with me now is our health correspondent catherine burns.f those professors and concerns expressed leaves one with the feeling that the government have been clear about following the science and whether we are now seeing following the science and whether we are now seeing some sense following the science and whether we are now seeing some sense of dissent in the ranks, in terms of you have some scientists sitting on the sage committee saying we are actually not co mforta ble committee saying we are actually not comfortable with the easing of lockdown, as you're putting it, the political decision, and really starting to make it clear. it is my observation somewhere along...e starting to make it clear. it is my observation somewhere along... ? i have been trying to take a bit of a snapshot on whether it is. we are talking about sage which is the committee that advises the government and after that there are subcommittees. 0ff sage, we have managed either speak to or read the tweets of seven people who i think this is not right for us. i will g

catherine burns, bbc news.ost of the united kingdom has been basking in glorious sunshine today, with some parts enjoying temperatures as high as 28 degrees celsius. despite some easing of the lockdown measures, social distancing measures are still in place. so how have people been staying safe? our correspondent, sarah campbell, has been finding out. it's not easy to find an isolated spot on the beach when so many other people have the same idea. for businesses, too, there is a balance between wanting customers and keeping them safe. it's too busy. this doesn't feel like brighton today, it feels like a horrible day in brighton with all the daytrippers. i do feel safe because it's quite a big beach, so it feels possible to stay two metres away. i think everybody has just got to abide by the rules, it's not hard. it's just one of those things, everybody has to get on with it. the hot weather has certainly brought people to the beach in brighton. the challenge, here, as elsewhere, is how best to remind them to ke

catherine burns, bbc news.ced many bands to cancel gigs and festivals, irish group when young decided to all self—isolate together and use the current lockdown as a source of inspiration. on friday, they released their new single the prayer in response to the outbreak of covid—19. proceeds from the single will be donated to women's aid, who work to end domestic abuse against women and children. and we can now talk to members of the band when young. thank you very much for being with us. you have the microphone so start with this idea of trying to write music in response to the pandemic. is that quite a challenge? itjust came naturally to us. we had been working together on our second album and we just wanted to write something in response to write something in response to that, what was going on and something that maybe could have reached out to the world. we are living here right now in ireland and we kind of want to descended... message... and how has locked down been for you? seu has locked down been for you

catherine burns, bbc news.time. but one young man in colombia was determined that covid—19 would not ruin his love life. and, as the bbc‘s tim allman reports, he had a little help. alejandra grijalba is 22 years old and an assistant nurse. she was in a shopping centre in the western city of cali when she was stopped by police. they asked her for identification and told her she was facing a fine. then they ordered her to solve a puzzle — a somewhat unusual law enforcement technique. translation: i was really scared because when i was putting the puzzle together, i thought, "a fine for what? what is it? " once i assembled the puzzle, it said, "do you want to marry me?" at this point and to her boyfriend, carrying an engagement ring. after recently recovering from a car accident, he reese —— wanted to propose and wanted the long arm of the law to help him get the girl. translation: doing quarantine, time passes very slowly because ofa time passes very slowly because of a marriage proposal is a beautiful thing. i s

catherine burns, bbc news.o cut as many as 8,000 jobs — as the iconic british company deals with the impact of coronavirus. our business correspondent katy austin has more. very concerning news for a very important uk industry. rolls—royce is an engineering giant, and one of its big products is engines for aircraft. rolls—royce employs around 23,000 people in the uk — that's about half of its global workforce, and big sites here in this country include derby, where it's got two sites there. now, what we're really seeing here is the knock—on impact trickle down from the global hit to the aviation industry that we've seen during the covid—i9 pandemic, where airlines basically can't fly — well, not very much anyway. and that has a knock—on effect where plane makers have then shut down some of their production. and then you go down the supply chain, and you get people like rolls—royce who make plane engines — well, they're having to cut back too. what is the government promising to do, if anything? the government w

