Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC News Special 20240713

The red arrows flew over central london, and there were flypasts in edinburgh, cardiff and belfast. Music a nightingale sang in Berkeley Square by vera lynn i may be right i may be wrong but im perfectly willing to swear. And, ahead of a special evening of celebration, well speak to the welsh soprano, katherinejenkins, who has performed a medley of wartime favourites to an empty Royal Albert Hall. In other news, theres to be limited easing of lockdown restrictions in wales. At 5 00, well bring todays Coronavirus Briefing from downing street, led today by the environment secretary, George Eustice. Good afternoon and welcome to this bbc news special. Well be bringing you all the latest on coronavirus with the downing street News Conference at 5pm. But first, a two minute silence has been held across the United Kingdom to commemorate the 75th anniversary of ve day. Events are taking place all day, but public gatherings have been cancelled as the country remains in lockdown because of coronavirus. Victory in europe day marks the day in 1945 when britain and its allies accepted the Unconditional Surrender of nazi germany, bringing the war in europe to an end. The prince of wales and the duchess of cornwall led the silence from balmoral and the queen will address the nation this evening. Our first report is from our royal correspondent, nicholas witchell. In streets largely deserted due to the lockdown, britain remembered and gave thanks for the day when the Second World War in europe came to an end. The nations tribute was led by the prince of wales with the duchess of cornwall at the war memorial on the balmoral estate. A cannon at Edinburgh Castle marked the start of the two minute silence, and carefully managed moments of remembrance across the nation. At balmoral, as the silence ended, the prince of wales laid his wreath in tribute to the Second World War generation which overcame the tyranny of nazi germany. The cost had been high. Nearly 400,000 members of britains Armed Services lost their lives in the Second World War, and a further 60,000 civilians. Over the white cliffs near dover, two spitfires, the wartime Fighter Aircraft which played such a key role in the defence of britain, flying today in remembrance of the few, linking the communities over which they flew with the events of 75 years ago. Keeping watch is a man who led englishmen to victory against an earlier tyrant. His column stands at the very centre of the Great British commonwealth of nations. Crowds swirled below him in a riot of rejoicing by day and night. On this day in 1945, many tens of thousands of people took to the streets in joyous celebration that the war in europe was over. The contrast with those same streets today is striking. Mass commemorations have been made impossible but the nations remembrance has been made all the more poignant by the coronavirus losses. All of us who were born since 1945, are acutely conscious that we owe everything we most value to the generation who won the Second World War. And we remember the millions of people from across the United Kingdom, from across the world, who came together in world war ii to fight for our shared values. Values of freedom, of democracy, of peace. 75 years after the end of the Second World War, a nation in lockdown looked beyond its present challenges to give thanks. Thanks which will be expressed tonight in a special broadcast by the queen. Nicholas witchell, bbc news. The soprano katherinejenkins will perform a concert behind closed doors at the Royal Albert Hall to mark the 75th anniversary of ve day. Shell sing wartime classics by dame vera lynn, including the white cliffs of dover and well meet again. It will be streamed online on youtube this evening but for now heres a little taste of her performance of a nightingale sang in Berkeley Square. Music a nightingale sang in Berkeley Square by vera lynn i may be right i may be wrong but im perfectly willing to swear that when you turned and smiled at me a nightingale sang in Berkeley Square. Well, Katherine Jenkins joins us now. Catherine, you sound beautiful, but what a strange site it is in a empty concert hall. What was it like . Very surreal. The Royal Albert Hall is my favourite venue in the entire world. I actually found the performance quite emotional. You know, throughout singing i just quite emotional. You know, throughout singing ijust kept thinking of, hopefully we are going to bejoined by people thinking of, hopefully we are going to be joined by people across the nation from their homes who will be keeping me company and singing along, i hope. But usually, and im sure they will, usually you can see your audience and feel your audience, you are performing to them. So it must take Something Else to perform in a completely empty hall. Yes but that is why i was so thrilled when the Royal Albert Hall invited me to come and do this. I was actually meant to be presenting the 75th anniversary concert this evening in which understandably was postponed until later in the year, andi postponed until later in the year, and i think itsjust postponed until later in the year, and i think its just so postponed until later in the year, and i think itsjust so important that we get to celebrate this day in the very best way that we can, given the very best way that we can, given the circumstances. And so to be asked to do something thats never been done in its 150 year history was a massive honour, and ive spent the last few weeks doing Facebook Live concerts. Ive got used to singing without any feedback or applause or anything. So thats been my experience of lockdown. And you, of course, were involved in previous commemorative anniversaries for ve day, werent you . Yes, i did the 60th and 70th anniversary concerts at buckingham palace, sorry, Trafalgar Square and horse guards parade. When you are in that kind of concert you see how important it is to the veterans and their families, which is why ijust think it is lovely to see that people are doing all that they can to celebrate it today. And do you feel, then, that given the collective effort it hasnt been overshadowed 7 given the collective effort it hasnt been overshadowed . Ve day hasnt been overshadowed . Ve day hasnt been overshadowed by the pandemic . Absolutely. And there is so pandemic . Absolutely. And there is so much to come this evening. We have got the stream on youtube at 6pm this evening and then at 8pm there is a concert on the bbc which also will get everybody in the mood and a celebrate that with music of the era. It is not over yet, there are so the era. It is not over yet, there are so much more the era. It is not over yet, there are so much more to come the era. It is not over yet, there are so much more to come today. Very good to talk to you. Thank you