tv BBC News BBC News October 11, 2020 11:00am-11:31am BST
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this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. a warning from england's deputy chief medical officer that the country is at a tipping point in the fight against covid—19. a final night out for some ahead of an announcement on new coronavirus restrictions in england. ministers insist the government is working closely with local leaders despite criticism of its approach. you say there is anger in the north, but the measures we are bringing in is universal and there is nothing we would do that penalises one part of the country over another.” would do that penalises one part of the country over another. i haven't
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felt anger towards the government like this since i was growing up in the 1980s. people don'tjust feel they have been abandoned by the government, people feel the government, people feel the government is actively working against us. the white house doctor says president trump is no longer a transmission risk to others, but has not said whether he's tested negative for covid—i9. rescuers search for survivors after a missile attack on azerbaijan's second biggest city as a brief truce in the nagorno—kara bakh conflict shows signs of unravelling. and astronomers encourage people to go outside and look at the night sky, as planet mars is at its biggest and brightest. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world,
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and stay with us for the latest news and analysis from here and across the globe. one of the uk government's most senior scientific advisors has warned that the coronavirus epidemic has reached a tipping point, with infection rates at a similar level to march, when the government imposed a national lockdown. england's deputy chief medical officer professor jonathan van—tam said that more deaths would follow — "as night follows day. as he urged people to limit social contact in order to safeguard the nhs. talks on tough new restrictions for the worst hit parts of england are continuing, ahead of tomorrow's statement by boris johnson. in the us, donald trump's doctor has said the president is no longer contagious for the virus, ten days after he first showed symptoms. more on that shortly, but firstjohn mcmanus has this report on the situation in england. it's been a tough year so far, and it's understandable that people are keen to unwind. with further restrictions
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on socialisaing looming, last night in liverpool, any were making the most of what may be a final weekend of partying — for now, at least. it seems that for some parts of the country, a difficult winter may be on the way, and the government needs the public to co—operate. i think it could be managed a lot better. i don't think all this lockdown thing works, everybody going home at ten o'clock. i think it could be managed better. they haven't told any bars or that what to expect, so, as of monday, we're getting an announcement but we don't know what we're being announced to, you know, so it's kind of like, is everything going to be shut down or are you just planning on closing certain things or what? nobody has any idea. i think we would support any measures that keep people safe, but as long as business owners were supported by the government, we'd be happy with that. the expected new rules may have a particular impact on parts of the north of england, because that's where infections are rising fastest.
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the details are still being finalised, but they're expected to focus on a three—tier system. the worst affected areas could be subject to pub closures, restaurant restrictions and bans on indoor and outdoor mixing. but the mayors of some northern regions say the government's latest plans to support staff whose industries need to close don't go far enough. when the state says, "you may not go to work, you may not trade", then people should be getting 100% compensation. being paid two thirds your wages, especially if you're on minimum wage, is not acceptable. the political arguments are taking place against a backdrop of renewed warnings about the virus. england's deputy chief medical officer, professor jonathan van—tam, says the country's now at a similar point to where it was in march. that was when infections were rising and there were fears the nhs would be overwhelmed. but with better testing and treatments, he says history doesn't have to repeat itself.
