but at the excel, now nhs nightingale, still they make ready and standby.s going to stop these enormous new facilities? we know that across london there is a high level of absenteeism because of sickness or self isolation. the solution we are told is a call has gone out to all nhs staff in london who are not currently working to volunteer. it has also gone out to those who have retired, both nurses and doctors, to come back into the service. stjohn ambulance will be providing hundreds of volunteers and there will be many military medics on site here also. we expect this site to open for its first patients in the middle of next week. 0ur political correspondent helen catt. questions today about whether the leadership team is intact as we hear that key figures have tested positive for coronavirus. coronavirus has come to the heart of uk government. we heard yesterday that boris johnson uk government. we heard yesterday that borisjohnson the prime minister had tested positive, so had the health secretary matt hancock. 0bviously key figures in leading and tackl

as we've been reporting, the temporary 4,000—bed nhs nightingale hospital in the excel centre is due r simon stevens, about how prepared the hospital is to admit coronavirus patients. today, there are over 9,000 positive coronavirus patients in hospitals across england, and we know that number is only going to increase. that's why what you see here is a mass mobilisation, taking place right across the country, but also at these new nightingale hospitals. this has been an extraordinary team effort on the part of nurses and doctors and therapists and pharmacists across london, but also volunteers and paramedics and people returning to help. and when these services are needed, they will be available, beginning later this week, and because this is a global health emergency, we're actually seeing similar types of hospitals being established in berlin and madrid and new york. will you be stretching your staff too much by moving people here and leaving other hospitals short—staffed? the whole of the nhs is freeing up hospital beds for coronavirus patients. we've got 9,000 people across the c

but at the excel, now nhs nightingale, still they make ready and standby. huge undertaking going on there?‘ really extraordinary undertaking. that building there, 100,000 square metres, you could fit the whole of the footprint of terminal five at heathrow airport in there, and insight, pictures we've seen released today show line upon line upon line of plastic people call is being constructed which stretched right the way down the holes. —— plastic cubicles. we think 500 bed should be operational next week with the potential of 4000 if needed, but there is another key question being asked, how are they going to staff this? 500 beds will need thousands of staff, and we know that in london alone, some of the sickness rates at the hospitals in london average between 20 to 50%. so the nhs as it's making a call for all nhs staff across london to volunteer, it's going to bring in others from around the uk, is hoping for retired staff to come back into service to help, it wants the stjohn‘s ambulance to help, too, they're going to provide hundreds of volunteers, a

taking the extraordinary action to build new hospitals in very short order, starting with the nhs nightingale hospital in east london. and today because this is a problem of course not just confined to london across the whole country, i have given the go-ahead to the building of two further of the nhs in the hospital beginning at the national exhibition center and the manchester central convention center with further such hospitals to follow. in doing that i want to pay tribute to the contributions not just of nhs staff but the support we are getting from volunteers from the armed forces, from social care, from all of our partners. it is remarkable i think that in just the last two weeks, we've seen 18,000 doctors and nurses returned to practice on the general medical council and nursing medical council registers answering the call to arms. and it was there for very gratifying for our staff across the nhs to see this remarkable outpouring in the class or care last night. the many nurses coming home from a day at hospital for other staff returning to start again for the night shift, it would h

specialists staff and paramedics preparing to serve as the new nhs nightingale.nside a hospital is taking shape, 500 beds next week, 4000 in total if needed. medical staff are being drafted in from across the uk, including the military, but will there be enough? sickness has taken a toll and large numbers in self isolation means record levels of nhs absences. doctors' readers in england but not ona doctors' readers in england but not on a lack of testing. testing already in place in wales and scotland. for english hospitals at last that is about to change. a trial starting today. testing hundreds of those working in intensive care, a&e and gps. hundreds of those working in intensive care, a&e and gpsm hundreds of those working in intensive care, a&e and gps. it is what we have been calling for for a while now, to bring some reassurance to front—line staff, currently left uncertain with what to do when they develop symptoms, feeling under pressure to be at work are guilty for not being at work, and to keep oui’ for not being at work, and to keep our front line sta

the nhs nightingale hospital will comprise two wards, each of 2000 people, with the help of the militarys clinicians, we will make sure that we have the capacity that we need so that everyone can get the support that they need. but no matter how big we make the nhs, u nless we matter how big we make the nhs, unless we slow the virus, then, as we've seen, those numbers will continue to rise, and that's why it's so important everyone follows the advice and stays at home. the final point i want to make is one of thanks. as health secretary, and as a citizen, and on the half of the whole country, i want to thank the staff of the nhs, those who work in social care, all of you, notjust the doctors and nurses who normally get mentioned but the pharmacist, the paramedics, the manager and all staff across—the—board, you are the frontline in this war against this virus and we all pay tribute to you. your going to give your all over the next few weeks, and i want you to know that we salute you and i will strain every sinew to get you everything you need to keep you safe so everything you need to ke

