this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. us president donald trump and the first lady melania test positive for coronavirus and go into quarantine. announcing the test results on twitter the president says he and the first lady "will get through this together" it comes after his one of his closest aides — hope hicks — tested positive for coronavirus — the pair have taken several trips together in the past week world markets slump on the news with the dow futures index down — due to uncertainty about the operation of the us administration we'll be looking at what all this means for the election campaign — as the president is confined to the white house.

hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world — and stay with us for the latest news and analysis from here and across the globe. donald trump has said he and his wife, melania, have tested positive for coronavirus and have begun a period of quarantine. they were both tested after one of mr trump's most senior advisers, hope hicks, found out she had the virus. the white house doctor has said both the president and the first lady are ‘well‘ and that mr trump will continue to carry out his duties while he self—isolates. president trump confirmed the news on twitter, saying that he and the first lady "will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately" — and that they "will get through this together!"

this is the scene live in washington dc, well, i'm sorry, this is clearly not the image of washington we were hoping to show you! with just a month to go until the presidential election, all the states wondering what this means for that vote. before his positive test for covid, president trump spoke to fox news about his close aide hope hicks's own positive test. she did test positive, ijust heard about this, she tested positive. she is a hard worker, a lot of masks, she wears masks a lot, but she tested positive. and i just went out with a test because we spent a lot of time and the first ladyjust went out with a test also. first lady melania trump posted on twitter following the news that she and the us president had tested positive for coronavirus.

she said: "as too many americans have done this year, the president & i are quarantining at home after testing positive for covid—19. vice president mike pence tweeted: "karen and i send our love and prayers to our dear friends president trump and the first lady. world leaders have also been tweeting their reaction. indian prime minister narendra modi said: "wishing my friend president trump and the first lady a quick recovery and good health. the uk's prime minister, boris johnson, who himself contracted coronavirus earlier this year said he sends his "best wishes to president trump and the first lady.

and the director—general of the world health organization, dr tedros ghebreyesus has given his "best wishes to the president and the first lady for a full and speedy recovery. and in russia, the kremlin spokesman dmitry peskov has wished donald trump ‘a swift and easy recovery.‘ let's speak to our north america correspondent david willis and david joins us from los angeles. david, hello again. in terms of the timeline when and how the president contracted this virus, he obviously has been in close contact with his aide, hope hicks, who also tested positive, that seems a reasonable assumption, but it's from that close circle of advisers that this has happened. that's right. and hope hicks has been travelling with president trump for most of the last week. she tested negative in a test

for coronavirus on tuesday. ditto on wednesday. but then there was that positive covid—i9 test and a short while later, president trump confirming both he and his wife milani had contracted covid—i9. and it raises a number of questions not least the future of the presidential campaign. how it will pan out. —— melania. what we don't know precisely is how ill president trump actually is. we had this statement from his personal physician sean connolly, saying he and the first lady are doing well, saying they planned to remain at home during their convalescence, the white house being home in this case and he goes on to say... i expect the president to continue carrying out his duties without disruption whilst recovering. but make no mistake, this will completely change the nature of this presidential

campaign, the president will have to withdraw from it, to all intents and purposes for a period of time. we don't know how long, of course. and he will have to abandon those rallies, he's already abandoned one later today, that was a fundraising eventin later today, that was a fundraising event in florida, and swing state. and he will have to campaign from the white house. that, of course, is really going to upend what was already a very strange campaign. as you point out, david, although the letter from his personal you point out, david, although the letterfrom his personal physician says he is well, we don't actually know, do we come off whether donald trump has any symptoms of this virus currently. the only clues we can look out for our weather we see more tweets, i guess, whether we see any appearances from within the white house itself? you're absolutely right. of course, it is worrying because at 7a years of age, and technically obese, president trump is in the high risk group as far as

the coronavirus is concerned. and we also don't know, of course, how close he came behind the scenes, to his democratic rivaljoe biden. they we re his democratic rivaljoe biden. they were face—to—face, well, distanced, face—to—face, if you like, socially distanced for the debate in clevela nd distanced for the debate in cleveland earlier this week, on tuesday night, but how close they got behind the scenes we simply don't know. as far as contact tracing is concerned, we know that president trump and hope hicks had beenin president trump and hope hicks had been in contact with members of donald trump ‘s family including eric and donald junior, ivanka trump, the senate majority leader mitch mcconnell, and amy coney barrett, president trump ‘s nominee for the vacant seat on the us supreme court. so there are a lot of questions and we don't know how far this virus has spread but it is

certainly there, in 1600 pennsylvania ave, that is very worrying to a lot of people in this country. on that point, david, interesting to see a tweet from mike pompeo saying he and his wife were flying to dubrovnik and had a test before they got off the plane, which was negative. i guess there is that expectation that individuals like mike pence and other key figures around donald trump, will need to come forward and say what their statuses with regards to this virus. absolutely. we've heard from mike pence wishing donald trump and melania well at this time. and of course, it is possible that mike pence could play a significant role in the weeks ahead if it's judged that donald trump is incapacitated in some way. the 25th amendment of the us constitution lays out that it will be the vice president, mike pence, in this case, who would take

over the presidential duties. we are some way away from all of that, there is a lot of speculation, of course, very few facts, but that is the weight the constitution demands that things proceed, ultimately, mike pence would become incapacitated it would then be the leader of the is, nancy pelosi, such as the order of succession as laid out in the us constitution. —— the leader of the house of lords it is late at night here in the united states. the sort of condition donald trump is infinitely get that first communique from the white house. david, thank you. brian klaas is a professor of global politics at university college london and a washington post columnist. good to have you with us. president trump isa good to have you with us. president trump is a man who absolutely thrives on the campaign trail, thrives on the campaign trail, thrives on the campaign trail, thrives on being in front of big audiences. that was already

curtailed quite a lot because of the pandemic. crowchild much more now because of his positive test so what kind of impact do you think that is going to have on how he operates in the remaining weeks of the election campaign. —— curtailed much more 110w. campaign. —— curtailed much more now. all of the polling averages show a clear and decisive biden lead at the moment. in order to win the election trump needs to turn around the narrative in a very short period of time, we are about 30 days away from november the 3rd, being able to campaign was part of that, of course. the second reason why this isa course. the second reason why this is a problem for him is that he is not trusted by american voters on his handling of the covid—19 pandemic, 60% of americans think he has done a bad job in handling it so this puts it in centre stage as the main issue in the news at a time when he wants to change the narrative and the dynamics of the race. if i can interrupt narrative and the dynamics of the race. ifi can interrupt you, you quote 60% of americans, according to

one survey, quote 60% of americans, according to one survey, saying he has handled it badly but what about his supporters? if there are actually relatively small numbers of potential voters in play who might go one way or the other, and each site needs to get their core vote out, is it going to make any difference to his supporters, who actually think he is handling things well? no. and there's a lot of discussion about this, when you think about the race, will this change his base? the a nswer will this change his base? the answer is always no, his base loves him and they will vote for him and vote for him in large numbers but the problem is his pace is too small, his base is around 40% of the country, probably a little bit less so country, probably a little bit less so what he needs to do is win over voters and the problem again is time is running out. you have about 30 days until the election and this is the big difference from past elections, a huge chunk of ballots have already been cast in many, many more are being cast every day. i voted, for example, already, this is

why it's a problem for him because if you need to turn around a race and the numbers of people who have not voted or diminishing each day, and you just lost 1a days on the campaign trailand and you just lost 1a days on the campaign trail and there is another issue that is in the front of voters minds that they already don't trust you, that's a very bad recipe for a candidate already trailing badly in the polls. do you think there will be pressure on president trump to make virtual appearances and lots of them to basically make that connection, keep that connection, with his voters going? absolutely. i assume there will be much more campaigning done remotely, as long as his health allows it but this is something, elsewhere, it brings the issue centre stage on things that arejust issue centre stage on things that are just fundamentally, have issue centre stage on things that arejust fundamentally, have been irresponsible about president trump ‘s behaviour. two and a half days ago at the presidential debate, he made fun of biden for wearing a mask, he mike tim, —— he mocked him.

a rally with 1500 people, their chairs stacked virtually on top of each other and the one wearing masks, in violation of public health guidelines. trump may now have to be forced to do remote campaigning but after he mocked biden for doing remote campaigning for the last several months. it's not the issue that the trump campaign wants voters to be thinking about. thank you very much for your thoughts on all of this. let me tell you, we are seeing on reuters news agency, reports that the russian president vladimir putin has sent donald trump a telegram, we are told, to wish him a swift recovery after his positive test for covid—19. russian news agencies reporting citing the kremlin that mr putin has said i am certain that your inherent vitality, good spirits and optimism will help you cope with this dangerous virus. that's according to the interfax news agency, that coming into us. sarah elliott is is chair

of the republicans 0versees uk — i've been getting her reaction. i wish him a fast recovery. i think he's actually in robust health, his doctors have come out and said as much. as you said, he has the best medical care in the world. i think he will recover. he is now going into quarantine with the first lady for ten days, so the campaign is going to a halt. but then again, i think it will pick right back up where it left off. things change so much now with four weeks to go until the actual election. big questions over future presidential debates, obviously, campaign rallies and so on. what kind of bearing do you think this is going to have on the election, especially as president trump was trying to move attention away from the virus, i think it's fair to say, he simply cannot do that now, can he?

i don't think, he has taken the virus very seriously. i think his opponents like to say he downplays it and now he has a personal experience... sarah, i'm sorry to interrupt you, he has been, absolutely not a proponent of social distancing or wearing masks, when he has worn masks it's been very late in the day. so to say that he has taken it really seriously is perhaps to a lot of people, strange comment. well, annita, he gets tested routinely, the people around him get tested routinely and he wears masks when he feels it's necessary. he also is the leader of the country and he goes out and he meets with people, he thinks you need to lead by example and not hide in the basement and i'm sorry, he put himself at risk and now this is the situation we are in, he is asymptomatic. i'm sure he will recover quickly. i do hope that the other people around

him also get tested and are in quarantine as well. he is taking all the medical advice on board. you know, when this happened with boris johnson, he garnered a lot of sympathy. and so now, president trump has a personal experience and a connection to covid and the american people, you know, mayjust look at him sympathetically and be like, wow, he can now personally really feel our pain. do you think that is what is going to happen? in terms of people planning to vote for president trump, considering whether they would vote for president trump, do you think they will feel sympathetic towards him or will they say, here is a president who has been trying to project an image of business as normal during this pandemic, keen to keep the economy open and so forth? and now, he has actually caught this virus, this disease, himself. i think actually, there will be sympathy from the

american people because generally, the american people are kind—hearted and they want to see the president of their country succeed. unfortunately, there are people on the left who are gleefully relishing in this and hoping the worst for the president but i don't think that's going to happen. you know, people write about the 25th amendment and we'll mike pence takeover? i think that's ridiculous and much too soon. i think he will recover, we will get back to normal but it is at a critical time. every day matters in campaign right now. it will be interesting to see the polling, but he is the comeback kid. he likes a challenge, he likes to prove people wrong and i think this is another challenge on which he will do so. you say talk of mike pence being there to take over is far too premature. but surely, the white house advisers will have thought about this possible scenario? and surely, it's sensible to talk about this because if the president was to become

ill and we are told at the moment that he is fine, doing well, if he was to become ill, don't the american people want to know what's going to happen? because of our constitution we know what is going to happen and we do know the vice president would take over in a situation like that. but it also brings up a really curious point about vice presidential candidate and there might now be more scrutiny on kamala harris and her role and her possibility of her becoming president prematurely if something happened to the president. this might have a negative effect on the biden campaign, harris is universally not popular across the country. that was sarah elliott. with me now isjohn sardino — a spokesperson from democrats abroad. good to have you with us. we have

not heard from the biden campaign but what do you think the reaction is going to be from that camp? as a democrat and an american i wish the president well, i wish him a speedy recovery. i wouldn't wish this virus on anybody. some of the effects are long—term, neurological effects that area bit long—term, neurological effects that are a bit unpredictable. i think what we have seen is many people react differently to the virus. and i truly, i wish him well. having said that, you know, if he has been saying and i was listening to your republican guest just a saying and i was listening to your republican guestjust a moment ago, he has not traded this very seriously. the country has been in a crisis from the very beginning. he is on record as saying he was playing it down. as recently as last week, he was at a fundraising dinner where he was saying the virus is behind us, you know, we are over the hump. america has got 40,000 new

cases of infection a day. you know, compare that to the uk, with 7000, and you see the dramatic measures that are being taken here in the uk. i don't see how the president could possibly say that the virus, this crisis, is behind us and i think his illness, if that's what it is, is going to be, makes his statements very empty, that the virus is behind us. very empty, that the virus is behind us. it's going to be interesting to see how much we see of him in the next few days, given that statement from the white house doctor, the president ‘s doctor that he was doing well. do we have any idea whether the president as well as mr biden, took a coronavirus tests before the debate earlier this week? i haven't seen the evidence so i couldn't say for sure. i would say there was a question that was raised a minute ago about the status of the vice president on the line of succession and all of that. and that

is true, the vice president is the nextin is true, the vice president is the next in line with the president is incapacitated in some way, then the vice president naturally takes over. if, for some reason, the vice president is incapacitated as well, i think as you said earlier in the broadcast, then the speaker of the house, nancy pelosi, would then become the commander—in—chief. it's a very interesting line of succession, and also this point about kamala harris, there is a debate, scheduled for next week, between kamala harris and mike pence, scheduled for next tuesday night, which i presume is going to proceed, whether or not the next presidential debate which is two weeks from now, goes ahead, it remains to be seen. whatever happens, it's going to be a very different final few weeks of the campaign. but do you think the fact that the president and his wife had tested positive for coronavirus is going to have any bearing ultimately on how people decide to vote?”

on how people decide to vote?|j think on how people decide to vote?” think it might. as you know, and i think it might. as you know, and i think as someone said before i came on, voting has already started. ballots started going out for americans living abroad, a lot of ballots were sent out in the middle of september. many of those ballots have already been returned. have been voted and returned. in the states, there is a lot of early voting that's been going on both by mail in ballot and in many places you can vote early, showing up at a place that has been designated for that. so quite a lot of voting is already under way. i will say somewhat sadly, america is very divided. so there are probably a very small portion of the overall population in key battle ground states like pennsylvania, wisconsin and others, where there are undecided voters and that's where a lot of the attention is right now. and how this will affect their decisions, well, ithink, as i and how this will affect their decisions, well, i think, as i said, you have to weigh up the president