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also key, of course, is controlling the rate of transmission. the prime minister's statement on monday is expected to point to how that might be achieved. john mcmanus, bbc news. i've been speaking to our political correspondentjessica parker about the government's financial support for businesses. rishi sunak, the chancellor, said that where businesses are legally forced to close in the coming weeks and months, and there is a lot of speculation for example around pubs, the government will step in to pay two thirds of people's wages where they are off for seven consecutive days and where those businesses have been forced to close. we have, from a group of labour mayors yesterday
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in the north of england saying, that's not good enough, especially for people who are on the minimum wage. how are they going to make ends meet? and it's a view being reflected this morning by the shadow foreign secretary, lisa nandy who says that her party are going to try and force a vote on this issue in the commons over the coming week. i haven't felt anger like this towards the government since i was growing up here in the 1980s. people feel that they haven't just been abandoned by the government, they now feel the government is actively working against us. the rates are still going up, we've been under lockdown restrictions, as david said, we are into our third month now of restrictions, that means you can't go round to your parent's house, so grandparents are not seeing grandchildren and businesses are really feeling this is death by a thousand cuts. now, it's not exactly clear if there will be some kind of vote on this financial package, but clearly i think that row is going to continue over the coming days as to whether the support is sufficient. what are the government saying in their defence on this? they are saying this measure is part of an unprecedented package of support. they've spent billions of pounds, there was the furlough scheme and they have evolved that scheme
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and what they are reintroducing now, and it kicks in in early november in terms of paying two thirds of people's wages where the businesses are false to close, that is basically a renewed furlough scheme, but the argument is it's less generous than the initial one. let's listen to the communities secretary, robertjenrick. we've put in place these measures, they need to be seen in the context of everything else we've done. you know, this country has put in place measures that compare extremely favourably with other countries. we can't do everything. there is a limit to what the state can do here, but we are trying to support these communities. we are also supporting the local councils, we've already given £4 billion to local authorities like david's in bolton. and there's more we are discussing over this weekend to help them to protect the most vulnerable people in society. so i think robertjenrick there emphasising conversations are going to continue and we know they have been going on since friday with local leaders, between them and the government and we are going to hearfrom boris tomorrow about exactly what these
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restrictions will look like for england. and what do you think they will look like? three tiers, we are told? and look, it has to be said we haven't had confirmation in terms of what these three tiers will look like. but there seems to be a general discussion around tier one being the current national restrictions that you see, so things like the rule of six and the 10pm curfew for bars and for pubs. tier two, possibly no kind of household mixing. tier three looking at extra curbs on hospitality but really important to emphasise, this hasn't been confirmed and there hasn't been an awful lot of speculation around this. in terms of where those tiers might apply? i think the most solid information we've had is both the mayors of liverpool have said that they've been told liverpool will be in tier three, the strictest type and because of course the huge concern about infection rates in that area. well as we've been hearing, one of the government's most senior scientific advisers warned that the pandemic has reached a tipping point in some parts of the north of england. the bbc‘s andrew marr asked epidemiologist professor peter horby if he agreed with that statement.
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u nfortu nately, unfortunately, i have to agree with that. the numbers are not looking good at all, we have increasing cases, increasing hospitalisations, both in the young and the elderly. we are starting to see the number of deaths increase as well. it is rather precarious point, i am afraid. it is a precarious point but we are in a better situation when it comes to treatment and how much we know about the disease presumably? there are a number of things that put us in a better situation, we have better testing and tracing capabilities and we have a much better understanding of the disease. what is great to see it appears the risk of death in hospitalised patients is coming down. it was very high at about 25 to 30% in the last way. although the data, a preliminary it looks like it is coming down. that is good news but
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turning back to the tipping point question, it was suggested we might be close to having to cancel or delay nonurgent operations across the nhs to stop hospitals being overwhelmed this autumn? what is your view? our critical mission is to protect the nhs. because we cannot have a situation like we did in march where all of the nonessential services were cancelled and we now have a backlog. we need to provide care for everybody, those with covid and those without. the way to do that is to keep the prevalence, the number of infections down so the hospitals can cope. we're already seeing in some parts of the north, some hospitals are starting to see the pressure. we have a doubling time of eight to 15 days, so it is not before those intensive care beds could be full and we could be in very difficult situation. i am afraid we will have to make some difficult choices very quickly.
