are those bring in journalist sima go to she's following the situation from rome sima 1st of course just let's talk about the bad shocking number nearly 1000 people dead in just 24 hours of is there a sense that italy is is now approaching perhaps the peak of this crisis well call what the officials are telling us is that it is not near the peak it is not in that declining in size we heard from the representatives of it to these national health institute and they see the only thing they can point out terms of a slight light at the end of this dark tunnel is that the curve of contagion appears to be slightly flattening especially since the 20th of moxon they believe that that is a good sign now the president of the long but the region that's the hardest hit region that saw some 50 percent of those deaths that we saw in that one day close to a 1000 that massive he said that this region means see a decline in the next few days it's hard to understand how these figures work when you send such massive numbers but what's clear as well is the members of the institute of national health that tol

let's bring in journalist sima gupta who's standing by for us in rome sima dramatic scenes there in northern italy the governor calling for help does he get the support he needs. well that's what the governor if off along but he's actually saying i mean he's made it very clear look morning that at this stage we base reach a situation soon where they won't be able to treat the sick at all and it's he's calling on the residents in law but also all around the country to essentially stay at home and that's the message of the prime minister as well gave an interview to a local daily here essentially saying that the country and the bishops that they good to take they expect them to get even stricter a complete law is what they're suggesting the sports minister has already said that he's looking towards the idea of stopping all outdoor activity that needs no more and he wants all or joking in the pot simply because they need to stay at home in order to limit the spread of obit 19 this fall so we're cool closure will be extended beyond april 3rd and that's because also we've seen 43000 by the nation

we want to bring in our correspondent from rome sima gupta now sima you're there you're watching this moment of silence really is striking to see the way that italy has shifted since the outbreak began a few weeks ago residents were on their balconies they were singing and now it's silence. you know absolutely right karl i mean we had sitting on balconies applause for health care workers trying to say keep it up everything will be all right we'll get through this let's support each other but today really i think a sign perhaps of the song but the reality that everyone is facing these staggering figures of the number of people who have lost their lives those that have died with cove with 19 more than 11500 people and off that 11500 there as well 61 doctrines a sign of what the health care workers put it that selves at risk in order to help those who need it bulls in this very dark time so you're right the town councils around the country all memory to this bullshit remembering the victims but ordering those health care workers as well all of my flags flying at half mast and it's not ju

and our correspondent is standing by for us in rome sima italian authorities have registered 20000 violations against the lockdown in recent days of people there not taking the restriction seriously while monica i think it's a question of also not understanding how they can and cannot apply those restrictions to the say it's 20000 violations in the space of about 4 days and that is a country of 16000000 people that are locked down to give you an idea of that kind of confusion we're hearing statements such as this gentleman have it. sounds. like rather be punished than have my dog urinate in my apartment. well such a gentleman for instance doesn't understand that yes you can bring your dog house at the apartment you can bring it for war try to contain the amount of time that you go out and avoid the people have that's what the officials are saying essentially one can move out if they have a valid reason for work for health emergency office essential activity such as walking once dog getting to groceries going to the pharmacy or even going to pick up the paper because the news stand is consider

sima kotecha is in rome. e has been speaking to local thresidents about how have been coping with all of these sima: a display o resilience and solidarity. lols in rome feeling as the country tac wes thest health crisis in a generation. how do you feel the government is doing? the prime minister, do you agree with what is happening? >> yes. >> i never see rome in the situation. sima: popular streets empty. no tourists, nothing open. orlando is a taxi drer. he tells us the soul has been ripped out of italy. >> i am not busy. people only to the hospital, some tourists. but very, very down. sima: the country has enforced rules preventing people from moving around. stayndoors, especially if you are older, they are told. some are choosing to rel. week on from when the measures were first announced, churches are providing a place of solace for worshipers. the pope said he wanted clergymen to give those infected comfort. the government has put 25 billion euros into the economy to give it a casboost, as many sinesses

correspondent in a group to joins us now from rome so sima these are some very grim figures from italy today is it a sign that were near the peak fare or can things get even worse. well you're absolutely right it's a not the new record that's been set it's very demoralizing figures really 7 and 993 people did with the corona virus in the space of 24 hours that curve still is what the authorities are saying the curve is growing still we are not near the peak just yet is what the health officials into the say we're only in day 11 of the lockdown the impact of that is not be felt just yet the fictions in those that are dying is a result of infections that took place before the lockdown but to give you some semblance of an idea of where it's concentrated at that region of lot but the north out of the 793 that had died 546 come from long but i'm know that region council bore the 25000 of the sections of some 53000 or so in total around the country most of the people who have been infected over the age of $63.00 most of those who have died over the age of 18 and they are overwhelmed even as

