i will go to jonathan van—tam. covid free in the meantime. i will go to jonathan van-tam.e that has been tentative, measured, slow, and step wise. and that's exactly the plan that is under way for all of the elite sport, notjust football, that there will be small, carefully measured, stepwise approaches to seeing what can be achieved safely. the first of those isa achieved safely. the first of those is a really, to return to safe training, still observing social distancing. and measures are taking place, plans are taking place at quite some depth to be ready to do that. and that will be a stepwise thing. we will have to see how that goes before it is time to move on or even think about moving on to thinking about returning to competitive football matches, as you've outlined in your question. so, ithink you've outlined in your question. so, i think we have to be slow. we have to be measured. so, i think we have to be slow. we have to be measuredlj so, i think we have to be slow. we have to be measured. i will give the opportunity to come back and either of those. yes, if i

and to jonathan van tam, ifi led by science? just then that one of the key things is having contact tracing in place to allow these lockdown measures to be lifted, but some of your colleagues are concerned that actually the contact tracing is not well established yet, and it may take another couple of weeks to really kick in? thanks for your question. the simple answer is, yes, we continue to be led by the science. i think today's guidance is an excellent exa m ple of think today's guidance is an excellent example of that. i pay to two professor van tam and others who have been involved in this. we have had extensive discussions with the sporting bodies concerned over a number of weeks, and we have come together with a package of guidance which we are confident will minimise risks and actually, i will leave professor va n risks and actually, i will leave professor van tam to elaborate on it, but in terms of the narrow measures of allowing the return of elite sport behind closed doors, within a stadium, the impact is going to be e

professor jonathan van—tam said the scientific consensus was that easing the lockdown in england nextt affect the infection rate, but he urged the public not to tear the pants out of the new guidelines. 0ur political correspondent chris mason has this report. helen's bay beach in county down today. in northern ireland and in scotland, groups are already allowed to gather outside. england and wales will follow on monday. new rules grant us more freedom, but require us to make morejudgements about what is safe. in bournemouth, the lure of the beach, the challenge of social distancing. in york, the prize of a pint, and, yes, exactly the same challenge. with the number of coronavirus cases falling, ministers say the time is right for a more liberal approach, but some of those advising our political leaders have concerns. if we make multiple releases of the lockdown at the same time, we won't know what is causing the inevitable jump in cases. and we don't have an established "test, track and isolate" process to follow these people up. so we're at a very risky point, where we could take the

and for jonathan van—tam, or will they scrap it altogether? opposed to doing it earlier on in march or april, particularly considering the infection rates for other countries in europe are particularly low. thanks very much. there are no current plans to make the change you describe, but we know that the home secretary is very keen to make sure that we have a sensitive immigration system for those exceptional front—line workers, whether in care homes or in the nhs, and we recognise that a lot of people have come from abroad and do thosejobs of people have come from abroad and do those jobs and make a huge and valued contribution to this country. jonathan. so, on the question of quarantine, why didn't we do it previously? and we are talking subject to ministerial announcements about maybe doing it now. well, my recollection is, we did do it before. 0n the 29th of february, and then on the 30th of february, we announced that travellers returning from wuhan and its surrounding province when they arrived in the uk must self—isolate at home for 14

jonathan van in the uk. but not so for professor jonathan professorjonathan van tam who took a question about the senior advisernister head on. wham bam van tan. i should have practised that in the matter shouldn't i. the other day when professor chris whitty and patrick valla nce professor chris whitty and patrick vallance were asked directly about dominic cummings, the uk prime minister's chief adviser on his jaunt to durham and round—trip to barnard castle about his eyesight we re barnard castle about his eyesight were first shielded by the prime minister said it's not for them and when they were asked explicitly said we don't go anywhere near politics so we don't go anywhere near politics so they sought refuge in ducking the question because they can argue they are not political figures so why should they be drawn into it? professor van—tam could have sought the same refuge but now he was straight out there. it was explicit and effort very striking. he was expressed that he wanted to answer the question. you did not fair to mr cummings by name but the question was expressly about dominic cummings. —— he did

i'm just going to ask jonathan van—tam to comment on the science.ncements for later. the incubation period of this disease is very clearly understood to be between one and 14 days. that is to say from the point of a critical exposure to the virus, you remain well for from one day to 14 days before your symptoms emerge, and typically the mean incubation period is five days, so that would be a typical wait, if you like, between when you were exposed and became infected, through to when you get symptoms. if people go home, as we ask them to do, when they return from wuhan at the end of january ask them to do, when they return from wuhan at the end ofjanuary and they stay in their own homes for 14 days, even if they were infected very shortly before they came into the uk then they work out that incubation period at home and they do not spread the virus onwards into the community. so that is the scientific basis of how quarantine would work in this circumstance. thank you very much, jonathan. i would add, ben, i think bearing in mind the sacrifice of bri

