let's talk to our north american correspondence david willis.en the reaction to the announcement?‘ lot of surprise, sally, as you fully imagine. the prison announcing the suspension of travel from europe to the united states for 30 days. starting on friday and these restrictions will apply to foreigners who visited one of 26 european countries in the two weeks before they are due to arrive here. there are 26 countries, european countries identified which include italy, germany, and, france and... let's hope we can return to david later on in the programme. clearly we can't discuss with him forever because of technical reasons. i'm told, we can continue that conversation so let's continue with david. david, you are explaining that the various countries who were on the watchlist as it were, continue please. 26 european countries have been singled out by the trump administration and people who have been in those, any of those 26 countries in the two weeks before they were due to arrive here in the united states will not be allowed into the country.

david, thank you very much, david willis in la.etailers have come together to urge people not to panic buy. they say they're working night and day to keep the nation fed and people should not buy more than they need. here's our business correspondent katy austin. queues for supermarkets and shelves emptied of essentials like loo roll, hand wash and long—life foods. pictures like these show shoppers aren't listening to official advice. how was it in there? an absolute nightmare, to be perfectly honest. not a lot on the shelves left. no toilet roll at all. have you tried to stock up on anything yourself? yes, to be perfectly honest, just because everyone else is doing it. but they did limit us when we went to pay. it's a bit ridiculous. i can't find toilet paper. i'm looking for toilet paper for a couple of days, three days, actually. supermarkets have had to adapt quickly by speeding up supplies, increasing warehouse space and they are running online delivery services at full capacity. they are also being allowed to extend their del

let's talk to david willis who is in los angeles for us. ng taken into effect. let's start with new york, where the mare there, i new york, where the mare there, , build de blasio is urging people to come to the a cce pta nce people to come to the acceptance that combating the coronavirus will involve them adopting what he called a wartime mentality. new york is not only closing bars and restau ra nts not only closing bars and restaurants at his order but cinemas and other entertainment places, theatres as well. several other states, 0hio, illinois and massachusetts are following suit, and the governor of california, gavin newsom, california is america's most populous state, he is also urging bars and restaurants to close down or make themselves available only for pickup or delivery. all of this follows president trump's warning to americans not to stockpile essentials such as toilet paper and hand cleanser and so on. he told a press conference that america's supply chain as he put it, remains robust. and eve ryo ne put it, remains robust. a

i spoke to our correspondent david willis.ts are really now beyond dispute, and they include the fa ct dispute, and they include the fact that more than 1000 people here in the united states are 110w here in the united states are now known to have the coronavirus, and there have been more than 30 deaths. so, you're absolutely right, the president not that long ago was saying basically this will all go away if we stay calm and don't panic, and he's also blamed the media and democrats for basically trying to play this up. well, that statement from the oval office of the white house tonight, an acknowledgement i think that he 110w acknowledgement i think that he now believes it is much more serious, this crisis, than he had originally taken it to be. the fact that we have this travel restriction coming into effect, a 30 day travel restriction on people coming to the us from europe aside from those coming from the uk, bound to have a very serious impact on the economy here at a time where tourism, travelling, is getting going, if

let's stay with the impact of the virus in the us, and our north america correspondent david willis joins, a national emergency, there has obviously been much criticism of the us response. is there a sense that there is call for a national emergency, or that this announcement has come too late? well, i think it is interesting, isn't it, simon, but donald trump has gone from playing down this pandemic, even calling reports about it a hoax, to approving billions of dollars in federal aid money in the matter ofjust aid money in the matter ofjust a few weeks. the announcement ofa a few weeks. the announcement of a national emergency frees up of a national emergency frees up to of a national emergency frees $2 of a national emergency frees up to $2 billion in total in federalfunding, up to $2 billion in total in federal funding, and as up to $2 billion in total in federalfunding, and as he put it himself, it is a way of unleashing the full power of the federal government to fight the federal government to fight the outbreak of the coronavirus. president trump, of course, having been criticised

our correspondent david willis is in los angeles. good to see you, david.k it down for us. what does this mean in practice, this new state that the us is in? well, i think by unveiling this package of financial measures, lewis, the president is seeking obviously to head off the criticism that has hovered around him over the last days that he initially downplayed this crisis. at one point referring to it as a hoax, only for all of those claims to come back and bite him somewhat. this $50 billion in federal government funding that will be unveiled as a result of the declaration of a national emergency here basically will be used to harness the full resources of the federal government to bear down on combating this coronavirus. it will also help the national emergency declaration to eliminate some red tape and make it easier for government agencies and health departments and so on to operate more flexibly in combating the virus. president trump has said that 5 million test kits will be available by next week. and they are planning to set up drive—through testi

