tonight at six: the uk has recorded the highest daily death toll since the start of the pandemic — more than 1,300 people have died. another record number of new infections too as hospitals across the uk struggle to cope. in london, a major incident has been declared. the brother of a 36—year—old man, who died ten days ago while self isolating on sunday at home together urges everyone, young and old, to take the virus seriously. we believed we were of an age where it's not going to affect us, we didn't take the appropriate action and ifound him dead in his sleep the following morning at about six o'clock. more hope on the way though, a third covid vaccine, moderna, has been given the go—ahead in the uk.

also on the programme tonight: president trump says he won't attend the inauguration of his successorjoe biden — just hours after he promised a peaceful transition and had this message for the capitol hill rioters. to those who engaged in the acts of violence and destruction, you do not represent our country. and to those who broke the law, you will pay. how far can you travel to exercise in england during lockdown? these women were stopped and fined by police after driving five miles to go for a walk. and it's being billed as the biggest mismatch in fa cup history — how the pe teacher, and refuse collector who play for non—league marine are preparing for their tie against tottenham. and coming up in sport on bbc news, with a significant coronavirus outbreak ruling out first—team players, aston villa's youngsters prepare to face liverpool in the third round of the fa cup.

good evening and welcome to the bbc news at 6pm. the figures are shocking, we have today recorded the highest number of daily covid—related deaths since the start of this pandemic. 1325 more people have lost their lives. to add to that grim figure, a record number of new cases, more than 68,000 positive tests recorded in the past 2a hours. hospitals across the uk are now under severe pressure, with some treating many more patients than they were during the first peak in april. london and the south—east of england are currently being hit the ha rd est england are currently being hit the hardest with one senior nhs leader saying the situation is off the scale, calling it a winter crisis like no other he has seen. he is our

health editor, hugh pym. two brothers enjoying a swim on a foreign holiday. exactly a year later, one of them died with covid—19. later, one of them died with (avid-19. he's a big chap, there's no denying that, he can swim all day long. he was running on christmas day. james remembers his brother, david, who was 36. they both tested positive and were isolating but david's condition wasn't overnight and he didn't survive. we were going to sit there and rough it out. well, it didn't work for us and my advice would be... i don't want to scaremonger people and i don't want to be dramatic, but i think people... if you are in that situation and if you're sat at home and you're starting to really struggle for breath, ring 111.. postmortem will try to establish whether there were other factors in david's death. as more lives are lost and case numbers increase, london's mayor has declared a major incident. this involves stepping up

coordinated efforts of emergency services and a call for financial support from the government. the pressure on hospitals mean delays for ambulances handing over patients, with waiting time up 36% in the south—east in december, according to data leaked to bbc news. covid patient numbers are rising in most parts of the country. extra staff have been drafted into intensive care units, including dental specialists. i didn't really think about how hard it would be. even patient rolls to end of life. it's somebody‘s loved one. the latest survey of community infections by the office for national statistics suggests that last week in northern ireland, one in 200 people had the virus with case rates no longer decreasing. in scotland, it was won in 115 with case numbers on the increase. in wales, one in 70, though case rates we re wales, one in 70, though case rates were coming down. in england, one in 50 had the virus, with case numbers

on the increase. the worst affected area was london with one in 30. the latest r range, 1—1.li was above the previous estimate. anything above one suggests the virus was exhilarating. as some in priority groups queued up today to get their jabs, it was confirmed that a third vaccine has been approved by uk regulators. it is made by us company moderna and the government has ordered 70 million doses but they are unlikely to be available before the spring. right now, senior health officials are focused on the spread officials are focused on the spread of the virus. they are worried there are more people out and about during during the first lockdown and they think they could be more than 100,000 new infections per day, including those who haven't been tested. —— out and about than during the first. hugh pym bbc news. let's look at the government figures in detail.