so much. Katherinejenkins there. Thank you for your time. Im going to bring you some live pictures from washington now. We should be able to see very shortly President Trump who is at the Second World War memorial in washington, and he is about to lay a wreath. Here he comes. Leaders across the world are, of course, paying their own respects, laying wreaths. President macron did so only in france and the german chancellor Angela Merkel too. Earlier in france. Well, while we are watching these pictures from the uk and american viewpoint, the Second World War is a conflict that we won, but the narrative shifts considerably in russia where it is remembered in a considerably different light. The soviet union bore the brunt of the nazi war machine its estimated that for every single us soldier killed fighting the germans, 80 soviet soldiers died. So an estimated 27 million soviet citizens died during world war ii, including 11 million soldiers. While we watch the president of the United States and the first lady laying that wreath, we can speak to sir max hastings, historian and author of all hell let loose the world at war, 1939 1945. Hejoins us from hungerford. Thank you forjoining us. We are still seeing the pictures from washington as we hear your voice. But just put into washington as we hear your voice. Butjust put into perspective for us, i suppose, butjust put into perspective for us, isuppose, the butjust put into perspective for us, i suppose, the contribution of the United States as against that of russia. It was american wealth and amazing Industrial Resources that made victory possible alongside the russian human sacrifice. But britain was the force that kept defiance and freedom alive in 1940 41 but by 1942, by which time russia and the United States were in the war britain was pretty exhausted and the red army is sometimes forgotten and eventually marched to berlin wearing boots made in america because all the cattle had been killed in russia during the colossal struggle on the eastern front. They were eating spam, they were driving chevrolet trucks, so the red army did a lot of the killing and the dying that was essential to defeat nazism, but they did it with material provided largely by the United States, and to a lesser extent by britain. So American Resources were absolutely critical to defeating nazism, and so was russian human sacrifice. The russians are very sensitive about this. They feel that a right back to 1945 when they would not accept d day as may the 8th because they would only accept that germany had surrendered when a surrender document was signed in berlin one day after the germans surrendered to general eisenhower. To this day the russians celebrate ve day one day after us. They still feel that we dont fully appreciate the incredible sacrifice, the human sacrifice they made. I think Winston Churchill, if he were still here, would say of course the russians only came into the war at all because hitler invaded them. Before that they were hitlers allies. So history is quite complicated. Yes, it is. Quite a few people who know a lot about world war ii would still be very surprised to hear that relatively speaking american troops and british casualties on the battlefield were so very much less than those of soviet russia. Battlefield were so very much less than those of soviet russialj forget the exact numbers but roughly speaking britain and the United States took about 2 or 3 each of the total losses of the Second World War, whereas the russian percentage was far, far higher, and all sorts of countries we dont think much about like yugoslavia and greece and so on also lost enormous numbers of people. China lost 15 million. We a lwa ys people. China lost 15 million. We always have to remember that this was truly a global tragedy, a global struggle, and although britains role was absolutely vital, i personally believe that if Winston Churchill hadnt existed, i think that any other british leader would have made peace with hitler in 1940, so our debt to churchill and the worlds debt to britain is a very real debt. But if you look at the struggle in the global perspective, the russians did most of the killing and the dying that were necessary to defeat nazism. Sir max hastings, we left those pictures from washington and we can see you nice and clearly now. We are celebrating ve day today in the middle of this coronavirus pandemic. Im wondering whether you can see any parallels between the sort of struggle and the deprivation that people had to endure 75 years ago and in the preceding six years, and whats going on now. I think part of ourjob as historians is to try to bring perspective to it. We have to see that 30,000 deaths in britain due to coronavirus it is frankly tiny compared to the Second World War. The Second World War went on for six yea rs. The Second World War went on for six years. My mother, when i was little and my father was banging on about the exciting adventures he had in the exciting adventures he had in the war, my mother would say, dont listen to him for a moment, it was awful from listen to him for a moment, it was awfulfrom beginning to end the separations, the blackout, the rationing, the misery, the sacrifices so we have to keep a sense of proportion. What worries me at the moment is that there is one important parallel, that most of the people who did the dying that had to be done to win the war were young, and im afraid that the result of coronavirus, i think a lot of people dont understand, but this crisis wont just end dont understand, but this crisis wontjust end one morning when the lockdown ends. It will only stop because of the colossal economic consequences. 0ur generation, we are old, im 74. I worry about the young and there are lots of opportunities, and there are lots of opportunities, andi and there are lots of opportunities, and i do think its terribly important to focus attention on the potential loss of opportunities for the young to come out of all this. This will be a very long business, and we will need a lot of courage. I think one of the things that makes it hardest, at least in the Second World War, everybody could see the enemy, they could see this colossal evil of hitler and nazism and the japanese. Now, today, we dont see an enemy, but weve got this huge tragedy being inflicted upon the world which is going to cause us such Enormous Economic distress of which we havent even seen the beginning yet, and yet there isnt an enemy. You cant focus on who is to blame for this, so it is going to bea to blame for this, so it is going to be a very tough time. We are going to need courage but of a different kind. Ithink to need courage but of a different kind. I think we want to cheer ourselves up sometimes. The Second World War went on for six years. Although the economic fallout from this will go on a long time, we