let's go back to our north correspondent peter bowes. learned so far from the president's briefing? the president's briefing? the president as ifjust heard outlining the measures of the federal government is taking to help the states around the country deal with this ongoing fight against the coronavirus talking about 3000 troops deployed two different states, to different hospitals depending on the relative needs of those places. that reflects something the president has been saying all along that the federal resources will be shifted around and moved according to the level of the outbreak and different places, new york of course is still the epicentre in the united states but we are seeing a steep rise in places like louisiana, michigan as well. there has been a germanic rise in the number of cases. and those medical personnel, no —— military medical personnel being deployed in hospitals to help the medical workers, the doctors, and nurses. the president going out of his way to talk about potential experimental at this stage pharmaceuti

joining me now from los angeles, our north america correspondent, peter bowes. saying the numbers could have come down if introduced measures were introduced quicker. donald trump has been criticised for not doing enough earlier to stop the spread of the virus. dr fauci who has been the medical phase of the fight against coronavirus in the united states, as part of the united states, as part of the trump administration, said things could be a little bit different. some lights could have been saved if those mitigation measures had been brought in earlier, but to use his words, he said there was a lot of pushback at the time against measures to close down the country. and donald trump would say that he in fact did ta ke would say that he in fact did take action earlier, at the end of january he effectively closed the borders to those foreign nationals who had been in china, china at the time was that global epicentre of the pandemic. the president has defended himself on this charge and has also pointed out that dr fauci has complained in the past about a lack of

peter bowes speaking a little earlier. by hemal sampat, a doctor at massachusetts general hospital in boston, whose unit has been completely transformed to deal with the crisis. he says numbers are on the rise. we are definitely in the middle of a surge right now. we saw our first case of covid—19 probably a couple of months ago but it has really picked up in the last month and especially over the last week. 0ur unit, the hospital medicine unit, we take care, we are very much the front line for the hospital in taking care of patients with covid—19 who are on the general medical floor who are not sick enough to be in the icu and our service has essentially completely been devoted now to taking care of patients with covid—19, we have multiple floor units that have been converted almost exclusively to take care of these patients. how worried are you about the capacity of your hospital to cope if the increase in levels of the virus cases continues to increase across the us? it is definitely a concern for the hospital. i will s

peter bowes speaking there.time in her 68—year reign queen elizabeth has addressed the uk and the commonwealth outside her annual christmas broadcast. she paid tribute to the national health service and key workers keeping goods and services going amid the coronavirus pandemic. the queen also acknowledged the grief, pain and financial difficulties that many people were facing. here's our royal correspondent, nicolas witchell. from windsor castle, a broadcast by the longest serving head of state in the world. a speech without parallel in her reign, as britain and the wider world face an unseen threat. while we have faced challenges before, this one is different. this time we join with all nations across the globe in a common endeavour, using the great advances of science and our instinctive compassion to heal. we will succeed and that success will belong to every one of us. she spoke first to those facing the most immediate challenge. i want to thank everyone on the nhs front line, as well as care workers and tho

peter bowes for us there.n vasan is an assistant professor at columbia university medical centre and an attending physician in new york. doctor, i know you also worked at the who between 2004 and 2005, at the height of the hiv crisis. first of all, it's not actually clear, is it, but an american president has the power to do this. that is true. there is congressional budget oversight and there are limitations on what a president can do, unilaterally, to change something that is already allotted for funding to the who. soa allotted for funding to the who. so a expect there to be congressional pushback, at least from the house and senate democrats here. that said, what do you make of what the president is trying to do, at least the point is making? there is an argument the who has an impossibly large job there is an argument the who has an impossibly largejob in an impossibly small budget and did failto an impossibly small budget and did fail to tackle china in the early days of the outbreak. did fail to tackle

wright peter bowes talking about how countries are working out how to lift their lockdowns.how individual countries relax their lockdowns has become the main talking point for people around the world. so what are the main options for a gradual lifting of the lockdown and what does the experience of other countries tell us? 0ur science editor david shukman has been investigating. week after week, the eerie sight of lockdown, while behind the scenes, governments all over the world desperately try to find a safe way out of it. switzerland has allowed hairdressers to reopen. everyone has to wear a mask. it's a cautious first step. no country is rushing into this. in beijing, secondary schools have started again. there's no sitting close together because, all the time, there's the risk of the virus striking again. everything about what happens next hinges on the rate of infection — what scientists call the r number. at the height of the outbreak in the uk, it was about three, meaning anyone infected was passing it onto, on average, three others, so the outbreak was accelerating.

