you're watching bbc news. it's the final stretch and president trump isn't wasting a single moment. he has three rallies today in pennsylvania hoping to blunt joe biden‘s lead in the polls. but he's got a hurdle to contend with — covid infections are surging across much of america. the covid spike isn't sitting well with the markets — the dowjones closed down more than 650 points. also in the programme... the presidents chief of staff tells the united states the virus can't be controlled. the example of south korea suggests otherwise. we will check in with our correspondent in seoul. plus, will this be the year of the gen z voter? there's more than 23 million of them — and many lean democrat. we'll hear from some of them.

hello, i'm katty kay in washington, christian fraser is in london. this is the last full week before the presidential election and it has come full circle — after months of protests, and fires, and tax scandals — this vote is still a referendum on donald trump and his leadership in the pandemic. in these closing days, the coronavirus is now back at the centre of this campaign. the numbers in america are alarming. the 7 day rolling average for new cases of covid—19 has peaked at its highest level since the pandemic began, and the us saw a record number of new infections on both friday and saturday, over 80 thousand on both days, the highest figures on record, according tojohns hopkins university. this is not where president trump wants to be a week out from the election.

he has been insisting the country is turning a corner. yesterday — his chief of staff mark meadows revealed the administration's current thinking. we're not going to control the pandemic. we are going to control the fact that we get vaccines, therapeutics and other mitigation... why aren't we going to get control of because it is a contagious virus just like the flu. why not make efforts to contain it? well, we are making efforts to contain it. by running all over the country, not wearing a mask? that's with the vice presidents doing. mr meadows clarified those comments somewhat today — taking aim atjoe biden — saying that he was the one holding up a white flag for the coronavirus — but repeated his statement that the virus wasn't going to be controlled. our senior north america reporter anthony zurcherjoins us now. are they just saying are theyjust saying and public what they been saying in private given up trying to control this thing? when you see them going around holding

rally in all of these different states, it does seem to acknowledge the fact that they were trying to get on with the campaign, get on with life despite the fact that coronavirus numbers are spiking in places like wisconsin where donald trump is going to go tomorrow. where he's been recently so has mike pence. i think at least until election day they are going to try to put on the best front they can and act like is donald trump is said in his rallies, this thing is turning a corner. that they are almost through it. sorry caddie i was going to say three rallies today in pennsylvania. tells you very much for his focus is right now. the trouble is when you look at the three states michigan, wisconsin, pennsylvania that is where the virus is spiking. that's true. it is definitely very concerning. when you look at polls, the american public says that the coronavirus is the most important thing on their minds as they are heading to vote. when you look at the message that's coming from the democrats, from barack obama, the rally sees al,

from joe biden and kamala harris, it is nonstop hitting donald trump on his handling of the virus. they are going to try to hammer this home when you hear donald trump talk about it, he says covid, covid he's tired of talking about her. i think he knows that this issue is not helping him. you were at a rally in pensacola florida last week and i know that initially after president trump came out of hospital we were seeing more people at those rallies wearing a mask. what kind of precautions where they take and when you were in florida? well, when i walked into the main gate to go to this rally which was like the ones he's been holding everywhere in an aeroplane hangar where air force one pulls out. there's a little sign saying the trump pence campaign please wear your mouse. but when i got inside and saw thousands of people there i think maybe i% of the people there i think maybe i% of the people in pensacola were wearing masks. at least at that particular rally there was no enforcement at no sign of anyone they are socially distancing or taking any kind of

basic precautions in order to avoid spreading the coronavirus. there we re spreading the coronavirus. there were a few more in pennsylvania today wearing masks. maybe the campaign was distributing them but they were throwing out hats in florida not masks. 0k, thank you very much forjoining us. ok, thank you very much forjoining us. once again the white house itself is a virus hotspot. five close advisers to the vice—president mike pence have tested positive for covid—i9. both mr pence and his wife tested negative on sunday. but it raises questions about how seriously the white house is following its own advice. the vice—president is campaigning in minnesota today. under the rules set down by the cdc and the coronavirus task force which mr pence chairs, he and his wife should be isolating for 14 days. the white house says the vice—president is an essential worker and therefore exempt. so much to get into as we enter the final stretch — let's talk to tom bossert for us homeland security adviser to president trump on the pandemic.