are not being asked to get into uniform, to kill anybody or even to put our own lives at risk, so weve still got a huge amount to be grateful for. What i do think it has in common between ve day today, this anniversary and where we are now, is that in 1945, the british people passionately wanted change. That in 1945, the british people passionately wanted changelj that in 1945, the british people passionately wanted change. I was just going to ask you. Im leaping in because i was speaking to a historian from the Imperial War Museum who talked about the huge social change that happened after the war, and do you think this might bea the war, and do you think this might be a moment when that happens youre . Some people were baffled, including stalin, that churchill was defeated in the general election, but the british people thoroughly understood the huge debt they owed to this great war leader, but they we re to this great war leader, but they were also right in thinking that churchill was not the man to give them the new britain that they wanted, i think, them the new britain that they wanted, ithink, so them the new britain that they wanted, i think, so that is why they put labour in, and labour did create the welfare state, the National Health service and so on, and i think the british people made a wise decision. My opinion is that we are going to see change on a scale, hard to guess at its nature, but we will all be a lot poorer, but i do believe there will be consequences and people will say, all right, if we are going to go through all this, we are going to go through all this, we have got to see all the businesses going bust and people losing theirjobs, people will once again say, we have got to build Something Better and different out of all of this. It is impossible to guess at this stage what form the change will take, but i do not think the british people will be wrong if they say, we have got to look at the ways in which we can do things differently and better, at the end of all this. So interesting. Thank you so much for your time. Max hastings, historian. Events are taking place throughout the uk today, but the commemorations are taking a different tone, with large gatherings cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic and people urged to celebrate at home. But thats not preventing the occasion from being marked in style. Duncan kennedy reports from portsmouth. Last post plays names, real people, lives lost, hope to come. Staring out from the Portsmouth Naval memorial, the list of some of those who couldnt come back and celebrate ve day. This morning, they made their absence felt on this national day of commemoration. I think our veterans need to be reminded how thankful we are for what they have achieved and what they have done. I think its also important to let them know they still inspire us today from that generation. Off the coast of dover, where spitfires and hurricanes once defended the nation, the red arrows soared over, thrilling those below. In rutland, 96 year old Second World War glider veteran ken 0dell marking his own silence in his own way. Were going to hang out the washing on the siegfried line. With todays two minute silence came the first of the nationwide street parties. This was chester. Coronavirus was not part of the planned ve day events so here and everywhere celebration has come with safety. This street would normally be having a Big Street Party anyway, so why dont we try and do something here . We waited until after the nhs clapped, wed had a drink, and i said, who fancies some singing . At wallington in surrey they are getting ready for their party. Up goes the bunting to connect with the nations mood of gratitude and relief at wars end. I think the sacrifices people made back in 1939 45, without them we wouldnt be living in the world we live in today. This is a special moment shared, collective. 0n ve day, Winston Churchill said, even if it is a hard struggle, we will not be the ones who fail. We didnt fail. And now we mark that perseverance, determination and will to overcome. In a minute well hear about how france and russia are marking ve day, but first, jenny hill is in berlin for us. 75 years ago, the reichstag was in ruins, berlin was destroyed and germany defeated. Today, berliners have a Public Holiday as this country commemorates not victory over but liberation from the nazis. Germanys past still overshadows society and politics today. Its one of the reasons, for example, that germany has been reluctant to assume a more significant military role in overseas conflicts. Today, 1600 International Guests should have gathered here for commemorations. Instead, because of the corona outbreak, events are rather more low key. But today is still a chance for this country to reflect on the atrocities perpetuated in its name which, to this day, for many germans, remain a great source of shame. Well, in russia, its may 9th which is celebrated as victory day, and it was a victory secured at enormous cost here. More than 27 million soviet citizens were killed in what russians refer to as the great patriotic war. And normally on victory day there are big patriotic events taking place all over russia. But not this year. Coronavirus has forced the kremlin to postpone what was going to be a massive military parade on red square and a big public event in the city centre afterwards. But president putin will be making an address to the russian people and there will be a fly past by the russian air force, 75 aircraft to mark 75 years since the defeat of nazi germany. Never in 75 years of commemorations has the tomb of the unknown soldier here at the arc de triomphe been so empty. No crowds of dignitaries and onlookers, just a small group of ministers carefully spaced around president macron. At a time when people are talking about solidarity in crisis, world war ii brings up mixed memories for france. Joy at liberation but also shame at the years of occupation that preceded it. 75 years ago today, that was something general Charles De Gaulle, then leader of the free french, understood. He framed the war as a story of National Resistance to replace the memories of division and defeat. This morning, president macron laid a wreath at the statue of Charles De Gaulle here in paris. Hes called on people to hang the colours of the french flag from their windows and balconies. A moment of shared european history remembered today in isolation. Lucy williamson ending that report. Lets turn to coronavirus now, and well have the downing street News Conference shortly. At the start of the bank holiday weekend, the westminster and devolved governments have played down suggestions that there could be a significant loosening of the lockdown restrictions. It follows accusations that there have been mixed messages about easing the measures. In the last hour, the Welsh Government unveiled minor changes, following a review which otherwise left the lockdown in place. The Prime Minister, borisjohnson, will address the country on sunday. 