peter bowes there.n secretary—general, antonio guterres, said this was not the time to reduce funding for the who. and in the latest update — the us registered a record 2,228 deaths in the past 2a hours — those figures just published byjohn hopkins university. to take us through how the us is coping, dr craig spencer is the director of global health in emergency medicine at columbia university medical centre, and hejoins me from new york. thank you for your time. i can imagine how busy you are. i think you caught ebola in west africa? i think this cut would be one of the most disastrous decisions president trump has made recently. this doesn't just impact the usa, it impacts the whole world was that this isa the whole world was that this is a distraction to take the spotlight off book performance in the us. i recognise the who had an imperfect response in africa while working on ebola. but the who is great for future pandemics. they had a small budget already, were already begging for $1 million —— mill

our north america correspondent peter bowes joins me now. what has been the main message from him? over the past few days overwhelmingly positive about the eventual outcome talking in optimistic terms, talking about light at the end of the tunnel and also giving an update about the help that it being given to states around the country, the 3000 military radical workers that have been sent to hospitals to help the dock as and nurses who in some cases, especially in new york city, really stretched to the limit talking about the hundreds of ventilators and thousands of facemasks that have been distributed around the country and again we continue to hear complaints, desperate complaints, desperate complaints in some places, that they simply don't have enough equipment. and the president really stressing once again at the federal government is sending that equipment out to states on a necessary basis where certain places, the numbers begin to peak and then drop down and the equipment he says has to be moved around the country accordingly. his advisors are not quite as upbeat as donald t

peter bowes in los angeles there.d shortages of personal protective equipment — or ppe — has been a cause for concern in many countries as doctor and nurses put themselves at risk treating patients with covid—i9. many have spoken out, but in washington state, one doctor has been sacked after expressing his concerns to a newspaper. the washington state nurses association has criticised the decision at a time when retired health care professionals are being asked to return to the profession to help in the fight. the nurses association said in a statement: i'm joined from seattle by sally watkins, executive director of the washington state nurses association. thank you for coming on. how are medical staff feeling about aspiring? everyone is very traumatised by it actually, just shocked that this is something that could happen, that a physician during this period of time, especially an emergency room position be terminated for speaking out. we are hearing all across the country that there is a big year for retaliation and

peter bowes is our north america correspondent, and joins us now. alk about face masks in the press conference that president trump held earlier? americans have been getting some mixed messages about facemasks. people in los angeles and new york city have been advised that they should wear one, not ordered to wear one, but local officials saying they should, whereas donald trump, asked about this in the daily briefing, and again he said that people wouldn't the order two, some people didn't wa nt order two, some people didn't want to, and he said one of his chief scientific adviser ‘s, doctor deborah birx, said that she was worried some people might geta she was worried some people might get a false sense of protection if they were wearing a facemask because they'd been ordered to. she said you can still get the virus and be infected even if you're wearing a facemask. you might touch something then touch your eyes, for example, not protected by a facemask so you wouldn't be 100% protected. she said the main purpose of a mask is to protect others from

peter bowes, bbc news, los angeles.he coronavirus. speaking at a news conference in beijing, a chinese foreign ministry spokesman, geng shuang, suggested that american leaders were just trying to distract from their own failings. translation: american politicians have repeatedly ignored the truth and have been telling bare—faced lies. they have only one objective — shirk their responsibility for their own poor epidemic prevention and control measures and divert public attention. but the facts speak louder than words and justice naturally inhabits a man's heart. their plot will never succeed. we'll be answering some of your questions about coronavirus vaccines, and any concerns around visiting your gp surgery, in your questions answered at 2.30pm this afternoon. we'll be joined by nicola stonehouse, professor of molecular virology at the university of leeds and dr rita issa, a gp registrar. you can send your questions in to us, using the twitter hashtag bbcyourquestions, or e—mailing yourquestions@bbc. co. uk. that will

peter bowes, bbc news, los angeles. our top story this lunchtime.h of a baby boy — both mother and son are said to be in very good health. and coming up... the lockdown social media hit, but is there more to tiktok‘s popularity than meets the eye? and in sport, next year's delayed european championships may need to take place in one country rather than 12 according to one of france's leading football figures. tributes are being paid to two brothers, from south wales, who died side by side after contracting coronavirus. ghulam and raza abbas passed away within hours of each other at the royal gwent hospitaljust weeks after losing their father from ill health. their families have pleaded with people to stay at home and stop the spread of the disease. colette hume reports. united in life, united now in death. brothers raza and ghulam died side by side in intensive care. they were just 53 and 59. at ghulam's home in newport, friends and neighbours come to pay their respects to his widow and two daughters. we were all hoping and praying that he would pul

