today at 6pm... northern ireland now has the toughest covid restrictions in the uk. from friday, schools will close for two weeks, and pubs and restaurants face a four—week closure. listen to what parents have to say. nobody knows what they're doing and they‘ re just changing the rules every single day — especially for people going to school, people who have no childcare. it doesn't help, especially parents that can't help their kids properly — some need school and need the extra help as well. also tonight, the welsh government bans visitors from the worst affected parts of the uk. from friday, no more travel over this borderfor people from friday, no more travel over this border for people living from friday, no more travel over this borderfor people living in covid hot spots, but there is confusion exactly who that includes.

it's happening again — from cancer to heart disease, treatments are being postponed as hospitals cope with more covid cases. the scene last night in liverpool's city centre as it prepared to enter tough covid restrictions — the mayor said they shamed the city. 200 nights in a tent and counting — ten—year—old max's tribute to his friendly neighbours. woke up in the morning with red ant bites all around my leg. there was a red ants‘ nest under my tent, and they came for tea, and apparently it was on me. and coming up on bbc news. project big picture is abandoned — a unanimous decision by all clubs, at a premier league meeting today. so what's next to bail out the english football league?

good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. from friday, northern ireland will have the toughest coronavirus restrictions in the uk. acknowledging the hardship it would mean for many, first minister arlene foster said the government had not taken the decision lightly. in the last week, northern ireland has reported the highest rates of infection in the uk. from 6pm on friday, all pubs and restaurants, hairdressers and beauticians, will have to shut their doors for a month. supermarkets and off—licences will not be allowed to sell alcohol after 8pm. schools will close for two weeks, one of them being half—term. but this isn't a full lockdown. takeways are allowed and shops will still be open, as will gyms for individual training. places of worship are also allowed to keep their doors open as long as covid measures are observed.

childcare facilties can continue to operate as well. our northern ireland correspondent, emma vardy, is in belfast. a lot of pubs, restaurants and other businesses here were just starting to find their feet again, so today's announcement did feel like a real step back. but, even so, the picture is stark. parts of northern ireland that had seen some of the lowest numbers of covid cases have now seen themselves with the highest. there was real tension in the devolved government here about reimposing blanket restrictions, particularly over the closure of schools. clap they might. an extended holiday is on the way. two weeks instead of one for the half—term break. but the restrictions have come with just a few days‘ notice for parents in northern ireland who now have children at home from monday. nobody knows what they are doing and they are just changing the rules every single day.

actually for people who are going to school, people who have no childcare, people have to get people to mind their kids, i think it's terrible. it doesn't help, especially parents that can't help their kids properly. some neat school and need that to help as well. it's always good to get a bit of notice so that you can make plans and contingency plans. you have a lot of children taking the free school meals, things like that that you have to check out in the background and make sure those children are going to be catered for. it can't be done just instantly. a return to tighter restrictions mustn't roll on indefinitely say political leaders but after late—night disagreements at stormont last night, it took some time for all parties to agree just how far they should go. the tougher restrictions were a compromise after sinn fein had pushed to go further but the dup was holding back. these decisions will make a huge impact on peoples lives, but they are for four weeks, we are very determined that this will be a time limited intervention. if we don't get our act together,

we are going to have to impose more restrictions. the fact is, the impositions of restrictions like this and the first lockdown were a blunt instrument. this restaurant in belfast had only just reopened a week ago. now it is estimated the new closures will come at a cost of £700 million to northern ireland's economy. i just feel numb. i feel we have put so much into this and i feel hospitality are getting hung out to dry. hello, i'm amy, and i'm home, self—isolating for the next... in derry and strabane, a lot of pupils are already off. this area has the highest rate of infections in the uk. i think people are taking it more serious now they know the numbers are rising again because people are getting scared. and spare a thought forjacob. head boy at lisneal college, into his third week of isolating at home, where his mother and brother have tested positive. how are you coping? it's very, very tricky. i have to wear a mask every