sima kotecha is in rome. s been speaking to loc residents about how they have been coping with all of these sima: a display of resilience and solidarity. optimistic about what lies ahead, as the country tackles theorst health crisis in a generation. thhow do you feegovernment is doing? the prime minister, do you ag he with what pening? >> yes. >> i never s rome in the situation. sima: popular streets empty. no tourists, nothing open. orlando is a taxi drer. he tells us the soul has been ripped outy. of it >> i am not busy. topeople onlhe hospital, somest tou. but very, very down. sima: the country has enforcedng rules preventieople from moving around. ay indoors, especially if you are older, they are told. so are choosing to rebel. a owefrom when the measures were first announced, churches are providing a place of solace for worshipers. thee pid he wanted comfort.n to give those infected vernment has put 25 billion euros into the economy sto give it a cash boost, many businesses remain closed. but everyone has

right correspondent sima cook there reporting there from rome good to talk to you. well spain has locked down much of the country for 2 weeks to stop the spread of the corona virus and now the government says it is considering extending that time period and possibly closing its borders spain is suffering from the 2nd worst outbreak in europe after italy more than 47000000 people are being asked to stay at home and it's unclear for how long. spending an entire day at home together is something of your family have a long time get it out of court trying to make the best of a difficult situation amid madrid's coronavirus lockdown indigo is employed as a bank and can therefore work from home while his daughter is able to access her schoolwork via the internet but it's his parents in bilbao that worry him. you've not been going outside i hope here in madrid police drones with loudspeakers are telling us to stay home and. when they tell you to stay inside that's what you have to do you can't go around spreading the virus your 14 year old paula is working studiously through

right for more of the story we can speak now to correspondent seema good that she's standing by in rome hi sima we heard that criticism from this chinese red cross worker there that people are not heeding this lockdown they're still out and about on the streets is that true. well what we're seeing here in rome is that people do keep that social distance meter or more space right from the supermarket the lines along simply because of that space of people go a still a go about in terms of taking a walk a going for a jog i think part of it is because they feel ok i'm taking the precaution in terms of space angle so there's a frustration of being indoors all the time but because we're seeing these massive numbers in terms of the number of people that have succumbed to cope at 19 and the fact that this disease this infection spreads with such speed they're now calling on everyone to change even that doctors and officials are saying do your sport at home don't go out calling for staggering of supermarket timings so that there's a limit of people moving out is about to get a sentient supplies the auth

let's go to the capital, rome, where our correspondent sima kotecha reports. n, just empty playgrounds in rome's largest park. even tougher rules that have come into force today say people cannot go into them to try to curb the outbreak. here, for several weeks, schools have already been closed. the only noises that you can hear are the bells, you know, the church bells, which is nice. but the other noise is the ambulances. that's the only two noises that you hear. in lombardy, the worst—affected region, teachers say some children felt lost without social contact, but virtual lessons are helping. to begin with they were scared, i think. their reality had been taken away from them. being able to actually deliver reality through a computer, even if it's on a completely different scale, has been particularly important. from tomorrow, people in lombardy will no longer be able to exercise, even on their own in open spaces as part of the message aimed at slowing down the spread of the virus. all vending machines will also be banned. 0relio, how do you feel about the

let's go to the capital, rome, where our correspondent, sima kotecha, reports. ldren, just empty playgrounds in rome's largest park. even tougher rules coming into force today say people cannot go into them to try and curb the outbreak. here for several weeks, schools have already been closed. the only noises that you can hear are the bells, you know, the church bells, which is nice. but the other noise is the ambulances. the only two noises here. in lombardy, the worst affected region, teachers say some children felt lost without social contact but virtual lessons are helping. to begin with they were scared of their reality taken away from them. being able to deliver realities through a computer, even if it is on a completely different scale, has been particularly important. how do you feel about the coronavirus? thumbs down? one parent in rome tells us she is worried about the psychological impact the outbreak will have on the young. he is having nightmares. he is having nightmares? yes, i don't know if it is connected, but he is having nightmares about spiders