catherine burns, bbc news.t may have to cut as many as 8,000 jobs as the iconic british company deals with the impact of coronavirus. our business correspondent katy austin is here. katy — how big is this for uk manufacturing? it is difficult news for an important uk industry. the engineering giant rolls—royce employs about 20,000 people in the uk, many of them based at sites like derby. a company source has told me that senior leaders have warned that job losses could be up to 8000. that number is not certain yet. there will be more detail later this month. we are seeing here is the unprecedented impact of the covid—i9 travel restrictions. airlines suffering because they can't fly. plane makers are cutting production, like booing. but rolls—royce makes engines for aeroplanes, so it is also feeling the hit. this has been also feeling the hit. this has been a difficult week for the aviation sector. we have heard two airlines, british airways and ryanair, also announced they are looking atjob losses in the thousa

catherine burns, bbc news.g it compulsory for all public and private sector employees to use a controversial contact tracing app, as it works to ease its coronavirus lock down in some parts of the country. meanwhile migrant workers, millions of whom have been particularly hard hit by the strict measures, continue to struggle. reged ahmad reports. the moment these men climb out of the barrel of a cement truck — caught by roadside police check, as they attempt to travel across the country. it is not clear how these men came to be in the cement mixer, but millions of india's impoverished migrant workers have been struggling to return to their villages during the country's strict and sudden lockdown. translation: we found 18 people from maharashtra were travelling to lucknow, and they were found inside the truck. they were being taken in a very insensitive manner. overnight, industries were shut down and transport links severed. fearing starvation, many walked sometimes hundreds of kilometres to get back home. week

catherine burns, bbc news. forced many bands to cancel gigs and festivals, irish group "when young" decided to all self—isolate together and use the current lockdown as a source of inspiration. # you know that i don't usually pray # but i'm sending love your way on friday they released this. it's their new single the prayer, in response to the outbreak of covid—19. proceeds from the single will be donated to women's aid, who work to end domestic abuse against women and children. earlier i spoke to the trio and i asked them how has the lockdown been for them, self—isolating as a band together. we are used to driving around together in close proximity, in vans around the country to gigs and stuff. we're kind of used to this. what about the frustrations of gigs being cancelled, not being able to be out on the road, and what have you been trying to do to try to combat that? yeah, that is quite wearing. especially not knowing when we will be able to do gigs again, whether it is this year or next year, that is wearin

catherine burns, bbc news.its testing target, providing more than 120,000 coronavirus tests in a day by the end of april. i'm joined now by dr andrew preston, an infectious disease researcher from the university of bath. thank you forjoining us. let's talk about the hopes for a cure, what are your thoughts on remdesivir, blood plasma, are you hopeful?” your thoughts on remdesivir, blood plasma, are you hopeful? i think it isa plasma, are you hopeful? i think it is a combination therapies that are likely to be needed, treatments to individual patients. i think each time we get some sort of treatment available, even if it is not what sort of most people would consider a cure, that is going to certainly help. are there any out there, as you scan the horizon, that you think the audience should feel encouraged by? we have got large number of countries working on this, the chinese are couple of months ahead, given they had their first expense of the virus a couple of months ahead, have they got anything positive to o

catherine burns, bbc news. the headlines on bbc news...he economy restarted — including easing some measures of the lockdown. in spain, the country has begun to ease its strict lockdown rules — adults have been enjoying their first outdoor exercise in seven weeks. rolls—royce prepares to cut thousands ofjobs due to coronavirus — a decision on the exact number will be made by the end of the month. we can go to our newsroom in salford to get all the sports news from sarah mulkerrins. hello, i'm sarah mulkerrins with the bbc sport. the former england captain, sir bill beaumont, has been re—elected as the chairman of world rugby. the 68—year—old defeated his former deputy, the ex argentina skippei’. agustin pichot. the bbc‘s rugby union correspondent, chris jones, has more. at one point it looked like this race was going to go right down to the wire, but in the end, beaumont has won with a little bit to spare. a clear mandate by 28 votes to 23. the support he had from the six nations and from the region of europe really meant that he had a foo