thank you very much forjoining us. are we making a mountain out of a mole hill when we say that the vice president is out of the campaign trail, not following the cdc guidelines on quarantining or the president is at a rally and people are not wearing mask and particularly being encouraged to wear a mask and so are we skewing it oi’ wear a mask and so are we skewing it or does it matter this kind of role modelling that were seen from the lighthouse? thanks for having me. no we are not exaggerating. of course this is a deadly and its infectious and it's something to be concerned with. i think the reason you asked that question is that it's not solely up to the vice president and the presidents behavior. i've said this elsewhere it's a team sport. it's really up to how over 200 million people in this country it's up million people in this country it's up to how those people behave. but you are not overselling it. i think what we've now seen is this kind of confusion as to how we toggle back and forth for the top of course i

don't give too much credence to the political argument that we saw there between one of the cable tv interviewers in the white house chief of staff. but i do understand that there is a difference between suppression tactics. as people in great britain understand very well. and mitigation tactics. and we've beenin and mitigation tactics. and we've been in since april in a mitigation approach in the united states and we might have to start in fact we do need to start in some places not everywhere in the united states right now shifting or toggling into a suppression level effort. because the amount of virus is increasing. what you saw there between jake tapper and mark meadows was a fundamental misunderstanding on both sides about where we need to engage in suppression and where we need to engage in mitigation. they both got it wrong. tom, when you look at what's happening in europe and christian and i have been speaking about this for the last couple of weeks, it's as inevitable as the sun

rising in the morning that we were going to see a spike in cases about two weeks following from europe. do you think that leaders here, should be taking more restrictions now in the united states? perhaps following the united states? perhaps following the example of some of those european countries? is that the way we are inevitably heading? gas. this is hard for me to watch because the first time we saw the first wave —— yes. we had the harbinger of the european experience. we weren't ready to act quickly or we were seeing in italy, we started in new york. i understand why we can quickly move at that time. this go round the second or third wave whatever it is named, we have the experience necessary to act to stop seeing what we are seeing in europe is alarming its crude comparisons to the rates being reported by population and to hospitalization rates that are following the new cases, you would see in the united states a potential for massive, massive growth curve. i don't want

over exaggerated everywhere is a little different. but in the united states at very least 36 states with one or two counties in each of those states we are seeing things like we are seeing in spain and in france. at hot in europe. we really have about two or three weeks before we experience their outbreak levels by population. you can sort of understand why the president is not changing his tune eight days out from an election for the he's almost be admitting that he got it wrong all along. but you can't very well say we are turning the corner when we see the figures that we are. to date news from utah that hospitals may be overwhelmed. they might have to start rationing care. similar stories from texas and wisconsin. by election day we could be in a situation where this is looking pretty hairy. yeah, i think the others united states in particular it isa others united states in particular it is a really odd sense of false choice that we either return to

national blanket shutdowns or we stay open. of course, neither is what we should be doing. the nuance is really what's being missed i think here. i understand the presidents instinct and the vice president. they've got only one week left the campaign for theirjobs in their political futures. however a shutdown in some places is warranted shutdowns and others may not yet be warranted where it mitigation is still appropriate. but they've got to figure out a way to communicate that when you're going to toggle back and forth between now and the time that we've got adequate vaccine distribution, that is a national objective supportive of locally targeted and layered interventions that aren't the same across the world or across the country at anyone time. is he the president trying to be the national leader with messaging and he could nuances a little bit better. of course that gives meaning to so much disagreement and confusion. thank you forjoining us.

few people understand pandemics better than tom he wrote the playbook for the george bush administration. playbook for the george bush administration. of course, it's notjust in the us where coronavirus cases are rising rapidly. there has been a precipitous spike in infections in europe. spain has imposed a new national state of emergency, whie italy has closed down theatres cinemas gyms and banned restaurants and bars from opening after 6pm. meanwhile, in france on sunday there were over 50 thousand cases recorded in a 2k hour period. the government is considering tightening its night time curfew, which already covers 46 million people. and in the belgian city of liege, things are so bad doctors that begins on wednesday. per capita of population europe is faring slightly worse than the us right now. but we know from the evidence of the first spike that where europe goes, the us is likely to follow. and compare the warnings from leaders in europe's with the tone of the us president. translation: europe and spain