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a scottish mp who was suspended from the snp for taking a train from london to glasgow, after testing positive for covid—19, has said she won't resign. in an interview with the scottish sun on sunday, margaret ferrier said the virus made her "act out of character". she added that her ‘hard work and dedication' shouldn't be wiped away by what she described as an error ofjudgement. but speaking on sophie ridge on sunday, scotland's first minister, the snp leader nicola sturgeon, said she hasn't been swayed by ms ferrier‘s account. i cannot unilaterally decide to expel somebody, we have a process in the snp and that will take its course. we done everything in terms of her snp membership that we are able to do at this stage, pending that due process. i don't have the power, no party leader has the power to make an mp resigned from parliament. but i could not be clear, she should step down from
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parliament. the lapse ofjudgment in travelling hundreds of miles knowing she had tested positive for covid we re she had tested positive for covid were so she had tested positive for covid were so significant and so unacceptable, that i don't think there is any other acceptable course of action for her. so i have read her comments in the media today but i still hope she will do the right thing. president trump is no longer at risk of transmitting covid—19 to others, acording to the white house physician. this weekend he delivered a speech from the balcony of the white house, and told hundreds of cheering supporters that he was "feeling great". our north america correspondent, david willis has the latest. ladies and gentlemen, the president of the united states. the defiant removal of the facemask, a message to the faithful that their man is back. first of all, i'm feeling great. i don't know about you. how is everyone feeling? cheering. a much—anticipated memo from the president's doctor confirmed the leader of the free
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world is no longer a risk to others. now at day ten from symptom onset, wrote dr sean conley, fever—free for over 2a hours, and all symptoms improved, the assortment of advanced diagnostic tests obtained reveal there is no longer evidence of actively replicating virus. not that the possibility of the president's continued contagion seemed to worry those that packed the south lawn of the white house several hours earlier. there were masks, yes, but little sign of social distancing. although the sea of maga caps might tell you otherwise, that was not a campaign event, according to the administration. it was, however, part of an attempt to woo black and latino voters, a group adversely affected by the coronavirus. yet despite the president's dogged existence that it is disappearing, at least half a dozen states are now recording record numbers of cases of the coronavirus. this is the single most important election in
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the history of our country. get out and vote, and i love you. thank you. cheering. after more than a week's convalescence, the president is now hoping to make up for lost time, hitting the campaign trail hard in the next days, with events planned in the swing states of florida, pennsylvania and iowa, with just 22 days to go before the election. david willis, bbc news, los angeles. the humanitarian ceasefire between armenia and azerbaijan is under severe strain, even as the international red cross urges both sides to respect the truce in the war over nagorno—karabakh. each country has accused the other of breaking the russian—brokered deal, which began on saturday. nagorno—karabakh. each country has accused the other of breaking the russian—brokered deal, which began on saturday.
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nagorno—karabakh is officially part of azerbaijan, but it's been controlled by ethnic armenians since the collapse of the soviet union. more than 300 people have been killed and tens of thousands displaced in the past two weeks of violence. azerbaijan says seven people have died in a missile attack on its second largest city, ganja, that's well away from the disputed territory. but the armenian defence ministry has called the azeri allegations "an absolute lie" and accused it of shelling civilian areas inside nagorno—karabakh. the bbc‘s orla guerin is in the city of ganja, where she witnessed the aftermath of an attack and the search for survivors. they are still searching here by hand with dogs, and they have brought in heavy machinery. you can still see the extent of the destruction, and it is over a really wide area. the buildings here are clearly residential. these were apartments where people were asleep in their beds when the attack happened at about 2am local time. we have seen mattresses and blankets strewn around in the rubble. a local explosives expert has said that the weapon used
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here was a long—range rocket, and he believed it came from armenia rather than from nagorno karabakh. rather than from nagorno—karabakh. for now, that is unconfirmed. this was clearly a very large scale attack, and we have seen no sign of any kind of military targets in this area. there are accusations from across the front line that azerbaijan too has breach the truce. azerbaijan too has breached the truce. officials in nagorno karabakh are claiming there has been shelling from this side towards rural districts. but there is supposed to be a truce in place, mediated by russia, but when you look around here, it looks far more like all—out war than ceasefire. orla guerin reporting there. since the conflict between armenia and azerbaijan escalated last month, both sides have been lobbying for government and aid support around the world.