‘s actions and statements about managing the crisis or his lack of managing the crisis or his lack of managing the crisis or his lack of managing the crisis, with a four we are now. thank you for your time this morning. we arejust are now. thank you for your time this morning. we are just going are now. thank you for your time this morning. we arejust going to pause in our coverage of that donald trump story for a moment. let's talk about uk politics. the first minister of scotland, nicola sturgeon, written another tweet, this is a tweet to the mp margaret ferrier, roundly condemned by members of the snp and right across the political spectrum for her actions over the last few days. after testing positive for covid—19. she had symptoms and took a test and while waiting on the results of that test, instead of self isolating, she travelled to london to the house of commons, she took part in that debate, you saw the picture a minute ago of her taking part in the debate in the house of commons on monday

evening. also on monday evening she had confirmation she was positive for coronavirus. but then the next day she took a train journey, a five hour train journey, day she took a train journey, a five hour trainjourney, from london back to scotland. let's look at the tweet from nicola sturgeon this morning. she said, i've spoken to margaret ferrier... she uses that word indefensible, she said last night, said it again this morning, and goes on in the tweet, i have no power to force an mp to resign but i hope she will do the right thing. heavy pressure being exerted by the first minister, by other snp mps, and indeed, from many right across the political spectrum, saying that margaret ferrier ‘s actions, the decisions she made, or

indefensible and that she should be stepping down as an mp. but, we haven't heard, apart from that initial admission that what she had done was wrong, we have heard nothing further margaret ferrier yet, but that was nicola sturgeon again, making it clear that she thinks she should step down as an mp, that her actions were both dangerous and indefensible. that is coding the first minister. now, let's return to the news that president trump has tested positive for coronavirus. along with his wife, the first lady, melania. let's talk to us political analyst eric ham who is in washington. thank you for your time today, joining us on bbc news. as an individual who has covid—19, donald trump 74. he is medically obese. we are told that he is well. but we don't know a lot beyond that of how

he actually is, whether he has any symptoms or not of this virus, do we? no, we don't, this is the second medical emergency of donald trump, we go back late last year, we note the president was abruptly taken to the president was abruptly taken to the hospital and we still don't know why the president was taken to the hospital. we did get indications that mike pence was told to be on stand—by because the president would have to undergo anaesthesia but now the president has contracted coronavirus and file all are hoping for a speedy recovery, we don't know as much as we would like to about the president ‘s health to determine if in fact he will be able to recover from this virus. how much pressure will there be particularly because we are in the last few weeks of the election campaign to find out more about how he is doing? daily updates, in fact. and to actually see him, see if he will do any virtual appearances to let voters

know how he is doing in person? you are right. this certainly upends the campaign of the president, he is trailing in the polls, we are getting some new data out in the wa ke getting some new data out in the wake of the presidential debate that took place just 48 hours ago. now, it looks as ifjoe biden is expanding his lead both nationally and in some of these key battle ground states and the president desperately needs to be able to use this moment, this time, to close this moment, this time, to close this gap but these are 14 days, 14 crucial days, that the president will be off the campaign trail and here's another wrinkle in this event. the president has been trailing joe biden also indicate money race, we do know that biden raised $3.8 million in the last hour of the presidential debate, more than 10 million over the course of the debate. and now we know the president, now that he has contracted this virus, the question becomes what happens to those donors that he desperately needs to be able

to provide the resources that he needs, be competitive over these last 30 days? the president right now is looking at a number of major issues above all, being his health and his ability to ward off this virus. are those donors really going to fall away because the president has this virus? will they not stick with him? that is something we do not know. the president is 74. he is clearly within the vulnerable age group for those who typically succumb to this virus. again, we hope that is not the case but given that the president is trailing in the polls, trailing with the money race right now, and then these 14 crucial days that he will be of the campaign trail, this does not bode well for his chances of getting re—elected. especially when millions of americans are literally voting every single day, be it from early voting, orfrom every single day, be it from early voting, or from polls every single day, be it from early voting, orfrom polls that every single day, be it from early voting, or from polls that are every single day, be it from early voting, orfrom polls that are now open. this clearly does not give the president the time he needs to turn this around. eric, thank you very

much. us political analyst, joining us much. us political analyst, joining us from washington. i'm joined now by keith neal, emeritus professor in the epidemiology of infectious diseases at the university of nottingham. professor, good to have you with us. president trump, we have heard it any times today already, since he tested positive, 74, overweight, so he falls into those categories which put him at greater risk from the virus but we are told by his doctor that he is doing well. how important is it if he has been tested really early in this disease, how important will that be in ensuring he has a good recovery from it? at the moment, we don't have any specific antiviral treatments and remdesivir only shortens your stay in hospital. we do have another treatment which reduces mortality rate by a third. the old figures give someone in

their 70s and mortality risk of around 8%, at higher risk because he isa man, around 8%, at higher risk because he is a man, but given, he is probably a very fit and healthy 74—year—old compared to many, and also the main factor is obesity which also increases his risk. i thinkjust because he's been tested earlier in the illness and found positive, you can actually be unwell for a week or two before you can become seriously ill. so with boris johnson, we sought the prime minister battling through, didn't we, for a while. dearly with the virus, really quite ill by the point he was admitted to hospital. we don't have many details about how president trump is, whether he is showing symptoms or not but it doesn't seem, on the face of it at least, that he is certainly that ill? we don't know and if he's tested quite early in the illness, and it was part of a routine test, then we do know small numbers of people are actually asymptomatic and they would have a very good

prognosis. i think we will know more ina prognosis. i think we will know more in a week's time, exactly how the disease has played out. really, in terms of his medical team, personal position, it is a case of close monitoring rather than any other actions being taken at this point, is that what you are saying?” actions being taken at this point, is that what you are saying? i think people themselves who might have covid diagnosed without medical attention the president gets, people who badly ill in this country are the ones who would need to seek help because many people do go through this illness without any there will be considerable pressure on him to put in some virtual appearances to back up this letter that we have seen from his physician? i think so, that we have seen from his physician? ithink so, and i think this has become a very political issue for him and i tend not to deal with the politics as i am no great expert on that. i think they could have debates online but he might be very wary of what happened to richard nixon in the 1960 election when he went into one of these

debates recovering from flu and did very badly. yes, because in the richard nixon case, people thought he looked blessed trustworthy, in that scenario, was that not the case? ironically, they may have turned out to be right. -- less trustworthy. we don't know an awful lot about president trump's health, you say that he is pretty good for someone you say that he is pretty good for someone of 74, we see pictures of him playing golf, and we have seen images ofjoe biden jogging, him playing golf, and we have seen images ofjoe bidenjogging, and jogging images ofjoe bidenjogging, and jogging backwards, but we don't know an awful lot about the presidential as general health and fitness, do we? no, and i think that sort of thing should be private. i understand they get an annual checkup but to actually maintain the job itself, you have to have some degree of physical fitness. in that sense. it is a very demanding job, to be president or prime minister of a country. but given that he is president and that the election is

just a few weeks away, that private medical information ultimately has to become public knowledge, doesn't it? i think some of the voters may wa nt to it? i think some of the voters may want to know how healthy he is, because then the role of the vice—president becomes crucial. i think politically, it might have more of an impact if he gets the disease badly. he won't have recovered before polling day. from what you know of him, do you think the prognosis is good, if we base it on the scant information that we have so far? the risk gets greater as you get older, but the vast majority of 19—year—olds in care homes who have got covid in this country have now fully recovered. —— 90—year—olds. country have now fully recovered. —— 90-year-olds. and he is a long way off 90 yet. so, thank you very much. our business correspondent,

katie prescott, is here. so, tell us what reaction many of our make of this. like many of our commentators this morning, there is still so much uncertainty around. that has been reflected in the numbers this morning. in after—hours trading in american stock markets we have seen falls of about 2%. when the markets open here we saw falls of about 1%. so it shows a certain amount of nervousness from investors but certainly is nomad panic yet. and i think investors are really waiting to see exactly what this means. we don't know how ill donald trump is, and what that might mean for the election which is coming up injusta for the election which is coming up injust a few for the election which is coming up in just a few weeks, and that is all unknown. there is some speculation among investors that it could mean a win for biden because it makes donald trump look weak. in that case, that would mean more taxes on corporate america and that is why investors are slightly pulling out of stock markets and putting their

money into safe havens such as gold and the japanese yen. but there is so and the japanese yen. but there is so much unknown still, and investors, like all of us, i really waiting for more information to come out. katy, thank you very much. just a quick word to say that a german government spokesman has said that angela merkel has also sent her best wishes to president trump and melania trump, hoping they will recover from the coronavirus infection soon. let's recap now on our breaking news for viewers who might be just joining us. president trump has tested positive for coronavirus. he says he is quarantining at the white house. his wife has also tested positive. throughout the pandemic, mr trump, who's 74, has often refused to wear a mask and has attended crowded rallies. with the presidential election a month away, it has thrown the campaign into disarray. let's take a look at the events just before president trump tested positive for covid—19 and how this might impact events leading up

to the presidential election. on tuesday, the first debate between president trump and joe biden took place. his special advisor hope hicks, who has also tested positive, traveled with the campaign. travelled with the campaign. then on wednesday, the trump campaign flew on marine one and air force one to a rally in minnesota. again, hope hicks is with president trump. she falls ill and quarantines on the return journey. on thursday, hope hicks tests positive for coronavirus as president trump travels to newjersey for another fundraiser. donald trump then takes a test along his wife melania. this takes us to today. president trump takes to twitter to announce that he has tested positive for covid—19. he will have to isolate for 10 days even if he shows no symptoms or for 14 days if symptoms develop.

an election rally in florida tonight has been cancelled. on thursday 8th october, the vice—presidential debate is due to take place in utah. there has been no news about whether this will change. the next presidential debate is then set to take place on thursday 15th october in miami, florida. again, there has been no word on whether this key election event will be effected. then the final debate between president trump and joe biden is scheduled to take place on thursday october 22nd in tennessee. this all leads up to tuesday 3rd november. that's election day in the united states. with just a month left to go until polls open across the entire united states, how will donald trump's coronavirus diagnosis hit his chances at re—election? a short while ago, our north america editor, jon sopel, explained how president trump could have contracted the virus.

it is simultaneously astonishing that the president who is so well protected, where testing happens so much, could have contracted the virus, and also not in the least bit surprising, given the ambivalent attitude in the white house towards wearing face masks. you talk about this very close aide and confidante hope hicks having contracted it earlier in the week, there is film of her and four other people walking to the marine 0ne helicopter, that cramped helicopter that takes the president and those people from the white house to andrews air force base. none of them are wearing masks at all and that sort of underlines the problem that you can have all the protection you need but actually if you haven't got the masks mitigating it, then that could be problematic and probably is how it spreads. donald trump is 74 years old. the last full medical report we had said that he was obese. those are two comorbidities

that go with covid. that said, the physician's report i thought was very upbeat in its assessment, although very early days, of course, because it is said that he thinks that the president should be able to continue his work uninterrupted while he recuperates and there is no suggestion there that the president needs to step aside and that they need to invoke article 25 of the constitution for the vice president to temporarily take over. but where this leaves the campaign and, you know, those small questions like that, who knows? earlier, before he tested positive, president trump spoke by phone to fox news about news that his close aide hope hicks had the virus. so, she did test positive, ijust heard about this, she tested positive. she is a hard worker, she wears masks a lot but she tested

positive. it's very hard, when you're with soldiers, when you're with airmen, when you're with the marines, and the police officers, i'm with them so much, and when they come over to you, it's very hard to say, stay back, stay back, it's a tough kind of a situation, it's a terrible thing. you no hope very well, she's fantastic and she's done a greatjob but it's very, very hard when you are with people from the military and law—enforcement and they come to you and they want to hug you and they want to kiss you because we really have done a good job for them. that was president trump speaking just before he got his own positive result back, along with his wife. jordan fabian is the white house correspondant at bloomberg news. he broke the news earlier that hope hicks, trump's aide, had tested positive. he explains what travelling with the president on air force one during the pandemic entails. yeah, reporters generally wear masks all the time when they're at the white house and on air force 0ne.

we're tested every day that we go into the white house or on a trip with the president using those rapid tests that take about 15 minutes to get back. so, they try to do as much as possible to keep us protected and we try to do ourselves as much as possible to keep ourselves protected, but as we've seen, the system isn't foolproof and of course the president and the staff are very much less vigilant about wearing masks and social distancing, and now we're seeing something like a massive, possibly a massive outbreak, happening in the white house. jeremy faust is an emergency medicine doctor and coronavirus specialist at brigham and women's hospital and harvard medical school. he explains what will happen next. the president's physician wrote a memorandum that was circulated this evening in which he said optimistically that he expects the president to continue his duties and to convalesce, to get better.

no—one can know that. we hope that's the case, on a human level, but the next 10—14 days are the most dangerous 10—14 days that the president of the united states has everfaced in his life. he could be doing proverbial cart wheels two weeks from now, or he could be intubated in an intensive care unit. these are going to be extremely tense moments for him and his family, and we all have to sit here and watch that. and it's going to be difficult. he does have several things working against him that we have learned. we've learned so much about this virus in such a short period of time. we know that obesity, which he has, is a risk factor for serious and critical cases. we know that his age is an undeniable risk factor. 90 times more likely to die than a person in their 20s would be. we know that even the male gender is a problem, and there is a little bit of a predisposition there. so there are a lot of reasons where we could say he's

a healthy individual, he's obviously able to do one of the most demanding jobs in the world, and on the flipside of that same coin you could say, and yet there are very important reasons to be concerned. the president has recently attended large indoor gatherings where many of his supporters are not wearing masks. mr trump spoke about wearing face coverings on tuesday during the presidential debate. i mean, i have a mask right here. i'll put the mask on, you know, when i think i need it. tonight is an example, everybody‘s had a test, and you've had social distancing and all of the things that you have to, but i wear masks when needed. when needed, i wear masks. 0k, let me ask... i don't wear a mask like him, every time you see him he's got a mask. he could be speaking 200ft away from me and he shows up with the biggest mask i've ever seen. first lady melania trump posted on twitter following the news that she and the us president had tested positive for coronavirus.

she said... vice—president mike pence tweeted... world leaders have also been tweeting their reaction. russia's president vladimir putin wished donald trump a speedy recovery... the uk's prime minister, borisjohnson, who himself contracted coronavirus earlier this year said...

