sophie hutchinson, bbc news.ou can find out more about the symptoms of the coronavirus and how to protect yourself on the bbc news app and website. time for a look at the weather. here's helen willets. not great on the weather front. we have numerous flood warnings and rain on the way. the wind has been the main story today. we still have a lot of showers around and about and the wind is still blowing a gale gci’oss and the wind is still blowing a gale across northern and the wind is still blowing a gale gci’oss northern areas and the wind is still blowing a gale across northern areas particularly. we had more snow today, winter returning across scotland. a wintry element to showers across the south wales hills. as we go through the evening and overnight, showers easing and still a bit more snow to come across scotland even at lower levels as we pick up an arctic northerly wind. as that sets in we will see the sky is clear. a sharper and more widespread frost in the north. a few icy patches where we will see late

our health correspondent sophie hutchinson has been finding out.hy are health workers more at risk? all doctors and nurses and other health care workers are at increased risk of covid—19 because of the high levels of exposure they get through their patients, and that's why protective equipment is so essential to them. particularly at risk are those who look after patients with breathing difficulties, because the virus is transmitted in minuscule droplets in their breath, coughs and sneezes, so intensive care experts who have to insert tubes into patients‘ airways to connect them to ventilators, or those involved in resuscitation, carrying out chest compressions and ear, nose and throat specialists are all at exceptionally high risk of getting the virus. do all patients pose the same risk? well, the risk isn'tjust about how often a person is exposed to the virus, it's also about how much virus is transmitted into them. and that quantity is known as viral load. it's believed that the sicker the patient, the more virus they expel from their bodies. so

sophie hutchinson, bbc news.alk first of all about those changes announced in the last hour to sick pat’- announced in the last hour to sick pay. let's talk to our economics editor faisal islam who is in our business unit. significant announcement? tell us more about that. a couple of big announcements since the action plan was launched yesterday morning. on statutory sick pay as announced by the prime minister at prime minister's questions, the eligibility of three days' weight for that is gone, so on the first day, this £94.25 a day sick pay can be paid when the legislation brought forward by the health department goes through. there is a couple of interesting things here. firstly, this is paid for by businesses, there isn't going to be taxpayer funding for that so businesses will have to stump that up. freelancers and self—employed don't apply, about 5 million of those, it is for paid employees. and there is this sort of remaining issue about, can they do this just for coronavirus self isolators? i don't think

the bbc has been flooded with your questions, and r health rrespondent sophie hutchinson has been tryingo answer them. >> i'm about to do some shopping for my at-risk self and my 90-plus mother-in-law. do i have to sanitize each item? sophie: it is believed the virus can live on some services for 72 hours. if you want to bsure your shopping is in contaminated, you have to wash it with soap and water. >> should i go to a wedding this weekend? sophie: sadly, the answer is no. toyou should geddings or should not go to wedngs--you shou not go to weddings or have contact with others unless it idaessential. ther is you might unknowingly pass the virus on to someone at risk. >> is it safe to take anti-inflammatorikdrugs ibuprofen? sophie: the concern is that anti-inflammatory drugs might weaken the immune system, which is time to fight off the virus. although officials do not know if it is true, but the s tsible thing take paracetamol instead. >> but if you are taking an y anti-inflammat the advice stopur doctor, don't taking it without checking first. what is the advice for newborn babies, esp

reived nearly 15,000 questions about the .ronavirus from our viewe our health correspondent sophie hutchinsonas been looking at the most common concerns. >> my dad has got a chronic lung disease, copd, and i would like to know how dangerous is coronavirus for people like him. sophie: for anyone with a lung condition such as chronic obstructivpulmonary disease, or for asthma, there is an increased risk of coronavirus. charities are urgiy people take medication they need with them and manage their conditio. the virus is dangerous because it attacks the tissuesnd airways deep inside the lungs. >> i'm wondering if once i have had the illness and i get over it, i will thene safe because i will be immune. is tt the case? sophie: the truth is we don't know come up but it highly unlikely you could get the coronavirus more than once. there have been a small nuer of reports from china of people who say they have had it twice. but usually with a virus, once you have recovered you have anti-bodies, and they protect you in case you come into contact with another infected person. >> i just wanted to kw how