peter bowes there for us.sident emmanuel macron has said france will begin to come out of lockdown in four weeks time. after may the 11th, schools, nurseries and universties will progressively re—open. people will gradually return to work, although cafes, restaurants and cinemas will remain shut. the president says this will be possible because there will be enough tests available for anyone showing symptoms. 0ur paris correspondent lucy williamson reports. after a month, the unthinkable has become the barely thought about, and the extension of france's quarantine restrictions caused little surprise. in a televised address, president macron said there would be no end to the lockdown here for another four weeks. translation: from the 11th of may, we will gradually open nurseries and schools. it's a priority for me as the current situation is widening inequality. too many children, especially in our poorer districts and rural areas, don't have digital access and can't be helped by their parents in the same way.

north america correspondent peter bowes talking to me earlier on.ican aircraft carrier stricken with coronavirus has been sacked apparently for going public with his concerns about the health of his crew. captain brett crozier wrote a scathing letter to his bosses asking for stronger measures to help control the virus onboard the uss theodore roosevelt. but the letter was leaked to the press, as bill hayton reports. the uss theodore roosevelt, one of the world's most powerful war machines. a nuclear—powered community of 5,000 people, jammed in a very confined space. in the driving seat, with the power of life and death, was captain brett crozier, until thursday. i'm here today to inform you that today at my direction the commanding officer of the uss theodore roosevelt, captain brett crozier, was relieved of command by a carrier strike group commander, rear admiral stuart baker. the problems may have started during the ship's most recent port visit to da nang in central vietnam at the beginning of march. two weeks later, the first crewmembers fell i

peter bowes, thank you so much. come: to work out fact from fiction how to work out fact from fiction when looking for information about the coronavirus? we will get the best scientific advice from an expert in singapore. 25 years of hatred and rage, as theyjump up on the statue... this funeral became a massive demonstration of black power. the power to influence. today is about the promise of a bright future. a day when we hope a line can be drawn under the bloody past. i think that picasso's works were beautiful. they were intelligent and it's a sad loss to everybody who loves art. this is bbc news, the latest headlines: britain's prime minister boris johnson, who has coronavirus, has been moved to an intensive care unit in a central london hospital after his symptoms worsened. political leaders in the uk and around the world have sent their best wishes and hopes for a speedy recovery. technology is keeping many of us around the world connected during covid—19 lockdowns. but it's also a breeding ground forfake new

peter bowes and speaking to me a little earlier.cial figures for the uk show there were 596 deaths reported in hospitals in the last 24—hour period. that takes the overall number who've died in hospitals to 16,060. on sunday, the british government was again under pressure over the supply of personal protective equipment for healthcare staff, particularly the gowns used in intensive care. a delivery from turkey that was due to arrive in the uk on sunday is now expected on monday. here's our health editor, hugh pym. a vital consignment of masks and other personal protective equipment arrives from china at prestwick airport near glasgow this weekend. it's ready for distribution to health and care workers around scotland at a time when the kit, known as ppe, is in short supply in different parts of the uk. some hospitals in england have warned they're down to their last few days of supplies of gowns used in intensive care. a plane—load of equipment due in from turkey did not arrive as expected today. shortages of ppe have been reported

peter bowes, bbc news. now, appeared to buck the global trend on coronavirus transmission. there has been no lockdown, and japan isn't carrying out large scale testing. but in the last week, cases in tokyo have begun to rise rapidly. from there, rupert wingfield—hayes reports. this was central tokyo just a few days ago. no social distancing, certainly no lockdown. and the same street today — something has started to change here. it began last weekend with the city's parks. so this behind me is the gates to yoyogi park in central tokyo. this is one of the city's biggest and most popular parks. normally on a saturday afternoon, it would be at this time of year jammed with people holding sakura parties — that is cherry blossom parties because the cherry blossom is coming into full bloom. you can see now, though, that the gate is closed. there's a sign on it saying that it is closed because of the coronavirus. this has just happened in the last 2a hours or so. tokyo is finally enforcing these sorts of measures

peter bowes in la, for now, thank you very much.ls to relax its lockdown, saying the outbreak remains at a "delicate and dangerous" stage. the total number of uk dead now stands at 20,732, not including deaths in care homes or the community, in england and northern ireland. it comes as prime minister borisjohnson has returned to downing street — after two weeks of convalescence. 0ur political correspondent iain watson is at westminster. he's going to be chairing some of the meetings, which he couldn't do during this convalescence his time in hospital, to crucial meetings that discuss where britain may next go in terms of the lockdown and how they may ease restrictions in future. cabinet ministers and the chief medical officer, —— at around 9:00am tomorrow morning he is to meet senior cabinet ministers and the chief medical officer, the chief scientific advisor. this is what is sometimes referred to as the war cabinet and the covid—i9 meetings is the official name. they will undoubtedly talk about some of the issues that have had to