0ur Political Correspondent helen catt has the latest. On another bank holiday, these streets would be full of people out enjoying some may sunshine. Not today. Lockdown restrictions have been extended again in all four nations of the uk. But political leaders are now looking very cautiously to what comes next, and in wales the rules are being tweaked, starting monday. To allow people to be able to go outside to exercise more than once a day, but we will strengthen our regulations to make it clear that that exercise must be local. Our second planned change to the regulations will be to allow Garden Centres to open, provided that the two metre social distancing rules can be applied. And thirdly, we propose changing the regulations to allow local authorities to begin planning how safely to reopen libraries and municipal recycling centres. On sunday the Prime Minister will set out a plan for a gradual easing of restrictions in england, to move the uk towards a new normal. But his governments been accused of allowing mixed messages to develop. After borisjohnson told the commons some rules could change from next week, newspaper reports suggested greater freedoms. We have been clear all along that the message remains the same, people should stay at home in order to help protect the nhs and save lives. But equally, it is fair, people are rightly asking, well, as we get through the worst of this peak, as we start to get it under control, where do we go next . So the Prime Minister on sunday will be setting out where we go next. But hell be doing so in a cautious way. The government does plan to ditch the stay home slogan after the weekend. The four nations may now change rules at different speeds if they believe the transmission rate of the virus differs across the country. 0n first steps, like loosening rules on exercise, they are considering similar moves, though. I would put going out more for exercise in the open air as a nuanced change, rather than a fundamental change. So i think that those things can be looked at during the three weeks. I confirmed that the only change we are considering in the immediate term is to the guidance on outdoor exercise. I mentioned that yesterday and i will give you a further update on that over the weekend. Any changes will be monitored and no nation is suggesting an overnight lifting of lockdown. Its not a one way street, either. Rules could be tightened again if cases started to rise. Helen catt, bbc news. 0ur Political Correspondent nick eardley is here. Nick, the four nations seem to be may be doing something a bit different in terms of lockdown, but how different are they really . Slightly, but i dont think we will see anybody making massive changes in the next few days. I know we have seen reports over the last few days potentially about significant changes in england, but downing street in a briefing earlier making clear that it will be very limited changes that borisjohnson is talking about on sunday. He will be taking a very cautious approach, so i wouldnt expect life to look radically different for anybody on monday, really. What the Welsh Government has revealed today is perhaps an indication ofjust how limited that could be, so the three things that have changed all that will change in wales on monday is allowing people to exercise more than once a day, allowing local authorities to talk about safely reopening libraries and recycling centres, and allowing some Garden Centres, and allowing some Garden Centres to reopen if they can follow social distancing rules. We dont know for sure if that is what is planned in england, but i think it gives us a rough indication ofjust how limited the immediate term changes could be. We have already seen there will be a difference, because Nicola Sturgeon made clear that there is only potentially one change coming in scotland, the one about exercise being allowed more than once a day. So, we will see small, incrementalsteps, than once a day. So, we will see small, incremental steps, perhaps, from monday, nothing radical, but potentially slightly different in different parts of the uk. Interesting, even if the changes arent particularly different between the four nations, there is a certain amount of politics going on, isnt there, with a Labour Government in wales and the snp in scotland, they are keen to get their messengers out distinctively from the westminster government . Get their messages out. Absolutely. Nicola sturgeon and Mark Drakeford have been having their own Daily Press Co nfe re nces have been having their own Daily Press Conferences as well. Nicola sturgeon in her latest press conference hammering home the point that the reason she is potentially going to move slower than england and wales is because there is a fear in scotland that that capital eight. Here they come, George Eustice, the environment secretary. Welcome to a todays downing street press co nfe re nce. Welcome to a todays downing street press conference. Im joined by the director of nhs england, stephen powis. Before we give an update on the latest figures on the coronavirus and also our work to help support the vulnerable get access to food, today is of course the 75th anniversary of ve day. Although many of the lockdown measures that are in place and social distancing measures that are in place mean that many of the planned events have been unable to ta ke planned events have been unable to take place as originally envisaged, todayis take place as originally envisaged, today is an important day to pause and remember. 75 years ago people poured into the streets of our scarred cities to celebrate the end of that most difficult conflict. 0ur soldiers fought around the world. There were countless acts of bravery. 450,000 british people sadly lost their lives. It was a moment when our whole country pulled together. As desperate secretary i would like to take this opportunity to record the efforts of those who contributed in a non military way. A contributed in a non military way. A nightingale sang defra. To ourfarmers and the many women who joined the call to join the womens land army. In a moment i will give you an update on our work to support the vulnerable get a ccess our work to support the vulnerable get access to food. But firstly let me give you an update on the latest data from the cobra coronavirus data file. I can report that through the governments ongoing monitoring and testing programme, as of today, 1,000,630 tests for coronavirus have now been carried out in the uk, including 97,029 tests carried out yesterday. 