the nhs nightingale hospital will comprise two wards, each of 2000 people. with the help of the military and with nhs clinicians, we will make sure that we have the capacity that we need so that everyone can get the support they need. but no matter how big we grow the nhs, unless we slow the spread of this virus, then as we've seen, those numbers will continue to rise. and that's why it's so important that everybody follows the advice and stays at home. the final point i want to make is one of thanks. as health secretary and as a citizen, and on behalf of the whole country, i want to thank the staff of the nhs, those who work in social care, all of you, not just the doctors and nurses who normally get but the pharmacists, the paramedics, the managers and all staff across the board. you are the front line in this war against this virus, and we all pay tribute to you. you're going to give your all over the next few weeks, and i want you to know that we salute you and i will strain every sinew to get you everything you need to keep you safe so that you can do y

the nhs nightingale hospital will comprise two wards, each of 2,000 people. secretary matt hancock speaking a few moments ago in downing street as part of the daily press briefing. the coronavirus pandemic is affecting communities around the world. here are some of the latest global developments today. the indian prime minister, narendra modi, has announced that the whole population of one point three billion will be under lockdown for 21 days, from midnight, local time, tonight. the virus has already infected more than 500 people across india and ten people have died. the number of people succumbing daily to the pandemic continues to rise in spain, despite ever stricter measures brought in to fight the contagion. 514 people have died in the last 24 hours, the country's worst figures. the world health organization says it's seeing a "very large acceleration" in coronavirus infections in the united states, which doubled its case load on monday, with more than 16,000 infections. new figures show that america accounted for 40% of new cases worldwide. gary 0'donog

>> well, the nhs nightingale, named after florence nightingale, perhaps the most famous field nurse ever in this massive field hospital is being set up in what is a convention and exhibition center normally. it is set to be open tomorrow initially and will be providing oxygens and ventilators for beds for those suffering from covid-19. the military has been working hard trying to get this building ready. they expect it could increase in size to treat people in london and perhaps other parts of the country. although other field hospitals are set to open around the country. they're going to be using airline workers. the nhs has appealed to those airline workers to see if they would like to work in a lot of these centers. they say a lot of these people are trained in first aid. they have security clearance. they could work in support roles in helping nurses and, doctors through these tesch ewe lent times. also military medics. the ns has called on retired nurses and, doctors to come out and help this fight against the coronavirus. the chief scientific adviser to the government here has said

it will end up coming here to nhs nightingale. 4,000 bed potential capacity.quite ready, 4,000 beds far short of that, but it's a message of confidence. it was an outlier trying to herd the immunity strategy, trying to make sure it didn't affect it in the seasons and months ahead and they change course with the worst restrictions on movement since world war ii. the prime minister is the only head of a country currently testing positive. some officials suggesting the numbers show perhaps it isn't going to be as bad but the moment of truth unfortunately is very close, robyn. >> nick peyton walsh. thank you. >>> in italy, an entire family dying from coronavirus. the father, 86-year-old alfredo, a well known blacksmith. his wife angela was 77 and their two sons, daniel and claudio age 54 and 46 respectively. >>> and also in italy, the country will hold a moment of silence in just a few hours for all the coronavirus victims including that whole family. so you're watching cnn. still to come all over the world, random acts of kindness, both big and small, are bringin

the nhs nightingale will provide an extra 4,000 beds specifically for coronavirus patients. s being brought into run the centre alongside nhs staff. the government is also calling for an army of 250,000 volunteers to support the health service. the battle against this virus is ramping up. charlotte rose, bbc news. there are calls for the government to provide more clarity on exactly who should and shouldn't be going into work, after confusion about the new coronavirus restrictions. 0ur political correspondent leila nathoo is in westminster for us now. good morning. we spent much of yesterday with michael gove‘s trying to get to the bottom of this essential worker area and it went on for most of the day yesterday. we have clarity this morning? 36 hours since that stay—at—home message was delivered by the prime minister and we still have this confusion about who exactly should be going into work. the government's message has been that if you cannot do yourjob from home then you should continue to go to work. this is particularly a rub, this row, with construction workers becaus