peter bowes, bbc news, los angeles.opean countries are starting to ease. a limited number of shops and businesses have been allowed to reopen in italy, and some people are beginning to go back to work in spain. in a moment, we'll speak to our correspondent in madrid, but first, jean mackenzie reports from rome. these are baby steps today from a country that's still really fragile stages of its recovery. only a select number of shops are being allowed to reopen. they are book shops, baby clothes shops and stationery shops. and other than that, the strict lockdown conditions here remaining in place for another three weeks. even today, some regions have decided to opt out of this, they are not going to reopen shops, they think it is too soon. factories have been putting a lot of pressure on the government to allow them to start up again, and the government has said it will look in the coming weeks as to whether some could be allowed to reopen, but it's going to be led very much by the health situation. in fact, today italy

our north america correspondent peter bowes joins me now from los angeles.te what president trump had to say back injanuary about the who, but several hundred million dollars here now being halted to that organisation. yes, between 400 and $500 million put on hold pending a further review. in the president's criticism was really damning of the world health organisation. again, focusing specifically on the criticism he says he received backin criticism he says he received back in january, the criticism he says he received back injanuary, the end of january where he opposed a travel bans of foreign nationals committed united states which he said was one of his better decisions in terms of slowing the spread of coronavirus. and he was angry at the lack of support he had for that. he sets from the world health organisation, but he expanded his criticism going as far to say the outbreak could have been contained with very little death had it not been for the actions or inactions of the world health organisation. criticising the who for praising the actions of chi

peter bowes, bbc news, los angeles.ith only a few hours' notice , and brought the country to a sudden halt — immediately putting millions of people out of work. 0fficials figures suggest more than 10,000 people have contracted the coronavirus in india, but there are fears the true number could be far greater. yogita limaye reports. sirens india's coronavirus hotspot. through drones, police scan the city. "we can see if you come out of your homes," they announce. in the alleys of mumbai slums, health workers are trying to go to each one—room house, screening people for symptoms. this city has the highest number of covid cases and deaths in india. but those on the front line say the reality is far more grim than what statistics show. i spoke to a doctor at a mumbai state—run hospital. he didn't want to be identified, fearing reprisal from the government. it's notjust here in mumbai. doctors in different parts of the country have told me that people with underlying conditions are often not innumerated as covid deaths. the

let's get the latest from our our north america correspondent, peter bowes. fferent tone from president trump at the moment. yes. and andrew cuomo, the governor of new york has over the past few weeks been one of the president's harshest critics but also a case where praise is deserved and that is what he has been presenting with over the last 24 presenting with over the last 2a hours or so when he agrees with the president's actions, indeed thanking him for some of the measures he has taken over the measures he has taken over the last few weeks and he is talking about testing at the moment being up in new york state. that was the latest theme of the latest press reaping. president trump made the point in fact he is getting on with the vast majority of governors around the country. i think it is fair to say there has been a lot of bipartisan support and cooperation during this crisis, this medical crisis. the differences over the availability of ventilators and testing around the country. but by and large, as far as the president sees it, the country has come

joining me now from los angeles is our north america correspondent, peter bowes. ter, what did you make of what doctor fauci has been saying, what president trump has been saying? well, doctor fauci made it very clear he was speaking on his own behalf stopped it was his decision to address the news conference, and he wanted to clarify initially what he said in that interview. but it was a hypothetical situation he was talking about, that lives may have been saved, if the measures to slow down the spread of the virus had been brought in earlier. and as we have just heard, he said that all of his advice that he had given on a number of occasions to the president have been heeded by mr trump. so he was going out of his way to really suggest that there is no difference between his view and the president's, and mr trump said much the same. that he liked dr fauci and he had no intention of firing him. but overall this was a very testy news conference, the president even going to the length of playing a video put together by white house officials showing state governors a