are fairly immersed in the second wave of the pandemic. covid—19 is spreading around the world at high speed. you watch every day in the media, we are already more than 42 million officially affected throughout the world. unfortunately, more than 1 million people have died worldwide. translation: we are not helpless and facing the virus. our actions determine the strength and speed of which it spreads. in the imperative thing for all of us to do is to reduce contact, to meet fewer people. if we all stick together, we will all meet the enormous challenge posed by this virus. ...turn on the cult television, covid, covid, covid, covid. a plane goes down 500 people dead they don't talk about it. covid, covid, covid. by the way on november four you won't hear about it anymore. we've heard a lot about test and trace as a key

to battling the virus. but the other step is isolation — and europeans and americans aren't doing a very good job at that. at least not compared to some other countries. you only need to look at the examples of south korea, taiwan, japan, new zealand, australia to see how it should be done. our correspondent laura bicker is in seoulfor us. it takes leadership, and takes setting an example from the top. and it also takes perhaps, a slightly different culture. what do you think? a lot of people said that south korea has managed to suppress the virus because of its culture. it acted extremely quickly. south korea in the us have the same case announced on the same day. months back and look at where we are now. life is almost back to normal. we wear a mask, there's a little bit of social distancing but everything is open. today we are expecting figures which would show that the economy is coming out of recession. actually it might be seen better. when it comes to quarantine they are strict here.

i have to come in from the uk and they had a number of stations that you go through. you go straight into a tent get your temperature taken, you have to fill in a number of forms then you are taken for your covid—i9 test. you have to download an app on your phone which will trace all of your movements and for 14 days and you have to kind of fell in your symptoms twice a day. if you don't do that they will phone you. they also send you care packages so you get things like temperature gauge, you get various rations of hand sanitizer. and things that disinfect your home. they also send you weekends of spam which is very popular here. you have to stay in your household. very different to my experience. what about you katty? yeah, i don't really know anyone here in america who has done quarantine as strict as that. do you think it's replicable in europe and america was not do you think what

south korea could be done in the west? i've done it twice now. i think as a person very very difficult to do. i can see the temptation if there is no barrier to you leaving. by day 13 you want to climb the walls. i think when it comes to the penalty and the realisation of what this population with think of you, if you love quarantine now that's not to say south korea hasn't gone through quarantine hundreds have. they have been faced with very strict penalties if you do break quarantine you can get an ankle bracelet put on but they trace every movement. also there is a prison sentence if you break quarantine a number of times. so the penalties are there. i do think it would be difficult to replicate because certainly the phone app, the mass surveillance of the tracing here. is something that perhaps the west will stomach. but i have to say it kept is not a lockdown. yeah, the economy is open.

can't run the economy and less the virus is under control. you make a choice, don't you? lara thank you very much for getting up bright and early tojoin us. and i'm so so glad you got spam. not that i ever wa nt to so glad you got spam. not that i ever want to eat spam. not that i ever want to eat spam. stay with us on bbc news, still to come, donald trump takes eric bergen had there to find out whatjens he thinks of this election. as half—term starts for many pupils in england this week, borisjohnson has refused to extend free school meal vouchers, to cover the holidays, but has hinted at extra support, in the ongoing controversy. alex forsyth reports. i'm just collecting some apples for stewed apples in the morning for breakfast. this family's been finding alternative ways to stay fed. it might seem like a rural idyll, but it can be a real struggle. their mum can't find work in the pandemic. she relies on universal credit and says free school meals are a lifeline that she's missing this half term.

it's embarrassing to not be able to do the most basic cooking and things and provide your children and then have to go and ask for that help, and have that help debated, have that help discussed and have my decisions on my choices as a mother discussed. if it happened to me, it can happen to anybody. okey—cokey. the prime minister, despite growing pressure to offer food vouchers during the holidays, is holding firm on that front. but, in berkshire today, promoting better hospital food, he didn't rule out more support. the way to deal with it, we think, is by increasing the funds available for universal credit. we put up by about a thousand a year. but, also, to put more into local councils. so we don't want to see children going hungry this winter, this christmas, certainly not as a result of any inattention by this government. but, without extra help this half term, some councils