the new nhs nightingale taking shape in east london. command centre, created in less than 2a hours. this could soon become the biggest hospital in the uk, with 500 beds initially, but scaling up to 4,000 if necessary, to cope with the wave of cases that may come in the weeks ahead. a message of hope and solidarity, posted online. thousands have watched it already. we are those three letters that set us apart from the rest, the national health service, our nhs. paying tribute to all those professionals on the front line of the crisis and those volunteers backing them up, like the men and women of stjohn ambulance. all of our people are existing, experienced first aiders, so we normally do event work and some ambulance work. they are having an additional several days' training, specific for this, and then they are going to be very carefully mentored and managed by the nhs nurses in this hospital. warned he may be at the nightingale for at least four weeks, but some medical experts fear the crisis may last three times longer than that. mon

the excel centre is slowly being turned into the nhs nightingale.tter known from the 2012 olympics. it hosted numerous events. the hold things like the international boat show, age —— a gigantic space. they are turning this into a hospital to treat possibly thousands of patients. the cranes are lifting into place enormous tanks of liquid oxygen that will be fitted up to a system that turnsit will be fitted up to a system that turns it into oxygen, air, gas, which will be piped into the building, where they are building a facility which by the middle of next week is expected to have 500 beds with oxygen and ventilators, but potentially able to scale up to a total of 4000 beds, 2000 on each side of the exhibition halls. we do not know when it will receive its first patients, but it should near completion of the first phase early in the week and just across the dark is london city airport. that is important because, it is closed to commercial traffic, but it could be used to fly in patients from other parts of the country, should those parts of the cou

the nhs nightingale will provide an extra 4000 beds specifically for coronavirus patients. into run the alongside nhs staff. the government is also calling for an army of 250,000 volunteers to support the health service. the battle against this virus is ramping up. we want to bring you some breaking news. unknown gunmen have attacked a sikh temple in kabul. security forces are still on the scene. it's not known who the attackers are if there are any casualties. we can talk to our correspondent in kabul. what more can you tell us? well, the security officials you say that a number of gunmen, at least two of them, have entered this temple in the old part of kabul city. there are a couple of explosions ahead. in a gunfight was going on. we don't know exactly how many worshippers, but normally at this time in the morning, the worshippers, the morning, the worshippers, the hindus and sikh, they go to the hindus and sikh, they go to the temple in the morning so details are yet to emerge from the incident but at the moment, the incident but at the moment, the security officials say

nhs nightingale not opening tomorrow, remains to be seen if it will be pushed back a couple of days.ves for personal protection. and — with as many as 1 in 4 doctors off work — there's also frustration that nhs staff aren't being tested in sufficient numbers to find out if they have the virus. here's our science correspondent pallab ghosh. from conference centre to what's to be a 4000 bed facility. london's nightingale hospital in east london, ready with intensive care beds and ventilators, to deal with the expected surge in cases over the coming weeks. doctors and nurses from across the country applauded as they volunteered to work in the capital, but there are fears they don't have the tools they need task ahead. it's an incredible feat, and in fact i just volunteered to work there myself as an intensive care doctor. but i'll be really honest with you. things are really tough on the front line right now. my colleagues in london, i'll be honest, they are completely broken. we are seeing a lot of patients get sick, a lot of patients get sick very, very quickly. the government has bee

the nhs nightingale hospital will comprise two wards, each of 2,000 people. the help of the military and with nhs clinicians, we will make sure that we have the capacity that we need. with tight new measures now in force across the uk — deserted streets and shops are shut as people are told not to leave home unless absolutely necessary. but after scenes like this in london during this morning's rushhour — warnings that restrictions could get even tighter — if the new rules are flouted. keeping customers apart — supermarkets and other essential services that can stay open — introduce new measures to ensure people don't come into close contact. and tokyo's olympic flame will have to keep burning for another year as the games are finally postponed until next summer. and in sport... we'll have more reaction as the olympics and paralympics are moved to 2021, making it the biggest sporting event to be affected by the coronavirus pandemic. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. the death toll in the uk from the coronavirus has risen sharply in the past 2a

but at the excel, now nhs nightingale, still they make ready and stand by.re. you've been contacting us in your thousands with questions about practical advice and support on covid—19. we're going to do our best now to answer some of them now — on the bbc‘s your questions answered. we can speak to dr philippa kaye, who is a gp in northwest london. and mark harris, who is professor of virology at the university of leeds. let's start with you, phillip and a question from heather. when the prime minister and others test positive with mild symptoms, what are these mild symptoms? is there a danger that the carry on as usual attitude, albeit in isolation, diminish the seriousness of the situation? there is a balance to be drawn between emphasising how serious this is without inducing panic and for most, they will have mild symptoms, about 80% and we mean a fever, feeling unwell and coughing. that might last a few days up to a week. the coughing can persist. they might be able to potter around at home and work from home, like the prime minister. if symptoms are mor