david willis in los angeles.h organization says europe is now the epicentre of the global coronavirus pandemic, with more reported cases and deaths than the rest of the world combined apart from china. fergus walsh reports. this is italy, one of the most advanced healthcare systems in the world. in the northern city of brescia, they're reduced to treating patients in warehouses and tents, because of coronavirus. italy has the worst outbreak by far in europe, but other countries are catching up. europe has now become the epicentre of the pandemic, with more reported cases and deaths than the rest of the world combined, apart from china. denmark announced it is closing its borders to foreigners from tomorrow. nearly a dozen european countries have now imposed border controls. in spain, a state of emergency will come into effect tomorrow, which could see restrictions on movement. the foreign office has advised against all but essential travel to madrid and some other regions. france announced it is limiting gatherin

david willis, bbc news, los angeles.couples are having to either postpone their weddings or scale them back because of the coronavirus restrictions. the church of england says church weddings should now be limited to the legal minimum of five — the vicar, bride and groom and two witnesses. jon kay has been speaking to one couple who were due to get married today. we got them done anyway, despite everything that was going on. nails painted, hair done, cake baked. but debbie and charlie are not getting married after all. by now we would have been eating cheese and nibbles with our parents. but, not to be. they have been planning and saving since their engagement 18 months ago but, even though they are well, coronavirus has ruined their big day. we were having guests e—mailing, calling, messaging us, saying we are really sorry, we are either sick or, we had numerous family members saying we are at risk, so we just can't, can't risk it. so, the shoes will go back in the boxes. wedding off. to minimise travel and contact, and

david willis, bbc news, los angeles. all its retail stores outside china until march 27. the company's ceo, tim cook, tweeted this message saying: "we must do all we can to prevent the spread of covid—19". he also committed 15 million dollars to help with worldwide recovery. the headlines on bbc news: plans to ban mass gatherings are being drawn up to curb the spread of coronavirus. there are now 798 confirmed cases of the virus in the uk, where 11 people had died from the disease so far. many sporting bodies have already cancelled events, including professional football leagues. sport, and now a full round—up, from the bbc sport centre. the coronavirus has wiped out most of the sporting calendar, premier league clubs will hold a second emergency meeting on thursday to discuss the creamery and a virus pandemic. after every elite football game is finished until release the 3rd of april, liverpool were hoping to ta ke 3rd of april, liverpool were hoping to take giant step towards winning their first league title in 30 year

david willis, bbc news, los angeles. not short of supplies, in response to long queues at supermarkets over the weekend, despite calls not to panic—buy. our business correspondent emma simpson is with me now. some extraordinary scenes this weekend. they were extraordinary. we have been reporting on stockpiling for a few weeks. what we saw at the weekend took things to a different level altogether. people will not just buying tins, rice and pasta, they were buying everything and it felt like in some stores that entire aisles were emptyjust after being stocked. the message from the supermarkets all along is that there is enough food, and the problem is a demand one. we have seen this huge increase in demand, and because of this spike it has taken a bit longer to replenish the shelves, putting supply chains under a lot of pressure, and shop workers, of course, getting it in the neck from customers. today there is another regular meeting between the government and the retailers. the supermarkets now are focused on the next s

david willis reports.for downplaying the effects of the coronavirus, president trump announced sweeping travel restrictions in a rare oval office address to the nation. after consulting with our top government health professionals, i have decided to take several strong but necessary actions to protect the health and wellbeing of all americans. to keep new cases from entering our shores, we will be suspending all travel from europe to the united states for the next 30 days. the restriction will apply to foreigners who visited one of 26 european countries in the two weeks prior to their arrival in the us. the uk is not included on that list. trade will not be affected, the president tweeted later, but hundreds of thousands of travellers will be and the announcement took many by surprise. the leader of the largest flight attendant union here called the restrictions outrageous, and accused president trump of destroying everything that makes our country great. there are now more than 1,000 cases of coronavirus