time i leave my room. i have to disinfect the kitchen, i have to disinfect the bathroom as well. the slow but steady creep of rising cases since august has seen medical advisers in northern ireland pushing to lock down much harder. too little, too late. we need to be stricter, we need to have more severe restrictions for a longer period of time because we have a real problem in secondary care, in hospitals, and we don't want to be overwhelmed. once again, the wait begins to see whether these restrictions on the lives of people in northern ireland will have enough of an effect and whether larger parts of the uk may follow. emma vardy, bbc news, belfast. the welsh government is to impose a travel ban on people coming into the country from parts of the uk with the highest rates of coronavirus infections. first minister mark drakeford said he took the decision after downing street rejected requests to impose the ban itself. the ban is expected to come

into effect at 6pm this friday. so how exactly will it work in practice? here's our wales correspondent, hywel griffith. a quiet country manor, sheltered so far from covid's second wave, but businesses here in mid wales now find themselves on the political front line. since talk of a cross—border travel ban started last week, customers from the midlands and manchester have been cancelling. it still isn't clear who will be prevented from coming here on friday, which has left kimberly trying to fathom the rules. you know, i'm getting phone call after phone call — "can we come?" "are you still open?" "do we have to do this?" "what are your restrictions?" do we put a block on those people and protect our own, or do we allow them to come and just take extra precautions? it's that really weird kind of limbo phase that we're in at the moment. and where is home? travel restrictions aren't new within wales. the police can carry out spot checks and issue fines. we're just stopping people to check

the purpose of theirjourney. the welsh government wanted borisjohnson to ban travel out of lockdown zones in england too, but he has not been answering their letters. llywydd, no letter from the prime minister has been received in reply to my request. i have therefore asked for the necessary work to be brought forward which would allow for devolved powers to be used to prevent people from travelling into wales from high—prevalence areas of the united kingdom. large parts of wales are already closed to tourists. llandudno has been under lockdown for almost a fortnight. with no visitors allowed in, many businesses have been starved of their customers, most of whom travel from over the border. it's heartbreaking. more than 70% of our trade is from outside the town. so this 70% is gone, straightaway it is gone. all the hotels will be shut so it will be a ghost town again for another, for how long, i don't know.

the pandemic has seen each nation take its own approach to protecting people. this ban shows how divided they can be. the welsh government says it has given borisjohnson the welsh government says it has given boris johnson another 48 the welsh government says it has given borisjohnson another 48 hours to change his mind on travel restrictions in england. what will it mean in wales after six b on friday? this border will not be sealed, people can still be allowed in with a reasonable excuse, like travelling for work, education or to deliver care, but coming on holiday will not be a valid reason. i am told that tier three and two areas in england, as well as all of northern and the central belt of scotland, will, as of 6p on friday, be banned from travelling into wales. —— is of 6pm. so what we have is a patchwork of different measures across the uk, and within england there are variations — how you are affected depends on where you live or work. most parts of england are in tier

one, where the rule of six still applies and 10pm hospitality curfews are still in place. people living in areas like greater manchester, leeds, newcastle and large swathes of the midlands have now been placed in tier two. that means there'll be no household mixing indoors, but the rule of six applies outdoors. and, in the liverpool city region, which has been placed in the most strict tier three, that means no mixing of households in an indoor or outdoor setting. pubs and bars will close, unless they provide a "substa ntial meal". our special correspondent, ed thomas, has been to liverpool and the wirral, to find out how day one of the new measures is going down. shutting down. can you drink up? is saying goodbye. for anna, shutting down. can you drink up? is saying goodbye. foranna, it's shutting down. can you drink up? is saying goodbye. for anna, it's not just herjob, it's her home. grip it's my livelihood, the people who

work for have mortgages and kids. i am bitter and angry. can you last six months? i can't. is repeated in pubs and bars across the region last night, closing their doors for up to six months. is an industry, city and country, this is not good enough. joe is worried about his bar and staff. it could bring cases down. of course, but this legislation doesn't work. we are going to struggle so much. it will be such a dark place for so many. we have been telling each other for months we will figure a way out, as now is the end, there is no way out. it's done. this was the reaction from some at closing time last night. gone 10pm in liverpool city centre. this morning, open defiance. this gym on the wirral, like all gyms, ordered to

close under tier three covid rules, has refused. it's illegal, why are you doing it? for our members and oui’ you doing it? for our members and our city. the best part of 100,000 people in merseyside use the gym. the potential health implications are drastic. why put people at risk? the stats suggest there is not much risk here. the metra mayor has promised extra financial support but warned people have to follow the rules. nobody wants people to curtail freedoms but we have tier three restrictions in place from today, and they are the law. the alternative is to see our city region overrun with sickness and death. in march and april, there was a sense of togetherness felt across the country, but speak to many on merseyside and it's not the same today. there is a sense of anger, mistrust, but the major problem is