the excel is gradually transforming into the nhs nightingale.y add more facilities inside, they hope that they will begin to get into a position where they should be able to accept patients early next week. and if you look over my shoulder, you can see those big white tankers, those tanks, they were not there this morning, they are full of liquid oxygen and they will be put into place during the next couple of days so that oxygen itself can be pumped into the new makeshift hospital there. it really will be a hospital, not makeshift, in a sense not even a field hospital, truly a new hospital built in the space of a week. will it be open? this time next week. earlier today, i spoke to the chief nursing officerfor earlier today, i spoke to the chief nursing officer for england, earlier today, i spoke to the chief nursing officerfor england, rita mae. we've seen just over 5,000 in england alone have asked... they've come back and they've said that they're willing tojoin our profession once more. i'm extremely grateful to them all. because we are fac

nhs. nightingale field hospitals are being put together a conference centres in manchester and also in birminghamt and tests are promised. we are all aware of the stresses and strains here and doing absolutely everything and people supplying this network doing absolutely everything to try to ensure that the gaps are filled as soon as possible. as london's nightingale hospital gets set, the hope is the social distancing measures will have bought enough time to ensure that front line staff have all they need to save lives. let's pick up on some of those issues. 0ur health editor hugh pym is here. the new figures, fatalities outside hospital, explain for us. people have been getting used to the daily announcements from the department of health covering the uk, but what we've got today is the office for national statistics for england and wales covering the total number of deaths including those in the community, for example in a care home or somebody in their own home. that showed for a week, the latest week they have up until the 20th of march, 210 deaths linked to covid—19 as opposed to the 170 wh

nightingale hospital. iam particularly grateful, my inbox has been full at the weekend of third year student nurses wanted to come back onto the front line to support the nhsuse they are putting their lives on the front line. will these people who go into, for example, the nightingale, have the protective equipment that they need, and will they be protected from the virus?m is vitally important that our staff wherever they are working, have the right personal protective equipment. it's not just right right personal protective equipment. it's notjust right for them to be safe, but to feel safe. that's why we are stepping up our delivery of the right ppe to the right places. we have absolutely have had challenges, and i recognise that, but we are stepping up. we delivered millions upon millions of gowns, goggles, all sorts, gloves, we have delivered lots and lots. there is a still more to do and we are really stepping it up right now. you must be in touch with nurses all the time, you say your direct message box is full, are they scared going to work? it's a very big mixture actually, there's an enormous pride in our profession, you have to look last week, t

the nhs nightingale will provide an extra 4,000 beds specifically for coronavirus patients. ntre alongside nhs staff. the government is also calling for an army of 250,000 volunteers to support the health service. the battle against this virus is ramping up. charlotte rose, bbc news. this morning we've been told that there has been an incredible response to the call for a quarter of a million volunteers. a staggering 170,000 people have got in touch overnight to offer to help. we have seen incredible responses throughout this. this is a health emergency, as the government has said. we can all play a role in ensuring we get on top of coronavirus. and at the same time, that we expand capacity in the nhs. yesterday we sent out a call to arms for an army of nhs volunteers, looking for 250,000 volunteers. 0vernight, we have already had 170,000 people signing up. that's three a minute signing up to help the nhs. it is an astonishing response. i think at times of crisis, people come together. the vast majority of people in the country are doing what the government has asked us all t

and advantages, the dedication of our staff, the fact that we can stand up a new hospital like nhs nightingalee the nhs and the academic excellence which underpins it but, of course, we can learn from other nations and we are doing so. on the question of the economic choices for the future, i think the most important thing to understand is that the chancellor has taken steps in order to ensure that we can put our arms around workers in order to ensure that they can feel confident about their future. that is the best way of making sure that more people are kept on by employers, that the economy can grow again in the future, and that the mixture of different instruments at the chancellor's disposal, including borrowing, are there in order to ensure that we can see future economic growth. tax decisions in the future will be a matter for the prime minister and for the chancellor. but on international comparisons, is there anything more you want to add, stephen?” comparisons, is there anything more you want to add, stephen? i think there are a few points. firstly, there are a few points. firstly, t