indian prime minister narendra modi said... and the director—general of the world health organization, dr tedros ghebreyesus. .. borisjohnson has tweeted he hopes president trump and the first lady make a speedy recovery. the uk's prime minister tested positive for coronavirus back in april. earlier our political correspondent leila nathoo reminded us that he was the first world leader to contract covid—19. sending his best wishes for a speedy recovery to both the president and the first lady, but you know, borisjohnson, when he contracted coronavirus, it was a completely different stage of the pandemic, it was back towards the end of march, when he revealed that he had developed symptoms, he had a temperature, a cough,

and he was getting tested. now, obviously, the testing situation back then was completely different as well, so he only got tested once he had developed symptoms, he was isolating in the flat above number 11 downing street. you might remember him posting videos on his social media feeds, reassuring people that he was well and continuing with business. but then, his situation did worsen pretty rapidly. he was admitted to hospital after about ten days or so, and then a few days later, going into intensive care, and it ended up in a situation where the foreign secretary, dominic raab, deputised for him officially when he was in intensive care, and it did look at one point that his situation was a bit touch and go. of course, that all seems a long time ago now, borisjohnson has since made a recovery. but you know, he has talked himself about his weight being a factor in how badly he was affected by coronavirus, he's talked openly about losing

weight since then, so, clearly, perhaps some comparisons could be made there. he is younger than president trump. but you know, it is worth remembering that boris johnson was at that time the first world leader to contract coronavirus at a very different stage in the pandemic, but he was able to continue working initially, but then obviously once he had been admitted to hospital, recovered in chequers i think it was after he was released from hospital and then he was able to return to work gradually. 0bviously president trump at the moment at a very different stage, not showing symptoms yet, but perhaps he was tested, because of the regularity of testing, at a different stage of infection. scott lucas, professor of american studies at the university of birmingham, told us this news doesn't come as a shock to him. i spoke to him earlier. i'm surprised he didn't get it months ago. we have had other white house staff including the wife of his close adviser stephen miller who have tested positive.

including his white house valet. and as your correspondent has noted there, trump has effectively flouted those restrictions that we have lived under in the uk, and in the us, social distancing, mask wearing, other measures to try to contain the virus. he now has got it, i think it raises and elevates that question around effectively his denial and his downplaying of the virus, but it also raises the question of, how widely has it spread? he does have other advisors with whom he is in daily contact. and the question about the us government functioning, let alone the questions of the campaign over the next month, depending on how far this might have spread, well, that is sort of the unknown as we try to process this news. let's try to work through a few of those points. i suppose the immediate question is, has he been in close contact with the vice—president, mike pence? because if president trump was to become ill and incapacitated, wasn't able to carry out the role of president of the united states,

constitutionally, that would fall to the vice—president. so, presumably, we will want to know very quickly what the situation is with mike pence? absolutely right. mike pence is technically head of the coronavirus task force, so you assume he would be briefing trump on that front. mike pence, of course, is campaigning along with the rest of the trump team to try to get a second term. you would assume there might be interaction between them on that level. let me add another one for you, jared kushner, donald trump's son—in—law, of course, is vital in terms of how the administration tries to project its foreign policy. he's been involved in, for example, the agreement between israel, the uae and bahrain to establish relations. how much has trump interacted with kushner, who then in turn has interacted with others on the global stage? i think the one thing we can safely say is that if trump is incapacitated and mike pence is incapacitated, we're relatively safe with the number three, the speaker of the house, nancy pelosi, because one, she's a democrat, and two, donald trump doesn't like her very much. well, yeah, that really would put

the cat amongst the pigeons, so to speak, wouldn't it? and we're a long way from that yet. but let's talk about the election campaign. where does this leave the campaign? because the statements coming out from the white house are saying that the president is continuing with his duties, they're projecting an image of normality, so far as one can in this situation, but the fact remains that this is far from normal and we're four weeks out from the election and donald trump is not going to be able to do the things that he would have been expecting to do or wanting to do? no, let's be honest here, it's disarray. now, the trump campaign may be counting on maybe sympathy for donald trump, which can rally him as he lags in the polls. but donald trump has never really relied on sympathy, as we saw on tuesday night in the debate with the challenger, joe biden, he's relied on being very aggressive, very bullying. and the effect of this, well,

let me tick off three very quickly. first of all, it takes donald trump of the campaign trail off the campaign trail and deprives him of his main tactic, which is those large rallies that he can speak for an hour or 90 minutes with no need to talk about social distancing or wearing masks. two, it makes coronavirus the number one issue again when the trump campaign had been trying to push it aside — let's talk about the supreme court, let's talk about the supposed cultural wars with extremists and anarchists. and thirdly, it deprives the trump campaign of that disinformation tactic, thatjoe biden is physically and mentally unfit to be president. biden actually is in very good physical health for a man of 77. he's in very good mental health. now the focus on health issues turns back on donald trump, especially since we still do not know whether he's asymptomatic or symptomatic with this virus. melissa mackenzie is publisher

of the american spectator magazine in houston in texas. she says president trump will find new ways to connect with american voters well, this is a wily virus and a lot of people who have been everything right have gotten sick and the president is now one of those people. every person who gets within contact with him is tested, and so, this is actually kind of remarkable, that even with all of the testing of the people around him, that he has still managed somehow to get the virus. but this is a tricky virus, and he'sjust virus. but this is a tricky virus, and he's just one virus. but this is a tricky virus, and he'sjust one more victim of its. he hasn't been doing everything right, though, has he? he's been in large crowds without social distancing, without wearing a mask. these are the basic things that we are told to do to try to protect ourselves from that virus? well, it may look like he's close to people in these crowds, but that mightjust bea in these crowds, but that mightjust be a trick of photography, because he's not actually been in close contact, if you will notice, at the rallies. he's not shaking hands with

people, hugging them, getting close. and so he's been doing his part in these situations to stay distanced. it'sjust one of these situations to stay distanced. it's just one of those things, these situations to stay distanced. it'sjust one of those things, it's a difficult virus. i think there we re a difficult virus. i think there were shots of him getting on board marine 0ne were shots of him getting on board marine one with hope hicks and others in the last few days, all very close together, clearly there is not a huge amount of space in a helicopter, none of them wearing masks. so, that is one example of where people have been close together without wearing masks and the president in their company. but what do you think, melissa, what bearing do you think this is going to have on the remaining weeks of the election campaign? well, there is no question this is crunch time for the campaign. i think it is going to shift things. i think of fdr and his fireside chats, and the american people will connect with the president in a different way. the president will now have the experience of so many people in

america right now, who are distanced and having zoom meetings, and i suspect that the president is going to find ways to connect with the american people in the same way the re st of american people in the same way the rest of the world is connecting, via computer, google hangout or however it works, he will find a way. laurie laird is an american politics commentator, she explained that in the past the president has been quite relaxed about the risk of catching the virus. well, i think like so many of your guests, this comes as a shock, but not a surprise. we know that donald trump is not often wearing a mask, andi trump is not often wearing a mask, and i was watching his nomination of amy coney barrett last weekend, in the rose garden at the white house — nobody had a mask on. it harked back to earlier days, pre—covid days. he didn't have a mask, judge barrett didn't have a mask, judge barrett didn't have a mask, judge barrett didn't have a mask, none of the assembled guests had a mask. we know donald trump doesn't like to wear a

mask, we know that he's mocked joe biden for wearing a mask. he has questioned his masculinity. so it isn't all that surprising. i think there are a couple of big questions, though. 0ne there are a couple of big questions, though. one is, how sick windle donald trump get? many of your guests donald trump get? many of your gu ests have donald trump get? many of your guests have mentioned that he is in a high—risk area, he is clinically obese, he is over the age of 70 and it is sort of ironic, donald trump has mocked joe biden for so elderly, donald trump is only three years younger. he is in a high—risk area. we know that his covid was caught very quickly, he is probably one of the most tested men in the world, could his condition deteriorate? that is a very big question. the other question is, who has he been in contact with? the president is in contact with so many people during the course of a day and that means economic advisers, national security advisers, campaign advisers. it is not unlikely or impossible that so many aides from so many different places could be affected, and that

could include people involved in the nomination process ofjudge barrett, people involved in coming up with a stimulus plan on the economic side. so how widely spread through the west wing, through the white house, could, corona be? you're watching bbc news. and today, the news continuing to be dominated by the news that president trump and milani have both tested positive for coronavirus. we do not know, although his personal doctor has said that he is well, whether the president is suffering from any symptoms. we will have much more coming up, but first, the weather, with sarah keith—lucas. hello. the weather is set to bring us some disruption at times over the next few days. today, we've got storm alex in the south with some wet and windy weather but, at times, as we head to the next couple of days into the weekend,

we are all going to see some spells of heavy rain fall at times. there is a chance that there could be some disruption to travel and transport, some flooding possible as well as strong winds, strong enough to bring down the odd small tree or two, with some big waves around the coast as well. now, storm alex today is mainly affecting the southern half of the uk. the strongest of the winds associated with the storm are across the north—west of france but we could see gusts around about 50 to 60mph quite widely along the south coast, 70mph or more down towards the channel isles too with some heavy downpours here and an area of rain just moving its way northwards into the midlands and north wales, followed by some brighter skies and scattered showers from the south. but it is a very different day the northern half of the uk. it was quite a cold start to the day, we've had fog patches around, one or two showers here there through parts of northern ireland, western scotland, also quite showery and breezy for the northern isles as well, but for the rest of scotland into northern england, northern ireland, you should stay predominantly dry with some sunshine. that rain edging into northern england for the likes of liverpool later on this afternoon. temperatures out there

today 12 to 15 celsius, feeling colder with the wind and the rain in the south. through this evening and overnight, we see more of that rain piling in on a brisk easterly breeze across much of england and wales and eastern scotland too. western scotland and northern ireland, clearer skies so it is here that the temperatures will fall lowest, down into single figures, but elsewhere further south and east it is a mild, wet and windy start to the day on saturday. that is the way it looks through the day. lots more heavy, persistent rain tracking its way further westwards across england and wales, combined with gales or severe gales down towards the south—west, persistent rain to the east of the pennines, for eastern parts of highland scotland as well, there could be some flooding issues around. it will brighten up towards the south—east, 16 celsius or so in norwich and northern ireland, mostly dry on saturday. sunday, low—pressure sits right across the british isles and we will see heavy showers rotating around that area of low pressure. gales particularly around the periphery of the uk and it will be a day of sunshine and blustery showers.

goodbye for now.

this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. us president donald trump and the first lady melania test positive for coronavirus and go into quarantine. announcing the test results on twitter the president says he and the first lady "will get through this together". it comes after his one of his closest aides — hope hicks — tested positive for coronavirus — the pair have taken several trips together in the past week world markets slump on the news with the dow futures index down — due to uncertainty about the operation of the us administration. we'll be looking at what all this means for the election campaign — as the president is confined to the white house.

hello, and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. stay with us for the latest news and analysis from here and across the globe. we start with the story in the us. donald trump has said he and his wife, melania, have tested positive for coronavirus and have begun a period of quarantine. they were both tested after one of mr trump's most senior advisers hope hicks found out she had the virus. the white house doctor has said both the president and the first lady are well and that mr trump will continue to carry out his duties while he self—isolates. president trump confirmed the news on twitter saying that he and the first lady "will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately" — and that they "will get

through this together." this is the scene live in washington dc where the president is confined to the white house — with just a month to go till the us presidential election. let's speak to our north america correspondent david willis. this news broke in the middle of the night us time, extraordinary developments, any update on the state of health of the president and first lady? it is 6am east coast time, america is waking up to this astonishing news. all we as the ignition of president trump is concerned is the statement from his personal physician sean conley who says both he and the first lady are doing well and plan to remain at the white

house during their convalescence. he went on to say, i expect the president to continue carrying out his duties while recovering. but what we do not know is whether the president is exhibiting any symptoms of coronavirus. this raises a heap of coronavirus. this raises a heap of questions not least about who will run the country should the president develop symptoms. and indeed what this will mean for the future of the presidential campaign which has 33 days to run. the president will not be able to participate in that an campaign in the way he has been used to doing, to those large gatherings. very little in the way of social distancing or mask wearing. he will probably have to content himself for the next couple of weeks at the very least with campaigning from the

white house under quarantine. that will mean his presence in the second presidential debate which is two weeks away is very much in doubt. and of course the vice presidential debate which should take place next wednesday could be in doubt if mike pence who has been around hope hicks or president trump himself. so many questions raised. have we heard from the democrat leadership and does this mean they would have to suspend campaigning with both sides trying to honour some agreement where they both campaign online while the president is fit and able? we do not know. we have no word so farfrom we do not know. we have no word so far from the we do not know. we have no word so farfrom thejoe we do not know. we have no word so far from the joe biden we do not know. we have no word so farfrom thejoe biden campaign. what we do not know is how close the president got to joe what we do not know is how close the president got tojoe biden during that kievan debate on tuesday night.

