rashawn ray, thank you for your time again. thank you.museum in the uk to re—open its doors next week, after the easing of lockdown restrictions. but to minimise risks, visitors will have to first book online, and there'll be one—way routes with social distancing and other safety measures. here's our arts editor, will gompertz. so, here we are in trafalgar square at the national gallery, which has been closed for over 100 days, the longest the building has been shut in its entire history. so the masterpieces are available to see again, but the experience is going to be very different. masks on. so you can'tjust wander around the gallery like you used to be able to do. instead, you have to choose one of three prescribed routes. they've all got a bit of everything in them, but broadly speaking, they take about 30 minutes. a, over there is the italians, b, over there is the northern europeans and c, also in this direction are the british. now, i'm going to choose route b because i think something extra special lies in wait. there's a one—way

rashawn ray. you are watching bbc news.oronavirus infections as nearly 260,000 new cases are recorded in 2a hours. russia's ambassador to the uk rejects allegations his country has interfered in british politics or tried to steal coronavirus vaccine research. prosecutors in france believe a large fire inside nantes cathedral was started deliberately. stained glass windows and the grand organ were badly damaged. it took around 100 firefighters to bring the blaze under control. it comes a little more than 12 months after the devastating fire at notre dame cathedral, as reged ahmad reports. huge bright orange and red flames seemed to engulf the middle of this ancient gothic building as black smoke billows out from between the two towers. it took around 100 firefighters to get the blaze in the historic nantes cathedral under control, but not before it blew out the stained glass windows at the front and completely destroyed the grand organ inside. locals gathered anxiously outside to watch the firefighting effort. this cathedral

thank you very much, dr rashawn ray. thank you. you are watching bbc news.onavirus infections, as nearly 260,000 new cases are recorded in 2a hours. russia's ambassador to the uk rejects allegations his country has interfered in british politics or tried to steal coronavirus vaccine research. here the transport secretary, grant shapps, has insisted that life could be back to normal by christmas, as long as people stay alert to the potential threat from coronavirus. scientists had questioned the practicality of the government's vision, set out by borisjohnson when he announced a further easing of lockdown restrictions in england. 0ur political correspondent nick eardley reports. just a few weeks ago, streets across the uk were deserted. now, in many places, life is starting to pick up. shops, cafes, pubs, all opening again. but coronavirus hasn't gone away. many things will look different for some time. in rochdale, extra precautions are being taken because of concern at the number of new cases. people are being told to limit the number of visitors to their h

people already were unhealthy. >> reporter: and less access to health care makes matters worse, says rashawn ray. >> black men are less likely to utilize health care because of discrimination that's embedded withinhe health care system. there's a recent study, really important for covid-19, showinga thats were six times more likely to be turned away from testing once they even went to the hospital. >> this family's story upsetting. >> reporter: in a detroit case that made national news, 56-year old gary fowler died at home on april 7, having been denied a testt three hospitals. his father had died of covid hours earlier. his wife was hospitalized the same day. his children later tested positive, including h epson kembrell. >> i understand now why black people are the highest affected mortality rate with this because we're being pushed home to die and affect our family. >> reporter: that's one reason why reverend sheffield's arted a testing program that's already served thousands. >> we understand tt because of the hue of our skin, you know, we're being treated differently than other people.d cov

a little earlier we spoke to dr rashawn ray at the brookings institution.ing him to read us part of that anti—slavery speech. i mean, frederick douglass gave this speech onjuly 5th, actually, 1852, and one of the statements he made was: "what to the american slave is your 4th ofjuly? i answer; a day that reveals to him more than all other days in the year. the gross injustices and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. to him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciations of tyrants, brass—fronted impudence, your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanks—givings, with all your religious parade and solemnity, are to him, mere bombast, fraud, deception impiety and hypocrisy — a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages. there is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices more shocking and bloody than are people of these united states, at t

i've been speaking to to dr rashawn ray from the brookings institution.een widespread, notjust in the united states but across the world, and i think it highlights that john lewis was a revolutionary figure. and of course he has several quotes, but one of the ones that i always think about is when he says, "get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and redeem the soul of america". and i think that's where we are in this moment, notjust in the united states, but around the world. and i think he's going to be a galvanising light, moving forward to november, to put the united states on a different course. that's so interesting that you quote those words, because we spoke on this programme a few weeks ago about the words of frederick douglass, the abolitionist, of course, anti—slavery reformer, and the famous speech that he gave that still echoes through generations and echoes through time. you just quoted the words there. do you think the words ofjohn lewis will have a similar power? i think so. i mean he's had so many things that he said. i mean, on voting, f