david willis, bbc news.ficials and medical experts chaired by boris johnson this afternoon and we expect the announcement that the uk will formally move to the second stage of its response plan, the delay says. we know we've been heading in that direction, we've been in the containment phase so far trying to identify people who've travelled to areas affected. now the delay phase is coming in, we expect that to be formally announced after this meeting at lunchtime. that is with the idea of postponing, if you like, the idea of postponing, if you like, the spread of the infection very far in order to give the nhs and some more time to cope, give the development of a vaccine some more time. we know that's going to be taken this lunchtime. but in practice, a lot of the measures already in place will still apply to the public. health advice of washing hands will still apply, the isolation advice will still apply, but now the government will consider the possibility of measures like school closures, like cancelling

reaking news from los angeles and david willis has been to a briefing by the elite county -- l.a.ntyvi supr and officials are going to close all of the beaches regions. the state of california has enen fied as one of the principal centers and officials have announced the immediate closure of all public parks, by parks, public parking spaces as well as beaches for the next or weeks. the l.a. county supervisor said it was essential that access to public laces was now limited. last weekend saw a lot ofoc peoe ng to hiking trails after a first order of staying home. a closure of all those public places in the early region. in spain, the number of cases continues to increase with 769 death -- death in 24 hours. it is putting an enormous strain on families and as we report omfr madrid. >> from his bed, he waves. he is their first patient to leave intensive care, but the medical staff are the only onesr the to see him. that is because every new patient ismmediately isolated. it is the awful reality she is facing. she links she may have infected both parents, both now positive oth in the

david willis reports.avirus, president trump announced sweeping travel restrictions in a rare oval office address to the nation. after consulting with our top government health professionals, i have decided to take several strong but necessary actions to protect the health and wellbeing of all americans. to keep new cases from entering our shores, we will be suspending all travel from europe to the united states for the next 30 days. the restriction will apply to foreigners who visited one of 26 european countries in the two weeks prior to their arrival in the us. the uk is not included on that list. trade will not be affected, the president tweeted later, but hundreds of thousands of travellers will be and the announcement took many by surprise. the leader of the largest flight attendant union here called the restrictions outrageous, and accused president trump of destroying everything that makes our country great. there are now more than 1,000 cases of coronavirus here, and the illness has claimed the li

let's speak to the bbc‘s north america correspondent david willis. usual rallies beforehand and after the event speeches, put us through how this went. absolutely, these victories tonight sally, substantially boost joe biden's delegate count and his chances of securing his party's presidential nomination. for bernie sanders, in contrast, it would seem to snuff out any hopes of a comeback, as his supporters have been hoping for. joe biden proving very popular as he tends to do with older and african—american voters, and indeed in a live strea m voters, and indeed in a live stream after the polls had closed from his home in delaware, the former vice president reached out to the younger voters, people who tend to favour bernie sanders, telling them they hear you, i know what's at stake. and talk us know what's at stake. and talk us through the logistics of this in terms of how they managed to put this on despite coronavirus and concern of spread of that. it absolutely had a tremendous effect, both in the preparations, the lead up, rallies were cancelled,

let's speak to the bbc‘s north america correspondent david willis. results or are they projections? and if they are projections, do you think they are reliable? those are all very good questions, actually, mike. i can tell you with absolute certainty that the polls close just a short while ago in arizona, and a few hours before that in florida and illinois. and all the american networks are pretty being thatjoe biden has co mforta bly being thatjoe biden has comfortably won florida, with its delicate rich — delicate rich as it is, and they are also project in, and this includes our north american partner network, cbs, that the former vice president has swept to victory in illinois. it may be some while before we know how he has done in arizona, but certainly going into the contest today, joe biden was leading in the opinion polls there, in the state of arizona. and it's another good night for him, presumably, and all of this would put his democratic pa rty‘s this would put his democratic party's residential nomination even closer within reach. david,

let's speak to the bbc‘s north america correspondent david willis. rojections. the votes are not counted, but they looked pretty solid. they do, mike, and it was a convincing victory, by all accounts, for joe biden in the delegate rich state of florida. he has also been given the prize of illinois, the primary there, by the local media, by the networks, i should say, here. and they are calling, those same networks, the state of arizona forjoe biden, all of which would add up to a very, very successful night for the former vice president. it would also put him in a position of being almost unassailable by his close rival, bernie sanders, and this does of course raise the question, what happens now to bernie sanders, and to his very dogeared campaign? but no doubt about it, mike, the election season has been completely transformed here because of the threat of the coronavirus. —— dogged. there were no rallies, there we re there were no rallies, there were no get out the vote type effo rts were no get out the vote type efforts that we have seen in the pa