i'm joined now by our north america correspondent peter bowes. of those protests, i thank you would call them, and various parts of america. it is interesting after this time, suddenly seeing pictures of crowds, something we haven't really seen in the last few weeks anywhere in the world. you could feel the unease around the country, some of the states into biggest protests have been in texas, and also if we has just heard, texas have been in texas, and also if we hasjust heard, texas is going to be one of the states that will slowly begin to ease on those social guidelines and restrictions, telling people to stay at home. but there is a body of people these are organised protests by organised groups around the country who believe still that some governors, mostly democratic governors, mostly democratic governors are hanging onto those restrictions are proposing to hold onto those restrictions for too much time. they believe that they should be allowed to move freely to get back to work. perhaps the worrying thing that you are seeing in some of t

let's go live to our north america correspondent, peter bowes. was a glimmer of hope, light at the end of the tunnel. that is not what the team around him unnecessarily saying though. they are not. not all of the team. however they are saying to some extent there is a glimmer of hope. 0ne to some extent there is a glimmer of hope. one of his experts you just mentioned, deborah birx, saying she is optimistic, in part, by what she is seeing happening in italy and spain, with the number of deaths coming down. and she is hopeful having plotted the data that the united states is going to follow the same course as far as the out—bra ke follow the same course as far as the out—brake is concerned. in the urban areas, in the inner cities, places like new york, of course, where the out—brake york, of course, where the out—bra ke is at york, of course, where the out—brake is at its worst, but over the next couple of weeks those numbers could start to come down. in fact, in new york the number of deaths has decreased slightly. that was the reason that donald

peter bowes, bbc news, los angeles.. they had 21,282 people who have died with coronavirus on tuesday, that is up from 20,852 yesterday, according to the health ministry. the number of people who have died in spain from coronavirus rises up to 21,282 people. the price of american crude oil fell below zero yesterday, meaning suppliers would pay people to take it away. the price of west texas intermediate plunged as low as minus $37 a barrel because of the drop in demand caused by coronavirus. there aren't enough places to store the oil being produced, so buyers were being paid to take the supplies off producers' hands. uk investment manager justin urquhart stewart says the price drop provides a strong indicator of the state of the world's economy. we've never seen anything like this, we've lived through periods of oil prices being over $100 a barrel but here we are, negative. it's really quite astonishing but we should take it seriously, even though this is just one contract because we know actually, the price will be bo

peter bowes, bbc news, los angeles. labour leader sir keir starmer is urging the government to publish an exit strategy from the coronavirus lockdown this week. the government is expected to announce an extension to the lockdown on thursday. sir keir said labour would back such a move but the government should be more open about how and when it will end. let's speak to our assistant political editor norman smith. why does he want this published? because he thinks it is the big question and people need to be able to get to grips with it, really to give themselves a sense of hope and thereby, to retain support for the lockdown. his view is that if people are to abide by the restrictions, they have to be given a sense of endgame, of how we get out of this. added to which, he believes that when we look at the different measures, some of them are going to ta ke measures, some of them are going to take quite a long time to put in place, if you go for some kind of national vaccination programme, you will have to set up vaccina

peter bowes, bbc news.f the american aircraft carrier stricken with coronavirus has been sacked, apparently for going public with his concerns about the health of his crew. captain brett crozier wrote a scathing letter to his bosses asking for stronger measures to help control the virus onboard the uss theodore roosevelt. but the letter was leaked to the press, as bill hayton reports. the uss theodore roosevelt, one of the world's most powerful war machines. a nuclear—powered community of 5,000 people, jammed in a very confined space. in the driving seat, with the power of life and death, was captain brett crozier, until thursday. i'm here today to inform you that today at my direction the commanding officer of the uss theodore roosevelt, captain brett crozier, was relieved of command by a carrier strike group commander, rear admiral stuart baker. the problems may have started during the ship's most recent port visit to da nang in central vietnam at the beginning of march. two weeks later, the first crewmem

that is peter bowes.he uk show there were 596 deaths reported in hospitals in the last 24—hour period. that takes the overall number who've died in hospitals to 16,060. on sunday the british government was again under pressure over the supply of personal protective equipment for healthcare staff, particularly the gowns used in intensive care. a delivery from turkey that was due to arrive in the uk on sunday is now expected today. john mcmanus reports. it's the issue that won't go away. can the government guarantee the safety of both nhs and care workers by providing them with enough supplies of personal protective equipment, ppe? despite initial assurances that there was enough ppe to go around, ministers have since admitted that in england that has not a lwa ys that in england that has not always been the case and there we re always been the case and there were fears that essential supplies would run out over the weekend. this consignment ppe arrived at glasgow prestwick airport from china on saturday. b