sophie hutchinson, bbc news.ook at the impact coronavirus is having on religious practice around the world. today, we have closed the book on apartheid and that chapter. more than 3,000 subway passengers were affected. nausea, bleeding, headaches and a dimming of vision — all of this caused by an apparently organised attack. the trophy itself was on the pedestal in the middle of the cabinet here. now, this was an international trophy, and we understand now that the search for it has become an international search. above all, this was a triumph for the christian democrats of the west, offering reunification as quickly as possible, and that's what the voters wanted. this is bbc news, the latest headlines: spain and france follow italy in announcing emergency restrictions on citizens to combat the coronavirus pandemic. american airlines cuts three quarters of its international routes as passengers stay put through the pandemic. more now on the spanish government's decision to impose a national lockdown to try to con

sophie have had the virus. hutchinson. he is a day to put sophie hutchinson.re's a date to put in your diaries: the international olympic committee has announced that the tokyo olympic games will go ahead, but one year later than planned. the postponed games will now begin on the 23july, 2021, and will still be officially called the tokyo 2020 games. japan says that it's budget for the games now exceeds us$25 billion. i'm joined now by tobias harris, a japan analyst at teneo intelligence. he's in washington, dc. tobias, july 2021 seems the most logical solution? shore, and i think both the japanese government and the ioc faced pressure in all directions that eventually it was an inevitable decision that had to happen. they we re decision that had to happen. they were strongly criticised, both the ioc and were strongly criticised, both the iocandjapan, were strongly criticised, both the ioc and japan, for appearing to delay a decision and eventually it was taken out of their hands by national federations. was taken out of their hands by nationalfederations. the

sophie hutchinson, bbc news. you have been watching newsday. outbreak. we'll ask what they can do to coax people back. and before we go, we'd like to leave you with these pictures. this is a rescue with a difference in turkey. a ten—year—old boy was dangled into a well in the south—east of the country to rescue a puppy of the country to rescue a puppy that. down there and after pulling it out safely, we watched it. looking as good as new. hello there. well, the weather ‘s been quite unsettled really, often quite windy with a number often quite windy with a number of showers around. we certainly have plenty of these on thursday and this was one of the shower clouds are spotted on the sides around the wolverhampton area. the satellite picture shows showers swirling around an area of low pressure that is moving out of the north sea at the moment but that's not the last of the lows. we have another couple of swells of cloud, another coming in late on friday and another one working in just—in—time for the weekend. if you're out and about for the nex

sophie hutchinson.set, go! a large group of runners out today keeping fit, but the question now is for how much longer. concerns about the coronavirus mean the government may ban mass gatherings. it's understood the measure could be brought in as early as next week, in order to free up emergency services to deal with the virus. the evidence tells us that stopping mass gatherings doesn't have a huge impact on the spread of the virus. but, for example, the decision‘s been taken in some countries because of the impact on public services, and because when you have a mass gathering, that draws on the police and the ambulance service who need to support it. today, the death toll in the uk jumped — almost doubling from 11 to 21 people. nearly all of those who lost their lives were in the at—risk groups, aged over 60, with underlying conditions. but it's emerged that one was not. there are now more than 1,100 confirmed cases in the uk. one of them is a new—born baby and its mother. but officials believe the tru

sophie hutchinson, bbc news. you have been watching newsday. i‘m lewis vaughan jones in london. hit in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. we‘ll ask what they can do to cushion the blow. and before we go, we‘d like to leave you with these pictures of a rescue with a difference in turkey. a 10—year—old boy was dangled into an oil well in the south—east province of diyarbakir to rescue a puppy that was stuck there. after pulling it to safety and washing it in a nearby pond, the puppy was left looking good as new. no problem at all. that‘s all for now. stay with mariko. bye—bye. hello there. well, the weather‘s been quite unsettled really, often quite windy with a number of showers around. we certainly have plenty of these on thursday and this was one of those shower clouds spotted in the skies around the wolverhampton area. now, the satellite picture shows showers swirling around an area of low pressure that‘s just moving out to the north sea at the moment but that‘s not the last of the lows. we have another couple of swirls of cloud, one coming in late on friday and another one