that covid cases are rising quickly, and so also are hospital admissions and so also are hospital admissions and deaths. when you go out, you are totally on edge. a real worry for sue, blind at living alone. am i going to be locked in here for the next six months? that's how i feel. iamon next six months? that's how i feel. iam on my next six months? that's how i feel. i am on my own. who is going to look after me? life is going to change. two three covid rules are here, but the hope is that lives will also be saved. with infection rates remaining high in greater manchester, the mayor, andy burnham, has threatened a legal challenge if the city is pushed into tier three restrictions — that's the highest level. he's argued that, without more financial support, people would face what he called "severe hardship" in the run—up to christmas. the bbc understands government scientists suggest that greater manchester, alongside much of north—west england and the midlands, should be moved into the toughest

category, but no final decision has been made. 0ur correspondent, danny savage, sent this report. like so many town and city centres in the north, preston is being badly damaged by coronavirus. every time the rules change, people's habits change. as soon as the government to say i'm going to announce something, we don't see hardly anybody for three orfour days. they're worried, they're frightened, they're anxious, and then they start coming out. like everything else, they start coming out again. this area is currently in the middle tier, the alert level is deemed as high. so, among other things, you cannot meet indoors socially with people unless you live with them but discussions are under way to elevate lancashire into the very high risk category and that would tighten restrictions even more. but it would also bring financial compensation which the area doesn't currently get. this pub landlord just wants some certainty. if we go to tier three and we close, then i think we would just all accept it. at least we will know where we are. you know, to get on top of this,

to stop the virus, to sort this out once and for all, to stop being the fourth worst affected country in the world and the fifth richest, just make a decision! pubs and bars normally thrive around here but tier three rules would see an end to socially distanced lunchtime points. i wouldn't like to have it for months and months but if it was a short two weeks, just to try and reduce the number of cases, i think we could live with it. i think the vulnerable should be shielding again and everybody else to go out and just live their lives which would keep the economy going and people's mental health as well. ten miles away in garstang, the infection rate is much lower. the idea of the whole county being classed as very high risk is baffling and frustrating for some. well, we live in a village and it just seems unfair that they put all these restrictions on us. it's quite low around this area. in greater manchester, feelings were much stronger. the mayor says the government is not

offering enough funding to go to tier three. the health harm that would be done by an underfunded tier three option of the kind we are being pressurised into accepting would do significant health harm to the people, families and communities of greater manchester, and that is something that we are not prepared to accept. ultimately, central government will make the call on whether the likes of lancashire and greater manchester get placed in the top tier but civic leaders are not speaking with one voice. north—east england, the north—west, large parts of yorkshire and parts of the midlands are heading that way. the imposition of new restrictions is going to be messy and, in places, difficult. danny savage, bbc news, preston. so the latest official figures show that 19,724 new infections were recorded

in the latest 24—hour period. it means the average number of new cases reported per day in the past week is 15,767. hospital admissions are slowly rising — on average, 688 people were being admitted every day over the past week. this number doesn't include scotland. 137 deaths have been reported — that's people who died within 28 days of a positive covid—19 test. it means on average in the past week 91 deaths were announced every day, which takes the total number of deaths so far across the uk to 43,155. we know that in the first wave of the pandemic thousands of people with serious illnesses, other than covid faced treatment delays or even cancellations. for example, cancer research uk estimates that up to 3 million people have missed out on routine screening since march. now there are fears that some non—urgent procedures are being delayed in order to free up hospital beds for those

suffering from the virus. our health editor, hugh pym looks at the challenges facing hospitals. some hospitals are under pressure, intensive care and general ward beds filling up with covid—19 patients and there is a need to find more space. up the really tough decision for hospital managers is whether to postpone non—urgent work to free up beds for coronavirus cases. and intensive care specialist in the north west of england said that was 110w north west of england said that was now looking more likely. when your backis now looking more likely. when your back is against the wall and you have patients come in with severe covid infections and also staff, medical and nursing staff suffering from not only covid infections but exhaustion, the planned activity will undoubtedly end up suffering. gordon, who lives south of glasgow, was meant to have a hip replacement in march which was postponed until this month and then again.|j