and businesses are stepping in. wolverhampton‘s labour leader was delivering food parcels today. the government points to £63 million it gave england's local authorities this summer to help families facing hardship, but many say with marcus rushford the premier player who kicked off this issue determined to keep a prominent their political pressure doesn't seem to be easing. with just over a week to go until the election, bothjoe biden and donald trump are busy trying to bolster as much support as they can in the battle ground states. the president has held three rallies today in pennsylvania, where he won byjust 44000 votes in 2016. both sides need pennsylvania it comes with 20 electoral college votes. but perhaps for donald trump, with a seemingly narrow path to the white house,

it is becoming even more important. and the president thinks biden made a fatal mistake in the debate on thursday announcing his government would withdraw federal subsidies for the oil industry. it employs more than 25 thousand people in pennsylvania. here's the president today driving home that point. he wants to go wind, outlets could have wind let's have brownouts blackouts all of the pennsylvania all over the country. he wants to go with windmills that are made in germany and china. and sent big, big carbon into the air when they're making them, you know that, right? a different continent but that's all right. bidens plan is an economic dutch for pennsylvania's energy sector. i think you all know that. i think you all know that. the former vp has been in pennsylvania himself, sticking to what he sees as the winning argument — the president's handling of the pandemic.

and for months as you well know, that he wave the white flag all the way back then. he wasn't doing much at all. some people said i was being harsh, that i was being unfair, the white house was coming out and admitting what i said months ago was absolutely true. look how many people are dead. 220,000. it's expected as many as another 200,000 could die between now and the end of the year. and he said we are not going to control it. so how have the two candidates been faring in the keystone state? one of the latest surveys that has come out suggestsjoe biden leads donald trump by seven points among likely voters. the ipsos mori poll, out in the last few hours has that lead at 5, but that puts biden one point ahead of where he was in that same poll a week ago. so his figures pretty steady. what could make all the difference in these battle ground states are young people.

there are more than 23 million gen z voters — born after 1996 — and democrats will benefit more than republicans if they do show up to the polls in large numbers. so will this be their year? the bbc‘s nada tawfik has been to pennsylvania to find out how engaged they really are? in the contest for pennsylvania, philadelphia and its suburbs will be key. democrats are counting on high turnout in this densely—populated area to counter president trump's advantage across republican red towns. lining up for the election are young voters who are leaning toward joe biden by an even larger margin than they did for barack obama in 2008, even though they're less excited by the former vice president. i'm not super enthusiastic. i prefer one candidate so much over another one and it's basically, at this point for me, it's about getting trump out of office.

i don't like trump, to put it bluntly. i want to get biden in, get trump out, make sure that's signed and sealed. we deserve a better candidate. he's going to do the things that we need him to do now, but he's not going to do everything that we're going to need in the future. more than half of the nation's population are now millennials or younger. and for the first time in a presidential election they make up the same share of the electorate as baby boomers — and could even surpass them. that means they could wield significant political power if they turn out. now it's election season and the next hero is you... there are numerous social media initiatives to get the group more engaged in the process. the poll hero project... and the poll hero project is something i'm very curious about. this one, poll hero, has signed up thousands of college and high school students as poll workers to overcome voting barriers caused by covid. it is so important that we participate as much as the boomers do, as much as our grandparents do.

it makes all the difference. and i think, you know, it's about correcting this trend of voter, you know, young people not participating. chanting: we demand a green new deal! activists hope that energy on the streets moves to the ballot box. young kids should not have to be scared of what their futures will look like. millennials and gen z are more diverse and educated than the boomer generation that has dominated politics, and they have grown up with a different set of priorities. our generation hasjust been, like, crisis after crisis after crisis. young people want, like, radical change to every factor of our society, because none of it is working for us. 2020 could be their chance to finally have their say. nada tawfik, bbc news, in philadelphia. young voters, the holy grail of the democratic party. christian, i know you have been doing your homework prepping for our election coverage next week. you have some very erudite things to tell us about pennsylvania. put me on the spot why don't you. ijust