our health correspondent, sophie hutchinson, has been finding out.rses and other health care workers are at increased risk of covid—19 because of the high levels of exposure they get through their patients, and that's why protective equipment is so essential to them. particularly at risk are those who look after patients with breathing difficulties, because the virus is transmitted in minuscule droplets in their breath, coughs and sneezes, so intensive care experts who have to insert tubes into patients' airways to connect them to ventilators, or those involved in resuscitation, carrying out chest compression and ear, nose and throat specialists are all at exceptionally high risk of getting the virus. do all patients pose the same risk? well, the risk isn'tjust about how often a person is exposed to the virus, it's also about how much virus is transmitted into them. and that quantity is known as viral load. it's believed that the sicker the patient, the more virus they expel from their bodies. so doctors and other health care workers treating the ver

sophie hutchinson, bbc news.s guide to what symptoms to look out for and what you can do to protect yourself. stocks are plunging, the neco was down 10%. falls and other asian markets. the united states and europe saw some of the biggest ever single day losses. portugal and belgium have become the latest european countries to close schools. france announced similar m essa 9 es france announced similar messages earlier. 60 have died. the brazilian president says he has been tested and is awaiting the results and in canada, it's been confirmed the wife of prime ministerjustin trudeau has tested positive. justin trudeau is not positive but both the couple are self isolating for 1h days. sports events a re isolating for 1h days. sports events are disrupted. the english premier league will hold an emergency meeting on friday as arsenal's head coach has tested positive. inks are watching. hello there. however continues in a rather u nsettled however continues in a rather unsettled mood. we had big towers yesterday with

sophie hutchinson, bbc news.last hour health secretary matt hancock appeared on the sophie ridge programme on sky news. he was asked about media reports that elderly people would shortly be told to self—isolate, potentially for a period of months. that is in the action plan, yes, and we will be setting it out with more detail when that's the right time to do so. because we absolutely appreciate that it is a very big ask of the elderly and the vulnerable and it's for their own self protection. are we talking about days, weeks away? how long are we talking? well certainly in the coming weeks, absolutely. that the health secretary matt hancock. our political correspondent nick eardley is here. what is the latest on the government thinking on how to deal with a coronavirus outbreak? the government continues to say everything it's doing is based on a science, the advice it's getting, doesn't want to ta ke advice it's getting, doesn't want to take any measures to early. it doesn't want to do anything that might not be

sophie hutchinson, bbc news. i'm joined now by our health editor, hugh pym.ople concerned and confused about the plans for the over 70s? yes, after yesterday's announcement that over 70s in due course might have to isolate for months. i'm told there will be more clarity provided under the cobra meeting and press conference. lots of people want that clarity and we will hear that this guidance doesn't mean that if you are 71, fit and well and still going out to work that you should suddenly stop doing that. it is about taking precautions to avoid large gatherings of people. there will be something there to reassure people it is possible to leave the house if you are over the age of 70. but if you are over the age of 70. but if you have an underlying condition, it will be different, they will be a warning that it is prudent to stay indoors and that will apply to people of all ages. maybe someone with cancer or compromised immune system. that those people may have to stay—at—home for a certain period of time because of the risk posed by the virus. we will also le

sophie hutchinson, bbc news. 0ur assistant political editor norman smith is in downing street.me minister speaking earlier saying it should be business as usual at the moment but saying they are very much prepared to take this in hand if there is a wider transmission. i think the name of the game today was all about reassurance, just trying to calm things down a little bit, to reassure people that, yes, the prime minister is involved and on top of the situation after facing some criticism for not calling cobra earlier and reassuring people the nhs is well prepared and there are contingency measures if the situation gets worse. we didn't actually get a worked out battle plan today, we are told that will have to wait until tomorrow. i think that tells us that ministers are very wary of being stampeded into taking out unnecessarily disruptive or economically damaging measures. in short, they want to avoid causing any sort of panic, which is why we heard from the prime minister is saying today, yes, by all means wash your hands and used tissues properly but go about your life as no