received a text to sate the operation was cancelled because they required the beds because of a surge in covid cases. so far, only a few hospitals have said they are scaling back a routine surgery. nhs leaders are keen to avoid having to shut down all non—urgent work as they did in the first months of the crisis. the impact of people staying away from hospital, either because their treatment was postponed or because they were worried about the infection risk, has become one of the central issues of the pandemic. the key question is how much long—term damage has been done to their health and whether, in some cases, this might be fatal. 0ne measure is cases, this might be fatal. 0ne measure is excess cases, this might be fatal. 0ne measure is excess deaths, the total from all causes above the long—term average. a new study looks at the numbers between february and may and find there was no overall covid impact in this list of european countries but in others, the virus only had eight low—impact. there was a medium impact in france, the

netherlands in sweden and high impact in belgium, italy, spain, england with wales and scotland. it's absolutely the case that by the health system pivoting to focus almost entirely on covid—19 in the first wave that it will have had impact on mortality for patients with other chronic conditions such as cancer, heart disease and dementia. british hospitals are far from alone in considering cuts in routine medical work. in the czech republic, some general hospital wards have been converted by builders into covid—19 departments. the divisions between the government and labour over how best to tackle hugh pym, bbc news. the pandemic were laid bare today during prime minister's questions. the labour leader, sir keir starmer, wants what he called a "short circuit breaker" — that's a limited lockdown. but borisjohnson said he wanted to avoid the "misery" of another national lockdown that would damage people's livelihoods. here's our political editor, laura kuenssberg.

the rolling valley around glastonbury tor. around here in somerset, there have been 44 new cases of coronavirus in the last seven days. nottingham's old market square. in this bustling part of the world, nearly 3000 people have fallen ill with the disease over the same time. why are you ignoring the science, prime minister? that difference, why the prime minister is resisting bringing in a limited lockdown across england. the opposition, though, is split away after the government's own senior scientist proposed a short, sharp period of closures. 0n the 21st of september, the government's owner scientific advisers, sage, gave very clear advice. they said a package of interventions including a circuit breaker will be needed to prevent an exponential rise in cases. why did the prime minister reject that advice and abandon the science? he wants to close pubs, he wants to close bars, he wants to close businesses in areas across the country

where the incidence is low and that's what he wants to do. what labour is proposing is not as strict as the lockdown from earlier this year. but downing street wants to avoid it and there is little appetite on the tory benches too. i know that for someone who has been an opportunist all his life, this is difficult, this is difficult to understand. but having read and considered the sage advice, i have genuinely concluded that a circuit break is in the national interest. the whole point, mr speaker, is to seize this moment now to avoid the misery of another national lockdown into which he wants to go headlong by delivering a regional solution. politicians don't like admitting it but there can be opportunity in crisis, and there have been conversations in government about bringing in a limited lockdown, to close pubs and bars everywhere, to slow the disease down.

number 10 is loath to press the button on a limited lockdown for england, notjust because of the harm that could do to the way the country makes its living, but also, why treat everywhere the same when the pattern of the disease varies from place to place? but avoiding a limited lockdown is a strong hope, not a guarantee. more parts of the country could soon fall under tighter rules. a limited lockdown is not a never, but it is certainly not for now. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. new figures obtained by bbc news reveal a sharp decline in the number of children being referred for specialist mental health treatment during the covid crisis. freedom of information responses from 40 nhs mental health and community trusts in england found that the number of patients referred for treatment in april and may this year was nearly half what it was last year. experts agree that the pandemic has brought a surge in mental health cases among young people. jeremy cooke spoke to two families

about their experiences. he is a brilliant boy, very intelligent. he has autism but he also has depression at the moment, mental health issues. some peace in these troubled times, for a 14—year—old living with the agony of mental health crisis. for a mum we will calljane, living with the agony of seeing him suffer. started pulling his hair out, he was sobbing, he was crying, he was shaking. it's heartbreaking seeing your son have a breakdown. this all started at christmas but jane's son is still waiting for his treatment for depression to begin. to see your child suffering, unable to get dressed, unable to face the day, saying that they want to die... vicky's daughter 0livia was already unwell as lockdown started. their fight has been to get a referral for professional psychiatric support.