work is currently under way to transform london's excel centre into the nhs nightingale hospital, tor kanal patel, a dentist whose team has been drafted in to work at the new hospital. thank you very much forjoining us this morning. tell us what you know at this stage about the work that all of your team from your dental practice will be doing. hello, good morning. so, as most of you may be aware, we were told to put down our drills early this week, all dental practices across the nation, due to the lack of correct ppe to treat our community, patients and our team, to keep them safe. so, this whole institute of the nightingale hospital, on wednesday, we got a message from the chief dental officer, i think it was every single dental practice practitioner in the country, that we should be ready to be deployed when asked upon at the nightingale hospital. as far as i'm concerned, i think all of us dentists across the country were ready to volunteer, regardless. but i know it was a very, very sad day for me and my team on monday, when we had to close our clinic. because what we do on a da

you will have also seen the plans at nhs nightingale in east london to initially bring on another 500 ready for patients next week. so, at the moment, i am confident the capacity is there, we have not reached capacity and i am confident that capacity is expanding, particularly in london so that we keep ahead of increased patient numbers. 0n the testing, as their chief executive of the nhs said yesterday, it is absolutely critical that we now begin to introduce testing for staff, and i said before, it is very important for two reasons. firstly because if we have staff at home, either self isolating or in quarantine because a member of their family has symptoms, if it turns out that it is not because of coronavirus we can bring that staff member back, that is very important for the workforce, particularly in critical areas such as critical care clinicians or emergency department clinicians, and those are the groups, paramedics as well i should say, that we will be focusing on first. secondly, because ofa focusing on first. secondly, because of a positive, when they come back, they can b

in east london to now what will be a 4,000-bed mega hospital that instead will be called the nhs nightingale hospital. the uk has now asked former staff who used to work at the national health service to please come back. please come back and work at the nhs again because they are needed. 12,000 doctors and other health workers have answered that call and said they will come back. they are moving final year med students and nursing students out of school and into service as frontline health workers. the british government has also asked for 250,000 british citizens to come forward as volunteers, just people from the j general population. they want a quarter million citizens to come forward and volunteer to try to support their nhs, support the national health service there to keep it from collapsing. and in the uk, they are finally asking the public -- they are now telling the public that this is real and the time is now. again, they had a very slow start in britain. boris johnson's government had weird ideas about it from the outset, but now they have changed course and they are not messing

the excel center to now what will be a 4,000-bed megahospital that instead will be called the nhs nightingale hospital. the uk has asked former staff who used to work at the national health service to please come back and work at the nhs again because they are needed. 12,000 doctors and nurses and other health workers in the uk have answered that call and said they will come back. in the ukin, they're moving fin year medical students out of schools and on to the front lines. they've asked british citizens to come forward as volunteers, just people from the general population, want a quarter million british seasons to come forward to volunteer to support the nhs there to keep it from collapsing. and in the uk, they are finally asking the public -- they're now telling the public that this is real and the time is now. again, they had a very slow start in britain. boris johnson's government had weird ideas about it from the outset. but now they have changed course and they are not messing around. as of today, all non-essential public facilities are closed in great britain including things like ch

as work continues on the emergency nhs nightingale temporary hospital at london's xl centre.entre. and the news that easyjet and virgin have written to some of their staff to ask them to work at the medical facility with hundreds of flights cancelled, the airlines say their staff, many of whom are first—aid trained and have already had security checks carried out on them, can provide vital, nonclinical help to ha rd provide vital, nonclinical help to hard pressed nhs staff. rich preston, bbc news. president trump has announced that the restrictions imposed in the united states to limit the spread of coronavirus will be extended until the end of april. previously he hoped america could re—open for business at easter. now, mr trump says the country will be well on the way to recovering by june the first. 0ur north america correspondent peter bowes reports. this is how america's are normally bustling city centres look today. chicago, empty, philadelphia, deserted, and new york city, unusually quiet. everyone ordered to stay at home except accent —— essential workers like nurses.

centre in london, is now going to be converted to essentially a field hospital that they've called nhs nightingaleso, the soldiers will be helping with that, too. but we've seen harrowing scenes now across europe with the military assisting in italy. they've called for the help of the u.s. military as well to try and get that critical protective equipment in the hands of their medics. and we've seen italian army trucks transporting bodies and coffins to try and take the strain off the local morgues who are just overwhelmed. the military also being involved in other countries now to enforce these lockdowns. as you mention, we're now under a lockdown or a near partial -- a partial lockdown here in the united kingdom, which the army may well have to assist with as the police are going to have to focus on making sure that people don't violate those key restrictions. >> bianca nobilo, appreciate that. it's an important reminder, this is worldwide, a worldwide, complex issue being dealt with. bianca, appreciate it very much. the number of confirmed coronavirus cases here in the united states have surged