68,053 cases. the average number of new cases reported in the last week is now 59,3114. hospital admissions keep climbing. 0n is now 59,3114. hospital admissions keep climbing. on average, there we re keep climbing. on average, there were 28,756 covid—19 patients in hospital in the last week. and then today's records death toll, 1325 deaths. that is people who died within 28 days of a positive covid—19 test. it means, on average, in the past week, 809 deaths were announced every day. it takes the total number of deaths so far across the uk to 79,833. fergus walsh, our medical editor is with us, the figures are truly awful and expected to get even worse. they will get worse, sophie, sadly. there are more than 31,000 covid patients now in hospital across the uk, that is nearly 50% above the peak last year. now, i've beenin

above the peak last year. now, i've been in intensive care this weekend i've seen first—hand the pressures those hospitals are under and the patients there, each one of them, someone's mother, father, brother and sister. we are going to see those numbers keep rising because the cases are at record levels. and, so, ina the cases are at record levels. and, so, in a way, it is baked in comedy hospitalisations and bee deaths because they happen to to three weeks later —— in, the hospitalisations. we have had good news, the approval of the third vaccine, the moderna scene, 95% effective against serious covid disease. it is similar to the pfizer jab, doesn't need to be quite as cold. it we this huge target of offering the vaccine to around 15 million people —— we have this huge. by million people —— we have this huge. by mid—february. it will be ramped up by mid—february. it will be ramped up next week of the immunisation process. the key message tonight is that we have all got to treat this virus as seriously as we did during the first lockdown or we won't bring the first lockdown or we won't bring

the pandemic under control. fergus walsh, thank you. for the most sick, those whose lands have not been helped by a ventilator, there is another alternative, it is called ecmo specialist intensive care life—support machines which pump oxygen life—support machines which pump oxyg e n into life—support machines which pump oxygen into the patient‘s blood allowing the patient‘s lungs to rest. 0nly allowing the patient‘s lungs to rest. only a few dozen patients have the treatment but now they are under pressure to take on more. sophie hutchinson has been given rare access to an ecmo unit at the royal pa pworth access to an ecmo unit at the royal papworth hospital in cambridge. they are the sickest patients we've ever seen, even for they are the sickest patients we've ever seen, even for patients on ecmo. is everybody ready? the patients are very poorly and in bigger numbers than we have ever had them. these are among the very sickest patients with covid—19 in the country. and this award is their last hope. their lungs are so damaged by the disease that even ventilators haven't helped. and

they've come here for the rarest form of life support from a machine known as ecmo. ecmo stands for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and it allows these patients to breathe without using their lungs, giving their lungs a vital rest, so that they can recover. this ecmo centre was set up following the swine flu outbreak in 2009, but the coronavirus pandemic is now stretching it almost to the limit. normally on this ward, they have three patients on ecmo, but because of the pandemic and the damage that covid—19 does to the lungs, they have many more. in fact, each of these rooms has a patient on ecmo in it. they say they have 18 patients here today and they've described it as a super surge.|j know there is a limit that we will

reach. i have no idea when that limit will be there but continuing extending and extending, there will bea extending and extending, there will be a cracking point. and as well as treating patients, staff are working around the clock, fielding calls from other hospitals. there are a maximum of around 100 ecmo beds in the uk, but there have been 3000 requests for patient referrals. the uk, but there have been 3000 requests for patient referralsm is relentless. patient after patient after patient, they take a long time to get better. they are the sickest patients we've ever seen, even for patients we've ever seen, even for patients on ecmo. they're not old patients, they are a younger cohort. and so it is... it is really difficult. and we are all, at times, finding it quite overwhelming. 0verwhelming. it is everybody ready? ready, steady, roll. some patients are in their20s ready, steady, roll. some patients are in their 20s and 30s. most are older. they have to be strong enough

to withstand ecmo and the work looking after them is gruelling. it's very difficult, it's very difficult, things are very intense. the patients are very poorly, poorlier then we've ever seen a man in bigger numbers than we've ever had them. it is a lot to deal with. we haven't got the staff numbers to cope with the amount of patience that we have but we are doing what we can for the patients that we have with the time that we have. towards the end of ourfilming, another two patients arrived on the ward. staff are proud that everyone who meets the criteria for ecmo has, so far, been offered a bed here. but this extra pressure was hard to handle. we are not as resilient this time as we we re la st we are not as resilient this time as we were last time, because we've really had no downtime, so to speak. but we still do it because that's what we do. and what they're doing is saving lives through their dedication and determination. perhaps more than half of these patients will eventually awake and go home to their loved ones. sophie