catherine burns, bbc news.ls—royce says it will probably have to make thousands of job cuts as part of plans to deal with the impact of coronavirus. our business correspondent katy austin is here. katy — another blow to uk business and those people losing theirjobs. how big is this for uk manufacturing? it is difficult news for an important uk injury. engineering giant rolls—royce employs about 20,000 people across the uk including sites in derby. a company source told me that senior leaders had said thatjob losses could reach 8000, although they are still working to try and mitigate the impact of that. what we are seeing here really is the knock—on impact of covid—19 travel restrictions. because airlines are suffering, so plane makers are cutting back on production and rolls—royce makes aircraft engines, so it is feeling the heat as well. the british government has provided a lot of support for businesses to try and see them through this time but aviation is one of the sector is calling for still more help. ar

catherine burns, bbc news. the headlines on bbc news...the economy restarted — including easing some measures of the lockdown. in spain, the country has begun to ease its strict lockdown rules — adults have been enjoying their first outdoor exercise in seven weeks. rolls royce prepares to cut thousands ofjobs due to coronavirus — a decision on the exact number will be made by the end of the month. we can go to our newsroom in salford to get all the sports news from sarah mulkerrins. hello, i'm sarah mulkerrins with the bbc sport. the former england captain, sir bill beaumont, has been re—elected as the chairman of world rugby. the 68—year—old defeated his former deputy, the ex argentina skippei’. agustin pichot. the bbc‘s rugby union correspondent, chris jones, has more. at one point it looked like this race was going to go right down to the wire, but in the end, beaumont has won with a little bit to spare. a clear mandate by 28 votes to 23. the support he had from the six nations and from the region of europe are really meant that he had

catherine burns, bbc news. authorised for emergency use on coronavirus patients in the united states. a clinical trial suggested the drug shortened recovery time for people who fall seriously ill with the virus. here's david willis on the latest developments from the us. could it prove a game changer? remdesivir is an antiviral drug that appears to help severely ill coronavirus patients recover. announcing that federal regulators had approved emergency use of the drug, president trump said it also had the backing of his medical experts. an important treatment for hospitalised coronavirus patients and it's something i spoke with dr hahn and dr fauci, i spoke with deborah about it, and it's really a promising situation. earlier this week, the government's infectious diseases expert revealed that a clinical trail had shown that remdesivir could block the virus and help patients recover more quickly. the data shows that remdesivir has a clear—cut significant positive effect in diminishing the time to recovery. manu

catherine burns, bbc news.oronavirus, many asylum—seekers are trapped in lockdown in dangerous mexican border cities. activists fear that if they miss their court dates, their claims for asylum will be summarily dismissed. meanwhile, the situation inside the shelters and on the streets of tijuana amid the pandemic is steadily getting worse. will grant reports. constant cleaning. the only defence against coronavirus in this migrant shelter in tijuana. social distancing is impossible here. should a single case of covid—19 get in, everyone would be at risk. this woman shares a flimsy tent with four relatives. she left el salvador a year ago and has spent months in these conditions while her asylum application is processed in the us. with no—one allowed to leave the shelter during lockdown, and with immigration into the us suspended, she fears her asylum request will simply be thrown out amid the crisis. translation: just the idea that everything is going to be cancelled and that everything that we have been throug

catherine burns reporting.his role in the death of an unarmed black man in the american city of minneapolis, that's sparked days of unrest. a police station was set on fire overnight, and officers have been firing tear gas and rubber bullets. donald trump tweeted that "thugs" were dishonouring george floyd's memory, but twitter accused him of "glorifying violence" with a post that said, "when the looting starts, the shooting starts." our north america correspondent nick bryant's report contains some distressing images. fires of fury, fires of frustration. phrases from the civil unrest of the 19605 that phrases from the civil unrest of the 1960s that apply once more in 2020 america. for the third night running, parts of minneapolis were burning. a police station overrun and set ablaze. for protesters, it had become a landmark of racial injustice. they believe that an unarmed african—american, george floyd, was murdered by the police. to bolster this will of minneapolis local officers and to quell the protests a

in the studio is our health corresponded catherine burns, and we are joined corresponded catherine burns the university college london, and co—authored a report for the royal society about the effectiveness of test and trace programmes. welcome. lots of good questions, and probably still a lot of doubt about how it will work, but let‘s have a go. tracey asked, how were those work? i work ina tracey asked, how were those work? i work in a shop where customers do not keep two metres apart at the checkout, how do you trace them? how would this work in supermarkets and on buses? good question, thank you. i think the key issue is going to be to understand exact what we mean by tracing. when we talk about that, i believe the government because my understanding is you need to be within those distances but for quite some time, 10—15 minutes. if that is the case, people you are passing by, even within two metres, may not feel within that requirement. talking about intense contact. there is a certain period of time that need to be met before it is probably triggered. catherine, eva says, i work in