this is jonathan van—tam the deputy chief medical officer, he said it to the press today.se things that all sorts of things could happen and one of the things they are worried about is it will notjust be the risk of they are worried about is it will not just be the risk of a they are worried about is it will notjust be the risk of a second wave like a big wave in a japanese print or or a shipment of big ocean that you're going to get little outbreaks like all over the country. and that is what they are worried about, the trace and tracking mechanism that has got to work. more or us mechanism that has got to work. more or us when i'm hearing at the moment is that they are trying to do what they call epidemiology with people rather than apps. they are worried about the app system not being able to deliver quite what it was sent in to deliver quite what it was sent in to do when it was declared world beating by our prime minister. that is with the real worry is about. the sunday telegraph barbara talks about shielded people being able to leave their homes for tomorrow the fir

news briefing which today is led by oliver dowden the culture, media and sport secretary and jonathan van—tam

news briefing which today is led by oliver dowden the culture, media and sport secretary and jonathan van—tamdeputy chief medical officerfor england. some scientific advisers to the government have warned of the risk of lifting the lockdown in england and wales, with rules set to change next week. several scientists on the advisory committee, sage, have raised concerns that restrictions are being relaxed too soon. from monday, up to six people in england can meet outside. but police forces are reminding people they must still only meet on a one—to—one basis this weekend. here's our political correspondent, jonathan blake. allowing groups to gather outside, a significant step out of lockdown, already taken in scotland and northern ireland. england and wales will follow on monday. with the number of coronavirus cases falling, ministers say the time is right, but some of those advising the government have concerns. if we make multiple releases of the lockdown at the same time, we won't know what is causing the inevitablejump in cases. and we don't have an established test, track and isolate proc

try to suppress the virus, and professorjonathan to try to suppress the virus, and professor jonathan van tamprofessorjonathan van tam, the deputy chief medical officer for england, said at the briefing that until the vaccine arrives, we may have to live with this virus in the long term, certainly for many months, with autumn and winter this year being a particularly difficult time potentially for another spike. having continued with a stricter lockdown than england, northern ireland has now decided to relax its lockdown more than any other part of the uk. from tomorrow, groups of up to six people not from the same houshold will be able to meet outdoors. drive—in church services and cinemas will also be allowed. our ireland correspondent emma vardy is in belfast. so, what's behind the change, emma? what is behind it? well, we knew some activities were restarting today. angling, for one, and there has been a number of people coming down here to this pretty spot keen to get back to that activity. but northern ireland's leaders have a lwa ys northern ireland's leaders have always said they will

professor jonathan van—tam said the consensus among scientists was that the next phase of easing thepected to push the rate of infection above 1.0. the uk government insists that it continues to be led by science, over the next stages of the easing of lockdown measures, after concerns were raised by some leading scientists. several members of the sage advisory group have spoken out against the pace of change. from monday in england, up to six people from different households can meet outside, including in private gardens. 215 deaths have been recorded in the uk in the last 2a hours. it brings the total number of deaths to 38,376. our political correspondent, chris mason, has this report. helen's bay beach in county down today, northern ireland and in scotland, groups are already allowed to gather outside. england and wales will follow on monday. new rules grant us more freedom but requires us grant us more freedom but requires us to make morejudgements grant us more freedom but requires us to make more judgements about what is safe. in bournemouth, the lure of the beach, the challeng

professor jonathan van—tam said easing the lockdown would not affect the infection rate — but he urgedst commercial spacecraft to carry people into space has successfully launched from cape canaveral in florida. the capsule — built by elon musk‘s spacex — has two astronauts onboard — and they are now on their way to the international space station. now on bbc news, coronavirus: what next?

professor jonathan van—tam said the consensus among scientists was that new easing measures being introducednot expected to push the rate of infection above 1.0. the uk government insists that it continues to be led by science over the next stages of the easing of lockdown measures after concerns were raised by some leading scientists. several members of the sage advisory group have spoken out against the pace of change. from monday in england, up to six people from different households can meet outside, including in private gardens. 215 deaths have been recorded in the uk in the last 2a hours. it brings the total number of deaths to 38,376. 0ur political correspondent, chris mason, has this report. york in the sunshine has always proved popular. a socially distant queue. a spot of refreshments. in scotland and northern ireland, groups are already allowed to gather outside. england and wales will follow on monday but the number of coronavirus cases falling, ministers say the time is right. but some of those advising the government have concerns. if we make multiple releases of the lockdown a

professor jonathan van—tam said easing the lockdown would not affect the infection rate — but he urgedublic not to "tear the pants" out of the new guidelines. the first commercial spacecraft to carry people into space has successfully launched from cape canaveral in florida. the capsule — built by elon musk‘s spacex — has two astronauts onboard — and they are now on their way to the international space station. now on bbc news, coronavirus: what next? hello and welcome to the latest in our special programmes on the coronavirus pandemic. i'm victoria derbyshire. on today's programme, we hear from frontline health workers on their fears of a second wave of covid—19 infections. plus, how a team of scientists is trying to work out why coronavirus affects different people in such extreme ways. and, you can always keep up—to—date with the latest information about the pandemic on our website. first, the world health organization has warned of a second peak of coronavirus cases if lockdown restrictions around the world are lifted too soon. restrictions around the world the threat of a possible