, avoid bars and restaurants and only make essentialjourneys. 0ur north america correspondent, david willisow from los angeles. david, just describe what this means in practical terms where you are? just up the coast from us you are? just up the coast from us here, san francisco is the largest city in america to be imposing a curfew so far, it will be putting basically 7 million people in the san francisco and surrounding counties area under a lockdown from tuesday, tomorrow night, for the next three weeks. they will be prevented, by law, from leaving their homes unless they have a very good reason to do so, for example, to see the doctor ought to buy groceries. fines will be imposed for those who break that curfew, and the tri—state area, new york, new jersey and connecticut, they have already got this ban in place on restaurants and bars, only carry out services there, casinos, nightclubs, gymnasiums even are being closed down and the mayor of new york, i'm sorry, the governor of the state of new york, i should say, not ruling out the possibility of more of a curfew there as well. and how

for more on this, i'm joined now by our north america correspondent, david willis. ng joe biden to speak any time now, but this is quite a huge boost for him? yes, it would appear to be all the american networks and news outlets predicting thatjoe biden has comfortably won this primary in florida. it isa won this primary in florida. it is a state which is delegate rich, as it were, and will propel and even —— propel him even further forward in propel and even —— propel him even furtherforward in his quest to land the democratic presidential nomination. there we re presidential nomination. there were also primaries today in illinois and arizona. the polls in arizona are due to close in the next hour. we are hearing — the next hour. we are hearing — the illinois race is leaning towards joe the illinois race is leaning towardsjoe biden, the illinois race is leaning towards joe biden, but the illinois race is leaning towardsjoe biden, but of course it could still go either way. certainly if joe course it could still go either way. certainly ifjoe biden has another good n

here's our north america correspondent, david willis. how many people are infected here?tage of testing kits, so the us does not know. prompting the countries of infectious diseases doctor said that they have a problem. this system is not really geared to what we need right now. what you are asking for. that is failing. it isafailing. asking for. that is failing. it is a failing. let's admit it. sensing opportunity in what some see as the trump administration's bungled response to this crisis, the man most likely to oppose president trump in november is weighing in. our ability to drive a global response is dramatically been cut by the damage that trump has done to our credibility and our relationships around the world. broadway in new york, the great white way is to fall dark for one month as concerns grow here over large concentrations of people in public places. the city has declared a state of emergency and in one suburb, the national guard has been brought in to provide food for needy families. schools are shutting down in some places, major sporting events are being

let's speak now to our correspondent david willis. what did you make of this?e will make quite a few headlines to say the least. it will kick in at —— on friday at midnight. absolutely, we saw a mix of practical and economic measures announced by president trump interspersed with an attempted message of reassurance to the american people that the united states will get through this. that effective travel ban that applies to countries in europe aside from the united kingdom will be the headline from this speech over... from this announcement from the oval office tonight, no question about that. president donald trump... this had been anticipated, a lot of speculation there would be some sort of travel advisory or travel ban announced. well, the president grasping that nettle. this, a man who has downplayed the effects of the coronavirus somewhat up until now. he basically said people should stay calm and it will go away. u nfortu nately stay calm and it will go away. unfortunately these facts have overta ken unfortunately these facts have overtaken him somewhat.

now for the latest out of the us, we cross to correspondent, david willis, in los angeles.ouncements going down in the us? the legislation in question is called the families first coronavirus response act, as you mentioned it is a 100 billion dollarfiscal you mentioned it is a 100 billion dollar fiscal stimulus package, it provides a variety of safety nets, free testing for those who think they may have the coronavirus, also paid sick leave for those who have developed symptoms, and also payments for those who have children whose schools have closed because of the coronavirus. that legislation was signed into law by president trump shortly after the senate had passed it and the senate had passed it and the senate had passed it and the senate will remain in session to consider a much bigger stimulus package, this one said to be around $1 trillion in value which will include individual payments to americans in the form of a check, perhaps $1000 apiece, and bailout funding for worst hit industries, not least the airline industry which has been badly hit here by the lack of tra