catherine burns, bbc news. today is the hottest day of the year so far.ave been trying to sunbathe and social distance at the same time. it's been busy? yes, it has. people are still coming to the area to make the most of the beautiful evening sunshine. most of the people i have seen through the day have been trying to keep this to meet a safe distance. but when there are so many people out and about, trying to avoid all close contact is difficult. sun, sea and social distancing. it's not easy to find an isolated spot on the beach when so many other people have the same idea. for businesses, too, there is a

with me now is our health correspondent catherine burns.nd of march? yes, and these were recorded in some of the 2a others running up to 9am this morning, that doesn't mean they happened then so the earliest one recorded yesterday happened on the 17th of march. the vast majority of them happened in the last week. there is a downward trend. if we compare figures for today compared to a week ago for example, if we look at england, this timea example, if we look at england, this time a week ago, 178 people, today, 178 people deaths have been recorded a week ago, and this time a week ago that number was 327 so there is a downward trend, but it is slow, and we talk about these numbers, behind these, we cannot say this often enough, is a death, a grieving family, a family that has lost someone. family, a family that has lost someone. we have other areas of the uk behind london by a few days. we are seeing almost two different systems happening right now. deaths going down in hospitals, but there is the care home epidemic which is causing a lot of

catherine burns, bbc news. good luck to him. that‘s it, thanks for watching.cooler, not cold but cooler at the end of the week. there isa cooler at the end of the week. there is a chance of rain as well and with this area of low pressure, once it comes in thursday night and friday, lasting as of the start of the weekend, it will be much windier too, especially the close air to her that in scotland. through the night into the morning, a weather system coming in from the atlantic. it‘s not particularly dramatic but it will bring rain later tonight and into the morning. this continues to push the east tomorrow morning. some rain the further south you are, not a huge amount, but the risk of some torrential laundry down towards. —— thunder re—downpours. temperatures are still high, mid 20s, parts of eastern and south east england. temperatures are down compared to today. 0ver temperatures are down compared to today. over night into friday, that deep area of low pressure comes in, pushing rain northeastward and the winds picking up all the while. heavy rain overnigh

0ur health correspondent, catherine burns has been looking at some of the key issues. many people can i meet up with? it all depends on where you live. northern ireland is already letting groups of up to six meet outdoors. from today, it will be up to eight in parks and gardens in scotland. the changes kick in elsewhere on monday. so, in england, it will be up to six people outside. wales does not have a number limit but says only two households can meet at the same time. all four nations, though, make the same very important point — social distancing is still vital. all this contact must be two metres away. can they use my loo? in england, the advice is, if you've got to go, then you can go, but that it is absolutely critical that you clean and wipe everything down after you. elsewhere, the advice is to avoid the loos in other people's homes. the same goes for food and drink. in england, you can have a barbecue as long as everyone washes their hands, but it is strictly bring your own in scotland, wales and northern ireland. can i travel to visit friends orfamily? this

our health correspondent, catherine burns, has been looking atjust some of the key issues.h? this depends on where you live. northern ireland is allowing groups of up to 60 meet outdoors. from todayit of up to 60 meet outdoors. from today it will be up to 18 parks and gardens in scotland —— up to six to meet indoors. all four nations make the important point, social distancing is still vital. all this contact must be two metres away. in ink on the advice is if you have to go then you can go, but it is absolutely critical that you clean and wipe everything down after you. elsewhere the advice is to avoid the loo and other people's homes. any good you can have a barbecue as long as eve ryo ne can have a barbecue as long as everyone washes their hands but it is bring your own in scotland, wales and northern ireland. can i travel to visit friends or family? this is another mixed picture. in england and northern ireland you can travel as far as you like. the scottish and welsh governments would prefer you stay local. they suggest about five miles. has anything changed if i am sh