211,364 people have tested positive and thats an increase of 4649 cases since yesterday. The 11,788 people are currently in hospital with the coronavirus, down from 12,688 the previous day. And sadly, of those tested positive for coronavirus across all settings, 31,241 have now died. Thats an increase of 626 fatalities since yesterday. This new figure includes deaths in all settings not just in figure includes deaths in all settings notjust in hospitals. And we ex press settings notjust in hospitals. And we express our deepest condolences to the families and friends of these victims. Turning now to our work to help the vulnerable get access to food, firstly, for the so called shielded cohort, that those who are clinically vulnerable, over 1 million food parcels have now been delivered to these households. And in addition, all of those on the shielded cohort have been added to a list giving them priority access to supermarket delivery slots. So far, around 400,000 people have been offered priority delivery slots by supermarkets, and around 1 million orders have been placed that people can shop normally and purchase the goods that they want to buy. There is, of course, a wider vulnerable group, those perhaps you have disabilities or who are elderly and perhaps dont have neighbours or relatives close by to help them, or indeed those with other conditions that dont put them in the clinically shielded group, but nevertheless make them vulnerable. And we have been working with the local authorities and some of the leading charities such as age uk, to put together a package of support to help these people get access to food. Many local authorities and charities have also been accessing the Good Samaritan app as part of the Good Samaritan app as part of the nhs responder volunteer programme and so far 79,000 shopping ru ns programme and so far 79,000 shopping runs have been carried out by volu nteers runs have been carried out by volunteers engaged in that programme. In addition, we are continuing to work with supermarkets to make available additional priority slots and for those in this group. But we also recognise that the Economic Impacts of coronavirus means that vulnerability is notjust about physical access to food. For some, there is also financial vulnerability. So today, we are announcing a new £16 million fund to support front line food charities. The fund will be used by fair share and wrap to support and increase the Food Distribution work currently do and we will expand their sourcing capacity. They will be delivering food to around 5000 front line charities and these include refugees, homeless shelters and rehabilitation centres. Finally, im conscious that there is a great deal of speculation about what the Prime Minister might say on sunday when he outlines a road map for the future and how we will evolve the current restrictions. The Prime Minister will outline any changes to the guidance on sunday. But in the meantime, despite the Sunny Bank Holiday, its vitally important that we continue to abide by the current restrictions, stay at home to protect the nhs and save lives. Thank you. Thank you, secretary of state. Id like to start by paying tribute on ve day to every member of the armed forces, and in particular the armed forces, and in particular the many doctors, nurses and other clinicians who serve in our military. The nhs was founded as pa rt military. The nhs was founded as part of the reconstruction of our country part of the reconstruction of our cou ntry after part of the reconstruction of our country after the Second World War, and since it has grown into the most trusted organisation in the country. Along with our armed forces and other Public Service organisations, the nhs is a rock for people in times of uncertainty. And as we have all found our way through this global pandemic, im proud of the partnership that the nhs and our armed forces have forged to give people the help that they need. In constructing the nightingales, rx gift pack capacity to boost our existing care services, the army and the nhs has worked hand in hand and achieve something quite extraordinary. 0ur colleagues working on the front line of the nhs have been extremely gave dumb grateful for all the help offered have been extremely gave dumb gratefulfor all the help offered by the military and government in the distribution of protective equipment. Today as we celebrate the service and dedication of our armed forces personnel, i want to remind those serving in the military that the nhs repays your service with tailored care. Whether thats physical rehabilitation or Specialist Mental Health care, in particular to help veterans to make the transition into civilian life. While a growing number of veterans are being referred for help year latest data indicates a drop in the number of people reaching out to Specialist Services in april. So for any military families watching today, remember, that if you need medical help, as is the same for anybody who needs help, particularly emergency help, then please come to us emergency help, then please come to us in the nhs. I would now like to move to the delhi presentation of data slides, and the first slide is a reminder that i wont go through in detail today because you have seen it many times before, of the five tests that the government has set for adjusting the lockdown. In the next slide, we have a slide, as is usual, looking at how the public have been complying with the social distancing instructions that we have all been given. This is data from google and it shows a seven day rolling average of the mobility of the public in various places, and you will see when it comes to transport and retail and recreation and the workplace, there has been a dramatic reduction since the social distancing measures were introduced. A little bit of an uptick in workplaces but i would remind you people are working in some workplaces although many are working from home. One other thing to point out in parks, you will see there is a bit of variation in the use of parks, which im sure is consistent with sunny weather and people going out a little bit more. In the next slide we look at the daily tests. You have heard the data for yesterday and you will have seen there has been an increase in the number of tests at the end of april and into may. In the next slide, you will see how that Testing Capacity is reflected in new cases. You will see a steady number of new cases being reported. These, remember, are those individuals who test positive in the testing programme. But as the capacity has increased, that number has not increased dramatically, reflecting that the social distancing measures are being complied with, they are working, and overall the spread of this virus is reducing in the community. In the next slide, we show how that tra nslates next slide, we show how that translates into those that u nfortu nately translates into those that unfortunately have to receive hospital care. And