i saw that myself at the nhs nightingale hospital in east london this morning and was completely bowledients later this week. but as we've repeatedly said and as you've just heard, nhs staff cannot do this on their own. yes, we can increase but we also need everybody in the country, every one of you, to help by reducing the transmission of the virus because it is by doing that that we will reduce number of deaths and we will take the pressure off our hospitals and health system. and the chart i'm about to show you will show you why that is so important. so, all the interventions and instructions the government have given based on the best possible scientific advice, and similar to the approach being taken around the world, are designed to reduce social contact. in other words to reduce the chance of the virus passing from one person to another. the spread of the virus reduces and the number of infections reduces. i'm pleased to say the great british public are paying attention to that message and we are seeing in many ways that amount of social contact is reducing. this first chart show

available hospital beds across london, and we are bringing on additional beds next week at the new nhs nightingalere is an enormous effort going on notjust across london but across the midlands where we are seeing continued growth in cases and that is why as well as freeing up the 33,000 hospital beds across the current english nhs hospitals, we are also dealing with these unprecedented steps. hello, the weather is going for many of us this weekend. some warmth in the spring sunshine across england and wales in recent days. scotland and northern ireland, we've had this cold front which has been slow—moving, bringing some cloud and patchy rain and drizzle. overnight sinking further south. by this stage, really just a band of cloud, may be the odd patch of drizzle. to the north, clear skies and wintry showers in scotland leading to some icy stretches. further south, clear skies but with the strength of the breeze it should keep any frost at bay and for most, a degree or so above freezing, maybe three or four in the centre of town. this is the weekend, on saturday we have this slow—moving cold front.

the nhs nightingale hospital will comprise two rewards each of 2000 people. p of the military and with nhs clinicians, we will make sure that we have the capacity that we need so that everyone can get the support they need. -- will comprise two words. let's get the latest from jonathan blake who is live in westminster and wife under these new restrictions jonathan, a westminster and wife under these new restrictionsjonathan, a lot of focus today on clarity, what is allowed, what is not about? those are the questions people have been asking themselves since the dramatic address of the nation by the prime minister around this time last night and there has been some confusion about particularly who should be going to work and who should not be going to work and who should not be going to work and who should not be going to work. the prime minister said last night that people should stay—at—home. with those four exceptions, to leave home only for shopping, basic necessities, for exercise once a day, medical reasons, 01’ exercise once a day, medical reasons, or to

well, preparations are urgently underway to turn the excel london into the nhs nightingale, housing 4,000s. bring us up to date. unfortunately in the circumstances, it is the 200th anniversary of the birth of florence nightingale and this here at the excel centre, normally used for things like crafts and boat shows will now be turned into this extraordinary enormous hospital, potentially the biggest in the uk. they expect to have 500 beds up and running, that includes a significant number of intensive care unit beds with ventilators and oxygen available, they expect to have it up and running early in the week, the middle of next week, there is a potential to scale that up to 4000 beds in total if needed. why? well because london is the epicentre of the nation's outbreak of coronavirus. 33% of all cases have occurred here, 4000 or so cases are testing positive, as you heard from the previous correspondence, there is huge pressure on the nhs in london anyway, there are enormous numbers of vacancies before the crisis, now there are sickness rates between 20%, calls are gone out across london

nhs. we have 70 colleagues. they are saying as long as the correct ppe will be available, which, obviously, resulted in our dental clinic shutting, but i'm hoping, we can only hope that the nightingalei'm sure they do. thank you forjoining us and telling us your situation and if you are chosen and to work in the nightingale hospital, come back and tell us what it is like. no, iwill. we're forward to helping, you know, the rest of the nhs. on cue, good sentiment. let's take a moment on saturday morning, matt has all of the weather for us right now and how is saturday morning, matt has all of the weather for us right now and how is it looking, matt? —— thank you. not a bad picture at all and i think many of us are watching the weather from inside and the sunshine gives usa from inside and the sunshine gives us a lift and there will be sunshine streaming through the window at times this weekend but is this whether watcher from hampshire shows us, these are the skies we will see coming through the weekend and some cloud starting to develop and with it, much colderfeel as cloud starting to develop and with it, much colder feel as well with aircoming down it, much colder feel as well with