we know they kept social distancing while the debate itself was under way back behind the scenes, before and after that debate, how close did they become and willjoe biden now be tested for coronavirus? he is tested routinely every week we are told but there will of course be those who say due to contact tracing and so on, that he and many of the president's closest advisers who have come into contact with him and hope hicks in the last week should now be tested to see if they also the coronavirus. this will inevitably raise questions, if campaigning has to halt, whether it will throw into question the legitimacy about the ultimate poll in november. the polls are open, people are voting. absolutely, they are, and coronavirus was a subject president

trump had hoped to steer the campaign away from and on other matters, for example, his pick for the vacant post in the supreme court, amy coney barrett. but it has come back to bite him if you like and is very close to home. it is in the white house. this is a virus that has killed more than 200,000 americans, 7 million people here have contracted it. president trump has been criticised of course for those open—air rallies, for his dismissal of mask wearing, he had a go atjoe biden about that during the debate on tuesday night. he wa nted the debate on tuesday night. he wanted to steer the campaign away from the issue of coronavirus, but now it is front and centre of the 2020 presidential campaign. we have seen well—wishers coming in globally from international leaders and from critics within the us of

the president, everyone wishing him and his wife the best in terms of getting better. we don't know whether they have any real symptoms yet. but politically, there will be a lot of questions about white house staff and how leadership will be able to function. lots of people will need extra testing. absolutely. this will go on and move out to people who had been in contact, press people, for example, those peripherally involved with the white house over the last week or even longer. and what sort of condition they are in. it raises a lot of questions. we know stephen bela, presidential adviser, and donald trump's family, donald junior, eric and ivanka, have been in contact with him, questions about

their health. the same for the senate majority leader mitch mcconnell, and amy coney barrett, she was in contact with the president a few days ago. david willis, thank you. dr clare gerada is the former chair of the royal college of gps. we talked to her months ago when she had the virus herself and shejoins me now. thank you for your time. i hope you have recovered from the virus myself. i have. it took me longer than i imagined, about four months to fully get over the symptoms but yes i am fully recovered, thank you. the president is 74, described as being clinically obese according to data released about his health. how much at risk does that put him statistically? statistically he is at more risk. he is also male so being a man, being

obese, being over 75, is also male so being a man, being obese, being over75, in is also male so being a man, being obese, being over 75, in your 70s, put you —— put you at a much higher risk and someone in your 20s, at higher risk of being in hospital, needing ventilation and sadly of death. statistics are bandied about and sometimes it is difficult to put a context but the closest i can give you is he has a one in 25 chance of being quite seriously unwell but you have to put that in context. he also has a 24 out of 25 chance of pulling through this which i really hope he does. he will have top acute medical attention, how much will that play a pa rt attention, how much will that play a part and the fact we know a bit more about how to treat this? it is not so much he will have the top doctors, we have in this country. it is that we know much better how to treat it. to use steroid medication, we also knew ventilating people, that isn't

necessarily the best way of managing patients who are very sick. we also know who is more at risk, what if any antibiotics are required. we are ina much any antibiotics are required. we are in a much better place than we were backin in a much better place than we were back in march. nevertheless what hasn't changed is the risk factors. he is obese, if you measure his bmi, you just have to look at him. he is well, and in an at risk age group. important to point out it affects eve ryo ne important to point out it affects everyone differently. my father in his 80s had this virus at the same time as my son in his teens and my son was much more unwell. we have seen son was much more unwell. we have seen donald trump full of energy. absolutely. he plays golf every week. speaking to a friend of mine, week. speaking to a friend of mine, we both got it at the same time in

new york. he is 75. i was really unwell. he didn't even know he had it until later on when he got tested. it does affect people differently. 0n tested. it does affect people differently. on a population level the older you are, fatter you are, the older you are, fatter you are, the more likely you are to have a more serious outcome and there are other factors such as uncontrolled diabetes, heart disease and other factors which i do not think are releva nt to factors which i do not think are relevant to mr trump. is it the case you may not be very ill immediately, it can be if you days before we know whether the president and his wife are through high risk stages. yes, people say it is about day five that you start to get better or sadly not get better and might require more intensive treatment. the early stages can be very mild, mine were, i didn't even know i had it until one and a half days into

the illness. i am not sure the visit is how you feel on day one in terms of how you will get through this. i think his doctors will be keeping a close eye on him to see whether he requires more intensive treatment then maybe he is getting. we saw with boris johnson, then maybe he is getting. we saw with borisjohnson, he initially we were told was working from downing street, communicating virtually, initially. is that something any doctor would recommend the president should be doing or is it better to rest and take time out? in retrospect i am sure he wishes he had taken some time out because no matter whether he is the president of the united states or the prime minister of britain, the fact is that the illness does not discriminate between your status and it does leave you really washed out. i have tried to work, when i was not fully fit, on meetings, and i wish i had practised what i preached and

taken a few weeks off to recuperate. at its worst, how difficult was it for you? i wasn't welcome it was, i describe it as the worst full —— worst flu i had ever had but at no time did i think i would die. i wished the temperature would go down, i wished i felt better. it is not a nice illness. i am i felt better. it is not a nice illness. iam in i felt better. it is not a nice illness. i am in my 60s. if you are younger, i know from the figures, younger, i know from the figures, you would probably have a milder disease. glad you are better, thank you for helping us with that. before his positive test for covid, president trump spoke to fox news about his close aide hope hicks's own positive test. we can listen to what he had to say. she did test positive, ijust heard about this,

she tested positive. she is a hard worker, a lot of masks, she wears masks a lot, but she tested positive. it is very hard when you are with soldiers, when you are with air men, when you are with marines, the police officers, with them so much, and when they come over to you, it is very hard to say, "stay back,", it is a tough situation. you know hope very well, she is fantastic and has done a greatjob. but it is very hard when you are with people from the military or from law enforcement and they come over to you, they want to hug you and kiss you, because we really have done a good job for them. earlier keith neal, emeritus professor in the epidemiology of infectious diseases at the university of nottingham, told us more about how president trump may respond to the virus. at the moment we don't have any specific antiviral treatments and

remdesivir only shortens your stay in hospital. we do have another treatment which reduces the mortality rate by a third. the old figures give someone in their 70s a mortality risk of around 8%. he is at high risk for being a man but given how he is probably a fit healthy 74—year—old compared to many and also the main factor is obesity which also increases his risk, i thinkjust which also increases his risk, i think just because he which also increases his risk, i thinkjust because he has been tested early in the illness and found positive it can actually, you can actually be unwell for a week or two before you become seriously ill. and if he is tested quite early on in the illness as part of a routine test, we do know small numbers of people are actually asymptomatic totally a nd people are actually asymptomatic totally and they would have a good prognosis. we will know more in a week prognosis. we will know more in a wee k exa ctly prognosis. we will know more in a week exactly how the disease has paid out.

let's take a look at the events just before president trump tested positive for covid—19 and how this might impact events leading up to the presidential election. on tuesday the first debate between president trump and joe biden took place. world leaders have also been reacting to the news. russia's president vladimir putin wished donald trump a speedy recovery — saying: "i am convinced that your vitality, good spirits and optimism will help you cope with this dangerous virus." the uk's prime minister, boris johnson, who himself contracted coronavirus earlier this year, has tweeted, saying he sends his "best wishes to president trump and the first lady."

spokesman for german chancellor angela merkel has sent her best wishes. she's quoted in a tweet as saying — "i hope that they recover well from their coronavirus infection and are soon completely healthy again." indian prime minister narendra modi tweeted: "wishing my friend president trump and the first lady a quick recovery and good health." and the director—general of the world health organization, dr tedros ghebreyesus, has given his "best wishes to the president and the first lady for a full and speedy recovery." the nato secretary—general has wished a speedy recovery to president trump in the last few minutes as well. good wishes coming in internationally from many world leaders regardless of politics. and internally within the us even from critics of the president, everyone wanting good health for the

president and his wife. let's take a look at the events just before president trump tested positive for covid—19 and how this might impact events leading up to the presidential election. on tuesday the first debate between president trump and joe biden took place. his special adviser hope hicks — who has also tested positive — travelled with the campaign. then on wednesday the trump campaign flew on marine one and air force one to a rally in minnesota. again hope hicks is with president trump. she falls ill and quarantines on the return journey. on thursday hope hicks tests positive for coronavirus as president trump travels to newjersey for another fundraiser. donald trump then takes a test along with his wife melania. this takes us to today. president trump announces on twitter that he has tested positive for covid—19. he will have to isolate for ten days — even if he shows no symptoms — or for 14 days if symptoms develop. an election rally in florida

tonight has been cancelled. on thursday 8th october the vice presedential debate is due to take place in utah. there has been no news about whether this will change. the next presidential debate is due to take place on thursday 15 october in miami in florida. again there has been no word on whether this key election event will be affected. then the final debate between president trump and joe biden is scheduled to take place on thursday october 22nd in tennessee. this all leads up to tuesday 3rd november. that's election day in the united states. with just a month left to go until polls open across the entire united states how will donald trump's coronavirus diagnosis hit his chances at re—relection. a short while ago, our north america editorjon sopel explained how president trump could have contracted the virus. well, it's simultaneously astonishing that the president, who is so well protected,

where testing happens so much, could have contracted the virus, and also not in the least bit surprising given the ambivalent attitude in the white house towards wearing face masks. you talk about this very close aide and confidante, hope hicks, having contracted it earlier in the week, there is a film of her and four other people walking to the marine 0ne helicopter, that cramped helicopter that takes the president and those people from the white house to andrews air force base, none of them are wearing masks. at all. and that underlines the problem, you can have all the protection you need but actually, if you haven't got the masks mitigating it, that could be problematic and probably is how it spread. donald trump is 74—years—old. the last full medical report we had says that he was obese, those are two comorbidities that go with covid.

that said, the physician's report i thought was upbeat in its assessment although it's very early days, of course, it said he thinks the president should be able to continue his work uninterrupted while he recuperates. and so, no suggestion that the president needs to step aside and they need to invoke article 25 of the constitution, for the vice president to temporarily take over but you know, where this leaves the campaign and small questions like that, who knows? so what impact is news of president trump's positive test had on the world's stock markets? us stock markets have indicated that shares will open sharply lower after the news broke. stock market futures showed that all three of america's main indexes — the dowjones, the s&p 500 and the nasdaq — are set to drop by at least 1.5% each when trading begins. let's get more now from our business

correspondent theo leggett. what can you tell us? at the moment i would say there is a shiver running through the share markets in europe. if you look at the ftse 100 europe. if you look at the ftse100 index, that is down a little over 196, is in index, that is down a little over 1%, is in frankfurt, and in paris. what investors here are looking at is what does this mean? the problem is what does this mean? the problem is nobody really knows how serious donald trump's condition is, what it could mean in terms of the daily running of the white house, or what it means in terms of the election. when the us markets opened we will see that amplified because, obviously, there is more of a local effect. the signs are as you pointed out from premarket trading that the main indexes, they will all open

sharply down. i have to say a little bit of caution here, what we are seeing is likely to be a significant fall at the start, 1.5%, these are significant but not huge. no sign of panic, just a worry there is uncertainty and during times of uncertainty, people tend to turn away from equities and look for safer places to put their money. at the moment there is a nervousness. people do not know what to expect and that is reducing the appetite for shares. we do not know where this is going and investors do not know either. president trump had wanted to make the economy a key theme for the election, this is an uncertain time now leading up to the vote in november. absolutely. 0ne november. absolutely. one piece of data we are due to get out today is what they call being non—farm payrolls,

monthly employment figures, expected to show a reasonably substantial rise in the number of people employed in the us. that would have been expected to give the markets a boost. but there is talk of a $2.2 trillion stimulus programme in the us which has hit a new hick ups. a bill was passed in the house of representatives but without republican support which means it is not certain whether that bill in its current form can make it into law. all these factors which we would normally expect to focus attention on. now attention has moved away from these nuts and bolts economics, towards what is happening in the white house and where does the president barack 0bama honestly the us at this critical point. —— the president's illness leave the us.

another person wishing him a speedy recovery is sarah elliott, who is chair of the republicans 0verseens uk group who told us what she believes this means for the upcoming election. i wish him a fast recovery. i think he is actually in robust health. his staffers have come out and said as much. if you listen, he has as you said the best medical care in the world. i think he will recover. he is now going into quarantine with the first lady for ten days so the campaign is going to a halt. but then again, i think it will pick right back up where it left off. now president trump has a personal experience and a connection to covid, and the american people mayjust look at him sympathetically and feel like, "wow, he can now personally feel our pain.". i think actually there will be sympathy from the american people because generally the american people are kind—hearted, and they want to see the president

of their country succeed. unfortunately there are people on the left who are gleefully relishing in this and they are hoping the worst with the president. but i do not think that is going to happen. people are talking about the 25th amendment and will mike pence take over? i think that is ridiculous and too soon. i think he will recover, will get back to normal but it is at a critical time. every day matters in this campaign right now. so it will be interesting to see the polling. but he is the comeback kid. he likes a challenge, he likes to prove people wrong and i think this is another challenge in which he will do so. because of our constitution we know what is going to happen, and we do know a vice president would take over in a situation like that. but it also brings up a really curious point about vp candidates. there might be more scrutiny on kamala harris and her role and her possibility of her becoming president prematurely should something happen to the vice president

and they get elected. this may actually have a negative effect for the biden campaign because kamala harris is universally not very popular across the country. despite now contracting covid—19 the president has faced criticisim for not taking the virus seriously enough. a little earlier we heard from one of his critics, john scardino from democrats abroad. i think as a democrat and american i would wish the president well, i wish him a speedy recovery. i would not wish this virus on anybody. some of the effects are long—term neurological effects that are a bit unpredictable. i think what we are seeing is that many people react differently to the virus. and i truly wish him well. having said that, he has been saying now, and i

was listening to your republican guest a minute ago, he has not treated this very seriously. the country has been in a crisis from the very beginning he was on record saying he was playing it down. as re ce ntly saying he was playing it down. as recently as last week he was at a fundraising dinner where he was saying the virus is behind us, we are over the saying the virus is behind us, we are overthe hump. saying the virus is behind us, we are over the hump. america saying the virus is behind us, we are overthe hump. america has saying the virus is behind us, we are over the hump. america has got 40,000 new cases of infection a day. compare that to the uk with 7000 and you see the dramatic measures being taken here in the uk. i do not see how the president could possibly say that the virus, this crisis is behind us, and i think that his illness if that is what it is, is going to make his statements very empty that the virus is behind us. jordan fabian is the white house correspondent at bloomberg news —

he broke the news earlier that hope hicks, trump's aide, had tested positive. he explains what travelling with the president on air force during the pandemic entails. reporters generally wear masks all the time when they are at the white house and on air force one. we are tested every day that we go into the white house for a trip with the president using those rapid tests that take about 15 minutes to get back. so they're trying to do as much as possible to keep us protected and we try to do as much as possible to keep ourselves protected. but as we have seen, the system isn't full—proof and of course the president and staff are very much less vigilant about wearing masks and social distancing and now we are seeing something like a massive, possibly a massive outbreak happening in the white house.

us president donald trump and the first lady melania test positive for coronavirus and go into quarantine. announcing the test results on twitter the president says he and the first lady "will get through this together" it comes after his one of his closest aides — hope hicks — tested positive for coronavirus — the pair have taken several trips together in the past week world markets slump on the news with the dow futures index down due to uncertainty about the operation of the us administration. let's recap on our breaking news for viewers who might bejustjoining us — president trump has tested positive for coronavirus. he says he is quarantining at the white house. his wife has also tested positive. throughout the pandemic, mr trump, who's 74, has often refused to wear a mask and has attended crowded rallies.

