk. a sunnier day for northern ireland compared but today, quality in the northern and western isles, a few specified rain possible, and east to be breeze for the south you are and it will be stronger but out of that breeze and,

add in some sunshine, another pleasa nt add in some sunshine, another pleasant september day. this is bbc news — the september surge, the world health organization warns coronavirus is spreading across europe at an alarming rate. the continent set a new record last week, with 511,000 cases recorded in just 2a hours. the figures do reflect more comprehensive testing but weekly cases are now exceeding those reported when the pandemic first peaked in march. some 10 million people in britain are living under tighter, local restrictions, 2 million of them live in the north east where new measures will come into play at midnight tonight. also in the programme.... the fbi warns the russians are at it again. director chris wray says there's been a concerted effort by russian proxies to undermine joe biden's campaign.