our health correspondent catherine burns with with me.new guidance for those considered extremely vulnerable. this is for anyone who is shielding in england, the people who have specific medical conditions which means if they got coronavirus they would be more likely to become very ill. 2.2 million people in england with this right now and some of them will have no face—to—face contact with people since this started ten weeks ago. from tomorrow the guidance has been changed which could make a big difference to their lives. they will be able to go outside with someone they live with them if they live alone they can meet up with one other person, and this is only once a day and they are not to go to shops or work or anywhere where it would be impossible for them to do social distancing, so why is this happening now? the government says this is because the chances of getting infected have gone down so when this all infected have gone down so when this a ll started infected have gone down so when this all started originally the chances of som

catherine burns, bbc news. today is the hottest day of the year so far. temperatures in some parts of the country have reached 28 degrees. sarah campbell has spent the day on brighton beach where people have been trying to sunbathe and social distance at the same time. it's been busy? yes, it has. people are still coming to the area to make the most of the beautiful evening sunshine. most of the people i have seen through the day have been trying to keep this to meet a safe distance. but when there are so many people out and about, trying to avoid all close contact is difficult. sun, sea and social distancing. it's not easy to find an isolated spot on the beach when so many other people have the same idea. for businesses, too, there is a balance between wanting customers and keeping them safe. it's too busy. this doesn't feel like brighton today, it feels like a horrible day in brighton where it's quite dangerous.” like a horrible day in brighton where it's quite dangerous. i do feel safe because it's quite a big beach, so it feels possible to stay two me

months in intensive care after he fell ill with covid—i9, and his family feared the worst, as catherine burnsoves to sail. but in march he got coronavirus. he soon became very ill and spent seven weeks in intensive care. he barely remembers anything, but for his family it was all too real. we actually received a facetime off him on tuesday morning, just before he was put on a ventilator. with him saying this is what's happening, this might be the last time that, you know, we speak.

catherine burns, bbc news.review the lockdown measures in place. this idea of asking people to ta ke place. this idea of asking people to take the temperature before they use public transport is one potential option being looked out. we are told though it is a long way from being policy. but it might be one way that you could establish whether people have symptoms for coronavirus, a high temperature is one of those. before they were able to use public transport. the department for transport say officials are co nsta ntly transport say officials are constantly looking at examples of best practice in other countries around the world. one country which has set out a very detailed timetable for moving beyond its lockdown is the republic of ireland. leo varadkar the prime minister addressing the nation yesterday, saying it would move into three—week intervals towards a place, towards the end of august when things were back to some kind of normality. i would not expect such a specific timetable from the prime minster

with me now is our health correspondent catherine burns. been speaking to an intensive care doctor? yes, i wanted to know how this is going down on the ground. this consultant was just about to start their night shift. they said they think this is all slightly airy fairy, but at the same time they realise that they know the economies to get going. but this isn't specific enough and we need some clarity. it was interesting, they said that they feel over the last six weeks, they've dodged a bullet because lockdown worked to some extent... and the nightingale hospital didn't have to be used. and that sort of thing. they said they got away better than they expected the last six weeks, and that's because other patients have stayed away. in the last week they've seen an increase in people coming in with heart attacks and strokes. they stayed these people are presenting later than they would have, so they are more ill if they would have gotten there earlier. so they are concerned about bouncing up and possible second wave with the fact that all th

with me now is our health correspondent catherine burns. quick few headlines of what we might expect today? the interesting thing today will be seeing what the scientists say. we have had the government starting to bring in some levels of us opening up we have seen in the last day or so a bit of controversy about that. we have seen scientists from sage, the group that advises the government, saying this is too much, too soon. so it will be interesting to see what questions are asked about that and why this is happening now. particularly as the government has been so keen to say they are following the science. if there appears to be dissent in the ra nks there appears to be dissent in the ranks now, this could cause a problem, as the unions are already... actually, let's go to downing street now. jonathan van tam and oliver dowden. good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to the afternoon downing street briefing. let me begin as usual with the latest figures. 4,000,170 tests for coronavirus have now been carried out in the uk. that includes 127

