first we'll hear from rupert wingfield—hayes injapan — a developed nation which believed it had dealtnd wave. japan looks like it is now in the early stages of a major outbreak of covid—19. there are more than 10,000 confirmed cases and that's growing by around 500 a day. the whole of japan is now under a state of emergency, that began in tokyo and other big cities to weeks ago, that began in tokyo and other big cities two weeks ago, then it was extended to the whole of japan last week but it's important to notice, this is not the same as the sort of lockdowns seeing in the uk, in europe and in the united states. people are still going to work, shops are still open, the transport network is still open and indeed, over the weekend, we saw large numbers of people still going out to parks and public places recreation and not doing the sort of social distancing we are seeing elsewhere. for the last two months it had looked like japan was going to escape worst of this pandemic, but it's now looking like that has changed dramatically and the failure of the government to take really tough me

rupert wingfield—hayes, bbc news, in tokyo.s temporarily laying off 36,000 staff. the decision will affect 80 percent of cabin crew, ground staff, engineers and head office staff, who will see part of their salaries paid by the government. the shortage of protective equipment for health and social care staff has been a key issue as coronavirus has spread. the government says there were some initial distribution problems, but insists it's now delivering millions of items a day. but hospitals, care homes and gps are still contacting factories directly, asking for fresh supplies. here's our business reporter, simon browning. off the truck and straight to the factory floor. the demand for ppe is urgent, and uk factories who've been besieged by request for help, are getting to work. we can stop any production that we're doing at the moment. they've encouraged us to stop their production in favour of the nhs. jenny got a call from an nhs supplier, who can't get its normal stock from overseas. her first order is for 5,000 sets of scru

rupert wingfield—hayes, bbc news, tokyo.uckingham palace has cancelled one of the major royal events of the year, the order of the garter ceremony at windsor. it's the latest public event, including big sporting occasions, to be cancelled because of the pandemic. there are now calls for an independent inquiry into the decision to allow some major events to go ahead before the lockdown, such as the match between liverpool and atletico madrid at anfield on march 11th, when thousands of fans travelled from spain — a country badly affected by the pandemic. steve rotheram, the mayor of liverpool city region, says it went against the guidance of the world health organization, as our sports editor, dan roan, reports. despite celebrations, it's a day now viewed with controversy. with their city already a coronavirus hotspot and their country in partial lockdown, some 3000 atletico madrid fans arrived in liverpool last month. it is now thought the fixture may be linked to the surge of cases seen here. if people have contracted corona

rupert wingfield—hayes, bbc news, in tokyo. day's other developments: in italy, the number of patients being treated has fallen for a third successive day. the daily number of deaths recorded has fallen by almost 100 to 437. the death toll in italy has topped 25,000, with millions locked down. spain's lockdown has been extended until may the 10th — parliament approved a request from the prime minister. spain is one of the worst—hit countries, with more than 21,000 deaths. people there have been under severe restrictions for more than five weeks. all german states have announced plans to make face masks compulsory. bremen was the last federal region to back the regulations. masks will be compulsory on public transport throughout germany, and nearly all states will also make face coverings mandatory when shopping. south africa is to deploy 70,000 troops to help keep order — it's been struggling to enforce a lockdown, and a ban on alcohol sales. south africa has almost 3,500 confirmed coronavirus cases. the british government's ch

rupert wingfield—hayes, bbc news, in tokyo.and there's a fierce debate in the state of georgia over the governor's order to reopen some non—essential businesses on friday, including gyms, spas and hair salons. health experts and several georgia mayors have responded with concern, worried that the decision could lead to the coronavirus spreading much more rapidly. even president trump has criticised the reopening — he thinks it comes too soon. they can wait a little bit longer, just a little bit, not much. because safety has two have that. so, i told the governor very simply that i disagree with his decision. but he has to do what he thinks is right. earlier i spoke with the editor of the atlanta journal—constitution, kevin riley. it's a very confusing situation here in georgia because just yesterday we found out what the governor wanted and then we are hearing from president trump that he thinks it's a bad idea. now the governor has responded saying he is going to stick with his plan. so i think a lot of georgians are unsure ab