with the presidential election a month away, it's thrown the campaign into disarray. peter bowes has more. so sorry, we might havejust so sorry, we might have just lost that peace. we will try to come back to that, if we can. melissa mackenzie is publisher of the american spectator magazine in houston in texas. she says president trump will find new ways to connect with american voters over these last few weeks of the presidential election campaign. well, this is a wily virus and a lot of people who have been doing everything right have gotten sick, and the president is now one of those people. every person who gets within contact with him is tested, and so this is actually kind of remarkable, that even with all of the testing of the people around him that he has still managed somehow to get the virus. but this is a tricky

virus and he isjust get the virus. but this is a tricky virus and he is just one get the virus. but this is a tricky virus and he isjust one more get the virus. but this is a tricky virus and he is just one more victim of it. he has not been doing everything right, though, has he? he has been in large crowds without social distancing, without wearing a mask. these are the basic things we are told to do to protect ourselves from the virus. well, it may look like he is close to people in these crowds but that mightjust be a trick of photography, because he is not actually been in close contract to make contact. if you noticed, at the rallies, he is not shaking hands, hugging them, getting close. he has been doing his part in these situations to stay distanced. it is just one of those things. it is a difficult virus. i think there were shots of him getting on board marine one with hope hicks and others in the last few days, all very close together. clearly there is not a huge amount of space in a helicopter, compared to air force one. none of them wearing masks. that is one example of where people

have been close together without wearing masks and the president in their company. what do you think, melissa, what pairing do you think this will have on the remaining weeks of the election campaign? well, there is no question this is crunch time for the campaign. i think it is going to shift things. i think it is going to shift things. i think of fdr and his fireside chats, and the american people will connect with the president in a different way. the president will now have the experience of so many people in america right now, who are distanced and having zoom meetings, and i suspect the president will find ways to connect with the american people in the same with the rest of the world is connecting, through computer, google, however it works. you will find a way. —— he will find a way. let's just bring you that report no.

he bombed show like no other, a month before the presidential election, donald trump and his wife melania, the first lady, have tested positive for coronavirus. it follows news that one of his closest advisers, hope hicks, has the disease. she experienced symptoms of disease. she experienced symptoms of disease might well accompanying the president at a rally in minnesota. she was quarantine on the presidential plane back to washington. earlier in the week, she travelled to cleveland in ohio with mrtrumpforthe travelled to cleveland in ohio with mr trump for the presidential debate. she was seen arriving with his team not wearing a mask. the president confirmed his diagnosis in a tweet. the first lady later tweeted that they were both feeling good. the president because my doctor said both were well at this time and planned to remain at home within the white house during their

co nvalescence. white house during their convalescence. rest assured, i expect the president to continue carrying out his duties without disruption well recovering. the late—night announcement has sent shock waves throughout america and the world. days after a heated debate with his democratic opponent, joe biden, mr trump is now confined to the white house for an indefinite period. he has cancelled a rally scheduled for tonight in florida. the coronavirus has long been the central issue in the presidential election campaign, with the democrats accusing mr trump of failing to alert the nation to the severity of the disease, and for ignoring the advice of his medical experts. the virus has killed more than 200,000 americans, and multiple states are experiencing a surge in cases. for months, mrtrump states are experiencing a surge in cases. for months, mr trump has been belittling joe biden for isolating himself at home in his basement and for wearing a mask during his public appearances. i don't wear a mask like him. every time you see him, he's got a mask. he could be

speaking 200 feet away from me and he shows up with the biggest mask i've ever seen. the us vice president, mike pence, who would ta ke president, mike pence, who would take over from donald trump president, mike pence, who would take overfrom donald trump if president, mike pence, who would take over from donald trump if he became too ill to carry out his duties has tweeted his love and prayers to the president and his wife. election law in the us means the country will go to the polls on november the 3rd, but what happens between now and then is far from clear. they talk about the october surprise in american politics, but this is uncharted territory. laurie laird is an american politics commentator and economistjournalist. she explained that in the past the president has been quite relaxed about the risk of catching the virus. well, i think, well, ithink, like well, i think, like so many of your guests, this comes as a shock but not a surprise. we know that donald trump is not often wearing a mask andi trump is not often wearing a mask and i was watching his nomination

last weekend in the rose garden at the white house, nobody had a mask on. it harked back to earlier days, pre—covid—19 days, he did not have a mask, judge barrett did not have a mask, judge barrett did not have a mask, none of the assembled guests had a mask. we know donald trump does not like to wear a mask, that he has mocked joe biden for wearing one, questioned his masculinity. it is not all that surprising. there area is not all that surprising. there are a couple of big questions though. one is how sick will donald trump get? many of your guests have mentioned he is a high risk area, clinically obese, over the age of 70, and it is sort of ironic, donald trump has mocked joe biden for being so trump has mocked joe biden for being so elderly. donald trump is only three years younger thanjoe biden. we know that it was caught very quickly, he is probably one of the most tested men in the world. could his condition deteriorate? that is a very big question. the other

question is, who has he been in contact with? the president is in contact with? the president is in contact with? the president is in contact with so many people during the course of the day. economic advisers, national security advisers, national security advisers, campaign advisers. it is not unlikely or impossible that so many aides from so many different bits of government, it could include people involved in the nomination process ofjudge people involved in the nomination process of judge barrett. people involved in the nomination process ofjudge barrett. the people involved in coming up with the stimulus plan. how widely spread through the west wing, through the white house could coronavirus be? so what impact is news of president trump's positive test had on the world's stock markets? us stock markets have indicated that shares will open sharply lower after the news broke. stock market futures showed that all three of america's main indexes — the dowjones, the s&p 500 and the nasdaq — are set to drop by at least 1.5% each when trading begins. joining me from west sussex in southern england is michael hewson, chief market analyst at cmc markets. can you tell us a bit more about

what european markets are doing? they are sharply lower. it is really no surprise, the health of us presidents has always been an issue for markets. you have only got to go back to when reagan was shot in the 19805, back to when reagan was shot in the 1980s, and when george bush senior fell ill at a japanese banquet, markets fell quite sharply in the aftermath of that and this is no different. what a slightly different about this, though, is the fact that it is coming at a time of enormous political uncertainty, off the back ofa political uncertainty, off the back of a debate where the president did not really perform that well. the democrats are leading in the polls and politicians in the us cannot agree on a new stimulus package. and politicians in the us cannot agree on a new stimulus packagem terms of investors, obviously we know that the next few days and weeks now are going to be an extra political roller—coasters on top of what was already expected. what will that mean? how are you expecting that mean? how are you expecting that to play out? i am expecting an

awful lot more volatility. you talked about an october surprise. one of the things for financial markets is increased volatility. this is another catalyst, potentially blowing a massive hole in president trump's re election campaign. he is a very big campaigner, likes to go on the road. he is very strident. the debates that were scheduled for next week, the vice presidential debates between mike pence and vice presidential nominee kamala harris may well not to take place. and the debate on the 15th of october between president trump and joe biden may not take place. this is a big blow for the president, and i think it is going to be very difficult for him to get his election campaign back on track.” mean, we do not know yet at all, we have not heard anything on whether these debates are going to be held or not. they could of course be held online. just more broadly, the economy has been one of donald trump's de themes. he wanted to show his success rate there. how much

does the market volatility affect the economy story, assuming that the trump campaign does eventually get back up and running fully? not so much, really. ithink back up and running fully? not so much, really. i think an awful lot of focus will be on this afternoon's us employment report for september. if that is a good one, president trump will be able to point to the fa ct trump will be able to point to the fact that the us economy is recovering from its covid—19 shock. the downside is it takes the pressure of us politicians from arriving at the stimulus package. with the election only 30 days away, the window for that is closing very rapidly and i think that is one of the reasons why the markets are as wea k the reasons why the markets are as weak as they are. the diagnosis of president trump was reallyjust another factor mitigating in the pessimism of markets in general at the moment, in the face of rising infection rates across europe and in the us as well. ok, many thanks. jeremy faust is an emergency medicine doctor and coronavirus specialist at brigham and women's hospital in boston. he explains what will happen next.

the president's physician wrote a memorandum which was secular to this evening, in which he said optimistically that he expected the president to continue his duties and to convalesce, president to continue his duties and to co nvalesce, to president to continue his duties and to convalesce, to get better. nobody can know that. on a human level, we hope that is the case but in the next ten to 14 days, these are the most dangerous ten to 14 days that the president of the united states has ever faced in the president of the united states has everfaced in his the president of the united states has ever faced in his life. the president of the united states has everfaced in his life. he could be doing proverbial cart wheels two weeks from now or he could be intubated in an intensive care unit. these are going to be extremely tense moments for him and his family, and we all have to sit here and watch that. it is going to be difficult. he does have several things working against him that we have learned. we have learned so much about this virus in such a short period of time. we know that obesity, which he has, is a risk factor for serious

obesity, which he has, is a risk factorfor serious and obesity, which he has, is a risk factor for serious and critical cases. we know that his age is an undeniable risk factor. 90 times more likely to die than a person in their 20s would be. we know that even the male gender is a problem. there is a little bit of a predisposition there. so there are a lot of reasons why we could say he isa lot of reasons why we could say he is a healthy individual, obviously able to do one of the most demanding jobs in the world, and on the flip of that same coin you could say and yet there are very important reasons to be concerned. and of course, we in the uk followed boris johnson's health and of course, we in the uk followed borisjohnson's health with those same roller—coaster of changes. the nation really watching very closely what happened with borisjohnson's health and no doubt the us will go through a similar thing in the next few hours and days. the president has recently attended large indoor gatherings where many of his supporters are not wearing masks. mr trump spoke about wearing face coverings on tuesday during the presidential debate.

imean, i i mean, i have a mass grave here. i put a mask on when i think i need it. tonight is an example, everybody has had a taste and you have had social distancing and all of these things, but i wear a mask when needed. let me ask... i do not wear masks like him. every time you see him, he's got a mask. you could be speaking 200 feet away and he shows up speaking 200 feet away and he shows up with the biggest mass give ever seen. professor kimberly nalder of california state university director of the project for an informed electorate spoke to my colleague annita mcveigh and explained that the president may have to continue to campaign for the election from the white house, which as a federal building isn't meant to be used for political campaigning. i think it seems reasonable. i don't think he is going to, you know, be brought up on charges and taken to

court over it. it is very understandable. in fact, court over it. it is very understandable. infact, it court over it. it is very understandable. in fact, it is advisable. we would certainly prefer that he do that instead of go out like he was planning to, in person, bringing lots of people together, exposing more people to this virus, potentially. and what bearing do you think he is contracting the virus is going to have on the vote, these remaining few weeks? frankly, how would it play out if he either remains well or if he was to become ill? well, one of the things that he has is a mean appeal for people ill? well, one of the things that he has is a mean appealfor people is this kind of brash, combative, strong man style. if he appears weak, if he appears sick and, especially if he gets intubated or is on especially if he gets intubated or isona especially if he gets intubated or is on a ventilator, that would really undercut that image of him, evenif really undercut that image of him, even if it is subconscious for people. so that would be a big concern for him, if he did get especially sick. if he is well, i imagine that he will say, see, it is

not that big of a deal. it will reinforce that message that he has been pushing. let's take a look at the events just before president trump tested positive for covid—19 and how this might impact events leading up to the presidential election. on tuesday the first debate between president trump and joe biden took place. his special advisor hope hicks — who has also tested positive — traveled with the campaign. then on wednesday, the trump campaign flew on marine one and air force one to a rally in minnesota. again, hope hicks is with president trump. she falls ill and quarantines on the return journey. on thursday, hope hicks tests positive for coronavirus as president trump travels to newjersey for another fundraiser. donald trump then takes a test along his wife. president trump announces on twitter that he has tested positive for covid—19. he will have to isolate for 10 days — even if he shows no symptoms — or for 14 days if symptoms develop.

an election rally in florida tonight has been cancelled. on thursday 8 october the vice presedential debate is due to take place in utah. there has been no news about whether this will change. the next presidential debate is due to take place on thursday 15 october in miami in florida. again, there has been no word on whether this key election event will be effected. then the final debate between president trump and joe biden is scheduled to take place on thursday ctober 22nd in tennessee. this all leads up to tuesday 3 november. that's election day in the united states. with just a month left to go until polls open across the entire united states how will donald trump's coronavirus diagnosis hit his chances at re—relection? eric ham, a political analyst in washington, looks at the affect the infection

may have on donald trump's presidency. politically, there is nothing good about what we are hearing about the president's prognosis at this point. this is a president who has tried at every turn and every opportunity to dismiss this virus. the president even dismiss this virus. the president eve n we nt dismiss this virus. the president even went so far dismiss this virus. the president even went so far as dismiss this virus. the president even went so far as to say that if you take out those who have died from this virus in blue states, the united states would be doing very well. almost to dismiss the fact that so many people have died. again, we have heard from the president's own recordings that he knew that this virus early on was as deadly as it is. simply did not do enough. of course, the president's approval rating on the virus has been very, very low. in fact, one of the reason is perhaps whyjoe biden, the reason is perhaps whyjoe biden, the former vice president, is doing so the former vice president, is doing so well is because millions of americans believe this administration simply has not done enough to combat this virus, and now

we see the president's own cavalier response to the virus catching up to him. the question becomes, will it catch up to him to the point where we see him lose his presidency as a result? let's look at how this story unfolded, the first lady melania trump posted on twitter following the news that she and the us president had tested positive for coronavirus. vice president mike pence tweeted... world leaders have also been

reacting to the news. pardon me. world leaders have also been reacting to the news. obviously i think we all want to send our best wishes to the president and first lady. i have done that this morning, as you can imagine. iam done that this morning, as you can imagine. i am sure that they will both stage... was meant boris johnson they are reacting very briefly in an interview with us on president trump a's situation. boris johnson himself went through a very difficult time with covid—19 at the start of the pandemic, pretty much. our political correspondent is at westminster. we had a very brief word there from borisjohnson. of course, we are getting tributes right around the world for the president. good wishes, messages of

hope and recovery for the president and his wife. what do you think the thoughts are going to be in particular of the british government as they watch this unfold? well, borisjohnson clearly as they watch this unfold? well, boris johnson clearly speaking from experience, having contracted coronavirus very early on in the pandemic. you will remember, it was back at the end of march that he came down with coronavirus symptoms. the situation then was very different. testing was nowhere near as widespread as it is now, so he was only tested when he developed symptoms. remember, it took more thana week symptoms. remember, it took more than a week or so for him to then be admitted to hospital. so, his trajectory was one of a deterioration in his condition. he had started off still working from downing street, still being in charge, carrying out government business, but while isolating in downing street. then, he was transferred to hospital and a few days later went into intensive care. it reached the stage, if people can

remember that far, when his foreign secretary, dominic rod, actually deputised for him when the situation looked very touch and go. of course, borisjohnson ended looked very touch and go. of course, boris johnson ended up looked very touch and go. of course, borisjohnson ended up making a recovery, came out of hospital, recuperated at chequers, his country residence, and then eventually went back to work. it seems that he has made a full recovery. but i think he will be watching president trump now, at the time borisjohnson will be watching president trump now, at the time boris johnson was the first world leader to contract the first world leader to contract the virus, but clearly some hope that things do not deteriorate in the same way for president trump. we arejust the same way for president trump. we are just looking at images the same way for president trump. we arejust looking at images in washington of sunrise there, as the world wakes up, and the us wakes up, to this news. it is just really striking, when we think back to how we followed boris johnson's striking, when we think back to how we followed borisjohnson's progress when he was ill, and unfortunately for him he was extremely ill at one point. the nation tends to go

through a bit of an emotional roller—coaster watching this, and obviously politics will come into it, especially at this incredibly fevered time the us, but there is, you know, some tension in the air as people get these updates on the leadership of mckell. we are not hearing whether there are any symptoms for president trump and his wife. in the uk context, there was no imminent election, as there is in the us, but it was certainly a very alarming time, because the pandemic wasjust in its early days, lockdown had just begun. the world was still grappling with coronavirus taking hold. and here you had the uk prime minister going down with coronavirus. his health secretary had as well, but made a swift recovery. borisjohnson was isolating and it was, i think, a time of great uncertainty in the uk when his condition deteriorated and he ended up having to go into

hospital and then clearly very serious when he ended up in intensive care. i think he would be honest and said at the time, he described it as 50—50 whether he was going to recover or not. he has talked quite openly about his opinion that his weight was a factor in how seriously he was affected by coronavirus and he has made attempts to lose weight since then. it was certainly an extremely anxious time, very worrying, and when he had to get a deputy in charge, the foreign secretary, to take charge any decision—making role, clearly there will be the hope that that does not have to happen but certainly, in terms of the context in the us, this will be very worrying for many people. and what we found in the uk as well that there were a lot of questions about the number of diving street staff that went down that night downing street staff. the white his operation, the use us

still has to be led, could be affected. the line of duty, could it effectively go to mike pence if president trump is too ill. we have not heard any detail of that as of yet but it brings political uncertainty, does it not? absolutely. a very critical time for the us but, again, the context was different here, when borisjohnson contracted coronavirus. there were not perhaps the same measures that are in place now and at the point in the pandemic, westminster was very much the centre of coronavirus outbreaks and he has comedy health secretary as i mentioned also came down with coronavirus and certain scarce as well amongst other officials in downing street as well. but it will be difficult for them to keep operating but hopefully trajectory will not be as serious as the one that borisjohnson experienced. but certainly, there will be the hope that precautions, isolation, regulartesting will be the hope that precautions, isolation, regular testing will help the white house staff their work.