to answer them i'm joined by the bbc‘s health correspondent, catherine burns. are banging in contact with someone who has tested positive? you will probably get an e—mail with a questionnaire, then you'll probably get a phone call if you'll probably get a phone call if you do not answer that, what you will not hear is who your benign contact with and when you have been in contact with them. but essentially you will be told that you need to self—isolate for 14 days, you really need to behave as if you have the virus, that doesn't just mean thing at home, it means isolating from everyone else at home. that is a challenge depending on your living circumstances, it it's tricky. basically, the way to think about this is that it is like a life asked mike lockdown, it will be fewer people, but more restrictions, i will not be for everyone. where are you there? they are, chris, there is a question about schools. if a child at school with other children and staff and comes down with covid symptoms, should they be sent home and asked to get a test, and should those in th

charlotte rose, bbc news. 0ur health correspondent, catherine burns, is here with me now. hello to youtting under way today but news of some teething problems? we've heard from a tracer who has tried to log on and can't but there are 35,000 trying to logon and maybe thatis are 35,000 trying to logon and maybe that is it. many traces are starting to make those calls, texts and e—mails to around a dozen people who tested positive yesterday. 0k, e—mails to around a dozen people who tested positive yesterday. ok, that is how it works, they will essentially be trying to deal on a given day with the cases of people who have tested positive the previous day, get lots of information from them... it depends, of course, as we have already been discussing so far today, on people being open and being honest about where they have been, what they have been doing, even if that wasn't keeping to a social distance. we are trying to break the chains of transmission here but every chain relies on its weakest link. there's a few things. the tests need to come through quickly. the new target is 24—hour is.

with me now is our health correspondent catherine burns.sed around how quickly what should those most at risk take from the prime minister's statement was yellow nothing has changed for them. if you look at the changes, they are baby steps. boris johnson was clear they have these five tests to see what they had to do to open up to see what they had to do to open up lockdown. and he says, "we have by no means fulfilled all of them." so for most of us, the advice is the same. there are small tweaks to being able to exercise a bit more, but right now nothing changes. the people who talked about the shields of people, the same situation applies. right now, their advice is to just stay put. for everyone else, they are moving these steps 2—3, but essentially very little has changed for most people stop what he talked about the r rate being 0.5— 0.9. can you explain for our viewers the difference between 0.9 and 1.1 in practical terms? the r rate makes so much sense. before lockdown, the r rate was about three. that meant eve ryo ne rate was about

catherine burns, our health correspondent, answering those questions.oud lingering towards shetland, keeping temperatures here at 11—12. the warmest air today, with the east to south—easterly winds will be across the north west highlands, 28 celsius possible. mid 20s across other parts of mainland scotland to the west of northern ireland, up to 25. 25—27 in western england and wales. cooler towards the coast of kent, east anglia and lincolnshire, but it doesn't matter what the temperature is. with blue skies overhead, there is. with blue skies overhead, there is also strong sunshine wherever you are. into tonight, clearskies remain for many. we could see if you mist and fog patches form close to eastern coast of england. some very close to shetland as well, and after the warmth of the day, a comfortable night, temperatures down to between 7-10. night, temperatures down to between 7—10. into the weekend, it is a sunny and warm story continuing. hello, this is bbc news — with martine croxall. the headlines: as lockdown restrictions start to ease, the uk's

justin rowlatt, bbc news, london. 0ur health correspondent, catherine burns, is with me now.five o'clock from downing street, but one of the focuses no doubt testing again, and the government still struggling to reach that 100,000 target. yes, the idea would be to get to 100,000 by the end of last month, and they did that... for two days. the end of last month, and they did that... fortwo days. but the end of last month, and they did that... for two days. but then it was 77,000, so i will be interested to see if they get anywhere near that 100,000 again today. on top of that 100,000 again today. on top of that boris johnson that 100,000 again today. on top of that borisjohnson has come out today with a new ambition as he calls it to hit 200,000 by the end of this month although the government has confirmed that its capacity for 200,000 test. explain what that means. it means that the tests will be delivered, so if you think you can have tests in hospitals, drive—through laboratories or posted to your home, so the minute and envelope leaves that means the test is delivered. we