peter bowes, bbc news, los angeles.will lead the country in a minute's silence this morning to remember the frontline workers that have lost their lives to coronavirus. on monday the health secretary announced that the families of nhs and social care staff in england who die after contracting coronavirus are to be given sixty—thousand pounds of compensation. keith doyle reports. this is eileen landers. a cleaner at queens hospital burton who has died of covid—i9. the hospital said she was dedicated to her work and to protecting patients. her family said she had a heart of gold. eileen is one of more than 100 workers across health and social care who have died with covid—19 while working on front—line services. nurses and doctors, paramedics and cleaners, care staff and co nsulta nts. cleaners, care staff and consultants. all will be remembered at 11am in a minute's silence organised by health unions, led by the prime minister. the families of healthcare workers who have died with the coronavirus while working on front—l

peter around the country. bowes for us there.ticular has been hit hard by the effects of coronavirus. thousands have died and the city's immigrant communities have suffered more than most. nick bryant reports from new york. in a city of ambition, in a city of abundance, a scene that looks like a throwback to the days of the great depression. these people were queueing forfood handouts, the length of the line a measure of the desperation. every person has a story of need. almost all are economic victims of covid—i9. only a few weeks ago, restaurant workers, cleaners, labourers, now thrown out of work. alfredo moreno was laid off last month. we have a little bit of money saved, so we're trying to survive with that. while, you know... when do you think the money will run out? we don't know yet. we have talked with our landlord to see what we're going to do this month. but i don't know how we're going to survive. even in this time of crisis, mary bautista spoke of her civic and national pride. we are a nation, we support each other,

peter bowes, bbc news. you if you're currently experiencing the virus or not. a special cotton bird is used to take a swab from your nose or your throat and sent to a lab to look for signs of the virus. the uk has been criticised for failing to take out more of these tests, especially for front line health workers having to self—isolate if they or their family display virus symptoms. in england a total of only 10,000 tests per day was achieved in evans —— on wednesday, with swabs tested predominantly in laboratories run by public health england, but with the help of universities and commercial la bs help of universities and commercial labs the government hopes to increase that daily figure to 100,000 tests a day by the end of the month. today health secretary matt hancock has been saying the figure does not include the other type of testing, that is the antibody test which tells whether or not you have had the virus and developed some level of immunity. that antibody test uses a drop of blood which is place

peter bowes, news, los angeles.s. criminals are preying on fears around coronavirus to defraud the most vulnerable members of society. that's a warning from the national crime agency. it says scammers are selling uncertified home testing kits for covid—19, which is illegal, and setting up fake charity appeals. they're warning us to be on our guard. it is 8am. —— ten past eight. one of the most troubling elements of the covid—19 pandemic is the number of deaths happening outside of hospitals, particularly those in care homes, which aren't captured in the government's official daily figures. the government has now announced it will test residents and staff that show symptoms, but campaigners say that some of our oldest and most vulnerable citizens have been "airbrushed" out of the picture. breakfast‘s graham satchell has been speaking to workers at a care home where 16 residents have died with the virus. these pictures were taken for us by care home staff. it looks normal but what has happened here at oak springs in l

peter bowes, bbc news.t over one million people. experts say more than 50,000 people have died, with the number of reported cases doubling in the last week. italy's death toll has reached almost 14,000 and spain's reported over 1,000 deaths in a single day, taking its total to 10,000. the united states is the world's third worst hit country with nearly 6,000 fatalities. there are nearly a quarter of a million confirmed infections in the us. a significant proportion of the country's deaths have been in new york. our global health correspondent, tulip mazumdar, reports on the events that led to more than one million infections. a milestone that nobody wanted to reach. it's believed the outbreak started here, at a wholesale seafood market in wuhan in china at the end of last year. by early january, the country confirmed it had identified a new coronavirus, and cases there started to soar. it didn't take long for covid—19, as it was later named, to then spread all around the world. it took more than two months

peter bowes, bbc news, los angeles. to impose a lockdown is easing restrictions from today. children in denmark will return to primary and nursery schools, four weeks after they were closed. other restrictions on borders, leisure venues and gatherings of more than ten people will remain in place. our correspondent adrienne murray is in copenhagen. how are people greeting the gradual easing of these restrictions from today? i think so far, there's been quite widespread support for the measures that the government has brought in because it acted so quickly. actually, the lockdown here is certainly a lot less restrictive thanit is certainly a lot less restrictive than it is in places like the uk or france, for that matter. however, some parents understandably are feeling anxious about their children coming back to school at first. health experts say it makes sense because children appear to be a lot less susceptible to the virus. what has been the scale of the coronavirus infection rate in denmark? well, the latest figures