eric corresponded is that the nhs nightingale hospital. when is it going to open? it will open with 500 beds equipped with ventilators and oxygen, that could expand potentially to 4000. just a few days ago, there wasn't much infrastructure here. we've been pushed back over the past few days, you can see the ambulances and whatnot behind me, we've got the army inside helping out, but we think as soon as wednesday. that's interesting. and tell us a little bit more about volunteers who are being encouraged to offer their services to help there? we've got the news today that easyjet was grounding all of its planes, many of its staff, of course, not working already. easyjet has written to 9000 of its staff including 4000 cabin crew, asking for people with first aid training, cpr training, to come forward to volunteer to help out in the centre behind me. we've also got similar facilities the centre behind me. we've also got similarfacilities being the centre behind me. we've also got similar facilities being set up the centre behind me. we've also got similarfacilities b

preparations are under way to turn the excel london into the nhs nightingale, housing 4,000 patients.mpic events, this enormous venue, 600 metres long, 100,000 square feet of space in there, as you can see, at the moment there is enormous white objects are oxygen tanks which are being put into place, and pipes are being put into place, and pipes are then going to be run into the building to provide vitally needed oxygen building to provide vitally needed oxyg e n to building to provide vitally needed oxygen to the patient‘s who will be treated here. slowly but surely, this is beginning to take place. we expect by the middle of next week there may be 500 beds up and operational with ventilators. it will be staffed by a mixture of nhs staff. a call went out across london, across the trust in london yesterday, for volunteers to come forward. everyone from hospital porters all the way through to co nsulta nts porters all the way through to consultants and everyone in between. there will also be some military medics and also stjohn ambulance. that is the first wave, about 500 beds. but cle

it's hoped the nhs nightingale hospital will be up and running by saturday and two similar facilitiesthe surgery are expecting because this is a global health emergency. i'm very, very grateful for all of the people coming back into the nhs to support us coming back into the nhs to support us because your nhs need you. coming back into the nhs to support us because your nhs need youm feels like such a short period of time to set something up on the scale. is it enough, will it be ready? i am absolutely confident that it will be ready this week. we are working extremely hard. we have the stjohn's ambulance here, the military here, all of our nhs planners here and they are doing an amazing job. we need to do this because we absolutely want to be able to care for the people we need to ca re able to care for the people we need to care for. we all have a job to do, not only are nurses and doctors coming back into the nhs. 0ur volu nteers coming back into the nhs. 0ur volunteers are really important to us, working as part of our team. but the members of the public also have a responsibility

in london, a 4,000-bed emergency field hospital, the nhs nightingale, preparing to open. let's bring in senior international correspondent keir simmons. he is in london. keir, good morning. good to see you. field hospitals in london, as there are field hospitals in the united states. how is that national lockdown impacting the numbers you all are seeing there? >> reporter: hey, willie. well, the numbers are incredibly difficult to read across europe and in the u.s. that is because of exactly what joe and mika were talking about in regards to testing. to give you an example, willie, and scientists here described these numbers as utterly unreliable, the pretbritish dea rate is around 2.6% compared to people testing positive for coronavirus. it is nothing like the numbers you're seeing in other countries. the reason for that, there hasn't been enough testing. now, the testing here in the uk is being rolled out, but there are other confusions. like in germany, for example, where there are large numbers of cases and, apparently, low numbers of deaths. in italy, exactly a diffe

nhs could be. birmingham's national exhibition centre will house a nightingale hospital, so too the central conventionanchester. the sec in glasgow will also become a temporary hospital in two weeks' time, with space for up to 1,000 patients. the principality stadium in cardiff is set to be used as an nhs field hospital. and in belfast, a coronavirus assessment centre will open this week. there may be plenty of new hospital beds, but staffing is a problem with an estimate a quarter of doctors are off with a virus or because a member of their household is unwell. most are anxious about what the next few weeks will bring. they know that this hospital and many others could fill up quickly with a very sick patients, some of whom will not survive their stay. hugh pym, bbc news, at the nightingale hospital in london's docklands. two deaths have now been recorded in syria. earlier the health ministry confirmed a woman died from the coronavirus disease on sunday after being taken to hospital. several other people have tested positive but medics suspect there are many more. there's been a sharp fall in new cas

nhs could be. birmingham's national exhibition centre will house a nightingale hospital, so too the central conventiono become a temporary hospital in two weeks' time, with space for up to 1,000 patients. the principality stadium in cardiff is set to be used as an nhs field hospital. and in belfast, a coronavirus assessment centre will open this week. there may be plenty of new hospital beds, but staffing is a problem with one estimate a quarter of doctors are off with a virus or because a member of their household is unwell. i've been off work for a week 110w i've been off work for a week now because my partner had a temperature last monday. so, a soft isolated like you're supposed to do. but i've been feeling really fine. i had a very mild cough last week, so probably did catch it. and by the rules, had i been able to be tested soon enough, i could have proved that and gone back to work after a week of isolation. freelance health workers known as locums are frustrated because they feel they don't have adequate protection. it is vital that the government protect us and give us all of the equipment. t