professor jonathan van—tam said the consensus among scientists was that new easing measures being introducedo push the rate of infection above 1.0. the uk government insists that it continues to be led by science over the next stages of the easing of lockdown measures after concerns were raised by some leading scientists. several members of the sage advisory group have spoken out against the pace of change. from monday in england, up to six people from different households can meet outside, including in private gardens. 215 deaths have been recorded in the uk in the last 24 hours. it brings the total number of deaths to 38,376. 0ur political correspondent, chris mason, has this report. york in the sunshine has always proved popular. a socially distant queue. a spot of refreshments. in scotland and northern ireland, groups are already allowed to gather outside. england and wales will follow on monday, but the number of coronavirus cases falling, ministers say the time is right. but some of those advising the government have concerns. if we make multiple releases of the lockdown at the same ti

professor jonathan van—tam said easing the lockdown would not affect the infection rate, but he urged public not to tear the pants out of the new guidelines. the first commercial spacecraft to carry people into space has successfully launched from cape canaveral in florida. the capsule, built by elon musk‘s spacex, has two astronauts onboard, and they are now on their way to the international space station. now on bbc news, dateline london. hello and welcome to dateline london. i'm carrie gracie. this week: new normal or old normal? in the united states, president trump wants the old normal back, though he likes to call it ?actual normal?. in china, president xi is already reaching for new normal, one which includes much tighter control over the people of hong kong. meanwhile what kind of normal do the rest of us want and what kind can we have against the ever—present risk of a pandemic whose next move we can?t predict? my guests on socially distanced screens: political commentator yasmin alibhai brown, michael goldfarb of the podcast first rough draft of history, and here in the stud

and welcome to today's downing street press conference on pleased to be joined by professor jonathan van tam deputy chief medical officer and i'll start with the daily update on the latest data on coronavirus 2000000 682716 test the current a virus have now been carried out in the u.k. and that includes $100678.00 tests carried out yesterday 246406 people have tested positive and that's an increase of 2684 cases since yesterday. 1408 people are currently in hospital with coronavirus which is down 13 percent from this time last week. and i'm very sad to report that of those who have tested positive for 19 across all settings 34796 have now died that's an increase of 160 deaths on yesterday and there's a saying we offer our condolences to the friends and family of every individual who's passed away during this coronavirus pound pandemic. this is a challenging time and as we chart the right course over the weeks and months ahead our overriding priority remains to save lives also at the same time preserving livelihoods and allowing people to return over time and as and when it's safe to somethin

afternoon and welcome to the downing street coronavirus daily briefing i'm joined today by professor jonathan van tam the day deputy chief medical officer and by john newton our coordinator for testing and today i want to update you with the latest plans for our program of test track and trace how we're going to use this massive testing capability that we've built in order to get our down and keep our down before do that i just want to remind you of what we're trying to achieve our plan is to slow the spread and to protect the n.h.s. . so that the n.h.s. is always there for you and your family whenever you need it whether for corona virus or anything else. that goal is working the number of spec critical camp beds in the n.h.s. is 3413 on the latest figures there have been 1000002 191000 tests for corona virus including 85186 tests on sunday yesterday 190584 people have now tested positive for corona virus an increase of 3985. 13258 people are in hospital with corona virus and 28734 people have died that's across all settings an increase of 288 that figure. is lower than at any point since the end of

yesterday, your colleague jonathan van tam said the rules are there for the benefit of all and they apply say exactly the same things because we think in public health terms and i think in public health terms and i think that is right. from my own perspective, i can assure you that on the matter of personal and professional integrity, i will always try and follow the rules as i know he does. yes, i think we all do but the important thing is, there, they are rules for all of us and it is really important as we go through into this next critical phase that we do all follow them to the best of our ability and even minimise, if you like, some of the freedoms that are there, to ensure we can very gently come out of the pandemic. and if we start to spot things on the data which is difficult, there are opportunities then for scientific review, advice to government about what things need to be done as we go forward. thank you very much, jane. do you want to come back with a follow—up or are you happy with those responses? great, thank you very much. the next question isjohn stevens very much. the

the deputy chief medical officer jonathan van—tam was asked whether he felt the return of sport couldkdown at a psychological level, but i don't think it's in any way is relevant to a conversation. so i mentioned there'll be no major team sports on your tvs from tomorrow, but horse racing fans are in luck. the first competitive action will be at newcastle racecourse tomorrow afternoon. ten races are on the racecard with all them limited to 12 starters. there will be a total of 18 meetings in the first eight days of racing. there's been no racing in britain since the 17th of march. it feels like an age ago. the other one to look out for snooker, which is also back tomorrow. the championship league event's to be staged behind closed doors at the marshall arena in milton keynes. the venue has been chosen because it has on—site accommodation, meaning everyone involved in the tournament can stay there. all players and staff will be tested before entering the venue, and will be kept in isolation until results are known. we won't know it's the right time until we go back and hopefully there