peter bowes, bbc news, los angeles. on how to ease the country's lockdown restrictions. 23,000 people have died from the coronavirus there. 0ur paris correspondent is hugh schofield. what might this plan involve? we know the key thing about the plan, may 11 is the day when everything is supposed to change, two weeks from now. president macron announced that may the 11th would be those hinged eight at which the full lockdown would end, but what we don't know is the detail —— made the 11th would be that hinged data. some schools will reopen on that day, we don't have any, we don't know if it will be organised regionally depending on where the coronavirus has been strongest all done by classes, and if classes go by, will they be half classes with the desk separated? what will happen at mealtimes, at canteen, what about when children wa nt to canteen, what about when children want to go to the toilet? this detail has not been spelt out and needs to be spelt out. on issues like commerce and shops, what shops will open, if cl

peter bowes, bbc news, los angeles.suppliers would pay people to take it away. the price of west texas intermediate plunged as low as minus $37 a barrel because of the drop in demand caused by coronavirus. there aren't enough places to store the oil being produced, so buyers were being paid to take the supplies off producers' hands. we can speak to our business correspondent ben thompson who is in west london. will this drop in the cost of crude feed through to petrol and diesel prices? ina word, prices? in a word, no. what we should be clear about is that this is the united states. 0ne clear about is that this is the united states. one of the global measures of oil prices but not the only one. you touched on wye, an unprecedented slump in demand. at the same time, simply nowhere to store it. this is related to future oil contracts, traders, investors buying oil and saying we will pick it up ona buying oil and saying we will pick it up on a sudden date at a certain price. those contracts come true today and there is now

peter bowes, bbc news, los angeles.lows a plea from staff to ease the burden on their workloads during the coronavirus crisis. they say letter deliveries from monday to friday will continue as normal, while parcels would continue to be delivered on saturdays. revised plans to mark the 75th anniversary of ve day have been announced. the coronavirus outbreak means the usual street parties and parades cannot go ahead. the queen will instead make a special address to the nation and people will be encouraged to join a doorstep sing along to dame vera lynn's wartime anthem, we'll meet again. as big movie studios across the world have either shut down or greatly scaled back their operations, one part of the industry that it still going strong is animation. hundreds of animators across the country are working at home and being keptjust as busy, if not busier, than before the lockdown as ramzan karmali explains. animation. everything from children's tv shows like this to big movie productions, video games, tv adverts and even co

with more on that here's the bbc‘s north america correspondent peter bowes.t illustrates a quite unique situation. it reallyjust illustrates how bad the situation continues to be. and we are getting end of herd firm new york still a huge number of people dying for the six day in a row. more than 700 people losing their lives to coronavirus in new york. not quite as high but similar situations in major cities around the country. a major disaster that effectively opens up disaster that effectively opens up funds to the regions where that kind of disaster is declared. here in the uk a lot of newspapers have been reflecting on the part that the uk has passed the sombre milestone of 2000 for the top is actually more doesn't any other country. has this been a moment for reflection for america as well? that number. i think as every day goes by and we reach these milestones, 20,000, 21,000,i we reach these milestones, 20,000, 21,000, i think we're ina 20,000, 21,000, i think we're in a continuous moment of reflection. almost unthinkable, these numbers. and we keep on

with me now is our north america correspondent, peter bowes. f that white house news conference, the president, of course, has a famously discursive style in these news co nfe i’e nces . famously discursive style in these news conferences. so was it clear to you what was new in what he was saying? well, it was clear to me that there was very little new in what the president was saying, and i think more than most of these white house coronavirus briefings, this was more about the election coming up was more about the election coming up in november than it was actually telling us about anything new about the current situation. he indeed mentioned the election several times and spent much of the first 40 minutes or so telling us how well the united states had done, compared with other countries. and it was a litany of successes as the president sees litany of successes as the president sees it. he's talked about the number of ventilators that have been produced, and the fact that there is now a surplus of ventilators in this country, and that the u

peter bowes, bbc news, los angeles. putin, has extended restrictions in the country for two more weeks, saying the peak of the outbreak has not yet been reached. the president has admitted that there is a shortage of protective kit for medics. we're joined now by moscow correspondent sarah rainsford. we should say there is quite a long delay on the line. sarah, how badly affected has russia been? well, the numbers here are still rising and certainly president putin said yesterday the worst is yet to come for russia, he said scientists are telling him the peak year in terms of the infection rate has not yet been reached. so while russians are starting to get restless under lockdown, certainly indicators are suggesting there are more people on the streets across the country now. the message from president putin very clearly yesterday evening was that russians must remain patient, they must remain in their houses as far as possible because the situation here is still serious. the numbers around 93,000 people with coronavir