sophie hutchinson, bbc news.to what symptoms to look out for and what you can do to protect yourself. log onto bbc.com.au/news. let's tell you about a rescue with a difference a 10—year—old boy was dangled into an oil well in the southeast province of diyarbakir to rescue a puppy that was stuck there. after pulling it to safety and washing it in a nearby pond, the puppy was left looking good as new. and you can get in touch with me and most of the team on twitter — i'm @bbc mike embley. hello there. well, the weather's been quite unsettled really, often quite windy with a number of showers around. we certainly have plenty of these on thursday and this was one of those shower clouds spotted in the skies around the wolverhampton area. now, the satellite picture shows showers swirling around an area of low pressure that's just moving out to the north sea at the moment but that's not the last of the lows. we have another couple of swirls of cloud, one coming in late on friday and another one working in just in time f

our health correspondent sophie hutchinson reports.his is how south korea is fighting the new coronavirus. it has the largest epidemic outside china. in comparison the number of cases in the uk is still very small, but today officials said they were ramping up measures as part of the next phase aimed at delaying the spread here. we will get 5096 of all the cases over a three—week period, and 95% of the cases over a nine week period if it follows a trajectory we think it is like to —— likely to. if they are spread out in the nhs over two or three years, that would be easily manageable but it is the fact they are so heavily concentrated. he explained why slowing the virus was important. he said it would push the peak of cases toa said it would push the peak of cases to a later stage when the nhs would be in to a later stage when the nhs would beina to a later stage when the nhs would be in a better position to cope. it would buy time for scientists to better understand the virus, and that as the weather gets warmer infection rates might

sophie hutchinson reporting there.er professor chris whitty said the vast majority of people in all age groups would recover but it was a mistake for young people who are healthy to think they would all just "breeze through" the pandemic. meanwhile, doctors and nurses working on the front line are calling for nhs staff who have symptoms to be tested quickly so they can return to work. our health editor hugh pym reports. coughing. a patient who‘s coughing sees the gp at the bridgwater surgery in watford. it‘s a specially organised service for patients with respiratory problems, on a different floor to the rest of the practice. this may or may not be coronavirus, you know, we can‘t say for certain, because you‘ve got underlying asthma... the gp sends her onto hospital to decide whether a test is needed. many doctors and nurses themselves say they want virus testing for nhs staff, so if they develop symptoms and they don‘t test positive, they can return to work more quickly. we are very much on a war footing at the moment

sophie hutchinson, bbc news. you can find out more about the symptoms of coronavirus and how to protect yourself on the bbc news app and on our website. that's it. now on bbc one, time for the news where you are. hello and welcome to sportsday. i'm chetan pathak. coming up, all the latest on the coronavirus cancellations and postponements. with the australian grand prix reportedly off and some drivers flying home, we'll be live in melbourne for the latest. as the government says it's considering banning sporting fixtures in the uk, but not immediately, the premier league says matches will go ahead as normal this weekend with fans in attendance. and manchester united get their biggest away win in europe for nearly seven years, scoring five in austria in front of a crowd ofjust 500. hello and welcome to the programme. we will be live in melbourne with the latest from the australian grand prix in a moment but first some breaking news in the last few moments. arsenal have announced in the last few minutes that their

our health correspondent, sophie hutchinson, has been finding some answers. some shopping for my at risk self and my 90 plus mother—in—law, do i have to sanitise each item? it is believed the virus can live on some services for 72 hours so if you want to make sure your shopping is not contaminated your shopping is not contaminated you have to wash it with soap and water. should i go to a wedding this weekend? the water. should i go to a wedding this weekend ? the answer sadly water. should i go to a wedding this weekend? the answer sadly is no, you should not go to weddings or had contact with others unless it is essential. there is no penalty if you do but the danger is that even if you're not in an at—risk group you might unknowingly pass the virus on to someone who is. is it safe to ta ke on to someone who is. is it safe to take anti—inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen? the concern is anti—inflammatory drugs might weaken the immune system which is trying to fight off the virus. at the moment it isa fight off the virus. at the moment it is a theory and health