again, remember, that for the majority of people, over 80 , this is a mild illness, a flu like illness that you stay at home with. But for some it does require hospital admission. You will see that hospital admissions peaked and plateaued around the middle of april, and since they have been falling. Most obviously in london where the number of cases was highest, but also may be a little bit more slowly. But certainly in other parts of the uk, and there has now been quite a decrease in the number of people in hospital with covid 19. And then for the sickest patients in the next line you can see the usage of Critical Care beds for patients who have covid 19. Again, a minority, but these are the sickest patients who require the most intensive care. This shows the proportion of beds, and you can see the proportion has again been falling since the middle of april and is now down at below a third. The absolute numbers of patients in Critical Care beds with covid 19 is similarly falling. And then finally, we show data on deaths, and sadly you will have just heard of another 626 deaths in all settings today, but you can also see from this slide that when looking at the seven day rolling average, which means that we can correct the changes from day to day, there is again a decline in overall deaths that again has been occurring from the middle to the end of april. And then last is the international comparison. This shows the uk in all settings now with a lag on it, sorry, not with a lag on it, but the uk in all settings set from a particular start point for all countries and again the usual caveats that we give that comparisons between Different Countries is difficult and it will only be excess mortality, all cause mortality over a period of time of the pandemic that will probably be the pandemic that will probably be the best way to make this sort of comparison. Thank you. Thank you, stephen. We will now turn to questions, starting with our first member of the public with a question and thats alex from felixstowe. What is happening with brexit in the covid 19lockdown . Has it been put on hold or are you still going ahead with it . Thank you very much, alex. We are still going ahead with it. Brexit, in fact, we are still going ahead with it. Brexit, infact, is we are still going ahead with it. Brexit, in fact, is something that has already happened. We left the European Union at the end of january. We have a transition period that ends at the end of this year and we will ending that transition period on time as planned and we are still doing whatever planning is necessary to ensure that after that transition period we can trade normally and function normally as a country. Turning now to heidi from romford. And heidis question is. Heidi, i will start by trying to a nswer heidi, i will start by trying to answer that and stephen might also come in with some additional points. The important thing about the new tracing app that we are working on is quite critical as we start to evolve the restrictions we have and move from the complete lockdown of the country to one where we enable people to move around and perhaps to travel to work. As we get to that point, having that accurate data locally if there is an outbreak and an infection and if somebody tests positive, being able to have anybody who has been in close contact with them to self isolate is very important. The work that we have done suggests that if youve got around 60 of the population on this app then it would become highly effective. But even at lower rates than that it would be effective. We do recognise that some elderly people may not have a mobile phone and may not have an app, but also many will have family who will be able to support them to get such an app. And of course some of those, particularly the shielded group, may indeed continue to stay at home for longer periods of time and protect themselves. Stephen, is there anything to add . Yes, very good question. So, it is true that some of the older generation do not have smartphones. Although it is also true that many do and i know from my experience in health care not to underestimate the benefits that technology such as smartphones can bring to the older generation, and many of the older generation do indeed use this technology. And of course, the older generation are not the only people in society who may not have smartphones. So its absolutely correct that the app will not be the only way in which we will be able to monitor and track down people, or track down contacts of people, or track down contacts of people who have coronavirus Going Forward. It will be an important pa rt forward. It will be an important part but it will not be the only part. The next question we have is ben right from the bbc. Go ahead. Thank you, secretary of state. You dont wa nt you, secretary of state. You dont want to pre empt the Prime Minister, but the Welsh Government has announced modest changes to their lockdown rules before the Prime Minister speaks on sunday. Can we expect those measures to be mirrored in england, and what can you as the uk government do to ensure the public receive a very clear message . Look, our very clear message today is that, even though it will be a Sunny Bank Holiday, it is absolutely essential that people abide by the current restrictions and stay at home and dont succumb to the temptation to go out and about. We will have to wait for what the Prime Minister has to say on sunday, but i think what i can say is this he will set out effectively a road map of how we can evolve the current restrictions we have, this complete lockdown at the moment, to something where some things become possible in the short to near term and other things take longer. We have to be clear that there wont be any dramatic, overnight change. We will be very cautious as we loosen the restrictions we have, as the data we are outlining shows, we are not out of the woods and there are still major challenges with this virus. We will be living with this virus for some time to come, and it is therefore important to avoid that second peak that could overwhelm our nhs, that we evolve these restrictions carefully. I was also say this i would also say this. We work closely with the devolved administrations. They attend cobra meetings were some of these matters are discussed. Each administration has the freedom to have slightly different approaches, but we are working together to have a broadly similar uk approach. Did you want to come back . Yesterdays briefing promised us more data on how the r rate varies across the country when will we see that data . Is it true that the rate has to be universally true that the rate has to be u nive rsally low true that the rate has to be universally low across all four nations before we can see a significant lifting of the lockdown . Imight ask significant lifting of the lockdown . I might ask stephen. Significant lifting of the lockdown . I might ask stephenlj significant lifting of the lockdown . I might ask stephen. I cant give you the data by region. What has been said is that the r is somewhere between 0. 