something that we're very happy, i have to say this, very happy. 0ur north america correspondent, david willisins why the ferderal reserve are acting now. they are acting now out of concern, i think it's to say, mayram, over the effects of the coronavirus in the united states, and of course around the world. we've seen markets in freefall over the last few weeks as the impact of this virus has become apparent. clearly, president trump has been very, very concerned about that. he's been putting a lot of pressure on the federal reserve to do something fairly drastic like this and having cut interest rates earlier this month, just a couple of weeks ago, attempted stimulus, the fed has gone further, announcing on a sunday evening, would you believe, that it is basically cutting by a full 1% which means it will virtually be free to borrow money here in the us. they are saying this will have an effect on businesses. it will of course lead to them paying less in interest rates. it will also affect people who have credit cards. whether or not it will actually lead to more money going into the economy

i asked our north america correspondent david willis whether the rate cut was a sign that the us central increasingly worried about the impact of the virus on the economy. i think that's a very good conclusion to reach, a very sound conclusion to reach, martine. as you say, quite rightly, cutting rates on a sunday evening. when was the last time that happened. not during the 2008 financial crisis. a deep cut in interest rates, bringing them down to virtually zero, a move that that hope will help stimulate the economy at a time when it is receiving a lot of pressure from the coronavirus. what this basically will do is it will make borrowing money cheaper and that is intended to certainly help businesses who will continue to have considerable overheads despite the fact they might not have much in the way of customers and it will help consumers, as the theory goes, by lessening the theory goes, by lessening the amount of interest they have to pay on credit cards. whether it will prompt those people who are perhaps renting their homes at the moment to ta ke their homes at the moment to take

crisis, protecting both the public health and our democracy. 0ur north america correspondent, david willishas put his rival, bernie sanders, in a difficult position. bernie sanders was criticised for lingering in the race against hillary clinton. there were some who said that his prolonged presence detracted from that of senator clinton's run for office. and so i think there will be calls in the morning, perhaps, for bernie sanders to perhaps drop out of this race. but there is no doubt about it, he has been a big influence on the democratic ticket. and he won't be going away, as far as american politics are concerned, anytime soon. and david, just how is the pandemic impacting on all of this? it has had a considerable impact, mike. we saw it at the polls today. a lot of the polling stations had to be moved at the last minute, because the locations weren't deemed conducive given the current scare. a lot of the poll workers didn't turn up, and that caused some problems as well. and there were problems, for example, just practical things about how to arrange polling booths so that people cou

joining me now is our north america correspondent, david willis.tail on this if you have it. this is not to be the first order of its kind in the united states, effect being an entire state and the most populous, a state and the most populous, a state in the union, california with a population of more than 40 with a population of more than a0 million people all of whom have now been told to stay at home under order of the governor, gavin newsom. they can go out to get food, medical supplies, to visit the doctor but otherwise they must stay at home and that is coming into effect from midnight tonight and applies for the next eight weeks at least. 19 people have died in this state at 958 have been tested for the disease and california widely thought to be one of the centres of the coronavirus outbreak hear anything us. the governor's particular worry seems to be the potential for hospitalisation rate to simply overwhelm even california's health resources. absolutely. he said in a news conference a short while ago that they could bea short while ago t

david willis, thank you.nt trump also recommended all nursing homes across the united states suspend all unnecessary visits to protect elderly residents. the elderly population must be very, very careful. in particular, we strongly advising that nursing homes for the elderly suspend or medically unnecessary visits. in general, older americans should also avoid non—essential travel in crowded areas. lisa campbell is a public health nurse in san antonio, texas and she told me this is just one of the measures that has to be taken. ido i do agree with the president that we do... our elderly population is to be very careful because they are at greater risk of coronavirus, especially if they have chronic diseases, respiratory diseases, so diseases, respiratory diseases, soido diseases, respiratory diseases, so i do agree that limited exposure to the elderly who may reside in nursing homes or even in the community may need —— definitely needs to be implemented. either the administration is pressing health insurers t

earlier i asked david willis in los angeles exactly what the situation with testing was in the united kits, lewis, undoubtedly donald trump's achilles heel as far as combating the effects of this virus are concerned. the united states opted to develop its own test. there were problems with it, and that's left it lagging behind other countries. indeed, to date, it's been estimated that about 11,000 tests in total have been conducted here in the united states. compare that to the 20,000 tests a day that are being carried out in south korea and you have a considerable discrepancy. and you heard their from dr anthony fauci, who is the leading expert on communicable diseases in the us. he went on to concede that this represented a failure on part of the trump administration's response to the coronavirus. the bottom line is that the united states doesn't know how many people here have the coronavirus, and it may not find that out for many weeks. and this isn't the first time during this crisis that we heard a difference in language and statements from the president, and then clarifications,