and we can speak not to journalists seem to she's covering the story from rome high sima this is an astounding number italy announcing its highest death toll in a single day is the situation just getting out of control. well the situation is definitely dire north as you said you talked about the situation in the province of let alone the town a bit more definitely a situation that is really on the brink doctors say that there are the full capacity and what we do know is that this virus tends to impact very badly particularly elderly the population and it's he has one of the world's oldest population and we're seeing these events numbers now prime minister just epic on today in an interview with the milan based career the less said that said that they're looking at a possibility of a complete lockdown and that means also a ban on all outdoor activity they say people need to take this seriously to stay at all unless it's absolutely necessary because of course you could not show any symptoms you could be fine but you could also be a carrier spreading this virus to others now in one week alone the

our reporter sima kotecha is in rome. sima, what's life like for italians on lockdown?ed, u nless their movement has been restricted, unless they have special permission. if they do break those rules they could face jail or a fine. so there isa could face jail or a fine. so there is a real sense of trepidation here. it is eerily quietjust looking around rome. there is no traffic, there aren't people walking around, it is saturday morning and it has been like this for the last couple of days. looking at this statistics, we know that more than 1200 people have died, most of those fatalities have died, most of those fatalities have been in the north, and more than 17,000 cases. but there is a glimmer of hope. this does that came out yesterday showed that the rate of increase in infections has slowed down for the first time. so many are hoping that is a downward trend. we will find out when the daily figures are released later today. thank you very much. guy hedgecoe is in madrid. bring us up—to—date with the situation there. good morning. i'm madrid region, just outside th

sima kotecha, bbc news, rome.ive now to irene tinagli, mep for northwest italy, representing the lombardy region, which has been worst hit by the coronavirus. she's been in quarantine for the last three weeks. first of all, how are you? i am fine. but of course i am worried because this emergency keeps going and although the growth rate is less, you know, not as tough as it was a few days ago, but with the death toll increasing every day, but this is very worrying. death toll has been shocking today, so many more have died. is this something that people were prepared for, or has it taken people by shock? nobody was prepared for a tragedy of this magnitude. at the very beginning, people thought it would be a bad virus, obviously worse than the flue, but nobody expected this kind of death toll. so now many people are starting to really get scared. the streets are completely deserted. of course, there are people sometimes in line for groceries but the situation is obviously very serious. although the towns which we r

sima kotecha in rome.businesses' wage bills for as long as the shutdown lasts. mps from all parties have criticised the government's response and called on ministers to act swiftly — among them, the former conservative business secretary greg clark. as each day goes by, businesses are making decisions that will be irreversible. if the government does not act immediately, large numbers of people will be unemployed, registering them will put huge pressure on the welfare system. vital skills will be lost and good businesses will cease trading, who themselves will be the customers and suppliers of other businesses. with me now is our economics correspondent andy verity. what are the government's options here and why are they delaying? what the mps are saying is this is now not just a what the mps are saying is this is now notjust a health emergency, this is an economic emergency, and even though the government announced the largest package of peacetime measures to help businesses the other day, it's not enough

sima kotecha, bbc news, rome. of emergency for two weeks until the 11th of april. spain's death toll from the virus has jumped to over 1,700, with more than 28,000 cases of infection. damian grammaticas reports. streets drained of life, but out of sight, spain's fight against the virus is ceaseless. here, in a hotel, the first of many that are being requisitioned to serve as an overflow for ha rd—pressed hospitals, it's how spain is trying to contain the infection. so the prime minister has been forced to govern by teleconference. he announced the current state of emergency will last until mid april. restrictions on daily life getting even tighter. and this is what we found when we ventured beyond madrid. empty motorways. miles and miles of them. with virtually no traffic. this is one of spain's main north—south highways. the only things moving? trucks. filled with food. so apart from the bare essentials to keep this country functioning, spain really has come to a standstill. but despite these measures, there is n

