alison holt, bbc news. for the nhs — we know that tackling the coronavirus is costing huge amounts of money. now the office for budget responsibility has done the sums and come up with a new figure. it all adds up to a level of government borrowing not seen in peacetime. 0ur economics editor faisal islam is here. we have got used to people saying billions here and billions there, just put it into context for us. more incredible numbers, actually, from the government's official, but independent, forecasters, who updated their analysis of what we are seeing. back in march, the 0br, as they are known, at the budget, they projected that borrowing, so they projected that borrowing, so the difference between taxing coming in and spending going dead, would be 55 billion. that was two months ago, as the virus was beginning to take hold. today, on the second update because of coronavirus, that has gone up to nearly £300 billion and that includes some of the extra spending on rescue schemes, we have seen spending on

do follow lewis and alison holt on twitter for their reporting on care homes.nd on this part of the covid—19 outbreak in the uk on the bbc news website. as you know that the website is bbc news/ news. thank you so much roz. brilliant reporting. we will see you in the next edition do stay with us still to come on this addition we take a look at the world's largest refugee camp, cox's bazar in bangladesh — which has reported its first cases of covid—19. the swearing in of israel's new unity government has been postponed until sunday. it's the latest twist in a political standoff that's lasted more than a year. here's yolande knell. benjamin netanyahu remains prime minister despite many charges. at the three inconclusive elections in the three inconclusive elections in the air. the coronavirus certainly played a role by creating a feeling of emergency, a feeling that politics need to be relegated to a back seat. last week israel's high court ruled mr netanyahu could lead a new government while he is on trial. and it didn't block the power—sharing deal that will se

alison holt, bbc news.y bailout from the government to keep services running. tfl has seen passenger numbers plummet by more than 90% since the start of the pandemic. the mayor of london, sadiq khan, had warned that without the funding, bus and tube services might have to be cut. the bbc has learnt that teachers' unions will meet the government's chief scientific advisors tomorrow to seek reassurance about plans to partially re—open some of england's schools. some have expressed concern about whether it would be safe to ask staff and pupils to return. 0ur education editor branwen jeffreys joins me now. how important is this meeting going to be? i think it's highly significant. it has been an extremely tetchy week between teachers, head teachers and the government with teaching feeling aggrieved they have been accused of scaremongering. i understand they will get the chance to put many of their concerns and questions to the chief medical officer, the chief scientific officer and some of the other government'

alison holt, bbc news.us can be spread across the uk has gone up, and is close to the point where infections may rise again. the reproduction or r number, needs to stay below one to control the spread, but rates vary across the uk, and could result in stricter lockdown measures in some areas. here's our science editor, david shukman. some areas are hit harder by the virus than others. the north east of england seems to have one of the highest rates of infection. it's thought that one factor could be deprivation. but whatever the cause, the council in gateshead wants to move more cautiously than national government. we don't have same powers as scotland and wales and northern ireland. if i had those powers, if we had those powers here in gateshead, i'm absolutely certain that we would be imposing the same restrictions as in scotland and in wales and northern ireland. the so, our social media message from the local authority has stayed exactly the same — it's "stay at home". where possible, stay at home. that

alison holt, bbc news.e fatal shooting of a 19—year—old law student in blackburn a week ago have charged a sixth person. aya hachem died after being hit by a bullet fired from a passing car. ayaz hussain, who's 3a, will appear in court tomorrow accused of her murder and attempting to murder another person. police in hong kong have fired tear gas and water cannon at demonstrators protesting china's plans to impose a new security law. police say 120 people have been arrested after the first mass protests since the coronavirus pandemic took hold in the territory. beijing says the legislation will improve people's lives but campaigners warn fundamental freedoms are being eroded. 0ur china correspondent, stephen mcdonnell, reports. activists in their thousands are back on the streets of hong kong, ending the quiet of coronavirus. beijing has introduced new security legislation for the city. they are attempting to resist it. protesters say it elevates acts of dissent and government opposition to treason and sedit

alison holt, bbc news.hest official death toll from coronavirus in europe — and the second—highest in the world after the united states. speaking in the last half an hour, the foreign secretary dominic raab warned against making international comparisons. today's latest figures for people who have tested positive for coronavirus show that, in the last 2a hours, there were 693 deaths recorded — that's in hospitals, care homes and in the community. that means the total number of deaths is now 29,427 — these are people who tested positive for coronavirus. that number has seen uk overtake italy's death toll. 0ur science editor david shukman looks at how the number of deaths here compares with other countries. two of the biggest countries in europe, the uk and italy, are among the hardest hit by coronavirus. knock—downs have lowered the daily death toll, but the scale of the losses is massive. direct comparisons are difficult because of how deaths are counted, often in different ways. in this graph, america stan