starting with rupert wingfield hayes injapan, a developed nation which had thought it had dealt withd wave. japan now looks like it is at the beginning of a major outbreak where you've seen more than 10,000 reported cases growing at about 500 a day. the worst hit area is here in tokyo where it looks like the healthcare system is starting to look like it may be overwhelmed. we have seen reports in recent days of people being turned away from multiple hospitals in the city. the whole of japan is now under a state of emergency, but that is not the sort of lockdown you are seeing in the uk, and japan, the government has not done widespread testing. despite that, it looked like japan might avoid the worst of the pandemic, but it now looks like the lack of tough action to suppress the covid—19 virus looks like it may have a serious price. india has more than 17,000 covid—19 cases so far, around 550 people have died of the infection. we are in our fourth week of a lockdown here, which is set to go on until may 3 at least. farming, fishing, construction in rural, not very populated areas are

rupert wingfield—hayes, bbc news, in tokyo. let's return to events in the us.e state of georgia over the governor's order to reopen some non—essential businesses on friday, including gyms, spas and hair salons. health experts and several georgia mayors have responded with concern, worried that the decision could lead to the coronavirus spreading much more rapidly. even president trump has criticised the reopening — he thinks it comes too soon. they can wait a little bit longer, just a little bit, not much, because safety has two predominates. we have two have the... ,so, predominates. we have two have the... , so, itold the governor very simply i disagree with his decision but he has to do what he thinks is right. let's get more on this with kevin riley, he's the editor of the atlanta journal—constitution. kevin, it's great to talk to you, thanks for your time. you know the president has been encouraging some dates stop they should liberate themselves, he has been saying. most people think this is going against democratic governors, of course, but even he think

rupert wingfield—hayes, bbc news, tokyo.ter ceremony at windsor. it's the latest public event, including big sporting occasions, to be cancelled because of the pandemic. there are now calls for an independent inquiry into the decision to allow some major events to go ahead before the lockdown, such as the match between liverpool and atletico madrid at anfield on march 11th, when thousands of fans travelled from spain — a country badly affected

four of our correspondence, andrew harding in south africa, yogita limaye in india and rupert wingfield—hayeshat involves using the blood of those who have survived the illness. nhs blood and transplant has started approaching people who have recovered from the virus, asking them to donate blood for a trial of convalescent plasma therapy. the hope is that antibodies in that blood will help combat the virus in others. 0ur science correspondent rebecca morelle has more. it isa it is a race to save lives. in the hunt for new treatments, blood may hold the key. nhs blood and transplants have hold the key. nhs blood and tra nspla nts have started hold the key. nhs blood and transplants have started approaching people who have recovered from covid—19. their blood contains antibodies, which are produced by the immune system and destroy the virus. the hope is to start a clinical trial to see if these antibodies can help patients who are currently ill. scientists have welcomed the move, but say the uk has been too slow. in terms of the uk, i think there are many aspects of this pandemic we will look b

rupert wingfield—hayes in tokyo ending that round—up from asia.ult decisions about whether to continue cancer treatment for some patients due to the coronavirus pandemic. chemotherapy weakens the immune system potentially putting some people more at risk of covid—19. the clinical lead for cancer care in england admits there is a huge pressure on resources but says the nhs is finding new ways of delivering care. it comes as new cancer hubs involving public and private hospitals have been launched to carry out urgent surgery. our health correspondent lauren moss reports. battling coronavirus is the biggest challenge the health service has ever faced. and while cases of covid—19 climb, routine care for many cancer patients has been affected. roisin has incurable breast cancer. but her chemotherapy has now been suspended for three months because it puts her more at risk from the virus. it's terrifying, and then the fact that they've stopped the treatment that i know is what's keeping me alive, there's no doubt about that. to have that taken away from

rupert wingfield—hayes, bbc news, in tokyo., mike pompeo, has renewed his attacks on beijing questioning whether there was a cover—up in the early stages of the pandemic and he accused china of censoring those who tried to warn the world. we strongly believe that the chinese communist party did not report the outbreak of the coronavirus in a timely fashion to the world health organization. even after the ccp did notify the who of the applicant didn't share all of the information it had. instead it covered up how dangerous the disease is, it didn't report sustained human to human transition for a month until it was in every province inside of china. it censored those who tried to warn the world in order to halt testing of new samples and it destroyed existing samples. the ccp still has not shared the virus sample from inside china with the outside world, making it impossible to track the disease's revolution. —— evolution. our correspondent, barbara plett usher, is in washington for us with more on mr pompeo's comments. mr pompe