north american correspondent david willis told us what a momentous decision this is.is not to be the first order of its kind in the united states, effecting an entire state, and the most populous state in the union — california with a population of more than a0 million people all of whom have now been told to stay at home under order of the governor, gavin newsom. they can go out to get food, medical supplies, to visit the doctor but otherwise they must stay at home, and that is coming into effect from midnight tonight and applies for the next eight weeks, at least. now, 19 people have died in this state, and 958 have been tested for the disease, and california widely thought to be one of the centres of the coronavirus outbreak here in the us. the governor's particular worry here seems to be the potential for the hospitalisation rate to simply overwhelm even california's health resources. absolutely. and he said at that news conference a short while ago that california could be short to the tune of 20,000 hospital beds. he's asking for a us hospital ship to be deploye

david willis, bbc news, los angeles.they will largely ground their fleets of aircraft through april and may. iag, the owner of british airways said it would reduce its capacity by 75% in those months. virgin atlantic staff will be asked to take eight weeks unpaid leave, and easyjet says it's likely to see the grounding of most of its entire fleet. our business correspondent sarah corker reports. with an increasing number of international borders on lockdown, airlines are slashing more flights, as demand plummets. british airways owner iag is cancelling 75% of flights in april and may. easyjet has warned it could have to ground most of its planes. the uk aviation industry wants more help from the government to survive a long—term travel freeze. there are lots of different ways to do that. one is to prevent those flights from having to take off nearly empty, those ghost flights that we have been dealing with, then there's things like time to pay, facilities through hmrc. be in no doubt, we understand the severity of what i

our north america correspondent, david willis, has the story. this pandemic and branding concerns about the virus a hoax to approving billions of dollars in government funds to fight it. i am officially declaring a national emergency. two very big words. never mind that the optics of his address offered something of a contrast to the social distancing government agencies here recommend. not to mention their suggested avoidance of handshaking. declaring a national emergency frees up to $50 billion in federal government funding to combat the coronavirus. central to the trump administration's response will be a network of drive—through test sites run by the private sector. in south korea, they played a key role in getting a handle on the crisis. a shortage of test kits has meant that only around 15,000 people in the us have been tested for the virus, but the president said that by next month millions of kits would be available. pressed on why the uk had been exempted from the ban on european travellers entering the us at a time when coronavirus cas

for more on this i'm joined now by our correspondent, david willis, in los angeles. in so talk us through it please. there are primary is today place in arizona, illinois and florida and cbs news projection, this is not a result but a projection from our north american partner network, cbs, is thatjoe biden has won the florida primary, taking with it a considerable number of delegates there and there are in total 4111 delegates up for grabs tonight and we expect, the polls disclosed in illinois as well but no projections from there. arizona is a few hours behind us. a big night forjoe biden tonight following his victories over the last few weeks in which he has taken 16 of the 21 states delegates up for grabs. it could give him an unassailable lead in this contest over bernie sanders and possibly lead to renewed calls for the vermont senator to drop out of the race. but the coronavirus outbreak has been dominating the agenda and affecting some of those primary votes as well. what of the candidates been saying about this? it really has had a profound effect and the ca

david willis, bbc news. 0ur assistant political editor norman smith is at westminster.ction has there been in government here to what donald trump has announced 7 in government here to what donald trump has announced? honestly, people are pretty bemused and perplexed and surprised by the president's decision. certainly there is no suggestion for men is one that the british government might pursue a similar sort of strategy. they in cyst they are following the medical advice and the advice from the likes of the chief medical officer appears to be the sort of dramatic actions are not needed. the view in government i think is they are profoundly disruptive and intrusive and not really at the sharp end of trying to delay this virus. it was interesting listening to rishi sunak on the wireless this morning, he was asked very directly about this is an idea, and although he was very polite and diplomatic about it, he clearly didn't think much of it. in this country we are determined to take the right steps at the right time, and in all cases and at all steps we are going to be