sima kotecha, bbc news, rome.ain, the number of deaths from the virus has jumped by a third in a day, to more than 1,300, behind only iran, china and italy. madrid has been particularly badly hit, and hospitals there are struggling to cope. spain's prime minister, pedro sanchez, has praised the country's response to the crisis, one week into the state of emergency. but he underlined the importance of people continuing to stay at home, warning that the coming days would be extremely challenging. translation: unfortunately, the worst is yet to come. hard days are ahead of us. we're yet to suffer the impact of the worst wave, the most harmful, that will push our material and moral capacities to the limit, also our attitudes as a society. here in the uk, borisjohnson has issued a fresh warning that coronavirus will overwhelm the nhs unless everyone starts to practise social distancing, and that the uk was no more than three weeks behind italy when it comes to the spread of disease. he has urged everyone in the uk to f

sima kotecha, bbc news, rome.spain, the number of deaths from the virus has jumped by a third in a day to more than 1,300, behind only iran, china and italy. madrid has been particularly badly hit and hospitals there are struggling to cope. spain's prime minister, pedro sanchez, has praised the country's response to the crisis, one week into the state of emergency. but he underlined the importance of people continuing to stay at home, warning that the coming days would be extremely challenging. translation: unfortunately, the worst is yet to come. hard days are ahead of us. we're yet to suffer the impact of the worst wave, the most harmful, that will push our material and moral capacities to the limit, also our attitudes as a society. let's look at some other stories in brief: brazil's largest state, sao paulo, is closing down for two weeks from tuesday to help fight coronovirus. all non—essential businesses and services, including bars and restaurants, will shut. the state is home to around 46 million people, and

sima kotecha, bbc news, rome.there's been a big rise in the number of coronavirus—related deaths — up by a third in a day. more than 1,300 people have now died there behind only iran, china and italy. spanish authorities say they plan to boost testing. spain has europe's second worst outbreak with the number of cases reaching almost 25,000. cases of coronavirus in ireland have climbed by more than 100 to 785, the department of health there is saying. as of friday, three people in ireland have died of the illness. 400 british tourists are at risk of being stranded in peru after the government there said its borders would be sealed tomorrow with no more planes allowed in or out. tonight, the foreign secretary, dominic raab, has said that he is working with his opposite number in peru and that they are committed to working together in the coming days to enable uk nationals in peru and peruvian nationals in the uk to return home. one of those stranded is sue bagnall, from evesham in worcestershire. she is one of a tou

sima kotecha, bbc news, rome.navirus in spain hasjumped to 1,326 in the country's biggest one—day rise so far. it overtook iran as the world's third worst coronavirus—stricken country yesterday, after china and italy. the number of registered cases in the country has risen to nearly 25,000. the us athletics governing body has added to the growing number of calls for this summer's 0lympics in tokyo to be postponed because of the coronavirus. the federation's chief executive said in a letter that holding the games in the current global situation would not be in the best interest of athletes. the husband of a british woman who died after testing positive for the coronavirus whilst on holiday in bali, has spoken for the first time of the devastation of his loss. kimberley finlayson who was 52, had underlying health conditions and had undergone two emergency operations in an indonesian government hospital. mr finlayson said perhaps the outcome for his wife might have been different if she had been treated in the uk. 0u

sima kotecha, bbc news, rome.nment has extended its state of emerency for two weeks until the 11th of april. spain's death toll from the virus has jumped to over 1,700, with more than 28,000 cases of infection. damian grammaticas reports. streets drained of life, but out of sight, spain's fight against the virus is ceaseless. here, in a hotel, the first of many that are being requisitioned to serve as an overflow for ha rd—pressed hospitals, it's how spain is trying to contain the infection. so the prime minister has been forced to govern by teleconference. he announced the current state of emergency will last until mid april. restrictions on daily life getting even tighter. and this is what we found when we ventured beyond madrid. empty motorways. miles and miles of them. with virtually no traffic. this is one of spain's main north—south highways. the only things moving? trucks. filled with food. so apart from the bare essentials to keep this country functioning, spain really has come to a standstill. but despite

sima kotecha is in rome for us. to the south because tens of thousands of people have travelled from the north to the southin travelled from the north to the south in recent weeks and the hospitals there aren‘t as well—equipped. so like i said, real concern. medics from china have arrived in rome where they are advising doctors about what to do and how to treat people who have coronavirus. they say that early isolation is key. looking around rome, it is eerily quiet. streets across italy are very quiet. hardly any traffic. businesses closed, shops closed apart from pharmacies and supermarkets, even though these strict measures have been put in place for a few days, people are still adjusting to them and realising that they can‘t continue living their everyday lives at the moment because of these measures. sima kotecha, thank you for bringing us sima kotecha, thank you for bringing us the latest this morning from rome. our paris correspondent hugh schofield is in the french capital. hugh, the restrictions in france a