we'll be taking the view from japan, india, south africa and brazil, starting with rupert wingfield—hayeshich had thought it had dealt with the virus, but is now facing a second wave. japan now looks like it is at the beginning of a major out make where you have seen more than 10,000 reported cases growing at about 500 a day, the worst hit area is here in tokyo where it looks like the healthcare tokyo where it looks like the healthca re system tokyo where it looks like the healthcare system is starting to look like it may be overwhelmed. we have seen reports in recent days of people being turned away from multiple hospitals in the city. the whole of japan is multiple hospitals in the city. the whole ofjapan is under a multiple hospitals in the city. the whole of japan is under a state of emergency but that is not the sort of lockdown you are seeing in the uk, andjapan, of lockdown you are seeing in the uk, and japan, the government is not done widespread testing despite that, it looked that japan done widespread testing despite that, it looked thatjapan might avoid the worst of the pandem

here‘s rupert wingfield—hayes in tokyo.was going to do, but now we have it, we have the declared state of emergency for tokyo, for osaka and for five other prefectures. mostly those are prefectures that surround these two very, very large urban areas. if you take tokyo and its surrounding areas, it really is the world‘s largest metropolitan area, with a population altogether of around 37 million people. so this state of emergency really does affect a vast number of people. we understand it‘s going to go into effect initially for a month, but it won‘t be the same as the lockdowns that have been declared in the uk or in america or in some other european countries because the japanese government simply doesn‘t have the power to do that. this is an ‘advisory‘. the japanese government is requesting that businesses close. it‘s requesting that ordinary citizens stay at home as much as possible, but a lot of life will continue to go on. the tokyo transportation network will continue to run. a lot of people will continue to go to wo

rupert wingfield—hayes is in tokyo.orld's largest metropolitan area with a population altogether of around 37 million people. the state of emergency really does affect a vast number of people. we understand it is going to go into effect initially for a month but it will not be the same as the lockdowns that have been declared in the uk or in america or in some other european countries because the japanese government simply does not have the power to do it. the japanese government is requesting businesses close and requesting that ordinary citizens stay—at—home as much as possible. but a lot of life will continue to go on, the tokyo transportation network will continue to run and a lot of people will continue to go to work. but it is hoped because this is a disciplined and law—abiding society that it will be enough to stem the growth of covid—19 here. 1.3 million people have coronavirus worldwide. a staggering statistic. but the impact goes far beyond just those who've been infected. lockdowns across the world are affect

rupert wingfield—hayes is in tokyo.rounding areas, it really is the world's largest metropolitan area with a population altogether of around 37 million people. the state of emergency really does affect a vast number of people. we understand it is going to go into effect initially for a month but it will not be the same as the lockdowns that have been declared in the uk or in america or in some other european countries because the japanese government simply does not have the power to do it. the japanese government is requesting businesses close and requesting that ordinary citizens stay—at—home as much as possible. but a lot of life will continue to go on, the tokyo transportation network will continue to run and a lot of people will continue to go to work. but it is hoped because this is a disciplined and law—abiding society that it will be enough to stem the growth of covid—i9 here. stay with us on oustide source, still to come: is coronavirus playing havoc on your sleep? we'll speak to a dream expert about the impact

first we'll hear from rupert wingfield—hayes in japan — a developed nation which believed it had dealtjapan looks like it is now in the early stages of a major outbreak of covid—19. there are more than 10,000 confirmed cases and that's growing by around 500 a day. the whole of japan is now under a state of emergency, that began in tokyo and other big cities two weeks ago, then it was extended to the whole of japan last week but it's important to notice, this is not the same as the sort of lockdowns seeing in the uk, in europe and in the united states. people are still going to work, shops are still open, the transport network is still open and indeed, over the weekend, we saw large numbers of people still going out to parks and public places recreation and not doing the sort of social distancing we are seeing elsewhere. for the last two months it had looked like japan was going to escape worst of this pandemic, but it's now looking like that has changed dramatically and the failure of the government to take really tough measures to suppress the virus looks like it may have a high price