5 and 0. 9. It undoubtedly will vary from place to place and over time, but the important thing is that, as a whole, it stays below one. The five tests that were in the initial slide i showed, i went through them quickly but you will know what they are, and you just heard that one of them is to ensure that we dont risk a second peak and dont risk putting pressure on our Health Service that overwhelms it, and to do that, it is a requirement to make sure the r is below one and that new cases in the community are not rising. It will vary across geography and time, but the important thing is to keep it below one. Thank you very much, ben. We will turn to carl denham from itv. Thank you, secretary of state. Are you disappointed, given the news from the welsh first minister today that the four nations dont look like they will be taking exactly the same approach to the handling of this virus . Well, look, the devolved administrations do obviously have competence over some of these issues, some of these measures, and from the beginning, some of them have done slightly Different Things to england, but generally speaking, we have taken similar approaches and beenin we have taken similar approaches and been in step, even though there have been in step, even though there have been some slight differences. I dont think we need to get too worked up about timings of different announcements. Scotland made some comments last week, wales has today. The Prime Minister will be setting out his approach and that road map and how we intend to evolve these restrictions on sunday. Can i ask, if the restrictions are going to evolve, that suggests that, in some ways, something might be eased. How are you going to monitor whether or not you have been able to do that without risking a resurgence of the virus without significantly more testing than you are currently able to do . The first thing i must stress is that any evolution of the current restrictions will be done with the utmost of caution. There isnt going to be dramatic change in the short term. We will be cautiously making some changes where we think those can be considered, and the Prime Minister will be setting out a timetable for other changes as well. In terms of how we monitor things, we do now have quite a substantial Surveillance Programme that is being run by 0ns, where we are doing sample data, testing people to get an understanding of the prevalence of this disease, and further work like that, particularly on a regional basis, will help us to understand trends in the disease. And obviously, we also have the daily data that we have been publishing now regularly from our coronavirus file, which actually shows some of the key indicators in terms of new infections, so we will be monitoring this very closely as any changes are made. In monitoring Infectious Diseases in the community, including an epidemic, it is important to have a range of Different Things you measure as part ofan Different Things you measure as part of an overall Surveillance System. In fact, the data presented every day in the slides ive shown you earlier, that is part of that Surveillance System, so admissions into hospital, deaths, u nfortu nately, into hospital, deaths, unfortunately, are part of that Surveillance System. Positive test cases are part of the system, and each winter, during the flu season, in fact we run surveillance mechanisms that look at presentation of flu like symptoms to general practice, through to the number of people testing positive for influenza. There are well established surveillance processes, and the key Going Forward will be to ensure that we have a similar Surveillance System for covid, but it is likely to include not only the data that you are familiar with but other data as it becomes available, so it wont be just one thing, it will be a range of indicators. Liz bates from channel 4. Thank you. Channel 4 news revealed last night that millions of out of date ppe products were distributed to front line workers. Public Health England say they were tested and that they were found to be safe, but that they were found to be safe, but that they were found to be safe, but that they wont release the results of those tests, so can you tell us now why those test results wont be released . Stephen, can i. . It is my understanding that as the government releases the ppe equipment and delivers it to hospitals in other settings and other settings, any items that have gone past their original date of expiry are retested to make sure they still keep. Are still at the right standards and would not be distributed unless they had been retested to meet those standards. 0k, does that explain it . Weve been speaking to people in care homes today still desperate for testing, particularly for their staff. They are being directed to a hotline that if you call it says, sorry, no tests available today, call back tomorrow. Why can they still not get the tests they need . Look, ithink why can they still not get the tests they need . Look, i think the reality is, with the testing, weve now got around nightie different mobile test centres 90 different mobile test centres. It is inevitable when you are trying to use up all that capacity, over 100,000 has capacity now, it is inevitable that there will in some regions perhaps not be sufficient numbers on some days, and there will be daily fluctuations, so it is possibly the case that they cant get an immediate test on that day, but they should be able to get one quickly, because we do now have the capacity, and today the figures announced show that we have tested 97,000 people, and that includes, since we have been doing the testing, tens of thousands of staff working in care homes and indeed residents as well. Laura hughes from the ft. Just to follow up on that testing question, i know the numbers have just gone up over the last 24 hours, but it is the sixth day that we are still not testing at full capacity. Why is that, and why are we seeing reports of people saying that it we seeing reports of people saying thatitis we seeing reports of people saying that it is taking up to ten days sometimes for them to get their results back, having had a test . Well, i think its probably for the reasons that i outlined, and i may ask stephen to come in on this point ina ask stephen to come in on this point in a moment. If you have, as we do, 50 different sites that are offering these drive through tests, you will get regional variances, some days where there are surplus tests and people havent come forward to take them in some areas, and other areas where they dont have quite enough