hutchinson, bbc news. one of the biggest problems for both the nhs and care homes is staff shortages — with so many off work because they're sick or self—isolating. some care services across the country have reported shortages of as much as 50%. alison holt reports. morning, lynne. each morning here at the glastonbury care home in somerset, there's one question on the lips of staff. any new cases? yes. no! four more cases. really? three staff, one resident, including a nurse. oh, no. i know. the home had its first coronavirus cases at christmas, and since then, with the virus spreading rapidly in the community, regular testing is picking up more and more staff with the virus, often without symptoms. more than ten residents tested positive, 25% of staff tested positive, and we were in a situation where we lost staff from the shifts. here, a quarter of the staff

are either sick or self—isolating, leaving the rest working extra long hours to fill in the gaps. it's quite difficult when you have residents test positive and also staff members test positive, and wejust keep going. we find it very emotional at the moment, because these are our second family. we care deeply about all the residents, but we are losing them. they are maintaining the care, but their boss says, like many other homes, they are under huge pressure. we are doing everything we can in terms of infection control. we know we're doing the best on that, but we are fighting something which is, you know, very, very virulent. i think, for all of us, i just want to protect those staff who are doing everything they can and being so courageous. the national care forum, which represents not—for—profit care providers, says they're hearing from residential and nursing homes across the country who are struggling with staff shortages. a few have lost 40% or 50% of their staff. martin mcguigan runs dementia

care homes in the north of england and scotland. we've got a service with 90 colleagues that's currently in an outbreak. 36 of those colleagues have tested positive for covid. it means they are also asking remaining staff to do all they can to help. the reality is, it is the toughest it's ever been. it's that simple. it was really difficult, march, april, may, but this is as bad as it's been in terms of what we are having to deal with, this new variant etc. but, this time, we have the hope of the vaccine, and that is the thing that is keeping our colleagues going. for many, it underlines the importance of vaccinating staff and residents as soon as possible, particularly if they are to do what they can to help overstretched hospitals. alison holt, bbc news. the lockdown in wales is to remain in place for at least another three weeks. the first minister, mark drakeford, has also warned some measures may need to be strengthened. he said that, unless there was a "significant" drop in cases soon,

school and college students were likely to continue their education online until the february half—term. officials say the number of people with coronavirus in hospital in scotland is now higher than it was at the peak of the first wave in april. the total is 1,530, compared with 1,520 last spring. the number of deaths registered yesterday is 93, the highest daily total during this wave of the virus. new lockdown restrictions stopping people from leaving home for nonessential reasons have come into force across northern ireland. police can order people home if they do not have a "reasonable excuse" for being out. from next week — anyone entering the uk — whether you live here or not — will have to have tested negative for covid—19 no more than three days before arriving here. children under 11, lorry drivers and travel from ireland will be exempt, but passengers from countries not on the uk's approved list will still have have to quarantine

when they arrive. here's our transport correspondent caroline davies. until today's announcement, the uk has not required anyone arriving in the country to show that they've recently tested negative for the coronavirus, but things are about to change. international arrivals, including uk nationals travelling to the uk, will need to show that they have a negative covid—19 test, taken up to 72 hours before they travel. it applies to everyone arriving by boat, plane or train, but not to hauliers or children under 11, and it won't apply to anyone travelling within the uk or ireland. the government have said tests will be needed from next week but haven't set an exact date, and they haven't specified a particular sort of test. there can be different types of tests, so viewers will have heard of pcr tests, perhaps, but there are also lateral flow tests and lamp tests. the important thing is, it's up to certain specification, and then people take that test, and as long as it is negative, then they can fly, but they can't

board the plane, for example, without having that negative test. some other countries already have strict measures in place. raphael recently returned to south korea. it took 2a hours of testing and paperwork before he was allowed home to quarantine. he said it was very different when he flew to the uk. there were no checks. there is no temperature check. there is no screening. there was no social distancing. many people were not wearing masks. even with a negative test, arrivals from countries not on the travel corridor list will still have to quarantine. those in the industry who have been calling for testing hope that eventually it can be used instead of quarantine, but some airlines are concerned that passengers getting positive tests could destroy their business. you leave the risk that they'll all cancel four days or within a day or two of departure. we then have to run flights that will have, i don't know, maybe five or 10% of the seats sold.

we lose so much money. it makes it, the only way we can survive this is to not operate the flights at all. the government has said that policies like travel corridors, quarantining and the test to release programme have helped manage important infections before, but with new variants of the virus, ——imported infections before, but with new variants of the virus, it's clear the government want to go further. caroline davies, bbc news. our top story this evening. the uk record is the highest coronavirus daily death toll since the start of the pandemic. more than 1300 people have died. still to come: needed more than ever during this pandemic, a new warning that slow broadband is widening the digital divide. coming up on sports day: we look ahead at the fa cup third round games, with non—league marine dreaming of a giant killing as they face tottenham.