rupert wingfield—hayes there.westminster but we understand it will be chris whitty and sir patrick vallance with dominic raab? that's right, dominic raab, the foreign secretary and the person who is deputising for the prime minister while he is in hospital, he will share the press conference and has done previous ones as well. —— he will chair the press co nfe re nce . ones as well. —— he will chair the press conference. a difficult time for him, we would expect some kind ofan for him, we would expect some kind of an update on the condition of the prime minister if there is one to give. downing street have said they wa nt to give. downing street have said they want to be transparent about this. of course it is a fine judgment between the personal details of somebody‘s medical condition but of course when that person is the prime minister, there is a national interest in that. i think they do wa nt to interest in that. i think they do want to be transparent but will only tell us things when there is something to sa

from tokyo rupert wingfield hayes reports. this was central tokyo just a few days ago.kyo, 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, the gate is now closed, there is a sign on it saying it is closed because of the coronavirus. this has just happened in the last 24 hours or so. tokyo is finally enforcing these sorts of measures to keep people out of public spaces. this was the same park a week earlier. it was pictures like these posted on the internet that prompted the government to act. the prime minister's chief medical adviser told me, without a major change in behaviour, tokyo could now be on the verge of a major outbreak. very fortunately, until today, we have been able to avoid the worst case scenario. i think we are at the crossroads, unless japanese people or society as a whole, behave very responsibly to avoid places or events that put t

rupert wingfield—hayes in tokyo ending that round—up from asia.s been worst hit by the pandemic. his "music for hope" concert was streamed live worldwide and featured four hymns. reged ahmad reports. # ave maria...# andrea bocelli, one of the world's most famous and enduring tenors. he sang alone in this iconic milan cathedral, save for an organist. bocelli's voice filling the cavernous, empty space. the tenor was invited to sing by the mayor of milan and the body that looks after the cathedral, streaming his performance live online for free on easter sunday. translation: first of all, i would like to specify that it is not a concert, but a prayer. that is what it is. and that is what it is meant to be. bocelli is one of a long line of musicians performing on social media during the coronavirus lockdown. many other artists have been singing and playing from their homes at a time when they can't hold concerts in person, posting their performances on social media as a way of reaching their fans. andrea bocelli's concert was aimed at uniting people d

our correspondent rupert wingfield—hayes is in tokyo. ng to us this morning. what is the very latest from where you are? well, the latest from where you are? well, the latest is in that introduction as you said, things are starting to pick up particularly in tokyo and osaka but here in tokyo over the last week, we have seen the number of confirmed cases of coronavirus really starting to climb quite rapidly in the graph is looking like london and new york, two or three weeks ago so there was a real fear now, i've spoken to specialists here and we are really on the verge of a major out, they say, if something is not done. there is mounting pressure on the government to do something in last night, by minister shinzo abe said, i'm preparing to announce a statement of emergency and will formally do that tonight. —— prime minister. he will come out and formally declare a state of emergency for these seven prefectures including greater tokyo. that will give the government some powers to order business is to close and to advise people to stay at

from tokyo, rupert wingfield—hayes reports.tral tokyojust this wingfield—hayes reports. was central tokyo just a few this was central tokyo just a few days ago. no social distancing, certainly no lockdown. in the same street today. something has started to change here. it began last weekend with the city public parks. this behind me is the gate to a park in central tokyo, one of the city's biggest and most popular parks. normally on a saturday afternoon it would be at this time of year jammed afternoon it would be at this time of yearjammed with people holding parties, cherry blossom parties, because the cherry blossom is coming into full bloom. you can see now, though, that the gate is closed with a sign saying it is close because of coronavirus. this has happened in the last 2a hours or so. happened in the last 2a hours or so. tokyo is finally enforcing these measures to keep people out of public spaces. this was the same park a week earlier. it was pictures like these posted on the internet that prompted the government to ac

rupert wingfield—hayes.ational supply team, supported by the armed forces, is "working around the clock" to deliver equipment. as the death toll from coronavirus continues so, what‘s it like on the front line? well, let‘s speak now to dr michael brooks, who has been working in the james paget university hospital in great yarmouth. thank you forjoining us. are obviously not wearing your protective equipment at the moment but have you got enough? yes, actually pulled the response from the james paget hospital has been very impressive. it is a hospital that has always prided itself in patient and staff safety and at the very start of this outbreak, they had organised themselves quite rapidly to provide us with equipment. when i went in after the guidance from the world health organization was released on the 19th of march, we found that they had provided us with the full equipment. we had respirators, we had gowns, gloves, and when the subsequent guidance was updated by public health england, they also provided