the worse i got with my mental health, the more ill i felt and you reach out for the help and it's not there. jane says her son was assessed by cams, the children's mental health service, injanuary. she watched his health deteriorate through lockdown but says they have had no treatment, no help. i have sobbed down the phone to cams teams and all i have been told is here is some websites, go and have a look at them. a bbc freedom of information request suggests that other families share jane's frustrations. the number of young people taken on by cams in england at the height of the lockdown was 40% down on last year. i dread to think what the real statistics are in the uk of how many children they are failing or have failed or worse, that the child has lost their life because they have not had any help. experts say some young people's mental health has improved under lockdown but they agree that many others have suffered. we are very, very worried about the effects of the pandemic on the mental health of children

and young people. two thirds of children and young people before the pandemic with a mental health disorder were not getting the help they need. add to that of the concerns about the increased demand with the pandemic, plus the long—standing staff shortage we have had in the nhs, that does lead to a perfect storm. if you're in the same bubble, you can sit next to each other... 0livia's mum has tried repeatedly to get her back into the cams system, as the figures show that the number of referrals in april and may were down almost half on last year. accessing the service was difficult anyway pre—covid but it is certainly much, much harder once covid had hit. just had to keep pushing. it has just been really, really tough. on her third attempt to get a referral, 0livia was finally seen by a psychiatrist but now the spectre of more covid restrictions. i think with one more lockdown it would be straight back onto the floor again. i want to be the happy person that everyone knew me as, i don't want to be the girl that

lam. the nhs says that their mental health services have remained open throughout the pandemic and that new 24—hour crisis hotlines are open, butjane is still waiting and still fighting for the treatment she says her son desperately needs. it's notjust him. every parent is having their heart broken watching their child go through it, and it shouldn't be that, it shouldn't be that way. jeremy cooke, bbc news. details of organisations offering information and support with mental health are available at bbc.co.uk/actionline, or you can call for free, at any time to hear recorded information on 08000155 998. a study has found that australia's great barrier reef has lost more than half of its corals since 1995 due to the impact of rapidly warming waters. scientists found all types of corals had suffered a decline across the world's largest reef system, with serious

damage occurring in 2016, 2017 and again this year. a ten—year—old boy from north devon has raised tens of thousands of pounds for charity by camping out in his back garden. max woosey pitched the tent he inherited from a neighbour at the start of lockdown and he's been there ever since. jon kay went to meet him. night 205 and, as max goes to bed, once again he is remembering his hero. rick, his neighbour, who died of cancer earlier this year and left max his tent. he was amazing, he loved the outdoors. he said to me, "you've got to promise me that you will have an adventure," and i said, "yes, iwill, i promise you that." and what an adventure he's had. since march, max has slept in the garden every night, despite all the dangers he's

encountered. in the middle of the night, i was, like, ooh, that hurts, but fell back to sleep. woke up in the morning with a red ant, loads of bites all around my leg. the tent has had so much use, he has had to get a new one, big enough for diggy the labradoodle to join him from time to time. you've got a house here with a bedroom with a nice warm bed. it's been the tidiest ever! i've never seen it this tidy! are you ever tempted to go inside in the middle of the night? no, no. being able to have your own space instead of your parents checking on you... it's the middle of october now. very soon it's going to be cold and wet and wintry. are you prepared to do this, keep going? yeah, yeah. even if it's snowy, i'll build an igloo and live in it. max says he's going to do a full year under canvas and there is a very big incentive. he has already raised tens of thousands of pounds for the hospice that cared for his hero.

if rick was still alive, i think he would be by my side in a different tent right now. jon kay, bbc news, braunton in north devon. time for a look at the weather here's ben rich. good evening, the knights have started to get a bit chilly for camping in recent days and we will stick with some fairly chilly nights in the next few days —— the nights. bright skies and sunshine but also one 01’ bright skies and sunshine but also one or two showers, maybe not quite as many in the next few days as we had this afternoon. you can see them here, continuing to drift westwards this evening and tonight with further showers pushing in to eastern counties of england and a lot of cloud gathering in the north—east of scotland which will roll in through the night. of the odd patch of fog possible in the central belt, lowest temperatures in western scotland of one or 2 degrees, fairly chilly elsewhere but

nothing exceptional for this