sima kotecha, bbc news, rome. coronavirus strategy was partly prompted by predictions from scientists at imperial college london, which warned the number of deaths in the uk could reach a quarter of a million — unless there was a new approach. bbc news's head of statistics robert cuffe is here. robert, what's changed? they've got a clearer of picture of demand that the virus is likely to put on the nhs and what we can cope with. they assume the nhs can provide this many critical care beds — this red line. under last week's "delay" measures, the projected demand , here, exceeds that capacity by may and then gets even worse. the aim of the new measures like social distancing announced is to cut the spread of the virus. that red line is still that same number of nhs beds. we can see that the new measures bring the projected case numbers down closer to what the nhs can cover. but there's a price. without vaccines or drugs to eradicate the virus, it could bounce back as soon as the measures are lifted, overwhelming cap

sima kotecha, bbc, news, rome. the time is 1:19.e: the government's emergency cobra committee is meeting this lunchtime to discuss whether to step up its response to the spread of coronavirus. it could introduce new measures to restrict movement. and coming up, we'll answer some of your questions on the outbreak here. coming up in the sport on bbc news — la liga in lockdown. real madrid players are in self—isolation and the next two match days have been postponed in spain. the respected think—tank the institute for fiscal studies has delivered its verdict on the chancellor's budget yesterday. it's warned that rishi sunak‘s plans to spend billions more could see the deficit rise if the coronavirus inflicts permanent damage on the british economy. let's go over to our economics correspondent andy verity at the ifs for us now. good afternoon. the big message from the ifs is the economic outlook is not looking very good. george 0sborne used to talk about fixing the roof while the sun is shining. well, it is a bit sunny, sometimes a bit

people died, bringing the total there, to well over 1,400. 0ur correspondent sima kotecha has sent us this report from romero sanchez has tested positive for covid—19. so far more than 100 people have now died in spain, second only in europe to italy. today another 175 people died, bringing the total damage to well over 1400. 0ur correspondent sima kotecha has sent us this report from rome. they sing italian national anthem. through a health crisis, italy turns to song. stringent measures restricting movement has led to this, from north to south. but behind the music, more than 1,000 have died. at a hospital in rome, doctors who helped with the outbreak in china are visiting to advise and support. we believe that colleagues in italy have done a very good job. they believe early detection is key and medics here say their experiences are invaluable. it is always important to have exchanges. some of these medical doctors were on the front line in the beginning of the epicentre in wuhan so they have developed protocols and they have treated lots of patients, especially about the severe cases. i have understood

sima kotecha, bbc news, rome.europe are facing severe restrictions on their daily lives because of the coronavirus outbreak. 0ur europe correspondent, adam fleming, joins us from brussels. strict measures are crops europe including some dvorak —— border closures, what is the view in belgium? that evening. belgium is coming to the end of its first day with no cafe is, no bars and restau ra nts a nd with no cafe is, no bars and restaurants and only essential shops like supermarkets and pharmacies allowed to open at the weekend. during the day, you could sort of kid yourself it was almost normal because some things were open. but tonight, wondering through busy, bustling brussels, it is none of those things any more. it is frankly quite spooky. and french citizens are about to experience exactly the same thing because all of their nonessential services will shut down in about 45 minutes' time. in spain, as we were hearing, it is even more dramatic. that state of emergency kicking in any minute now, which means people

and little earlier i spoke to correspondent sima go to in rome i asked her if young people in italy are taking the precautions to curb the spread of the virus seriously well that's the whole point i mean what the authorities are saying is that you can be young you can have the inception and it will not present any symptoms in fact you may just have a mild cold it's a d.c. all few aches and pains because your young that sit there again it comes back to the point if you are spread gyle if you have some fragile issues basically if you have underlying health conditions even though you are young it could have a dramatic impact so that's why you're also seeing some younger patients in the intensive care units and that's why the authorities a stress that everyone has to do the pot in order to limit the spread so even if you're younger you need to help such that the older members of society don't get the section into what further measures are being taken in italy to curb the spread . well what we do know now is that the next week or so is a crucial one and that's because it's he's nowhere near