our health correspondent, sophie hutchinson, has been finding some answers.l, it's believed the virus can live on some surfaces for up to 72 hours, so if you want to be sure your shopping isn't contaminated, you have to wash it with soap and water. sadly, the answer is no. you shouldn't go to weddings or have contact with others unless it is essential. there is no penalty if you do, but the danger is that even if you're not in an at—risk group, you might unknowingly pass the virus on to someone who is. well, the concern is that anti—inflammatory drugs might weaken the immune system, which is trying to fight off the virus. it is a theory at the moment. health officials here say they don't know if it is true but that the sensible thing is to take paracetamol instead. but if you are already taking an anti—inflammatory on the advice of your doctor, then don't stop taking it without checking first. it's an anxious time for parents, but the advice hasn't changed. schoolchildren, like all of us, are meant to wash their hands regularly. and doctors say even if a new

sophie hutchinson has been answering some of your questions.pist and i work in two care homes... can tradespeople still come and complete jobs at my house? well, it's a bit of a grey area. the government has said you should only go to work if it's absolutely necessary, but it has said that construction workers can continue with theirjobs. so, if you do have a painter or a decorator at home, then it's essential that you keep up good hygiene and remain a safe distance of at least two metres apart. will divorced parents still both be able to keep seeing their kids — even if they live in different houses from each other? well, it's a question that has caused great confusion and concern, but the answer is yes. if parents are living apart, then children can travel between their different homes and maintain what's being considered as essential contact. my daughter's in student accommodation, can i go and collect her? well, if a family member is well and hasn't been quarantined, it seems reasonable that they should be allowed to go back home. so, yes,

sophie hutchinson, bbc news.a number of confirmed cases in the uk have risen to 40, it has gone up by four from 36 to 40. that is the latest from the department of health in the last minute or so. the number of confirmed cases rising to 40. let's get the latest from our chief political correspondent. that steady rise just political correspondent. that steady risejust underlining political correspondent. that steady rise just underlining the message from the prime minister that we should be prepared for all eventualities. it is clear listening to him today, they are expecting those numbers to rise, the number of cases of people falling ill but the disruption that goes with it. we know they are planning emergency legislation that will allow the government to take emergency measures if they felt they needed to. why do stand that would go through parliament by the end of the month but they said they will not need to be powers until next month. they don't know where this is going to go, they feel they can still contai

sophie hutchinson, bbc news. our health correspondent, michelle roberts is here.awaiting an update from the uk government on figures but we have others? scott and say they have 171 confirmed cases, an increase of 18 on yesterday. numbers will keep going up as we are expecting but we are only testing those patients who are only testing those patients who are in hospitals. so it is very difficult to compare what we were doing last week with current numbers. this is the problem. i spoke to a family member with a virus last night. she rank 111, they said yes, it looks like you have it. self—isolate. she needs to know if she really does have it. there is no test. how will the government respond if it doesn't have that information to hand 7 respond if it doesn't have that information to hand? because we know there are lots of cases around in there are lots of cases around in the community, it is more productive to test the most vulnerable people who are in hospital, so you have a goodidea who are in hospital, so you have a good idea of what treatment they need, whether

and the health secretary is currently leading a meeting of the emergency cobra committee, sophie hutchinsonge shows of the new coronavirus can affect the lungs. the red and yellow area points to a severe respiratory infection. with warnings for the worse case scenario might see one in five workers off sick, the prime minister said action is being taken to make sure they would not be left out of pocket. the health secretary will bring forward, as part of our emergency legislation, payment of statutory sick pay from the very first day you are sick instead of just four days under the current rules and i think that is the right way. nobody should be penalised, mr spiegel, for doing the right thing. when the prime minister brings for the legislation, will he guarantee that workers' rights to sick pay from day one as he is indicated will apply on statutory sick play, will apply, those currently not legislated will have to make a terrible choice between health and hardship? the prime minister was jeered when he replied that the number has risen again, one of those newly infected is a member of sta

