branwen jeffreys, bbc news. this is the briefing from bbc news.dlines: leaders of european union nations agree to close the border to the bloc in a bid to tackle the coronavirus pandemic. the us and the uk bring in massive stimulus packages to bolster their economies as they fall victim to the outbreak. joe biden‘s bid to take on donald trump gets a boost as results come in from democratic party primaries in three us states. now it's time to look at a few stories making the headlines in other media. we begin with the washington post, and the american government's plans for an economic stimulus to counteract the effects of the coronavirus shutdowns. it says the white house is pushing for an immediate cash payment to households. that contrasts with the uk government, which has also announced a stimulus. the daily telegraph calls it a virus lifeline, but one that is targeted at businesses rather than individuals. the telegraph also highlights comments from the british government's chief scientific adviser that the most optimistic forecast of the impa

here's our education editor, branwen jeffreys. safe and teachers are anxious too. it does seem that everyone has been asked to socially distance except for children at school, and also the teachers and the staff. at this school, they are three teachers down already. by tomorrow, classes may merge and staying open looks increasingly doubtful. the government says that for now, keeping schools open is the right approach. but with everyone else being told to avoid crowded places, it has left many teachers and pa rents it has left many teachers and parents confused and some families are simply keeping their children off school. it is down by about 3096 and still falling, and i can understand why parents are concerned. while they keep lessons going, head teachers want advice that keeps up with reality. some schools are already partially closing. so what would a school closure mean for parents here? at the moment i am able to work from home. my partner isn't yet at that stage where he can with his job, home. my partner isn't yet at that

branwen jeffreys, bbc news. were partly prompted by research from a team at imperial college london who said this was the worst respiratory virus since the spanish flu pandemic in 1918. they warned that britain was on course for a "catastrophic epidemic" and the number of deaths in the uk could reach a quarter of a million — unless there was a new approach to the pandemic. here's our science editor, david shukman. from the start of the outbreak in wuhan, there has been a huge research effort behind the scenes, scientists using every detail to develop a computer simulation of the disease. it is called a model and it is what the british government's initial response was based on. but then came northern italy, where more people need intensive care than anyone expected. so the forecasts have had to be adjusted. what the scientists realised was that as many as 250,000 people could die of the virus in the uk unless policies here changed. they now hope that will fall to 20,000 with the new measures announced yesterday.

branwen jeffreys, bbc news. hello.ngs us a bit of a mixed picture across the uk. a day of mixed fortune, certainly. we've got colder air moving in from the north, still mild in the south. and across england and wales, the cloudy, mild theme continues through the day, with some outbreaks of rain. for scotland and for northern ireland, it's a different story. a colder, frosty start to the morning, with a mix of sunshine and a few showers around. is this weather front, which is slowly sinking its way south across parts of wales and northern england as well through wednesday morning. to the north of that, we've got a chilly north—westerly flow, so after a frosty start for scotland and northern ireland we see a few showers working in. they'll be falling as sleet and snow over the highest ground in scotland. further south, we have a band of rain pushing across northern england, towards the midlands into wales. much of southern england should stay dry for a good part of the day, but fairly cloudy and grey. light winds in the

branwen jeffreys, bbc news. the dramatic escalation in restrictions on our lives

branwen jeffreys, bbc news, birmingham.e much stricter than in the uk. in the republic, all schools and colleges are closed until the end of the month. our special correspondent, ed thomas, looks at the different approaches, on either side, of the border. 3pm, and instead of the school run, just silence. ireland has woken up to isolation, an invisible virus that's changing lives. whoa! he attacked. how did you do that? danielle now stays at home with her sons, with a makeshift kitchen classroom and a sense of being alone. day—to—day life, we've completely hunkered down. we're not seeing friends, we're not seeing family. so, it's pretty isolating. i couldn't ask anybody to help, because... so you said to your family, "stay away?" i rang my dad this morning and i said, "listen, "i'm not going to see you for 2—3 weeks." we were due to go and see them this weekend, and ijust said we will do a facetime. that's it, i'm not risking it. they're too precious. all schools and colleges are now closed. no face to face, all on audio. ye

branwen jeffreys, bbc news, birmingham.ore than doubled, since the start of the coronavirus outbreak, with tens of thousands of us dialling in every day. but now the government's advice is that people should only dial the helpline or their gp, if their symptoms are severe. here's our health correspondent, dominic hughes. hello, you're through to the nhs 111 service. it's been a busy few weeks at this nhs call centre in bolton. services like 111 and nhs 2a in scotland say they're receiving more than twice the normal number of calls, and the coronavirus epidemic is presenting health experts with a fast—moving situation. they no longer wish to provide any further swab testing at the moment. the advice we are all being offered on coronavirus has changed. now, we're being told that if you have a persistent cough or a fever, you should stay at home for at least seven days. you won't get tested, you don't need to call 111 and you certainly don't need to turn up at your gp‘s surgery or a hospital. however, if you are still feeling