nhs could be. birmingham's national exhibition centre will house a nightingale hospital, so too the central conventionter. the sec in glasgow will also become a temporary hospital in two weeks' time, with space for up to 1,000 patients. the principality stadium in cardiff is set to be used as an nhs field hospital. and in belfast, a coronavirus assessment centre will open this week. there may be plenty of new hospital beds, but staffing is a problem with an estimate a quarter of doctors are off with a virus or because a member of their household is unwell. the lack of protective kit is still said to be a problem by some doctors, nurses and care workers. most are anxious about what the next weeks will bring. they know this new hospital and many others could fill up quickly with very sick patients, some of whom will not survive their stay. hugh pym, bbc news, at the nightingale hospital in london's docklands. two deaths have now been recorded in syria. earlier the health ministry confirmed a woman died from the coronavirus disease on sunday after being taken to hospital. several other people have tested

nhs could be. birmingham‘s national exhibition centre will house a nightingale hospital, so too the central conventioncome a temporary hospital in two weeks‘ time, with space for up to 1,000 patients. the principality stadium in cardiff is set to be used as an nhs field hospital. and in belfast, a coronavirus assessment centre will open this week. there may be plenty of new hospital beds, but staffing is a problem with an estimate a quarter of doctors are off with a virus or because a member of their household is unwell. i‘ve been off work for a week now because my partner had a temperature last monday. so i self—isolated like you‘re supposed to do, but i‘ve been feeling fine. i had a very mild cough last week, so i probably did catch it. and by the rules, had i been able to be tested soon enough, i could have proved that and gone back to work after a week of isolation. freelance health workers known as locums are frustrated because they feel they don‘t have adequate legal and financial protection. it is vital the government protect us and give us all the equipment. and that includes both sick pay and

nhs could be. birmingham's national exhibition centre will house a nightingale hospital, so will the central conventionanchester. the sec in nottingham will become a centre with space for up will become a centre with space for up to 1000 patients. the prince apology stadium in cardiff are set to be used as an nhs field hospital. northern ireland is creating dedicated facilities for coronavirus patients. most doctors and nurses are impressed with the preparations. but some are frustrated, because as freelance workers, they don't feel they have the right financial and legal protection. it is vital the government protectors, and give us the equipment, and that includes sick pay and worker protections. as well as the kit that we need to be able to do ourjobs to the best of oui’ able to do ourjobs to the best of our abilities. despite the extensive preparations, some nhs staff are still frustrated about the lack of personal protective equipment. and they are anxious about what the next few weeks will bring, as the likely peak in demand approaches, with maximum pressure on the health service. hugh pym, bbc n

nhs could be. birmingham's national exhibition centre will house a nightingale hospital, so too the central conventionanchester. the sec in glasgow will also become a temporary hospital in two weeks‘ time, with space for up to 1,000 patients. the principality stadium in cardiff is set to be used as an nhs field hospital. and in belfast, a coronavirus assessment centre will open this week. there may be plenty of new beds but staffing is a problem with an estimate a quarter of doctors are off with a virus or because a member off with a virus or because a member of their household is unwell. off with a virus or because a member of their household is unwelllj off with a virus or because a member of their household is unwell. i have been off work for a week now because my partner had a temperature last monday. myself isolated like you are supposed to do, but i have been feeling fine. i had a very mild cough last week so i probably did catch it. and by the rules, had i been able to be tested soon enough, i could have proved that and gone back to work after a week of isolation. freelance health workers known

nhs field hospital ready within days. this is really not taking long at all. this is the nightingalerozen. let's try again. a huge increase in capacity... a huge increase in capacity... a huge increase in capacity in london where of course it is most needed. they are also building new hospitals at extraordinary speed in birmingham and manchester. in cardiff they have taken over the millennium stadium, thatis taken over the millennium stadium, that is the greatest conversion that have ever state of the stadium, sorry, a small rugbyjoke for you. more seriously, they hope this capacity can come on stream in time for the peak that i was referring to earlier so that when it comes, the nhs is dependent. we have defined these little moments of levity amongst the bleakness. well done. i like that. john, we have to have people and equipment, medical staff to be working in these places when patients come in. yes, i think that isa patients come in. yes, i think that is a real constraint. we have been reporting, the independent has been reporting, the independent has been reporting that it will