focus is to try those hard to sit it to prepare the rest of the country as well all right sima gupta for us in rome and standing by in madrid marcos furnish we thank you both very much for your reporting and hope you also stay healthy. and that's the latest from d.w. news this hour up next is reporter american evan steen from me and the entire team here in berlin thanks for watching. my 1st boss was a sewing machine. where i come for all women are bound by the social influence even something as simple as learning how to write a bicep those isn't. since i was a little girl i wanted to have them by sight the law of my home and it took me years they've been there. finally they gave up and mentioned by me and by psychos but returns with the sewing machine sewing i suppose was more appropriate for those than writing a bio as no i want to meet those women back home who are bones by their duties and social norms and informed him of old dead basic rights my name is the about of the hook and i wore them. thousands of refugees are fleeing war hunger and poverty hoping to reach europe via libya. where there a

all right sima go to reporting from rome and yon philip shoals who is standing by for us in the spanish city of savannah we thank you both very much indeed. you're up to date now on d.w. news i'll be back at the top of the hour with another update for you american everything from me and the entire news team thanks for watching. state up to date don't miss our highlights. program online d.w. dot com highlights. i think is everything challenging 1st on for me i'm listening. so much different culture between here and there challenging for everything. leading. traditionalists i think it was worth it for me to come to germany. and got my license to work as a swimming instructor sure now our 2 children wanted us just one of us to just. what's your story take part cherish on in for my greenstock next. this week well story. tattoos empower domestic violence victims in russia. comic books to combat trauma in france. but we begin in greece where thousands of refugees are trapped on the country's border with turkey turkish president everyone promise to open borders. but very few are making it that

to try and help those hardest hit it to prepare the rest of the country as well all right sima gupta for us in rome and standing by in madrid marcus furnish we thank you both very much for your reporting and hope you also stay healthy. and that's the latest from d.w. news this hour up next is reporter america edelstein from me and the entire team here in berlin thanks for watching. my 1st by saying was a sewing machine. where i come from women are bound by this notion towards women something as simple as learning how to write a bicycle is and. since i was a little girl i wanted to have a bicycle of my home and it took me as a man.

sima kotecha, bbc news, rome. to be happening all the time, so let's get the latest on them from the bbc sports centre. hello, i'm maz farookhi with tuesday's sport briefing. one of the most famous global horseracing meets of the calendar — the grand national at aintree in the north—west of england — is one of the latest sporting events to be cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic. over $180 million us is bet on the race annually, which attracts an audience worldwide of 500 million. on monday, the uk prime minister borisjohnson advised against mass gatherings in the country — effectively cancelling all remaining sporting fixtures. the olympic european boxing qualifying event in london has also been suspended, with the ioc boxing task force saying "safeguarding the wellbeing of the athletes, officials and all other participants is a top priority". the event at the copper box arena took place without spectators from sunday, with great britain's peter mcgrail one of the last to secure his spot at tokyo 2020 wi

let's speak now to our news correspondent sima kotecha who is in rome.questions this morning as to why and how italy has had such a big death toll. the prime minister says the situation is going to get worse before it gets better, particularly bad in the north of the country, the hospitals are stretched, we saw some very disturbing footage yesterday of the military moving conference across a city in the north because the crematorium could not cope with the death toll. the stringent measures that are in place across italy preventing people from moving around from city to city without good reason, there is talk today of those stringent measures being made even more strict. at the moment you can go more strict. at the moment you can aviogging more strict. at the moment you can gojogging if you want, you can go to the shops, you can walk your dog but as i said, there is talk of that being banned as well. people here, even though it's been 11 days since stringent measures have been put in place, they are still adjusting to them ona place, they are still adjus

let's get more on the situation in italy — our correspondent sima kotecha is in rome. d infections rises dramatically. what is the latest? it is really heartbreaking. 368 people died in the last 2a hours from coronavirus, almost 25,000 cases across the country. most of those in the north. hospitals there are really struggling. doctors say they are at the end of their tether. some hospitals are running out of intensive care beds. they don't have ventilators. they are saying that if they don't get that essential kit people will be even more vulnerable. there is also concern that the outbreak could spread to the south of the country because people have been moving, thousands of people have been moving from the north to the south and hospitals in the south, a poorer part of the country, are not is well equipped. the prime minister saying that his priority is to make sure doctors and nurses are safe and protected from the virus so that they can carry out essential care. we are expecting an announcement imminently about a decree that is going to be put in force. the prime min