david willis, bbc news, los angeles.ef event took place last night, raising millions of pounds for projects across the world. the organisers have this year promised a chunk of the money would go to those affected by the coronavirus pandemic here in the uk. the bbc‘s sport relief event took place last night, raising millions of pounds for projects across the world. would go to those affected by the coronavirus pandemic here in the uk. the fundraising night went ahead in front of a live studio audience in salford with comedy sketches and celebrity performances. here's the moment the night's tally was announced. sport relief 2020 total is £40 , 540 , 355. richard curtis, one of the founders, will bejoining us on this richard curtis, one of the founders, will be joining us on this over after what was a late night. another story you may have seen on social media, this one. italians in quarantine aren't letting coronavirus get in the way of some good old fashioned music—making. tweets have surfaced showing people in sicily, wh

david willis, bbc news, los angeles.in new orleans and mississippi were testing hardware for the vehicles set to carry the astronauts on the mission. we will bring you special coverage in the next couple of hours of the usual downing street press conference. it is expected see the prime minister and the chancellor announcing a set of measures to help further boost the economy under these enormously pressurised times, having come under a lot of pressure from businesses and employers everywhere who say they need cash in their pockets. we will bring you that in just over an hour. jane their pockets. we will bring you that injust over an hour. jane hill will be here with the news special on that. sport now and for a short round—up from the bbc sport centre, here's holly. good afternoon. another major sporting event has been postponed — snooker‘s world championship won't take place next month now. 0rganisers hope to reschedule the tournament injuly or august. judd trump had been due to defend his title at the tournament sched

let's speak to out north america correspondent, david willis.icians can't put differences aside at a moment like this than they're never going to. there is unanimous agreement here. in terms of detail, does it cover everyone? well, you're absolutely right on the first part. this bill was expected to pass with broad bipartisan support but even the senate leader, as you heard in that report, seemed surprised by the unanimous nature of that boat. 96- unanimous nature of that boat. 96 — zero, with four senators absent. this is a bill which the us treasury secretary has said it will keep the us economy afloat for the next three months. $2 trillion, of course, in total. it will be up to $2000 in individual checks sent out to families here. there will be hundreds of aliens of dollars spent on loa ns to aliens of dollars spent on loans to businesses in order for them to retain workers that might otherwise have been thrown out of work. and also, hundreds of aliens of dollars spent on much—needed medical equipment. but your report made the point that pres

david willis reports. california is america's most popular state.decisions to meet moments. this is a moment we need to make tough decisions. this is a moment where we need some straight talk and we need to tell people the truth. there is a recognition of our interdependence that requires of this moment that we direct a state—wide orderfor people to stay at home. that directive goes into force and effect this evening and we are confident that the people in the state of california will abide by it. the governor calling for $1 billion in federal funding to help cope with that and for the deployment of a us navy hospital ship in the port of los angeles to provide additional hospital beds. california, it is thought, has 20,000 fewer beds than it may need in order to cope with the effects of this crisis. the announcement came less than an hour after officials in los angeles county ordered the closure of all indoor shopping malls and nonessential retail outlets. gavin newsome has estimated more than half of the residents of california could contract the c

david willis is in los angeles. david, what else did donald trump have to say?he wants old people to stay at home and an end to leisure travel to —— and an end to leisure travel to —— and to all schooling. but these are recommendations on the part of his administration, they are not the law andindeed administration, they are not the law and indeed there are many states and indeed individual cities here where they are taking tougher action than they are taking tougher action than the federal government is itself. case in point, san francisco which from tonight will be putting 7 million residents of that city and the surrounding area under lockdown. they will be denied the right to leave their own homes unless it is for essential tasks such as going to the dock or going to the grocery store. those who disobey could face fines and the feeling is that while there is no plan at the moment for a nationwide lockdown here in the united states, president trump feels there may be a need for tougher action in the weeks and months ahead. so we will have to wait and see what

criticised for carrying out far fewer tests than many other affected countries. 0ur correspondent david williseople are infected here? there is a shortage of testing kits, so the us doesn't know, prompting the country's top infectious diseases doctor to concede they have a problem. this system is not really geared to what we need right now, what you are asking for. that is failing. a failing, yes. it is a failing. let's admit it. sensing opportunity in what some see as the trump administration's bungled response to this crisis, the man most likely to oppose president trump in november is weighing in. our ability to drive a global response is dramatically, dramatically undercut by the damage that trump has done to our credibility and our relationships around the world. broadway, in new york. the great white way is to fall dark for one month, as concerns grow here over large concentrations of people in public places. the city has declared a state of emergency, and in one suburb, the national guard has been brought in to provide food for needy families. schools are shutting down in some places. m