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armenia has a highly organised lobby in washington, and a much louder global voice because of its large diaspora, particularly in france and the united states. it's estimated there are around 1.5 million armenians across the us alone. and as soon as the conflict broke out, the huge armenian community in los angeles, began mobilizing to send food, medical equipment and other supplies to the region. reality star kim kardashian—west who has armenian heritage has shone a spotlight on the conflict, pledging to donate a million dollars to armenia, and asking for others to show support. hi, everyone. it's kim kardashian west. i have been speaking about about the current situation in armenia, and having conversations with so many others to bring further awareness to the crisis that we cannot allow to advance. my thoughts and prayers are with the brave men, women and children. i want everyone to remember that, despite the great distance that separates us, we are not limited by borders. we are one global armenian nation together. the headlines on bbc news:
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a warning from england's deputy chief medical officer that the country is at a tipping point in the fight against covid—19. ministers insist the government is working closely with local leaders ahead of the announcement tomorrow of tighter coronavirus restrictions for england. the white house doctor says president trump is no longer a transmission risk to others, but has not said whether he's tested negative for covid—19. the brazilian health ministry has confirmed that more than 150,000 people have now died after contracting coronavirus. the news comes just two days after the total number of cases in the country passed five million. gail maclellan reports. out for a ride in sao paulo state and stopping for a quick selfie without a mask and seemingly without a care. this is the president
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of brazil, jair bolsonaro. like the president to his north, bolsonaro has been playing down the seriousness of the virus. translation: if you catch it one day, don't worry. we try to avoid it, you know? i am 65 years old. i did not feel anything — not even a little flu. absolutely nothing at all! the president, who himself contracted the coronavirus, is encouraging a return to normality to avoid the collapse of the economy, showing himself without a mask at official events or with his followers. despite initial criticism of his handling of the crisis, his approval ratings have actually risen, thanks to generous government hand—outs to around 60 million informal workers. deaths from coronavirus in brazil are second only to those in the united states. there may be restrictions in place, but the beaches of rio and the cities are remarkably mask—free. translation: the whole problem is that people do not respect
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the restrictions imposed by the country's public health system. people do not wear masks, gather in crowds, and everyone is on the beach without wearing a mask. the absolute numbers of coronavirus are still far worse than in europe, but shops, restaurants and some schools have reopened. translation: i think we are already numbed by the situation. we have been hearing bad things for so long that we have ended up getting used to it. the number can grow. but people stay like this. in fact, the numbers of cases and deaths in brazil have been falling slowly, but with confirmed cases well over 5 million and still 5,000 fatalities a week, there is little room for complacency. gail maclellan, bbc news. across much of europe, the coronavirus appears to be taking hold once more. there have been a record number
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of cases in both france and poland. madrid is now in lockdown and new or tighter restrictions are being introduced in several countries. the bbc‘s tim allman assesses the renewed spread of covid—19. in berlin, closing time is now that little bit earlier. a new curfew has been introduced. restaurants and bars will have to shut at 11pm. germany, for so long a shining example of how to deal with this pandemic, is seeing what's been described as a worrying jump in cases. i've just moved to berlin, this woman tells me. it's a pity there was this curfew, because i was looking forward to partying. but on the other hand, it's also very good, because you shouldn't underestimate the coronavirus. because of this measure, the world is watching berlin, says this bar owner. i don't understand how the mayor can destroy the largest economic sector of his city. it is unbelievable. in france, the situation's
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even worse. the country has seen nearly 27,000 cases in a single day, the highest figure since the pandemic began. a similar story in poland, a record number of infections has been recorded there for four days in a row. masks must once again be worn in all public places. spain's prime minister has pleaded for unity after the far right vox party threatened legal action against the lockdown imposed in madrid. translation: we have always put public health above any other consideration to save lives. we ask all governments to do the same, to think of the sick, health professionals who face covid again. to think also of the victims and their families. some say these measures are too strict, while others say they're not strict enough. it seemed europe had, for the most part, the virus under control.