president trump says he won't beattending the inauguration of his successorjoe biden in less than two weeks' time. he'll be the first us president not to attend the ceremony for more than 150 years. donald trump announced his decision hours after promising a peaceful transition. and in a dramatic about—turn, he expressed outrage at what he called the heinous attack on the us capital in washington dc on wednesday. 0ur north america editor, jon sopel, is in washington for us. donald trump last night uttered the words that he had committed himself toa words that he had committed himself to a smooth transition of power, a most visual manifestation of that is that on inauguration day the president—elect comes to the door of the white house and president and president elect travel together in the beast to capitol hill for a ceremonial handing over of the pattern, if you like. that is not

going to happen for the first time since the 1860s. the words horse and sta ble since the 1860s. the words horse and stable door come to mind as contractors are brought into erect some proper security around the capitol hill complex. so alarmingly and easily breached by the trump supporting mob on wednesday night. and the repercussions are still being felt. last night, a chastened and intense president spoke words that had clearly been written for him. i would like to begin by addressing the heinous attack... the change of tone and substance in just 24 change of tone and substance in just 2a out is startling, whiplash inducing. as they say on school essays, inducing. as they say on school essays , com pa re inducing. as they say on school essays, compare and contrast. we are going to walk down to the capitol. we have just been through an intense election and emotions are high. but now, tempers must be cooled, and calm restored. you'll never take

back our country with weakness. you have to show strength and you have to be strong. like all americans, i am outraged by the violence, lawlessness and mayhem. the drennan —— the demonstrators who infiltrated the first might have defiled the seat of american democracy. so go home. we love you, your very special. to those who engaged in the a cts special. to those who engaged in the acts of violence and destruction, you do not our country. we had an election that was stolen from us. it was a landslide election. a new administration will be inaugurated onjanuary administration will be inaugurated on january 20. my focus now turns to ensuring a smooth, orderly and sea mless ensuring a smooth, orderly and seamless transition of power. this moment calls for healing and reconciliation. in the wake of the riots and the president's incendiary words, he has faced multiple resignations and threat of removal from office. that explains the about

turn from donald trump last night. he had no option. and then this — before he spoke, it was confirmed that one of the capitol policemen had died from injuries he received while trying to hold the rioters at bay. today, it was ordered that flags should fly at half mast in his honour, but they are also flying at half staff for american democracy. this has truly been a to mulch or this week in this nature in's history, not just this week in this nature in's history, notjust because of the riots that took place on capitol hill. yesterday, for the first time, 4000 americans died in a single day, of covid. today, a big leap in the jobless total. the country is angry, tensions are high. that is donald trump's legacy, but it's alsojoe biden's inheritance. sophie. family and friends have been paying respects to the actress barbara

windsor, whose funeral has taken place this afternoon. david walliams, ross kemp and christopher biggins were among the mourners. she died last month, aged 83, after a long battle with dementia. she was best known for her roles in the carry on films and of course as peggy mitchell in eastenders. access to broadband is more important than ever now, with millions working from home or schooling online. but a report by mps has criticised the huge variations in broadband quality and speed across the uk in towns and the countryside. they say that could lead to the digital divide, exposed during this pandemic, being widened even more. the government says it expects half of all households to have fast broadband by the end of this year. sian lloyd reports. a landscape rich in natural beauty, but when it comes to keeping pace in a digital world, people living here say they are poorly served. high—speed broadband is still out of reach for many rural communities, and with lockdown, the effects are being felt even more.

