the chief executive of the nhs confederation, there.th neal from the university of nottingham, who's been a contact tracer for 30 years and will be leading one of the teams of tack and tracers. do stay with us for that. the head of the world health organization has warned there's still a long way to go before the coronavirus pandemic is over. he made the remarks as the un agency reported more than 100,000 new infections, the biggest rise in a single day. two drugs used to prevent malaria are being trialled at hospitals in brighton and oxford, to see whether they could be used to counter coronavirus. hydroxychloroquine, along with chloroquine, will be given to more than 40,000 health care workers from around the world who have been in contact with covid—19 patients. earlier this week, president trump drew criticism from doctors after announcing he was taking the drug as a preventative measure, despite public health officials warning it may be unsafe. cyclone amphan has hit parts of bangladesh and eastern india, killing 22 people and forc

but the nhs confederation has warned of "severe" consequences for staff and patients if the right systemis not established quickly. the latest figures show the number of deaths reported in the last 2a period has risen by 338. that brings the total number of people in the uk whose deaths are directly linked to coronavirus to 36,042. 0ur health editor hugh pym has the latest. shah scratch. it's a test that can tell you whether you've already had coronavirus and whether you might have immunity and that's important for someone wanting to know if it's relatively safe to go into work. the test, which looks for antibodies in the bloodstream, is going to be my made available from next week to tens and thousands of nhs care workers and patients every day. we are developing this critical science to know the impact of a positive antibody test and develop the —— to develop certification so people can be assurance about what they can safely do. antibody testing has already been used in a study to find out how many people have had the virus. 17% in london and 5% elsewhere in england, with the capital

the nhs confederation says any further easing of the lockdown depends on a clear strategy and a delaysk a second peak of the infection. the prime minister has pledged to have what he's called "a world—beating" contact tracing system up and running by the first ofjune. our health correspondent lauren moss reports. test, track and trace — three words we've heard a lot during the pandemic, three words that will be key to controlling the spread of covid—i9. but now those representing hospitals, health and social care members, have warned that if the system isn't ready soon, there is a risk of a second peak. if you don't go further and you make further relaxations, then obviously the danger of the r number, which the government absolutely recognises, the danger of the r number rising becomes greater if you have not got in place effective test, track and trace processes. boris johnson has promised a world beating tracing system will be in place by the ist ofjune, the same day that nonessential shops and schools could gradually reopen. there will be 25,000 trackers able to cope with 10,000 n

the nhs confederation says any further easing of the lockdown depends on a clear strategy, and a delayd peak of the infection. the prime minister has pledged to have what he's called "a world—beating" contact tracing system up and running by the 1st ofjune. a further 338 people are known to have died from the virus in all settings, taking the uk total death toll to 36,010. and a global trial to see whether two anti—malarial drugs death toll to 36,010. could prevent covid—19 has begun, with uk trials in oxford and brighton. our first report from our health correspondent lauren moss. test, track and trace — three words we've heard a lot during the pandemic. three words that will be key to controlling the spread of covid—19. but now those representing hospitals, health and social care members have warned that, if the system isn't ready soon, there is a risk of a second peak. if you were going to go further and make further relaxations, then obviously the danger of the r number, which the government absolutely recognises, the danger of the r number rising becomes greater if you have not go

the nhs confederation says any further easing of the lockdown depends on a clear strategy — and a delayond peak of the infection. the prime minister has pledged to have what he's called ‘a world—beating' contact tracing system up and running running by the 1stjune. our health correspondent lauren moss reports. test, track and trace — three words we've heard a lot during the pandemic, three words that will be key to controlling the spread of covid—19. but now those representing hospitals, health and social care members, have warned that if the system isn't ready soon, there is a risk of a second peak. if the system isn't ready soon, if you're going to go further and you make further relaxations, then obviously the danger of the r number, which the government absolutely recognises, the danger of the r number rising becomes greater if you have not got in place effective test, track and trace processes. borisjohnson has promised a world beating tracing system will be in place by the 1st ofjune, the same day that nonessential shops and schools could gradually reopen. there will be 25,000 tra

the nhs confederation in england today said that, which represents nhs leaders, said that we should notack and test systems in place. your systems are described slightly differently. you tag isolate onto that. can you explain that for us and tell us how many contacts traces you currently have available or will have available next week in scotland? we have 600 contact razors available already, and... did your own paper not say that you needed 2000? we will need that eventually but not from day one. we have 600 available to start the programme, and as you suppress the coronavirus, the importance of contact tracing becomes ever more significant because you are trying to follow up the individual cases and examples that have been identified and putting in place the appropriate test, trace, isolate and support activity that is adherent in this time, and we have tried to suppress the coronavirus wherever it is in your country. thank you very much. for the ninth week in a row, millions of people will applaud health care workers across the uk that have been working on the front latest figures su

i fear we have lost that connection with the chief executive of the nhs confederation.ty much got through most of the interview. good news, he said about the antibody test, that it looks like a reliable test. let me tell you at 11.30 we will be answering your questions on how the antibody test might work on what the results might mean for us and how the country tackles the pandemic going forward. please send us your questions using the hashtag bbc your questions using the hashtag bbc your questions or e—mail your questions to our website. we look forward to your questions. in spain, the pandemic is being brought under control, but there are concerns about the sheer number of medical workers who've been exposed to the virus. almost 50,000 spanish health staff are known to have been infected and they now account for one in two new cases being detected in the country. 0ur europe correspondent damian grammaticas reports. in madrid's puerta de hierro hospital, applause, not to thank the medics, but from them. to console the family ofjavier ruiz, a porter, one of two workers

the nhs confederation has written to the health secretary, matt hancock, saying any further easing ofockdown depends on a clear strategy, and a delay will risk a second peak of the infection. meanwhile, the scottish government is set to publish its plans for easing the lockdown, a week since restrictions were relaxed in england. keith doyle has the latest. with some restrictions in england relaxed, after weeks of being confined to the local area, people may feel they deserve a day out, and many took advantage of the good weather. about one hour. that led to busy beaches and trafficjams at beauty spots stop being able to track and trace new coronavirus cases is key to the government's strategy to relax the restrictions further. prime minister... in the commons, the prime minister promised what he called would be a "world heating tracing system from the start ofjune." heating tracing system from the start ofjune." we will have an operation that will be world beating, and yes, it will be in place, it will be in place, byjune the first. but in a letter to the health secretary, the organis

the nhs confederation warns "time is running out to finalise a test, track and trace strategy to avoidsurge of infections." it says it should be in place before any further easing of the lockdown, warning that if it isn't, then "the ramifications for the nhs, including its staff and its patients, could be severe." if we are going to go further and make further relaxations, then obviously the danger of the r number, which the government absolutely recognises, the danger of that rising becomes greater if you have not got in place an effective test, track and trace process. scottish beaches were also busy yesterday, despite there being no relaxation in restrictions. but later today, the scottish first minister, nicola sturgeon, will give details of the route map of how scotland will gradually ease the lockdown, although no set dates are expected. right in the core of what we believe is getting families back together. and i think over the next few weeks we will begin to see some loosening of what that might look like. we know, for example, outdoors is safer than indoors, so you would expec