0k, the white house staff their work. ok, thank you very much indeed. now it's time for a look at the weather. hello, the weather is set to bring us some disruption at times over the next few days. today, storm alex in the south were some wet and windy weather but, at times, as we head through the next couple of days into the weekend, we are all going to see some spells of heavy rainfall at times. the chance there could be disruption to travel and transport. some flooding possible as well as strong winds, enough to bring down the order a small tree or two. some big waves around the coast as well. now, storm alex is mainly affecting the southern half of the uk. we could see gusts of around 60 mph quite widely around the south coast. 70 mph towards the channel isles as

well, with some heavy downpours and an area of rainjust moving its well, with some heavy downpours and an area of rain just moving its way northwards into the midlands and north wales. followed by some brighter skies and scattered showers from the south. it is a very different day for the northern half of the uk. it was quite a cold start today, some fog patches are in. one or two showers to parts of northern ireland, western scotland, and quite showery and busy for the northern isles. but for the rest of scotland into northern england and ireland, you should stay predominantly dry with some sunshine. that rain edging into northern england for the likes of liverpool later on this afternoon. feeling colder than those temperatures with the wind and rain in the side. through this evening and overnight, more of that rain piling in on a brisk easterly breeze across much of england, wales and eastern scotland as well. for western scotland and northern ireland, clearer skies. the temperatures will fall lowest tier. but elsewhere, further south and east, it is a mild, wet and windy start to saturday. that is the way

it looks through the day. lots more heavy, persistent rain tracking its way further west across england and wales. combined with gales or severe gales down towards the south—west, persistent rain to the east of the pennines for eastern parts of highland scotland as well. some flooding issues around. it will brighten up towards the south east. mostly dry on saturday. for a sunday, low pressure sets right across the british i'll, icy and heavy showers rotating around that area of high pressure. gale is particularly around the coast of the uk. a day of sunshine and blustery showers.

this is bbc news. president trump and his wife test positive for coronavirus and are self—isolating. it comes after one of his closest aides hope hicks also test positive. the latest on how global markets have reacted and in the us the dow futures index is down 2%. with a month to the us election we ask what this means for the campaign ask what this means for the campaign as the president is confined to the white house. live in washington, dc where americans are waking up to the news their president has the virus.

hello, welcome to bbc news. president trump and his wife have gone into quarantine in the white house after testing positive for covid—19. mr trump who is often downplayed the virus and seldom uses a mask said they would get through this together. the white house doctor said mr trump was doing well and would carry out his duties without disruption. let us take you through the events just before president trump tested positive.

let's take a look at the events just before president trump tested positive for covid—19 and how this might impact events leading up to the presidential election. on tuesday the first debate between president trump and joe biden took place. his special adviser hope hicks — who has also tested positive — travelled with the campaign. then on wednesday the trump campaign flew on marine one and air force one to a rally in minnesota. again hope hicks is with president trump. she falls ill and quarantines on the return journey. we will look at what this means. let us take you to washington for the very latest. what a massive moment for americans to be waking up to and the ripple effects of all of this are enormous. absolutely. americans are waking up to this stunning, shocking and unsettling news that the president and the first lady have contracted this virus, 7 million americans have

contracted it, more than 200,000 have been killed, and now the virus is inside the white house itself. in the middle of the night president's physician did tweet and said at this time the president and the first lady well. he did not say anything about whether they had symptoms. he did say he expects the president to be carrying out his duties without disruption and indeed the president sets schedule has been published for the day. although it has been amended he is due to have all things amended he is due to have all things a call about coronavirus with senior citizens. clearly there is concern in washington, dc because the president is 74. he is in a high—risk group. he is also overweight. these are things which could potentially put him at risk. he will of course have the very best medical care there is. here is my colleague now with more on a dramatic evening in washington.

a bombshell like no other. a month before the presidential election. donald trump and his wife milani at the first lady has tested positive for coronavirus. it followed the news one of his closest advisers hope hicks has the disease. she experienced symptoms of covid—19 while accompanying the president at a rally in minnesota. she was quarantined on the presidential plane back to washington. earlier in the week she travelled to cleveland in ohio with mr trump for the presidential debate. she was seen arriving with his team not wearing a mask. the president confined his diagnosis in a tweet. —— confirmed. the first lady later twisted this. the first lady later twisted this. the president's doctor said the

president and his wife were both well at this time and plan to remain in the white house during their co nvalescence. rest assured i expect the president to continue his duties without disruption while recovering. the late—night announcement has sent shock waves through america and the world. days after a heated debate with his democratic opponentjoe biden, mrtrump is with his democratic opponentjoe biden, mr trump is now confined to the white house for an indefinite period. he has cancelled a rally for tonight in florida. the coronavirus has long been a central issue in the presidential election campaign, with the democrats accusing mr trump of failing to alert the nation to the severity of the disease and for ignoring the advice of his medical experts. the virus has killed more than 200,000 americans and multiple states are experiencing a surge in cases. for months mr trump has been belittling joe biden for isolating himself at home in his basement, and for wearing a mask during his public

appearances. ido appearances. i do not wear a mask like him come every time you see him, he is wearing a mask, he could be 200 feet away and shows up with the biggest mask i have ever seen. the us vice—president mike pence who would take over from donald trump if he became too ill to carry out his duties has tweeted his love and prayers to the president and his wife. election law in the us means the country will go to the polls on november the 3rd but what happens between now and then is far from clear. they talk about the october surprise in american politics, but this is uncharted territory. peter bowes, bbc news, los angeles. president trump potentially had contact with many high—level members of government, with his team as well. what is in place now in terms of co nta ct well. what is in place now in terms of contact tracing, how many might have to quarantine?

potentially tens of people, maybe 100 people. the president has had an incredibly busy week. he was in clevela nd incredibly busy week. he was in cleveland on tuesday for the presidential debate, i was there. everyone in that debate all had to be tested for coronavirus. you have to assume he did not have it on tuesday but he may well of course have been infectious at that point. we haven't yet heard anything from the biden campaign about whetherjoe biden himself has been tested. remember he was separated from the president on that stage but he and the moderator, everybody in that room you would assume would now have to be tested. the president has downplayed the virus. he now has it himself. this presidential campaign whichjoe biden himself. this presidential campaign which joe biden has himself. this presidential campaign whichjoe biden has tried to make into a referendum on the president's handling of the virus, has put into stark relief, it is now put into stark relief, it is now put into stark relief. on thursday the

president was at a fundraiser in new jersey, at his property there. everybody he came into contact with at that fundraiser will have to be tested. all the secret service agent who accompany him everywhere. it is an extraordinary set of circumstances. even his supreme courtjustice nominee amy coney barrett who has met with him recently. she will now have to be tested. it throws everything up in the air. the next presidential debate was scheduled for october to 15th in miami. the president will have to quarantine for at least two weeks. assuming he doesn't get sick, the artist he could be out on the road is two weeks from now with just 32 days to go until the election. this has scrambled the race in what was already a turbulent year in american politics and american life. we know members of the white house tea m ofte n we know members of the white house team often was seen without masks.

no signs of social distancing as well. there was daily testing taking place. was that the only preventative measure? it does look like the white house was relying on that testing. certainly anyone who came into close contact with the president was tested regularly. i was in cleveland for the debate on tuesday night. i saw members of the champ entourage going into that debate auditorium wearing their masks but during the debate they did not have them on and the president himself has very rarely been photographed in public wearing a mask, only about twice, once when he went to the military hospital. he has downplayed the importance of wearing a mask. he has said all along america is rounding the corner, that a vaccine is coming down the pipeline. his focus has been to get america back to work to restore the economy that he felt was his strongest card in this election,

an economy so his strongest card in this election, an economy so damaged by the virus. this has brought into sharp relief all of this. 32 days to go until —— until the election. let us talk about president trump's health. can you firstly take us through what the cdc guidelines say now in terms of what president trump and melania trump need to do? they are now self quarantined, for up they are now self quarantined, for up to 14 days. we do not know if he is asymptomatic but i am presuming he has no symptoms and if he remains so he has no symptoms and if he remains so for the next ten days, that quarantine period could be potentially shortened by four days. if he were going to get symptoms when would that happen?

i think the highest risk for developing symptoms will be the next four days. if we get through the next ten days without developing symptoms then i think it is relatively unlikely he will. the next four days are critical, the next four days are critical, the next ten days to rule it out. is the president high risk because of his weight and age? he is suddenly high—risk if he were to develop symptoms because of his age and his weight, that puts him in age and his weight, that puts him in a high—risk category for having a more difficult course. how important is it for we —— it wasn't for us to know when the president last tested negative? there is a period of presymptomatic shedding. going back two to three days from the positive test. the reason i ask is if he tested negative on tuesday that was debate day. potentially he wasn't

contagious which has huge implications. i don't think it makes a great deal of difference. if he tested positive today or late yesterday, they will have to go back two or three days and think about testing. testing should be close contacts for more than 15 minutes, not necessarily someone than 15 minutes, not necessarily someone in the back of an auditorium physically separated from the president. when he was awaiting the test result we know he went to a fundraiser in newjersey. was that against the rules and irresponsible of him? lam rules and irresponsible of him? i am sorry, when he was tested before he had the results back? he was waiting for a test result because he was tested daily. lam assuming because he was tested daily. i am assuming the president gets tested every day. he waits for results every day. if he were symptomatic that is a different thing. given his close contact to hope hicks. contact with hope hicks, yes. i think if he was tested every day and

asymptomatic that was not necessarily irresponsible. the lesson is this virus is everybody's danger as it ever was. if you look at great britain, canada, france, israel, we see the virus researching in communities brought to have it under control. when i see people packing together closely without masks, i worry about contagion. thank you very much forjoining us. so what impact is this having on the world stock markets? stock market you just point to all three main indexes in the us falling around 1.5% when trading gets under way.

let us talk now to a senior market a nalyst. markets do not like uncertainty. exactly correct. what we are seeing here is a classic risk off trade, selling off risk yet assets such as stocks and moving flows towards safe havens, gold, the us dollar and japanese yen, the trades we are looking at right now. what could happen later today? we have the nonfarm payrolls today usually the highlight but this will really overshadow that. markets will be watching the developments closely because of the implications that it could have on the us presidential election which were clouded in uncertainty any way. what kind of message when investors like to be hearing right now, what could settle things down?