the gimby family are home—schooling, but not at home. with only a slow internet connection where they live, graphic designer lizzie can't work from home, and neither can her teenagers learn there. it's really important that they are able to access their tutorials on teachers, so we do have to come ——and teachers, so we do have to come into the office. it is an absolute pain. we can't home—school at all. and i'm trying to run a business with 20 staff, and i really need to be here. an election promise to give all homes access to superfast gigabit broadband has already had to be scaled back. today's report by mps warns that people living in remote communities could be left with slow broadband for years to come. it calls for the government to set out a clear timetable of what it intends to achieve and by when. in devon, students are having to come in to school because of poor connectivity at home. we are inviting children who are internet vulnerable at the moment on the basis that they can't access some

of the work, and that has an enormous impact. it's not right, it's not fair. we wouldn't even be having this argument if it was about dirty water or a lack of electricity. people have an advantage over me because they have better broadband. just because i live on a farm, doesn't mean i should have bad internet. the government says that half of homes will have access gigabit broadband by the end of the year, but many rural communities are concerned that the divide between town and country will only widen. sian lloyd, bbc news. two women have been describing how they were surrounded by police in derbyshire, read their rights and fined £200 after they drove 5 miles for a walk by a reservoir. current guidance says you can travel for exercise in england as long as it is in your "local area". but derbyshire police said driving for exercise was not in the spirit

of the current lockdown. phil mackie reports. eliza moore and jessica allen, friends whose businesses have shut since lockdown decided to brave the cold and go for a socially—distanced walk to try to keep their spirits up. unfortunately, their trip to a nearby reservoir has earned them each a £200 fine. derbyshire police have been stopping people who were driving to beauty spots because they say it's a breach of covid regulations. jessica says she thought they were following the rules to the letter. we take these guidelines really seriously. my brother's a doctor who works in a covid ward. you know, my parents have both had it. you know, we are trying to follow the rules. we haven't come out trying to break the law, we haven't had a party, there isn't five of us. we've simply come to what we thought was the safest place. derbyshire police were accused in the first lockdown of being too heavy handed after flying drones over walkers in the peak district. today, officers have been out again, telling people to go home.

i've been coming to this park for most of my life. just out for daily exercise and i've been turned away by the police. the difficulty is in the interpretation of the rules. derbyshire police has released a statement in which it seems to say that if you have to drive somewhere to take exercise, then that's not local. and they've also said that it's very much at the discretion of individual officers as to whether or not to issue fines. there can't be a grey area when it comes to what people are allowed to do, because this really is a lifeline for some people. so, you know, for people that are struggling, they don't need to be going out and think, "am i going to be approached by the police for this?" you know, we need to know in black and white what is allowed, what is accepted. eliza and jessica say they'll contest the fines. with the outlook bleak, mental and physical health remain important. phil mackie, bbc news. it's usually one of the highlights of the football year, but the pandemic is affecting the fa cup third round weekend.

southampton's game against shrewsbury is off — but aston villa's match against liverpool will go ahead, despite a string of positive covid tests. the stand out tie though is non—league marine taking on premier league tottenham hotspur which — as andy swiss reports — is the biggest mismatch in fa cup history. dreaming of a football fairy tale. bradford again — oh, what a goal! the fa cup has seen a few over the years. but could marine top the lot? the merseysiders have all the ingredients. a last—gasp winner in the previous round from a striker who was a pe teacher, while their midfielders is a refuse collector now hoping to pump tottenham out of the count. 0bviously playing the likes of tottenham it's mad because you watch them on the telly and then the next minute you're playing against them.

you're going up against them in real life. in fact the gulf with tottenham is the biggest in fa cup history. tottenham fourth in the premier league whereas marine, well, you have to scroll down eight divisions to find them. a gap of some 161 league places. we suspectjose mourinho never sat and done out overlooked by bedroom windows without much of the ground here is surrounded by houses there are even numbers to tell you which door to knock on if a ball goes into someone's garden. the residents have become tv celebrities during marine's run. with no fans inside the ground the likes of the mcdonalds at number 11 will be using every vantage point. oh yeah, you've got a guy next door in the tree. you've got the lady next over the champagne.

absolutely fantastic. can marine do it, can they beat tottenham ? stranger things have happened. at the end of the day, it's the fa cup/ and guess what, the team even have an fa cup song. and how mighty they would be if they can pull off football's ultimate upset. andy swiss, bbc news. good luck to them. and you can watch marine take on spurs live on bbc one on sunday, from 4.30pm. time for a look at the weather. here's stav da naos. good evening. it has been a very cold day off and down the country and we've seen further disrupt of snow across northern england, particularly across north yorkshire, starting to ease now. tonight will be cold and frosty for most of us, freezing fog patches developing particularly across the south. that area of sleet and snow fizzling away from northern england and northern wales this evening and overnight, leaving a legacy of cloud across southern and south—western areas. clear skies for most of us away from the north—west of scotland. there could be a hard frost,