workers are infected and they are the ones of course on the front lines of the pandemic sima go to for us in rome thank you for your porn. here's a look now at some of the latest developments on the corner virus pandemic chancellor angela merkel's chief of staff says germany will not loosen restrictions on public life before april 20th at the earliest sri lankan police have arrested thousands for violating a countrywide curfew they are meant to can train contain the spread of the virus and the world health organization says norway and spain will be the 1st countries to start testing drugs to find covert 19 officials are testing for medicines that are considered to offer the most promise in combating the new disease. well spain. italy on friday. with more than 770 people dying in 24 hours or than 60000 people have been confirmed to have. 15 percent of our health care. a burial in hazmat suits. one of thousands of victims of the corona virus outbreak in spain. hospital staff in madrid don't need to see the statistics to know spain does not yet have a handle on the epidemic. it has been a deadly wee

sima kotecha, bbc news, rome. coronavirus outbreak, on the bbc news app and on our website. we're back with the late news at tennow on bbc one it's time for the news where you are. goodbye. hello, this is bbc news. tributes have been paid to the country singer, kenny rogers, who has died aged 81. best known for hits such as coward of the county and the gambler, he had 20 number ones in the us country charts. david silltoe has more # baby when i met you, there was peace unknown. # i set out to get you with a fine tooth comb. # i was soft inside. # there was something... my mom said it very well one day. she said, "that boy never worked a day in his life. "all he ever did was sing." he'd grown up in houston, one of eight children in a poor family in the city's housing projects. # there are people leading people... he'd started out singing close harmony and then turned to jazz. this is him playing bass. after that came folk... # ifound my mind in a brown paper bag... but his breakthrough was ‘60s psychedelia in the b

its third day of lockdown — and remains the worst—hit country in europe. 0ur correspondent sima kotecha in romee. well, we were told yesterday that 827 people have now died across italy from coronavirus. 600 or so of those cases are in the north of italy, and more than 12,000 people have been infected. now, the prime minister yesterday, prime minister conte, said that more stringent measures were being put in place. now all the shops across the country, apart from pharmacies and supermarkets, will be closed. if you look across the street you can see there's a pharmacy there, that is open and going as per normal. butjust behind here we have a food shop — i'lljust bring you round — which is also open, but the bar above it is closed. so, as i say, more stringent measures have been put in place. remember, italy has 60 million people, and they are being told they cannot move freely across the country without special permission. so a lot of people here saying, how can we carry on with our daily lives if our movement is being restricted ? so there is a real sense of trepidation, frustration and anxiet

in a moment, we'll get the latest from sima kotecha in rome, and hugh schofield in paris, but first to, damian grammaticas. i'm just outside the capital, madrid, in the region surrounding madrid, in the region surrounding madrid, a few miles outside the city itself. over the weekend, we had a state of emergency decreed across the country. under the powers that prime minister pedro sanchez has under that state of emergency, he has restricted movement of all spaniards, nobody allowed to leave their home in sa have a specific reason, nobody can leave their home u nless reason, nobody can leave their home unless they are buying food or medication, for example. police are patrolling the streets, and you can be fined if you are found out on the streets without a good reason. i've been to the supermarket today and things were very quiet, people were keeping a distance between each other in the queues and other people we re other in the queues and other people were wearing masks and gloves. it is a very unusual situation for spaniards today. alarming figures here in italy. again, 368 more deat

with the latest from rome, here's sima kotecha.es, china having a population of 1.4 billion, italy having a population of 64 million, there are questions to be asked, why this has happened, in a smaller country with fewer people. and it's very prevalent, as you said, in the north of the country, where hospitals are stretched, they are running out of key equipment. stringent measures that had been put in place across the country now for 11 days, restricting people's movement, closing businesses and schools. telling people to stay in their homes unless they want to go for a jog or go outside for health reasons or go to the shop, get some medicine from the pharmacy. those stringent measures could be made even more strict. there is talk from the sports ministry that they might actually say to people you can't even go outside to have a jog any more. so if those measures are implemented and they are even more strict, we are going to see fewer people on the streets. walking around rome, you do see the odd person having a run or making the