some clarity over what will happen. until we know the severity of the illness president trump has and we will not know that for a couple of days, whether he has symptoms, how ha rd days, whether he has symptoms, how hard it is hitting him, those are the questions investors will be asking, what they really want to know. from that they will be able to ta ke know. from that they will be able to take some decisions as to what might happen about the election. we have had the debate this week. there was uncertainty surrounding the election, whether president trump will accept the outcome. that put this into question as well, how he would accept the election is given his campaign will probably take a hit because of this development. you are watching bbc news. we will take you straight to scotla nd we will take you straight to scotland and nicola sturgeon. covid statistics for today. the

total number of positive cases reported yesterday was 775, that is 12.6% of people newly tested and ta kes 12.6% of people newly tested and takes the total number up to 30,687. 324 cases were in greater glasgow and clyde, 164 in lothian, 102 in lanarkshire. there will be a meeting today of the national incident management team looking at a range of issues in particular the current situation in glasgow and lanarkshire. the remaining 185 cases were spread across nine other health board areas. i can also report 175 people areas. i can also report 175 people are in hospital which is an increase of 21 from yesterday. 19 people are in intensive care, to more than yesterday. i also regret to report for debts have been registered of people who had first tested positive for covid during the previous 28

days —— deaths. again, iwant days —— deaths. again, i want to send my sincere condolences to everyone who has lost a loved one and of course that basically includes those who have lost a loved one in the last few days. these numbers today notjust of cases but perhaps more particularly hospital admissions, numbers in intensive care and of people dying, should remind us that this resurgence of covid is something we have to take very seriously. there are several issues i want to briefly update on today. firstly, as i often do on a friday, draw your attention to an announcement made last night, the scottish element has added poland and turkey to the list of those countries subject to quarantine restrictions. and the three islands of the caribbean which means that

from 4am tomorrow people travelling to scotland from these cases must self—isolate for 40 days on their return. madeira and the azores will be removed from the list of places subject to restrictions but if you have a ride from those places in the last two weeks or if you arrive later today or tonight you will still have to self—isolate for 14 days. these changes are another reminder levels of the virus in any country or area can change quite rapidly and when they change our quarantine rules often change as well, so please, this is especially important as we approach the october holidays, think carefully about any unnecessary travel. if possible, avoid unnecessary overseas travel. remember the fact a country is exempt from quarantine requirements when you go there does not mean it will still be exempt when you come

back. second update relates to the protect scotla nd second update relates to the protect scotland app. i have said before that the app is not a magic solution, it does not replace the need for the hard work being done by our test and protect teams but it is a really important additional tool in tackling covid and already proving its worth. more than 1.3 million people have downloaded the app in the past three weeks, more than a third of the people who had tested positive have been at it is and in that time more than 2,000 contacts and in that time more than 2,000 co nta cts ha d and in that time more than 2,000 contacts had been advised to self—isolate. these are people who might not otherwise have been identified. there are three points i want to stress which might make the app more useful. the first applies to eve ryo ne useful. the first applies to everyone who currently has it. if you test positive for covid you will receive a code which you are meant to enter into the app. make sure you do that because it is necessary for you to do that for the app to automatically notify people you have

beenin automatically notify people you have been in close contact with. that might sound obvious but we know at the moment not everybody who has the app and who receives a positive test result is actually doing that. enough people are doing it for the app to make a difference but it would be better if everybody entered the code when they test positive. please remember. second point is we issued an update to the app this week which some people may wish to ta ke week which some people may wish to take advantage of, it allows the app to be paused without bluetooth being disabled in your phone. let me stress i do not want people to pause the app when you are going about your daily activities because that would remove the point of having it. this is a feature that is especially useful for some this is a feature that is especially usefulfor some groups, this is a feature that is especially useful for some groups, in particular, clinical staff injobs that often involve being within two metres of other people but were significant measures are in place to reduce the risk of. other

we are also looking at other improvements to the act, we are working hard with nhs england and nhs northern ireland on linking up protect scotland app with the other countries to support people who travel, to make these different ones interoperable. and whether the age limit for the use of the app can change. to see if we can reduce the age to under 16. finally, if you haven't downloaded the app yet and you are able to do so, please do it. it takes less than two minutes, your data is kept entirely secure and anonymous, it is a simple but really powerful way in which we can all play our part in the struggle against covid. lastly, i want to stress again how important it is all of us self—isolate when we are asked to do so. self—isolate when we are asked to do so. obviously i cannot do that today

without first addressing the issue of margaret ferrier, the snp mp who travelled by train to london and attended the house of commons after taking a test when she should have been self—isolating and who then travelled back to scotland by train after being told that her test was positive. margaret is a friend of mine so everything i am about to say is obviously with the heaviest of hearts and i wish her a speedy recovery from covid. none of that changes the fact that her actions we re changes the fact that her actions were reckless, dangerous and com pletely were reckless, dangerous and completely indefensible. i feel very angry on the you, every single day i stand here and i ask you to make horrendous sacrifices as part of our collective efforts against covid. it is really important whether you agree with me or not, whether you love me or load me, that you can have confidence in the advice that i give you. that means me being clear that the rules apply to everyone,

regardless of who you are and regardless of who you are and regardless of who you are and regardless of what your political allegiance is. trust me, it is one of the easiest things in the world in politics to call for tough consequences when one of your opponents breaks the rules, that is not hard for any of us. the litmus testis not hard for any of us. the litmus test is whether you are prepared to do the same when it is one of your own breaking the rules. in these abnormal times when everybody is being asked to do difficult things, i think that is more important than ever. that is why the snp whip has been withdrawn from margaret and thatis been withdrawn from margaret and that is the most serious sanction a party ca n that is the most serious sanction a party can impose on an elected representative. i have also spoken to her directly and made crystal clear to her that i think she should now resign as an mp. people contact me and say, why don't you just sack her, a point i had to make clear. i don't have the power to force an mp to step down, no party leader has

that power. but i can make my views known and difficult though it is, i have done so, and i hope she will come to the right decision in the interest of the overall integrity of these vital public health messages. i want to emphasise again why it is so i want to emphasise again why it is so important to self—isolate. we are launching a media campaign this evening which has been planned for several days to stress the importance of self—isolation. essentially if you have any one of the symptoms of covid you should start to self—isolate immediately and book a test. you can do that through the nhs website. the symptoms as a reminder of a new continuous cough, high—temperature ora continuous cough, high—temperature or a loss or change in taste or smell. when you get your result if you test negative, you can stop self—isolating. if you have covid, you need to self—isolate for a further ten days starting from the date on which you took your test. if you are identified as a contact of

someone you are identified as a contact of someone with covid either by a test and protect team or by the app you must self—isolate for 14 days. you need to self—isolate for longer than someone need to self—isolate for longer than someone who has tested positive because if you get covid you will be infectious for a few days after the period of the person you got it from. the key point i want to stress today for obvious reasons is itself isolation is not something anybody can or should see as an option come as something that is voluntary. if you develop symptoms or if you are identified as a contact you must self—isolate immediately. do not think you can go to the shops one last time let alone travelling. you must self—isolate completely which means staying at home and not going anywhere else. the reason is simple, if you have been in touch with someone if you have been in touch with someone who has covid during their infectious period there is a chance you will also have covid even if you do not yet have symptoms and self isolation is one of the most important thing we can all do to

ensure we are not unwittingly sometimes transmitting the virus to anyone else. this is essential. it isa anyone else. this is essential. it is a tough thing for any of us to be asked to do but essential all of us must abide by. if we are asked to do it no matter who we are and no matter what our circumstances, we should all do it. it is inconvenient, it is tough, particularly for those on low incomes who might lose money when asked to self—isolate which is why we are introducing the £500 to support payment and why we are working with local authorities to make sure it has practical help for people such as food deliveries. details of that are available on the nhs website. the reason we provide help for people to do the right thing is because right now doing the right thing for all of us is so important. please, please self—isolate and book a test if you have symptoms. self—isolate for 14 days if you are identified as a contact. it is vital

to our collective efforts. that point has particular added resonance given the circumstances i have already alluded to. before i finish and hand over to jason i also wa nt to finish and hand over to jason i also want to provide the usual reminder of the other key public health guidance. none of us should be visiting each other‘s homes right now except for very specific purposes like childcare or caring for a vulnerable adult. when we do meet with others outdoors or in indoor public places, the maximum group size allowed is six and there six people should not come from any more than two households. we should avoid car sharing if possible, work from home if we can, download the protect scotland app and finally all of us should remember facts, face coverings, avoid crowded places, clea n

coverings, avoid crowded places, clean hands and hard surfaces, keep two metres from other households, and self—isolate and book a test if you have symptoms. i say this every day but i feel a particular responsibility today, i know how ha rd responsibility today, i know how hard it is for everybody to follow the rules and how angry people feel when they see others not following these rules. we have been asked to stick with all of these rules for the collective well—being of the country and for each and every one of us. so please do that for yourselves, yourfamilies, of us. so please do that for yourselves, your families, your loved ones and your community as a whole. my deep and sincere thanks to everybody who is making really tough sacrifices right now in the interests of that collective effort. jason. today i want to make a plea on behalf of a piece of the health service we perhaps take for granted. not every country has a blood transfusion service and we have one of the best in the world, the scottish national blood transfusion service. firstly i would like to

thank this remarkable organisation we often do take for granted because it is invisible to many. for the life—saving work they do every day. secondly, to give a huge thanks to scotland's blood platelets and plasma donors who have provided such an amazing response, it is vital their supplies get to patients right now. that brings me to today, as health services restart, the demand for blood across scotland is increasing but donations are needed from people who are able especially as we move towards winter. if you have never donated or if you haven't recently donated or if you haven't recently donated and you are able, i would really urge you to contact the scottish national blood transfusion service. i want to reassure anyone considering making a donation arrangements are in place to ensure safety at centres, they have increased social distancing, ppe as

you would expect. sessions are now run only by appointment so the right number of donors are there at any time. anyone with symptoms of covid or who has been in contact with anyone with sentence should not donate. the service is working to advance the fight against covid by collecting convalescent plasma. a research is showing that the blood of somebody recently recovered from covid—19 may contain antibodies which we can use for treating people in hospital who are seriously unwell with the virus. the blood transfusion service is looking for donors of convalescent plasma. if you have had covid—19, either confirmed through test or have yourself isolated because you have had symptoms, and are now symptom—free for 20 days, the service would like to hear from you. can you check your eligibility to

donate and book an appointment online. we will move straight to questions. firstly today, sky news. thank you, i hope you can hear me. the margaret ferrier incident, it highlights the fa ct ferrier incident, it highlights the fact that people are adapting the rules to meet their own circumstances. did the mp tell you why she thought it was so important that she goes to london, and what does it tell you about why people are not following the rules? look, people are finding it really difficult to follow these rules. there are a variety of reasons for that. the rules are complicated, more complicated the more we have come out of lockdown. at times, different rules apply in different parts of the country. i think the vast majority of people want to follow these rules for the right people. that might the right

reasons. some people perhaps do not fully understand them, that is not criticism, sometimes people will inadvertently bridge them. i am struggling to put what margaret did into any of these categories. the one rule that has been clear and unchanging throughout this is the need to self—isolate when you have symptoms and get tested. if you test positive to absolutely make sure that you complete that self isolation. there can be no dubai atty about that. this is not a minor breach of the rules. it is not an inadvertent breach of the rules. it isa inadvertent breach of the rules. it is a flagrant and dangerous breach of the rules and i am struggling, i have spoken to margaret, she certainly could not give me... she absolutely accepts, and let me make this clear, she accepts without reservation that she has made a very serious mistake and error of judgment. for completeness, she has voluntarily, of her own back, referred herself to the police and standards commission, she is not trying to evade responsibility for

this, but can she give me a cogent explanation as to why she did it? no. but in the sense that does not matter. nobody can have an excuse for that kind of breach. travelling ona rain for that kind of breach. travelling on a rain when you know you are positive with covid—19 right now is possibly the worst breach imaginable. —— on a train. i think people can probably understand my feelings for a whole variety of reasons right now, i cannot excuse this. i am reasons right now, i cannot excuse this. iam not reasons right now, i cannot excuse this. i am not going to try to excuse it. and nor is margaret. but what i can do is use the circumstances to make it clear to people that these rules apply to everybody. nobody can be exempt and nobody can be exempt from the consequences when they breach them. to try to take some positive out of this, use the inevitable publicity around us to underline to people why we are asking for self isolation in these circumstances. that is what we will continue to try to do. stv.

thank you. on margaret ferrier, when you asked her, or suggested to her you asked her, or suggested to her you thought she should resign from parliament, what did she say to you about that? can you help us with who knew what wayne? there is a suggestion that the whips knew about this on wednesday and i wonder if that delay between people knowing about it and her going public and being suspended suggests that there was initially an attempt to try to write this out? —— might raid the side. whether she has been fully honest throughout the process with the party and others. separately, if ican ask the party and others. separately, if i can askjason leech, on the figures in the last few days, to what extent do you think students are still a big chunk of driving this, and are we, by the sounds of it, looking at possible further restrictions in glasgow? let me take two points to me first and i will be

as brief as possible. as open and frank as possible as well. on my conversation with her, i have been very clear, i think she should step down. i say and mean this, i do that with a really heavy heart. margaret is somebody i have known a long time. i like her but i cannot defend what she has done. in the circumstances right now, the integrity of these public health messages, and my ability to stand here and look at this camera and see the rules apply to everybody is too important for me to try to protect somebody who just happens to be a friend and colleague. so that is clear. she did not tell me one way or another what she intends to do. the other thing i am conscious of, and again! the other thing i am conscious of, and again i am not going to see anything that tries to excuse it, but i have to bear in mind the fact that she has covid—19. i asked her how she was, obviously, and tha nkfully how she was, obviously, and thankfully so far she is not suffering serious symptoms. but this can bea suffering serious symptoms. but this can be a nasty virus so obviously i am concerned to know that her health is ok. these are all factors. but my

duty is to make clear to her, as her party leader, but also as first minister in the position that i am dealing with right now, what my views are, and that is what i have done. on the who knew what when, these are important questions but sometimes i think in politics... there can perhaps be too much political opportunism around some of this. we are all guilty of that in normal times, in these abnormal times we should perhaps be less so. before i go into that in some detail, as briefly as i can, can i say that my absolute understanding is that she fully cooperated with and went through the test and protect and test and trace, as far as england and the house of commons is concerned, philly. so people who might have been in contact with her have all been properly identified and contacted in the same way. whatever i am about to say about timelines, does not affect that,

people were properly notified if the test and protect and test entries thought there was a need to do that. my thought there was a need to do that. my understanding is that the snp at westminster knew on wednesday that she had tested positive, but believed that she had taken a taste once she had arrived back in scotland. i understand that she had informed colleagues on monday evening that she was travelling back to scotland because a family member might have been unwell. it was not until yesterday, and my understanding is that there information came through the house and commons test entries mechanism, it was not until yesterday my collea g u es it was not until yesterday my colleagues in the house of commons realised the circumstances. that might test and trace mechanism. they realised she had taken the test, travelled to london and travelled back having been told that she was positive. the first i knew anything about margaret ferrier having covid—19 was yesterday afternoon, shortly after i ended first ministers questions. i think people

can imagine my reaction to being told that. obviously, partly because i was struggling to comprehend how anybody could have acted in that way. i was anxious to make sure i was properly understanding all of the facts and not getting any essential details wrong. i was told to other things at that point. firstly, that the house of commons wa nted firstly, that the house of commons wanted to put out a statement first confirming that an mp had tested positive. i then made clear that if that was to happen, margaret should immediately then issue a statement confirming it was her and, and what the circumstances were. i was also told that ian blackford, the leader of the group in westminster, who was ona of the group in westminster, who was on a plane travelling to inverness at the time, was due to speak to her once he landed in inverness. by the time that discussion took place, the position with the house of commons had changed, so it was made clear to margaret she should issue a statement with all of the circumstances and before she did

that, she referred herself to the police and i understand that she took a little bit of time to inform people close to her that she had covid—19, and the statement was issued early evening yesterday. i know that politics kicks in in these things but i think the snp has acted quickly, appropriately and actually we have not tried to protect a colleague here. we have tried to do the right thing, given the circumstances we are dealing with. i am not going to get involved in political statements here except to say that some of the people, i hear last night and today, full of self—righteous criticism of the snp are people who completely lost their tongue when a certain special adviser in london broke the rules himself. so it is easy to be critical when it is your opponent, the big test is whether you are prepared to do the same when it is one of your own. jason, there was a pa rt one of your own. jason, there was a part for you. my summary is common in numbers across the whole of europe and in scotland are going in the wrong direction and continue to