sophie hutchinson, bbc news. fears we heard expressed there ministers say the nhs is well—prepared for an epidemic. 0ur health correspondent nick triggle has been looking at the plans. it's likely the number of cases will continue climbing, possibly for two or three months until it peaks. so how well—prepared is the health service? the nhs has quickly put plans in place to deal with the virus. most patients so far have been sent to the five big specialist infectious disease hospitals in england. between them they can care for over 100 patients at any one time in dedicated isolation facilities. there are also another 25 hospitals across the uk with expertise and have started admitting patients. those with mild illnesses are being told to self—isolate at home. what if there is a surge in cases, though? this week all hospitals in england were put on an emergency footing and told to prepare for cases. they may need to cut back on other work and have been told to work up plans to segregate coronavirus patients. there

sophie hutchinson, bbc news.k now to our correspondent simonjones who is outside itv news meridian in maidstone where staff have been sent home following a coronavirus case at an nhs office based in the same complex. what can you tell us about it?” what can you tell us about it? i am outside the maidstone studios. this is home to itv show is like take me out and also the itv news meridian team. there is also on the same site and number of other businesses and organisations. a north london nhs foundation trust. they have confirmed that last night, a member of their staff was confirmed to have coronavirus. that member of staff had coronavirus. that member of staff ha d rece ntly coronavirus. that member of staff had recently gone to italy. they have now been transferred to london for treatment. the trust is stressing that they had an office role so this is not a member of staff who came into contact with patients, nevertheless, other staff members at the trust who were based here have been put into self isolation.

sophie hutchinson, bbc news.to dr peter 0penshaw, a professor of experimental medicine at st mary's hospital in london. thank you for being with us. can we contain this coronavirus in this country, do you think? it seems extraordinarily infectious. it seems to spread despite the introduction of measures and i think it is certainly not too late to try and slow down the peak. what are the characteristics's you have studied viruses for many decades, what are the characteristics, unique characteristics, of this one? we know about coronavirus, there are at least for that because common colds, this seems to cause more of a cough and make people feel a bit sweaty and make people feel a bit sweaty and feverish and usually only causes and feverish and usually only causes a few days of illness and then you recover. u nfortu nately, a few days of illness and then you recover. unfortunately, some people do get more severe disease and develop viral new meaning to their pneumonia and that can be nasty and thatis pneumonia and

laura: sophie hutchinson with the answers to your coronavirus questions.efore we go tonht, let's recap our top stories. the white house is pushing a $1 trlion stimulus package to offset the economic damage of the coronavirus. this would include one-time direct payments to americans in the coming weeks. the european union is closing its doors to travelers from outside the bloc for 30 days. the measure comes as deaths soar in italy and spain. france enacted a strict lockdown effective today. new york city's mayor is warning that the shelter-in-place measure could soon come into effectere. the city has more than 800 confirmed cases. san francischas already put in place a similar measure affecting its 7 mon s.reside for a slightly lighter take on the vir, a priest in maryland is offering drive-through confessions to make sure that the soul is healthy as well as the body. the father posted a statement on thesa church's websitng that he intends to maintain issix-footnce while penitents stay in their cars. very creative solution for these troubled times. i am lau

sophie hutchinson has more. on your marks, get set, go. group of runners out today, keeping fit, but the question is for how much longer? concerns about the coronavirus mean the government may ban mass gatherings. it is understood the measure could be brought in as early as next week in order to free up emergency services to deal with the virus. the evidence tells us that stopping mass gatherings does not have a huge impact on the spread of the virus, but for example, the decision has been taken in some countries because of the impact on public services and because when you have a mass gathering, it draws on the police and the ambulance service who need to support it. today, the death toll in the uk jumped, almost doubling from 11 to 21 patients. all those who lost their lives were in the at risk groups, aged over 60 with underlying conditions. there are now more than 1,100 confirmed cases in the uk. one of them is a newborn baby and its mother but officials believe the true figure could be as many as 10,000. the world health organization