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the fear is, that may no longer be the case. tim allman, bbc news. residents of louisiana are assessing the damage after hurricane delta wreaked havoc across the region. it's weakened to a tropical depression since coming ashore, but many of the areas hit are still recovering from the devastation caused by hurricane laura in august. aruna iyengar has this report. widespread flooding of streets and river banks in creole, south—western louisiana. this, the result of delta — a category 2 hurricane with maximum winds of 160km/h. hundreds of thousands of residents were left without power, but it did bring out a few thrillseekers. many here in lake charles feel that delta has just added insult to injury. they were still reeling from the destruction wreaked by the more powerful hurricane laura, which hit in late august. laura's winds damaged tens of thousands of homes, leaving roofs across the region
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dotted with protective blue tarpaulins and more than 6,000 people living temporarily in hotels. man, my kids and my wife, man, some of them were scared. they were scared — they made me scared! i was like, "oh, here we go again". delta dumped 40cm of rain, flooding many homes and littering streets with trees and branches. there are so many houses that were not liveable after laura and, you know, most people hadn't even come back before this hurricane hit, so that's why it seems like a ghost town. it's, like, you know — and it probably will be like this for a while, because it's taking so long to get everybody's houses fixed. delta is the tenth named storm of the atlantic hurricane season to make a us landfall this year, and that eclipses a record dating back to 1916. aruna iyengar, bbc news. to the french open now
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and an amazing success story. just a week ago 19—year—old iga swiatek was unsure whether she would commit to tennis long term. now the polish teenager has become the country's first grand slam singles champion. her victory makes her the lowest—ranked woman ever to win the competition, and the youngest since monica seles in 1992. i am a grand slam champion, it's crazy and, you know, you believe in things but in the back of your head, you know that there is going to be a huge demand of work that you have a huge amount of work that you have to do to win that and then after two weeks of great playing, you already have it and it's just, i don't know, it's overwhelming and i think i'm going to have, i'm going to need some more time to comment on that because i need some, like, it's perspective. for the next few days,
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mars is its biggest and brightest as it lines up with earth on the same side of the sun. the positioning means the red planet will be clearly visible as the brightest object in the night sky. this arangement takes place every 26 months. at one point on tuesday evening, mars, the earth and the sun will all be in a straight line — a moment astronomers call ‘opposition'. a0 years ago ian curtis, the lead singer of band joy division, took his own life aged 23, after struggling with his mental health. now, a mural paying tribute to the musical icon has been painted in manchester. kelly foran reports. # love, love will tear us apart, again...#. joy division, pioneers of the post—punk movement. but the night before their first big american tour, lead singer ian curtis took his own life
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after suffering from epilepsy and depression. he was only 23. his band—mate and friend says a0 years ago, mental health was, even more so, just something people didn't talk about. what he went through, you know, it must've been so difficult and, in funny way, i still live with the guilt of it, you know, survivor's guilt thing, so it's been a great help to me to realise that, these days, there's so much more help, and people need to seek it. this mural has been done for a manchester mental health festival this weekend, but will stay here for good. it caught the eyes magnificently, which was one of ian's striking features, his eyes, which always looked so warm and friendly and then he went and looked like a demon, it was fantastic. but behind those eyes were a sadness that he didn't share with many. ian suffered greatly, and i suppose one of the odd things about ian was that he soldiered on,
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and it didn't do him much good, sadly. and this is street artist akse's way of getting people to talk. it was a good thing to do, especially during this when lockdown has affected so many people. it is a critical issue. his murals have been changing the face of manchester. you might recognise a few. # walk in silence...#. i think there probably still is an image to some that street art equals graffiti, graffiti equals vandalism, vandalism brings down an area but, in actual fact, it's an art gallery on the street. it's hoped that remembering this manchester music legend in such a striking way will encourage people who walk past it or who come to see it to open up that conversation about mental health. it's nice that manchester remembers and, yeah, it's a wonderful tribute.
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i've just watched so many people smile and be absolutely blown away with the sight of it this morning, just parked here so, yeah, it's nice, it's lovely. now it's time for a look at the weather with louise lear. hello there. lighter winds, if showers are more in the way of sunshine. most of the showers will be coastal and the more frequent ones will run in off the north sea. had a little bit further inland, with some sunshine and it will feel pleasant. lighter breezes further west but the temperatures are struggling on the exposed east coast and we could see a maximum of 15 or 16 degrees in the best of any sunshine. in the latter stages of the day cloud will come and rain arrives into western scotland and northern ireland as the weather front that will sink south and east. please clearing in the south and east through the night could mean
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low single figures on monday morning. it will not last, the early morning. it will not last, the early morning brightness, as the weather front will bring more wet weather as it slowly pushes its way steadily south and east. monday could be a disappointing day with a lot of cloud around, outbreaks of rain and if it lingers, temperatures are really struggling. hello this is bbc news with ben brown. the headlines: a warning from england's deputy chief medical officer that the country is at a tipping point in the fight against covid—19. ministers insist the government is working closely with local leaders ahead of the announcement tomorrow of tighter coronavirus restrictions for england. the white house doctor says president trump is no longer a transmission risk to others, but has not said whether he's tested negative for covid—19. rescuers search for survivors after a missile attack
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