do so. to illustrate that beyond the daily figures, which is perhaps a trend, 3573 people have caught covid—19 in this country in the last seven days, and tested positive. we have 19 patients in intensive care and you have just heard, an increase in hospital admissions of maybe 20 or so in hospital admissions of maybe 20 or so in the last of 24 hours. we have also had 11 deaths in 48 hours. per 100,000, have also had 11 deaths in 48 hours. per100,000, our have also had 11 deaths in 48 hours. per 100,000, our rate have also had 11 deaths in 48 hours. per100,000, our rate is have also had 11 deaths in 48 hours. per 100,000, our rate is 63.1 have also had 11 deaths in 48 hours. per100,000, our rate is 63.1 in scotland. glasgow city is at the top of that, unfortunately table. —— at the top of that unfortunate league table. the management team will meet again today, as it does consistently throughout the week. it will look at the numbers, trends in lanarkshire, lothian, glasgow. you are right that many of those positive cases still are in halls of residence and in the student population. that does not reassure me particularly, as you have heard me say many times from this podium. that will leak into a

more vulnerable community and you are not immune if you are a student ofa are not immune if you are a student of a serious illness. so, all of the numbers are going in the wrong direction. however, two weeks ago we put in place really quite a severe household restrictions. they will not have played through into the numbers yet. i am hopeful they will. i cannot guarantee it and it relies on each of us following the rules. every single one of us following those rules in order to drive those numbers down. if the national imt give advice to gregor and i and then we give advice to the first minister in the cabinet, that will take its course. today, there are no existing plans to tighten up restrictions in those local authorities. channel 4. hello. back to margaret ferrier, if you don't mind. ijust wanted to ask something slightly broader on that. you are setting these rules, telling

people that they must follow them. and yet this is not the first time that we have seen this, politicians and public figures just that we have seen this, politicians and public figuresjust ignoring them and acting like they can do whatever they want and that these rules do not apply to them. so the public will be asking this question yet again, and so i will put it to you. is it one rule for you and one rule for everybody else? and one more question if you do not mind, is there anything that you specifically can do to stop another incident like this, particularly in relation to your own mps, to stop something like this happening again? no, there is not one rule for us politicians and another rule for everybody else. the only thing i can do to make that clear is insist on the consequences when a politician breaks the rules being as severe and taking account of the circumstances of elected representatives and the responsibilities they have, as they would be if it was an ordinary

member of the public. i am being pretty clear about that. it is not easy and i am not asking for sympathy. the last thing i am asking for. but it is not easy as a politician to effectively ask one of your own mps to resign. it is not, for a whole variety of reasons. in normal circumstances, on more normal political issues, maybe you try to avoid that happening, but right now, the most important, frankly the most important relationship i have right now is the one i have standing here looking down the camera at the scottish public. i cannot ask you watching this right now to make all of these sacrifices if i am going to stand here and try to explain away what margaret ferrier did. i will not do that. i can only speak for myself. other politicians who might have decided to do things differently have to explain that. what can i do to stop any of my other colleagues doing this? i cannot babysit everybody across the country. but i canjust cannot babysit everybody across the country. but i can just be crystal clear, people have to abide by these

rules because they are not there for no reason. they are there to keep us all, or try to keep us all safe. jason has just... all, or try to keep us all safe. jason hasjust... we all, or try to keep us all safe. jason hasjust. .. we are all, or try to keep us all safe. jason has just. .. we are just all, or try to keep us all safe. jason hasjust. .. we are just going to come out of that briefing in edinburgh and get some more on these growing calls for the mp margaret ferrier to resign. she has already been suspended, as we have heard, from the snp for breaking those coronavirus rules after travelling between westminster and glasgow, despitejust between westminster and glasgow, despite just two testing positive for covid—19. we can speak to the speaker of the house of commons now. thank you very much forjoining us. what was your response and when did you first hear about what had happened? obviously, i cannot believe the behaviour of a member of parliament. it is with complete shock that somebody could be so reckless with the staff at the house of commons, their fellow member mps. but also travelling on public transport as well. completely reckless behaviour, totally unacceptable and i am very angry

that the house has been put at risk. really very, very angry about this. how many people have been put at risk and how many people have had to isolate as a result? what i can tell you is the staff went straight into operation, but the problem was we only found out late wednesday afternoon, and of course this was happening on monday, so what we had to do is go back through, we have the best track and trace, and within 20 minutes we had started our track and trace. as i say, the staff are very, very and trace. as i say, the staff are very, very aware and trace. as i say, the staff are very, very aware of what to do. we area very, very aware of what to do. we are a covid—19 secure building and all that was put at risk by reckless behaviour. so wednesday afternoon, we did that, we started immediately. we were working with public health england to make sure everything we had put in place was happening and all the right measures were carried out. as i say, one person was in contact longer than would have been expected and therefore that person has been asked to isolate. that is

the situation at the moment. margaret ferrier is facing calls to resign as an mp. nicola sturgeon, we have just heard, has resign as an mp. nicola sturgeon, we havejust heard, has made it very clear in her view that is absolutely what you should do. she said it was a flagrant and dangerous break of the rules. are you in a position to see whether that is your position as well? that she should resign as an mp? what i would ask is i would expect the member to consider what they have done, the reckless behaviour and how that looks to the rest of the country. we are in a very, very, this sends all of the wrong messages and the fact that we have put so much emphasis on trying to get the house in the right place, making sure that we are covid—19 secure. all that has been put at risk. people have really got to consider their position on that. it is now with the snp and in fairness to the snp, they also only got told late wednesday afternoon, and

straightaway they came to my office, they let the speaker's secretary know within 20 minutes we were into full swing to put everything in place to be expected to. a real problem that i don't want to open up into too many details, as we know, this is a police matterfor police scotla nd this is a police matterfor police scotland and the metropolitan police as well. it is an ongoing investigation. as i say, in fairness to the member of parliament concerned, they have reported themselves to standards as well. but this is now a police investigation. we just heard from nicola sturgeon, saying that she understood the house of commons initially wanted to put out a statement first on learning of what had happened here and that position changed. was there a reason for that? we have got to learn from this and of course we will be going back over this on monday. we have got to learn. how could somebody put us at risk? we cannot allow for that. the fact is, we advise people

what to do, how to behave, if you show symptoms, please stay away, if you do need a test, going to get a taste, but whatever you do do not come into the house of commons, and that message is loud and clear. we have got to make got to keep getting that message out. what i cannot allow for if somebody feels ill, goes and have a test, does not bid for the result, turn up in parliament and then get a result to say you are positive but then disappear. worse than that, not to be told until wednesday is not acceptable. we were hearing different stories, different m essa g es different stories, different messages that made it even more difficult for us to deal with. so what i would say is of course we will be going over this, over and over again. i believe we have the right measures in place but what we cannot do is sit on our laurels. we will always be looking to upgrade where we need to and if we need to change things, of course we will. what i will say is we have got very good staff who work very hard. i have had staff working through the night on this and they should not

have been put in this position either. so, just to be clear, you said we have heard different stories, is that from the mp involved as well as the snp leadership? not the snp leadership, but from the member concerned. there was not a clear line coming out about what happened. that made it more difficult and, as i say, if we had been told on monday, we would have been acting on monday rather than on wednesday. that puts everybody at greater risk. the fact is, we worked very hard to ensure that... the one good thing is that we have a very that... the one good thing is that we have a very secure that... the one good thing is that we have a very secure regime in parliament. you cannot come in without a pass so we know who comes and to the building. we make sure that we have checked all of the movements, you have got to swipe your card on movements, you have got to swipe yourcard ona movements, you have got to swipe your card on a log on the doors, evenif your card on a log on the doors, even if you use detail, because it is cashless within there. we can check where you have been, if you have been for a cup of tea. we have done all of that. the fact that this member spoke in the chamber, we have

been checking all of the camera footage to make sure nobody was sat there beyond the two metres. we are very careful that the chamber is very, very very careful that the chamber is very, very secure very careful that the chamber is very, very secure in the sense that we do not allow more mps and than what has been agreed with public health england. we keep the two metre rule and all that has been checked. so we are very lucky that we do have the coverage and footage to check back. no, what really also worries me is that the member of parliament went on public transport. that was a whole different set of people at risk as well. we have great concerns there. the house has been working with west coast main line to try to ensure that we can point let me say, what happened in our view, what i don't want to do is get into the details because that would be wrong during a police inquiry, but we are working with other parties involved. ok, speaker of the house of commons, we are very grateful to you for your time on this. thank you very much indeed.

let's go back to our main story — president trump and his wife melania has tested positive for coronavirus. he says they are quarantining at the white house. throughout the pandemic, mr trump, who's 74, has often refused to wear a mask and has attended crowded rallies. with the presidential election a month away, it's thrown the campaign into disarray. joshua douglas, a professor at the university of kentucky and an election law expert. thank you very much forjoining us. is it at all possible that the election on november the 3rd could be derailed if campaigning has to stop? well, the campaign obviously has now been thrown into disarray. but i don't suspect that the election itself would be delayed. that is because so many people have already voted. there has already been 2 million votes cast, over 2 million. voting is continuing

throughout the month. it would take an act of congress to delay the election, but i would doubt that would occur, just because so many people have already voted. the election has begun. if, however, campaigning has to stop, for example if president trump becomes so unwell that he cannot even do virtual campaigning, would it be expected thatjoe biden also would have to stop? it really depends on what the politics of it are. in terms of what people's expectations would be. of course, we also have to make sure thatjoe biden doesn't have the virus. he was around ten feet away, eight to ten feet away, during the debate. they did not shake hands but it is not clear when trump contracted the virus so i am sure joe biden will also be tested and hopefully he does not have it as well. obviously there is the health concern but in terms of basic

protocol, i know in the uk for example, if one party leader has got a problem and they cannot campaign, it is often observed that the others will pause for a while as well, just to even up the picture. since we are so to even up the picture. since we are so close to the election and people are already voting, i suspect that there would be a major paws all around on the campaign, but recall that... i think it will be a little bit different than the way trump has been campaigning. ok, so let's assume that campaigning continues and that president trump is meant health is ok, and that he recovers well, is there any mechanism by which the president could say, i have lost all of this campaigning time, i have lost two weeks, and i do not believe that the election is therefore valid? is there any way therefore valid? is there any way the white house can see the vote is not going to go ahead? not the white house by itself. again, delaying the

election would be up to congress. that is clear under federal law, that congress decides the date of the presidential election. and of course, the us constitution requires the next president to take the oath of office onjanuary 20, and that cannot be changed either. whether it is trump for cannot be changed either. whether it is trumpfora cannot be changed either. whether it is trump for a second term orjoe biden. so the white house does not have the authority to try to delay the election by itself. you are watching bbc news. do stay with us professor, we have a number of different channels what is at the moment. people are concerned about the electoral process. what if president trump became so ill that he was unable perhaps to go forward in the next month at all? does that affect the voting process? we start coming into issues that are very concerning, because there are not great answers. under the us law, the

political parties theoretically could choose a nominee, so the republican national party could theoretically choose another nominee, but the problem is that ballots have already been printed everywhere. as i mentioned, people are voting and over 2 million votes have already been cast, so the real question is what happens after november three in those states that president trump wins. with the legislators be allowed to basically direct the electors in each of those states to cast the ballot for someone states to cast the ballot for someone other than trump? u nfortu nately, someone other than trump? unfortunately, the us constitution and federal law is pretty unclear about what happens in that circumstance. what about the situation where mr trump has to hand over to mike pence, for example question mark that has been discussed stop in office, as president right now, what is the mechanism for that? speaker mic that would fall under the 25th where the president would

essentially deliver a notice that he is unable to carry out the duties of his office at his current time. that would make mike pence, the vice president, deemed the acting president. until the president delivers another notice that says he is now recovered and able to take the office. the other mechanism under the 25th amendment is a thin majority of his cabinet to determine is that he is unable and unfit to serve ,—— if a majority of his cabinet, they could essentially force him to step down temporarily and mike pence would become acting president. ok, professor, sorry to interrupt, thank you very much indeed. this is bbc news. thank you very much indeed for that. lots and lots of questions in the us. much more in a couple of moments on what is going on with these momentous events. let's have a look at the weather. hello, so far the worst of the weather has been across more southern parts, but into the

weekend, the wind and rain will spread far and wide. it is the way that will be the biggest problem. it is likely to lead to some flooding, some travel disruption as well. and some travel disruption as well. and some strong winds at times. this morning, earlier on today, the strongest winds around sturm alex, named by the french maid service. they whence have been gusting over 100 mph any north—west of france. —— the french maid service. the winds will ease by this evening. later winds towards the south—west and channel islands are still gusting go first. that rain is still falling, moving slowly northwards actually so it is still dry this evening across scotla nd it is still dry this evening across scotland and northern ireland. as we head into the night, we have got more rain to come. whilst it may well ease of a bit across wales and the south—west, it continues and develops more wildly, quietly across other parts of england and the rain will be pushed into parts of scotland. where we have clear skies

in western scotland and northern ireland, those temperatures will be lower, but otherwise staying in double figures. more rain to come on saturday. that rain will develop more widely and push its way westwards a cross more widely and push its way westwards across england and wales. gale is on the far south—west. some sunshine developing in the south east of england but wetter weather spreading more widely into scotland. drierfor northern spreading more widely into scotland. drier for northern ireland and some sunshine in the south east, they are temperatures possibly getting up to 16, but otherwise around 12 degrees in the rain. the heaviest is likely to be across wales and the west country, where we have this amber rain warning from the met office. could be more than two inches of rain over the high ground. another area likely to see heavy rain is the holes in the north—east of scotland as the wind piled that rain and of the north sea. dominated by a large area of low pressure over the weekend. it is going to come to rest right the way across the middle of the uk. around the edges, this is where we have probably got the strongest of the winds at around that area of rain that moves away

from northern scotland, mist or northern ireland and headstone across south wales and the south—west of england. later winds in the middle of the uk but there will be some sunshine and showers which could be heavy, and those temperatures typically 13 or 14 celsius. all.

president trump and the first lady in quarantine after testing positive for coronavirus. the couple will self—isolate in the white house for ten days. their diagnosis comes after one of mr trump's closest aides, hope hicks, also tested positive. the president announced the news in a tweet, saying, "we will get through this together." world leaders have been wishing them well... well, obviously i think we all want to send our best wishes to the president and the first lady, and i've done that this morning, as you can imagine, and i'm sure that they'll both stage a very strong recovery. we'll be asking to what extent mr trump's age, gender and weight make him more vulnerable to the virus, and what it means means for the presidential election campaign. also this lunchtime...