be tested, but instead are being asked to stay at home. 00:07:13,017 --> 4294966103:13:29,430 sophie hutchinsonnce tells us that stopping mass gatherings does not have a huge impact on the spread of the virus, but for example, the decision has been taken in some countries because of the impact on public services and because when you have a mass gathering, it draws on the police and the ambulance service who need to support it. today, the death toll in the uk jumped, almost doubling from 11 to 21 patients. all those who lost their lives were in the at risk groups, aged over 60 with underlying conditions. there are now more than 1,100 confirmed cases in the uk. one of them is a newborn baby and its mother but officials believe the true figure could be as many as 10,000. the world health organization has raised serious concerns about the uk's handling of the outbreak and its aim —— and its strategy to allow enough people to be infected with the virus who then recover, in order to build up so—called herd immunity. meanwhile, hundreds of scientists have risen to the government urging them to introdu

rules telling you to stay at home and only go out for specific reasons. 0ur health correspondent sophie hutchinsonouse? it is a bit of a grey area. the government has said you should only go to work if it is absolutely necessary but it has said that construction workers can continue with theirjobs so if you do have a painter or a decorator at home it is essential you keep up good hygiene and remain a safe distance of at least two metres apart. will divorced parents still both be able to keep seeing their kids even if they live in different houses from each other? it's a question that has caused great confusion and concern but the answer is yes. if pa rents a re concern but the answer is yes. if parents are living apart, then children can travel between their different homes and maintain what is being considered as essential contact. can i walk a dog that needs exercise twice a day? well, it's tricky if you have a pet that needs walking several times a day. the rules are that you should only exercise once, but they don't say how far you should go over how long. what if i want to take my pet to the

sophie hutchinson has been trying to answer some of them for you. hello.d i'm happy to come into school, but what about older staff, and staff who have children at home, as well as staff who have families that might be at risk? what's the advice for them? well, that's something to be worked out by each school and each individual teacher — can they stay on in the classroom? and how many pupils do they need to accommodate from vulnerable families or with key worker parents? i'm a single parent who works full—time and both my parents work full—time. i've got absolutely no childcare in place for my child at the moment, because in the summer holidays he would normally go to a holiday camp, which subsequently are now closed, too. if i have to take six weeks off work, where do i get the money to pay my bills from? well, it's a very tough situation, and one that many people are facing. if you have any paid holiday that you could use, that might help. otherwise, the local council might have a hardship fund, and you could ask for some bills to be paused, but they wi

our health correspondent, sophie hutchinson, has been taking a look at some of your most common concernsus is coronavirus for people like him? for anyone with a lung condition such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or asthma, there is a raised risk from the coronavirus. charities are advising that people take any medication they might need with them at all time, and really manage their conditions. the virus is dangerous because it attacks the tissues and airways deep inside the lungs. i'm wondering if, once i've had the illness and if i thankfully get over it, i will then be safe because i'll be immune? is that the case? well, the truth is we don't know, but it seems highly unlikely that you could get the coronavirus more than once. there have been a small number of reports from china of people

social distancing — what it means exactly, and how you can best do it. 0ur health correspondent, sophie hutchinsonvice for children have more than one home. the rule of thumb is that there should be no travel except where essential but it seems reasonable to argue that it is essential that children see their parents. if you are going out, though, think about taking a car if possible or walking. it is tricky. inevitably supermarkets are places where large numbers of people congregate. if you 90, numbers of people congregate. if you go, maybe go on your own and don't ta ke go, maybe go on your own and don't take anyone else from the family. and some supermarkets have set up marks on the floor near the pill is people at a safe distance from each other. the big one is, when you get home, wash your hands. well, it is hard if you live with someone who is in an at—risk group, but perhaps when you get home, think about putting your coats and bags away somewhere separately and wash your hands thoroughly. try to keep a good distance from them, and you could consider, if it is possible, doing separate cookin

the day the bbc has received nearly 15,000 questions on coronavirus. 0ur health correspondent sophie hutchinsonic lung disease, copd, and i would like to know, how dangerous is coronavirus for people like him? for anyone with a lung condition such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or asthma, there is a raised risk from the coronavirus. charities are advising that people take any medication they might need with them at all time and really manage their conditions. the virus is dangerous because it attacks the tissues and airways deep inside the lungs. i'm wondering if, once i've had the illness and if i thankfully get over it, i will then be safe because i'll be immune? is that the case? well, the truth is we don't know, but it seems highly unlikely that you could get the coronavirus more than once. there have been a small number of reports from china of people who say they've had it twice, but usually with a virus, once you've recovered, you have antibodies — and they protect you in case you come into contact