pennsylvania. put me on the spot why don't you. i just want to send out a warning about pennsylvania. because bearin warning about pennsylvania. because bear in mind there are 2.8 million early ballots that have gone out. they can't be opened until 7am on election day to be counted. and then don't forget on top of that, if you sendin don't forget on top of that, if you send in the mail—in ballot and it arrives before 8pm on election date that can then be counted for three days after the poll closes. so these 20 electoral college votes that both of these candidates want, we might not know where that is going. certainly i think the counties in which counties might we be looking at? the likes of eeerrreee, up in the northwest corner of pennsylvania. let's get the map so you can see it. right up in the northwest corner. the northampton cou nty northwest corner. the northampton county which is north of philadelphia just outside the range of philadelphia. those two counties went for obama in 2012. and then they went for donald trump both of them narrowly in 2016 for top and

then they went back to the democrats in 2018. so if they're going democrat on the night when you and i are talking we might know a little bit which way pennsylvania is swinging. swinging counties. watch those two. hello. the weather for this week it's a really good example showing how the atmosphere is all interconnected. first of all i'll take you over to the united states where we have seen over the past few days record—breaking october snowfall and record making october cold. cold air across canada and northern parts of the us the blue colours here that's surging south it's fighting with the warm air across the south where you get that devoting band between the warm and cold. you fire up in the upper atmosphere a pretty livelyjet stream which is picked up low pressure. this one into tuesday thankfully stays out to the atlantic of the southern flank of it will see wins top 100 miles an hour. it contains remnants of the next hurricane. but it will drive our weather this week and it will push some windy conditions our way. no wind is strong is that though.

some pretty rough seas in the west. later something a little bit milder. tuesday on the chilly start northeast in areas the morning here sunny, the afternoon turns cloudy and wet. to the south in the west the start the cloud and rain it's brightening up kind of day. sunshine and a few heavy showers later on. temperatures here will lift up to 15 degrees but after that chilly, frosty start across scotland and northern england. it will be a rather cold afternoon. driest and brightest throughout the day will be the northeast of scotland but it is here with the rain will set in as we go into tuesday night. that weather front could lingerfor the big picture shows how that area of low pressure stays to the south of iceland as we go into wednesday. wind coming from west south—westerly direction but running over quite a huge expanse of the atlantic you could see waves top five to ten metres out towards the west. wednesday sunshine and showers basically across the uk southern and western areas see them more frequently and particular across the

south, heavy with hail and thunder. some easton area staying dry will be a rather cool day ten to 15 degrees. we continue with that low pressure still to the south of iceland but other areas of low pressure develop in the jet stream to the south which will run more persistent rain back our way through thursday. pushing its way from the west northwards and eastward through the day maybe brightening up across later taking away the early sunshine in northeast scotland. temperatures will start to lift as winds go west to south—westerly later on. but we could see some very heavy rain across northwest england and also west wales through thursday and indeed friday for top weather fronts there about the same chart areas as you go through into friday. this is where we will see over 100 mm of rain fall in the hills as a said that risk of flooding put up to the north we will see sunshine to the south pretty mild south—westerly winds the mild air mentioned earlier on for some could see temperatures and sunny spends to the midlands eastern eastern england hit 18 or 19 degrees. first time in a while will see temperatures well above average

for this time year for the jet stream across the atlantic another deep low will then start to develop as you go through into saturday for that this is developing as a comes towards us. there will be a bit of uncertainty attached who sees the wettest weather, who sees the windiest? best and brightest in eastern areas to begin with. rain spreading from east to west but we could see some pretty nasty weather toward northwest scotland later. toward northwest scotland later severe gales developing as we go through into saturday night is up through the rest of the week end and into the start of next week that jet stream is still there. brushing across the atlantic. gentley contrast easing up a little bit in the united states and is the jet stream starts to push its weight further northwards it looks like a weather system will start to track further and further north. so as we go into next week the north and west of the uk's most likely to see the wet weather at times. it stays breezy a bit

drier further south.

tonight at ten. the pressure on hospitals, with covid admissions on the rise, and difficult choices for the nhs. we get access to a busy hospital in newcastle where doctors say they've learned valuable lessons — but the virus is still a major threat. covid continues to make people critically ill. it continues to make people's organs fail, it continues to cause death. and while the pressure intensifies, hospitals seem to be managing to juggle their demands more effectively. doctors now know so much more about covid and about how best to treat the disease and that means many more patients are surviving intensive care. we'll have the latest as parts of nottinghamshire and warrington become the latest to enter tier 3 — the highest alert level in england.