alison holt, bbc news. 0ur health editor, hugh pym, is here. we talk about more about this rather can we talk about more about this rather thorny issue of making comparisons between the uk and other countries — what is your reading of the differences? well, it is certainly a sombre moment, with a death toll of near 30,000, but of course london is three times bigger than italy's biggest city, and like new york, it is an environment where the virus might spread quickly. the uk has got a bigger population than italy. and of course there are some issues around international comparisons. and the nhs has coped remarkably well in the circumstances, it hasn't been overwhelmed, despite productions. 0ne chart stood out, the one showing italy 15 days ahead of the uk in this epidemic. it was one of the first countries to be hit hard, and yet the uk now has a higher death toll. and it comes on a day with more scrutiny of the government by mps at the health select committee, and then in the commons health questions with health ministers, questions with healt

alison holt.ght under control, but there is anger about the number of medical workers who've been exposed to the virus. almost 50,000 health staff are known to have been infected and they now account for half of new cases being detected in the country. our europe correspondent damian grammaticas has been speaking to some of those affected. 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 here who've lost their lives to covid—19. in this hospital, 200 out of 5,000 staff have caught the virus. across spain, more than 50 medics have died. two months into this crisis, what's becoming evident in spain is notjust the toll covid—19 has taken on patients, but on medical workers too. spain has started testing them all and is revealing just how many have been infected. when there was such a pressure coming from the people that got infected in the community, they did not test us, but now the whole count

alison holt, bbc news.onavirus can be spread across the uk has gone up, and is close to the point where infections may rise again. the reproduction, or r number, needs to stay below one to control the spread, but rates vary across the uk, and could result in stricter lockdown measures in some areas. here's our science editor, david shukman. some areas are hit harder by the virus than others. the north east of england seems to have one of the highest rates of infection. it's thought that one factor could be deprivation. but whatever the cause, the council in gateshead wants to move more cautiously than national government. we don't have same powers as scotland and wales and northern ireland. if i had those powers, if we had those powers here in gateshead, i'm absolutely certain that we would be imposing the same restrictions as in scotland and in wales and northern ireland. so, our social media message from the local authority has stayed exactly the same — it's "stay at home". where possible, stay at home. t

homes from the start and that the majority are coronavirus free. 0ur social affairs correspondent, alison holtne home we have followed through the crisis to get their views. out of mind for too long, the strain on care staff is so close to the surface. it‘s like an emotion, you know? you‘re up and down, you‘re up and down. you‘re caring for people under the hardest conditions. erm, to see people get so sick and so poorly and only be able to hold their hand, not be able to give them a cuddle, not be able to do myjob, it makes me feel frustrated inside. 0ne home, but their experience here tells the story of so many. we‘ve followed care staff at st ives lodge in chingford, as they‘ve struggled with covid—19. six residents have died. now eight weaks on, they hope they‘ve got the better of the virus. now eight weeks on, they hope they‘ve got the better of the virus. so, right from the start, we've tried to throw a protective ring around our care homes... this wasn‘t what the home manager remembers. struggling to get testing, protective equipment and health support, she felt ignored. we've made sure

alison holt, bbc news.aker sanofi said the us would have first access to any drug because it had invested the most. after being summoned by french president emmanuel macron, sanofi ceo paul hudson said the company was always planning to supply any vaccine around the world. my comments are really around, what do we need to do to make sure we are in a similar position in europe? it was never a choice. we need to get vaccines to everybody across the world, all parts of the world, doses for everybody. we're all going to have to play a huge part in that, because if we add all the manufacturers together, it still perhaps won't be enough. we must be at the top of our game, we must be ready. earlier, i spoke with georgetown university professor lawrence gostin. i asked him whether the row over sanofi was a harbinger of things to come. you know, if we have ample supplies of vaccine and money wasn't an issue, we would give it to everyone. but that's not the world we are likely to be in, we are likely to be in a world

alison holt, bbc news. look after your mum.nnounced a new initiative to fast track the development of a coronavirus vaccine. he says the government will invest in all the top vaccines and is focussing on m potential candidates. he's enlisted the help of the us military and the pharmaceutical industry. it's called 0peration warp speed. that means big, and it means fast. a massive scientific, industrial and logistical endeavour unlike anything our country has seen since the manhattan project. you really could say that nobody‘s seen anything like we're doing, whether it's ventilators or testing, nobody‘s seen anything like we're doing now within our country since the second world war. incredible. its objective is to finish developing and then to manufacture and distribute a proven coronavirus vaccine as fast as possible. again, we'd love to see if we could do it prior to the end of the year. donald trump and the rose garden a little earlier. 0ur washington correspondent gary 0'donoghue explains the significance of trump's announce