sophie hutchinson, bbc news. sophie with some of the main development so far today.e are expecting the prime minister and his medical and scientific experts to appear at a news conference, possibly within ten minutes‘s time. that is the expectation but we will be there in downing street as soon as that happens. in the past half hour... the head of the world health organization has said the only way to beat coronavirus was to test everyone who believed they had symptoms. the most effective way to prevent infections and save lives is breaking the chains of transmission. and to do that, you must test and isolate. you cannot fight a fire blindfolded and we cannot stop this pandemic if we don't know who is infected. we have a simple message for all countries — test, test, test. test every suspected case. if they test positive, isolate them and find out who they have been in close contact with two days before they developed symptoms and test those people too. of the world health organisation, that message was very clear, not enough is being done. not specifically mentionin

sophie hutchinson, bbc news.on emergencies and it has said that it wants to pretty soon take the next planned interventions in the response to coronavirus. so that will mean things like homes isolated together. at the moment, if you or i have a carfora at the moment, if you or i have a carfor a fever we are at the moment, if you or i have a car for a fever we are supposed to stay at home for seven days, but this will mean that if family members we live with or flatmates or anything like that show symptoms, we are all going to have to stay in the house for a while. likewise, talking about shielding vulnerable groups, that largely means older people and is likely to involve them staying at home, social distancing for those groups as well, and there has been some criticism of the government for not doing more, for not moving faster, and the line we keep hearing from downing street is that they are following the science and that they wa nt to ta ke following the science and that they want to take these measures at a

sophie hutchinson, bbc news.ence has been looking ale and a little more detail at the plans the government set out this morning. —— looking in a little more detail. the government has set out its response to coronavirus in its battle plan. there are four key stages that have been set out, contain, delay, research and mitigate. containing involves chasing up the close contacts of those who are infected and asking them to self—isolate. even if this doesn't work, it has a benefit of delaying major outbreaks, which means valuable research can be done in the meantime to help develop a vaccine. steps are being taken to mitigate the impact. the incident drops as we get into the spring and the summer. even if the numbers do grow, they don't grow so enormously and as we get to the spring and summer, there is a natural drop off. containment is still possible about what might happen next? health officials and indeed the pm admitted yesterday that transmission is now likely. it would take three months for the cases to peak a

here's our health correspondent, sophie hutchinson. 0n on your marks, get set, go. keeping fit, but the question is for how much longer? concerns about the coronavirus mean the government may ban mass gatherings. it is understood the measure could be brought in as early as next week in order to free up emergency services to deal with the virus. the evidence tells us that stopping mass gatherings does not have a huge impact on the spread of the virus, but for example, the decisions being taken in some countries because of the impact on public services and when you have a mass gathering, it draws on the police and ambulance service you need to support it. today, the death toll in the uk jumped, almost doubling from 11 to 21 patients. all those who lost their lives were in the address groups, aged over 60 with underlying conditions. there are now more than 1100 confirmed cases in the uk. 0ne of them as a newborn baby and its mother but officials believe the true figure could be as many as 10,000. the world health 0rganization has raised serious concerns about the uk's

sophie hutchinson reports. this image shows how the new coronavirus can affect the lungs. uk is still low, but with warnings that a worst—case scenario might see one in five workers off sick, the prime minister said action was being taken to ensure they wouldn't be left out of pocket. the health secretary will bring forward, as part of our emergency coronavirus legislation, measures to allow the payment of statutory sick pay from the very first day you are sick, instead of four days under the current rules. and i think that's the right way forward. nobody should be penalised, mr speaker, for doing the right thing. members call out "hear, hear." when the prime minister brings forward the emergency legislation, will he guarantee that workers' right to sick pay from day one, as he has just indicated will apply on statutory sick pay, will apply to all claimants and those people that are not currently eligible for statutory sick pay therefore will have to make a terrible choice between health and hardship? the prime minister was jeered when he replied that some of those would b