branwen jeffreys, bbc news. closing and exams being cancelled. sophie hutchinson has been trying to answer some of them for you. hello. i'm a young and healthy primary school teacher and i'm happy to come into school, but what about older staff, and staff who have children at home, as well as staff who have families that might be at risk? what's the advice for them? well, that's something to be worked out by each school and each individual teacher — can they stay on in the classroom? and how many pupils do they need to accommodate from vulnerable families or with key worker parents? i'm a single parent who works full—time and both my parents work full—time. i've got absolutely no childcare in place for my child at the moment, because in the summer holidays he would normally go to a holiday camp, which subsequently are now closed, too. if i have to take six weeks off work, where do i get the money to pay my bills from? well, it's a very tough situation, and one that many people are facing. if you have any paid ho

branwen jeffreys, bbc news, birmingham.is at stake, saying jobs will be lost and planes grounded, due to the mass cancellation of flights. our business correspondent theo leggett is here. how much trouble is ba and because of the virus? the entire aviation industry is in a lot of trouble. alex cruz, the chief executive of british airways, part of one of the most powerful aviation groups in the world, saying this is the crisis the like of which the industry has never seen before, and he is not the only one saying it. other airline bosses are saying similar things. because of travel restrictions on many routes they simply can't fly, they've had to ground aircraft. grounded aircraft aren't making money, they are costing money. another other routes like across the atla ntic another other routes like across the atlantic for example, passenger numbers are right down. in some cases, halved, so the revenues aren't coming in there either and that means something has to give and jobs may have to go. alex cruz made these comments in a

branwen jeffreys, bbc news.han anywhere else in the world including china. another 427 people have died in the past 24 hours alone — bringing the death toll to more than 3 thousand 4 hundred. mark lowen reports from rome. in this theatre of war, the heroes hardly rest. brescia in northern italy is seeing one of the highest rises in daily cases. the hospital is overwhelmed but resilient. translation: there is a strong commitment from all doctors and nurses. sometimes they come in even when they are not on shift, or after they are on at night they come in the morning after to help us out. some of them have cried but i have never seen anyone complain. more than 8% of cases in italy are medical staff, almost double that of china. the 13th doctor died today. one of the patients here is a doctor, she says, born in 1982. he was in the emergency room, fell ill and tested positive. now he's been intubated. thousands of medics have been recalled from retirement and rushed in from university to help, but still they're desp

branwen jeffreys, bbc news, birmingham. corona—virus outbreak are much stricter than in the uk. in the republic, all schools and colleges are closed until the end of the month. our special correspondent, ed thomas, looks at the different approaches on either side of the border. 3pm, and instead of the school run, just silence. ireland has woken up to isolation, an invisible virus that's changing lives. whoa! he attacked. how did you do that? danielle now stays at home with her sons, with a makeshift kitchen classroom and a sense of being alone. day—to—day life, we've completely hunkered down. we're not seeing friends, we're not seeing family. so, it's pretty isolating. i couldn't ask anybody to help, because... so you said to your family, "stay away?" i rang my dad this morning and i said, "listen, "i'm not going to see you for 2—3 weeks." we were due to go and see them this weekend, and ijust said we will do a facetime. that's it, i'm not risking it. they're too precious. all schools and colleges are now closed. no face to

branwen jeffreys, bbc news. another focus is to protect tenants who are at risk of addiction.about a lack of support for people who work for themselves. 0ur political correspondent, alex forsyth, has been speaking to people to find out how are small businesses and those who are self—employed are coping. simply staying open is the priority for many small businesses now. this woman spent years building up her ca ke woman spent years building up her cake supplier but demand has slumped. she is offering brownies by mail order to stay afloat. the feeling is a fear of losing everything, but i am trying to stay positive as best i can. she says new government measures, grants to help with sick pay, are hugely welcome, but reluctant to take out a loan her biggest fear is how to keep paying her six members of staff. biggest fear is how to keep paying her six members of stafflj biggest fear is how to keep paying her six members of staff. i don't wa nt to her six members of staff. i don't want to lose them. if i could put them on some kind of subsidised, paid temporary redundancy, that wo