our social affairs correspondent alison holt reports.f deaths and care homes were registered as a link to covid—i9 in the week up to april the 24th. but overall, the number of deaths from sourcing in england and wales from all causes is much higher than usual. almost four times more deaths than we would expect to see at this time of year were registered in that last week, by 20 to deaths and care homes above the five—year average and many of those mentioned covid—i9 on the death certificate. these official figures distressing picture on the impact that coronavirus is having on care homes. i understand within days, the government will set out a plan of intensive support for care homes in particular, including additional back—up from councils and health services. today the uk government also announced that 84,806 tests were carried out yesterday — meaning for a third day in a row the government has not hit its 100,000 daily testing target. the uk government insists it has followed scientific advice in its response to the coronavirus outbre

next question is from alison holt of the bbc.l figures show the very high number of deaths in care homes, and also in hospitals for care home residents. the measures you have introduced today, aren't they too little too late? what i set out today are the things we have been doing throughout this crisis to support people in care homes. in the last couple of weeks we have, as you say, added further measures and i have set them all out today. they have in fact been put in place over the period of the crisis. and making sure we get that support that is needed, the extra money, building on the money we put in right at the start, the infection control processes, building on them, the infection control processes we put on right at the start and have built throughout, it is all part of doing everything we can to support people in care homes. you know, the good news is that the number of cases, the number of new cases, it's coming right down. but there is clearly a long way to go. and i'm also going to ask nikki to comment on the strength

alison holt, bbc news. with me now is our health correspondent, anna collinson.na, going back to the situation involving dominic cummings, just explain what the government rules were at the beginning of the lockdown, the end of march beginning of april?“ beginning of the lockdown, the end of march beginning of april? if we go back to the end of march, the uk's strict lockdown had been announced and i looked back on the 3ist announced and i looked back on the 31st of march what the figures were looking like. 1800 people had so far died from coronavirus and 10,000 people had been admitted to hospital. the government's headline message at this time was simple, stay at home and lead —— unless you need to do several things which includes going for exercise or buying essential food. includes going for exercise or buying essentialfood. if you had symptoms you are told not to leave your home for up to 14 days and that meant not seeing friends or family outside of your household and not travelling anywhere. however, around the same time, a government medical adviser told

next question is from alison holt of the bbc.ttle too late ? introduced today, ardently too little too late? what i set out today are the things we have been doing throughout this crisis to support people in care homes —— aren't they too little, too late? in the last couple of weeks we have, as you say, added further measures and i have set them all out today. they have in fact been put in place over the period of the crisis. and making sure we get that support thatis and making sure we get that support that is needed, the extra money, building on the money we put in right at the start, the infection control processes, building on them, the infection control processes we put on right at the start and have built throughout, it is all part of doing everything we can to support people in care homes. you know, the good news is that the number of cases, the number of new cases, it's coming right down. but there is clearly a long way to go. and also going to ask nikki to comment on the strengthening of the link between the nhs and in p

can we turn now to questions from the media, and alison holt of the bbc.ongoing slowness of the government's response to their needs, their problems. they are still waiting for instance for details of the infection control plan that was announced yesterday. it is two months into the pandemic. what would you say to reassure them that this is going to change? and also a question from my sports colleagues for professorjonathan van—tam, you've been involved in talks with premier league players. how likely is it to be safe enough to return to competitive football by june the 12th? alison, thank you very much indeed. look, with care homes, there are specialists in infection control,, that is something that care homes routinely at the front line of handling, are often more so than hospitals, and many of them, welcome all of them, will know what to do exactly and testa m e nt to will know what to do exactly and testament to that is in the vast majority of care homes, covid—19 hasn't been reported at all. however, it certainly is the case and we have seen these fig

our social affairs correspondent alison holt explained that the details were still waiting to be approvedant information about what the infection control plan will be. we are told it will support measures to reduce staff moving between care homes, provide training and protect wages as well as providing a clinical lead for each care home. what that will mean in practise will be closely scrutinised when we finally get the details. because of the high number of deaths in care homes and we are in this for the long run so there could be a second wave of the virus and people will need protected then. but also because of what i would describe as the growing sense of anger amongst people within the care sector who feel that they have been neglected for a long time. it took a long time for people to listen to them. care staff who have spent last week struggling against covid—19, seeing the residents they care for die, will feel this is very late in the day even though it is welcome. and there were certainly plenty of warnings early on about issues about ppe and testing and care homes say they are

our social affairs correspondent, alison holt, has returned to one home we've been following throughoutt their view. out of mind for too long, the strain on care staff is so close to the surface. it's like an emotion, you know? you're up and down and up and down. you're caring for people under the hardest conditions. to see people get so sick and so poorly and only be able to hold their hand, not be able to give them a cuddle, not be able to do myjob, it makes me feel frustrated inside. one home, but their experience here tells the story of so many. we've followed care staff at st ives lodge in chingford as they've struggled with covid—19. six residents have died. now, eight weeks on, they hope they've got the better of the virus. so, right from the start, we've tried to throw a protective ring around our care homes. this wasn't what the home manager remembers, struggling to get testing, protective equipment and health support, she felt ignored. we've made sure that care homes have the resources they need to control the spread of infection. well, that makes me really angry to watch that