hour we have professor at princeton university, the editor of the "new yorker" magazine david remnick along with willieback on monday. let's dive right in. the u.s. is the country with most cases of coronavirus anywhere in the world. the u.s. has more than 85,000 cases with more than 17,000 reported in the last 24 hours. as the country sets records for new cases, just about every day president trump continues his push for guidelines on self-distancing to be relaxed. he wants to open the country up by easter. the administration plans to issue new guidelines that would identify certain counties by risk level, high, medium or low. hoping that some parts of the country can get back to work sooner than others. meanwhile members of the house are racing back to washington right now to vote on that massive economic rescue-package today. as for the urgency of the matter look no further than this morning's "new york times" with a chart of yesterday's record number of jobless claims sprawled across the entire front page. willie? >> the death toll in new york continues to take a turn for the worse with the state n

down with a clorox wipe or some sort of wipe like that, person willie, i think it is not -- personally, i think it is not a big deal. david: not just that one worker at amazon it goes a lot of different hands before it gets to my door, should i open this outside of my home? >> i don't think that there is -- i think that key circumstance look even if you open and imagine there is virus the box. it is fine. wash your hands before you do anything else. open the box, open at home, toss the box, and go wash your hands before you rub your hands on your face, nose or eyes, keep washing your hands. >> good news, china announce for first time since crisis began they had no new cases internally anyway. could it be, we have a oh a -- horrendous case in italy and the world, but could this be the beginning of the end of the pandemic. >> i wish it was, but i don't think so. i think you will see china got there by locking everyone down. for a month and a half. we're not doing that here, we have not had. so i think what will happen with china you see new cases as they relax controls, i wish i had different news, i think we're still aways

raise the bar. >> david ignatius, thank you. >> again, again, whenever willie and i brought up panglossianty of alabama and vanderbilt, our professors would scoff and say, please, please stop being so pretension. suwannee is just up the road. i'll buy you a bus ticket. >>> still ahead, much more. light break here. the virus outbreak gripping the nation. >>> as we go to break, a quick update on the 2020 race. senator bernie sanders said yesterday that he is pushing forward. >> that was quite a press conference, by the way. >> you thought he was dropping out. nope. ramping up with his presidential campaign despite former vice president joe biden's big wins in a number of key states. sanders addressed reporters in his hometown of burlington, vermont, yesterday, where he acknowledged biden's front runner status. he focused on the issues he hopes to press him on during sunday night's adddebate. we'll be right back with much more "morning joe." >> last night, obviously, was not a good night for our campaign from a delegate point of view. today, i say to the democratic establishment, in order to

david westin. governments and markets are trying to come to terms with the coronavirus. we welcome dr. jay bhattaacharya, professor of medicine and senior fellow at the stanford institute of economic policy research. welcome. it's willyreat to have you here. give us a sense, what can we know or at least project about where we are in the progress of this disease, given what we saw in wuhan province? dr. bhattacharya: the data coming in from china, from korea are really interesting. onre's been a lot of focus very high mortality numbers come but the thing to remember is they are measuring people that show up at the hospital who already have severe conditions, just like almost any cold or flu -- severe conditions. just like any cold or flu, illness. range of the mortality numbers people suspect are likely to be lower than reported. for example, and south korea, where they measured a much larger number of people, the mortality rate looks like a very bad case of the flu as opposed the twosity rates in or threes, which would be 20 times worse than the flu. david: so the mortality rate is lower, but in part because probably more people have it in the united states then realize. what about the testing process? toit realistic

willie and me we have msnbc national affairs analyst john heilemann. former u.s. senator now an nbc news and msnbc political analyst claire mccaskill and msnbc political analyst david served as senior white house would adviser to president obama and managed his 2008 campaign and he is author of the new book "a citizen's guy to beating trump." great to have you all onboard this hour. >> so, david, first of all, were you surprised by the ruthless efficiency of the democratic party! i mean, this -- this question answers itself, of course. we're all surprised by the ruthless efficiency of the democratic party, at least yesterday. but everybody seemed to fall in line and give joe biden even more momentum coming out of south carolina. what do you think the net effect of that's going to be tonight? >> well, joe, first of all, it's not the democratic party. i think the biden campaign did a good job and most importantly the candidate who didn't see a pathway forward decided to get out when it was clear. you know? i think that was as you said, a rarity any politics. maybe it will set a new standard. bernie sanders will have a good day as far as a delegate standpoint. this is