branwen jeffreys, bbc news, birmingham.emic now. as we have heard, the biggest concern in europe remains italy, which saw the largest rising cases ina single which saw the largest rising cases in a single day confirmed infections now top 15,000, with 1016 people having died. the european commission has promised the country whatever support it needs. in spain, the prime minister has declared a state of emergency from tomorrow, allowing the authorities to confine infected people and ration goods. they've also decided to close restaurants and bars tomorrow with only supermarkets and pharmacies allowed to open. spain has the second—highest number of corona spires cases in europe after italy. and in iran, the coronavirus has claimed another 85 lives. the highest single day death toll in the country so far. i ran‘s military chief has ordered the security forces to clear city streets in the next 2a hours in the latest attempt to halt the spread of the disease. now, in ireland, the measures introduced to tackle the coronavirus outb

branwen you very much. our education editor, bra nwen jeffreys with you very much.with the latest on how that is meant to work. let's talk to someone who is on the front line of making those decisions. steph field is principal of busilljones primary school in bloxwich near walsall — they're staying open to children of key workers in the area. thank you for your time. i hope you are able to hear what brangwyn was saying because i think there will be people watching this this afternoon, people watching this this afternoon, people listening to everything she was saying and thinking, my goodness thatis was saying and thinking, my goodness that is one heck of a task for someone that is one heck of a task for someone in your position, to work through what you are going to do next week to try to provide some way of safety and refuge for children of key workers. what work are you doing right now on this? you are absolutely right. it has been a difficult week, having messages late in the day as well so we have had to make daily decisions to support families and the community

branwen jeffreys, bbc news. let's ta ke let's take a look at some of the other news.nd the drop in demand caused by the coronavirus. the retailer has filed for administration, putting up to 2700 jobs at risk, the firm which had been in talks with its lenders about a rescue package since the coronavirus of brick had a significant impact upon trading. there is the british arabian mother jailed any run after being convicted of spying has been temporarily released from jail for two weeks because of an outbreak of the coronavirus, shall be required to wear an coronavirus, shall be required to wearan ankle coronavirus, shall be required to wear an ankle tag and remain within 300 metres of her parents home in iran. reduced its 24 our clause, opening hours to allow staff to clea n opening hours to allow staff to clean and restock shelves from tonight, the supermarkets will close at 10pm tonight, the supermarkets will close at10pm and tonight, the supermarkets will close at 10pm and reopened at 6am the following day, they said there will not be a cut in pay for employees. mcdo

branwen jeffreys, bbc news.tail — i'm joined from gloucestershire by the chief executive of the education policy institute and former schools minister, david laws. and also i'm joined by from east london by the guardian education columnist and former teacher, laura mcinerney. thank you both forjoining us. david, first of all, what choice did the government really have but to close schools, and to do it quite hastily in the end? i think that they probably didn't have much choice. the medical advice changed. their tyre strategy relating to this virus altered. he had previously seemed to be willing to allow schools to stay open, they had a policy of come in a way, allowing the virus to spread and build up resista nce the virus to spread and build up resistance in the population. then there appeared to realise it was too dangerous strategy and did what virtually every other country across the world has done and close schools. ultimately although there are many really difficult things that schools and children within

branwen holidays. thank you forjoining us. bra nwen jeffreys and holidays. thank you forjoining us.minster. vicki young mentioned the possibility of new measures on the economy tomorrow, there. the prime minister acknowledged today that the economy was now facing a "severe blow" from the impact of coronavirus. it's been another day of heavy losses on the world's stock markets. london's ftse 100 closed down 4%. there were even bigger falls in new york, frankfurt, paris and madrid. aviation firms are among those hardest hit, as our economics editor faisal islam reports. across the uk, the eerie sight of airports turning into parking lots, as planes are grounded, unused, as people stop flying across the atlantic and within europe as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. pilots, air crew, ground staff, airlines forced to lay off workers and, in virgin's case, temporarily imposing leave without pay for several weeks, at least. preventing shutdowns in aviation, carfactories, most things, from becoming permanent economic scars is top of the in—tray of andrew bailey on his first day as the

branwen exams, no proms, no celebration of results. bra nwen jeffreysed with questions about schools closing and exams being cancelled. sophie hutchinson has been trying to answer some of them for you. hello. i‘m a young and healthy primary school teacher and i‘m happy to come into school, but what about older staff, and staff who have children at home, as well as staff who have families that might be at risk? what is the advice for them? well, that is something to be worked out by each school and each individual teacher — can they stay on in the classroom? and how many pupils do they need to accommodate from vulnerable families or with key worker parents? i am a single parent who works full—time and both my parents work full—time. i have got absolutely no childcare in place for my child at the moment, because in the holidays he would normally go to a holiday camp, which subsequently are now closed, too. if i have to take six weeks off work, where do i get the money to pay my bills from? well, it is a very tough situation, and one that many people are f