earlier i spoke to our north america correspondent peter bowes, and put it to him that president trump'sttack on the who is being seen as a way of deflecting criticism for his own handling of the response to the pandemic. that is the main criticism, that president trump is trying to deflect criticism and, especially, criticism based on what he did or didn't do in the month of february. this is after he imposed a ban, effectively a ban on travel from china to the united states, which he has, on many occasions, hailed as a major decision in terms of slowing down the spread of coronavirus in this country. and it seems he was particularly hurt, particularly annoyed by criticism, who criticism of that travel ban at the time. but in terms of withholding funds, $400 million to $500 million, this is a major blow to the who. the us is the major contributor to that organisation. it isn't a final decision. it is pending a further review. but it does calculate some of the complaints we have heard from donald trump going back several weeks now. i was looking at the timeline. it is absolutely true. wh

i'm joined now by our north america correspondent, peter bowes.out testing and he says he has done 4.8 million but he wants more. he wants more and governors around the country want more and over the last couple of days the president has come in for criticism from republican and democratic governors that say they simply do not have enough tests, specifically to move towards the first phase as outlined by the president himself, the first phase of reopening their individual states and getting people out of their homes and we have been hearing quite a different story from the president and vice president and what some of the governors are saying. we heard from the president, responded to that, saying many more tests on the way, 4 million americans having been tested and also thank the vice president mike pence will be speaking on a conference call on monday to those governors around the country. it remains to be seen whether they are satisfied with what the federal government is 110w what the federal government is now saying about testing but clearly

earlier i asked our north america correspondent, peter bowes, about dr fauci's comments.his administration is coming under increasing criticism for not doing enough earlier to stop the spread of the virus. dr fauci, who has really become the medicalface, if you like, of the fight against coronavirus in the united states, as part of the trump administration, is saying that things could be a little bit different. some lives could have been saved if those mitigation measures had been brought in earlier, but to use his words, he said there was a lot of pushback at the time against measures to close down the country. and donald trump would say that he in fact did take action earlier. at the end of january he effectively closed the borders to those foreign nationals who had been in china, china at the time the epicentre of the global pandemic. so the president has defended himself on this charge a number of times. he's also pointed out that dr fauci has complained in the past about a lack of information, presumably again touting china, a lack of information about the disease an

least that could have happened, with this terrible, terrible virus. 0ur north america correspondent peter bowes from the briefing. the tone from president trump as it has been before over the past few days, overwhelmingly positive about the eventual outcome, talking in optimistic terms, talking about light at the end of the tunnel and also giving an update about the help that's being given to states around the country, the 3,000 military medical workers that have been sent to hospitals to help the doctors and nurses who in some places, especially new york city, are really stretched to the limit. talking about the hundreds of ventilators and thousands of face masks that have been distributed around the country and again we continue to hear complaints, desperate complaints in some places, that they simply don't have enough equipment. and the president really stressing once again that the federal government is sending that equipment out to states on a necessary basis where certain places, the numbers begin to peak and then drop down and the equipment, he says, has to be moved around the country ac

with me now is our north america correspondent, peter bowes.owed to carry out tests on how important is that? this is a very significant ramping up of testing in new york state. the governor wants to get up to 40,000 tests every day. currently, those larger pharmacies have been carrying out tests in new york and elsewhere united states, but this executive order which he said he plans to sign one small pharmacies, high street chemists, to carry out these tests and make it easierfor people to carry out these tests and make it easier for people to have the test. the test will take place at the chemist, and the amp will be sent away to a laboratory to be analysed. the government also announced he is increasing the availability of antibody testing for those first responders, doctors, nurses, firefighters, police officers, people most likely to come into contact with others who may infect them with the virus, and for hospital starting from today will carry out those antibody tests that will determine whether those people are immune to the virus. york

so, we look forward to that. 0ur north america correspondent, peter bowes, says we've heard a differentsident trump. andrew cuomo, the governor of new york has over the past few weeks been one of the president's harshest critics but also a case of praise where praise is deserved and that is what he has been presenting the president with over the last 2a hours or so when he agrees with the president's actions, indeed thanking him for some of the measures he has taken over the last few weeks and he is talking about testing at the moment being up in new york state. and that was the latest theme of the latest press briefing. and president trump made the point, in fact, he is getting on with the vast majority of governors around the country. and i think it is fair to say there has been a lot of bipartisan support and cooperation during this crisis, this medical crisis. clearly there have been differences over the availability of ventilators and testing around the country. but by—and—large, as far as the president sees it, the country has come together to try and fight this epidemic. and, pet