capacity for that local demand in that particular local area. You will get those day to day fluctuations. I think the important thing is, we set this target to get 100,000 tests, and we have that capacity. The Prime Minister has announced in the last week that we are going to ramp that up week that we are going to ramp that up further, to 200,000 test capacity per day. That will be important as we start to develop some of our track and trace proposals. Testing will be an important element of part of that. The important thing is to have those ambitious targets that you are working to, to continually build the capacity. You will of course get daily fluctuations in availability in any given local area. Does that answer your question . If i could ask a separate question, would you like to see more fa st question, would you like to see more fast food outlets like mcdonalds start to reopen . Were you disappointed that a number of fast Food Retailers actually closed . Do you feel like they could have stayed open safely . And if you do want to encourage them to open up again, what are you doing to ensure they feel they can do that safely . what are you doing to ensure they feel they can do that safely . I have had a number of discussions with some of the food to go outlets, companies such as mcdonalds and kfc and costa coffee and so on. It is the case that when we originally did the case that when we originally did the lockdown, we were quite explicit that it didnt cover takeaway food. While clearly restaurants and pubs had to close, we were quite keen to keep that capacity to be able to do ta keaway keep that capacity to be able to do takeaway food for people. That was clear in the guidance. I think there we re clear in the guidance. I think there were a number of reasons why these companies took a decision themselves of their own volition to close. Firstly, footfall in town centres was obviously down, so where they had branches in town centres, they decided they couldnt really make them viable. They had issues with anxiety among some of their staff. And i think also a sense that, given the strength of the overarching message that people could stay at home, there was may be a sense that it wasnt socially acceptable to stay open, even though the government hadnt specifically mandated their closure. In the last two weeks, a lot of them have started to consider reopening. Mcdonalds are planning to open a small number of drive through venues ona small number of drive through venues on a pilot basis, and also kfc have also, again on a pilot basis, open to some of their branches, but predominantly for drive through. 0ur view is that probably a mcdonalds drive through is made for the social distancing situation that we are in, in that people do not leave their car, they place their order and somebody passes a bag of food to them at the end through a kiosk, so i think it is quite possible for these venues to reopen and reopen safely. We never mandated that they should close. Weve learnt a lot from supermarkets and other food outlets about how you can do social distancing and do it well, and i think some of those food to go businesses will probably be seeking to learn lessons from what supermarkets have done as they consider tentatively reopening, and i think all of them will do this in a cautious way, just as any further evolution in government policy will be cautious. Thank you. We now have shown linton from the independent. Sticking with testing, the president of the institute of biomedical science has told the independent today that the 200,000 test capacity target has not actually been helpful and made it harder for nhs labs to focus testing on the right groups of people, and the head of nhs providers said earlier this week that there were problems with key workers getting tests and needing to get back to work, and he also called for a more considered strategy. Do you accept that the focus on setting round number targets has not actually been helpful to people in the system, and can you say a bit more perhaps about the strategy that we will need in a more considered testing strategy Going Forward as we move into test, trace and isolate . And to mr powis, new figures yesterday showed 600 more care homes have reported outbreaks of covid 19 ina single have reported outbreaks of covid 19 in a single week, the total now more than 5000, so the care sector is clearly the epicentre of the infection. Can you tell us how high the rate of infection in care homes is at the moment and why we are still sending positive patients into ca re still sending positive patients into care homes, and what specific steps is the nhs taking to support the sector to look after people infected with covid 19 . 0n the first point on testing i dont think i do accept that. I think it is important and helpful to have a target that youre moving towards in order to expand that capacity in short order, which is what we have been trying to do. Thats why we had that ambitious target to get to 100,000, and again to get to 200,000 by the end of this month. I dont really see any reason why those people, and the army have been heavily involved in the logistics of setting up some of these centres, why the planning to get that additional capacity, both the infrastructure to have additional drive through testing centres, or indeed additional mobile centres, or indeed additional mobile centres, and bringing on the stream Additional Laboratory capacity, i dont really understand at all why that would distract from those that are delivering the current test capacity and they continue to do so. The planning for an expansion is done by an entirely different set of people. And i think the reason why it is important to have quite an ambitious target to expand this test capacity further is, as we evolve this policy, and as we start to roll out things such as our track and trace approach, testing will become quite an important feature of that, in that if somebody through the track and trace app reports symptoms and starts to self isolate, they will also be referred for a test. So if we want to roll out some of these smart approaches well, having that test capacity will be quite important. Stephen . Good afternoon, sean. It is really important that we do get on top of outbreaks in care homes as you suggested. And indeed, the nhs has been working increasingly closely with colleagues in social care to provide support. So we are testing patients before they are discharged into care homes. But i think its also important to note that it is a relatively small number of discharges from hospitals that actually are directly into care homes, somewhere in the region of around one in 20 are going into care homes for the first time. We have also done some preliminary work on whether there is any correlation between areas of outbreaks and discharges and we cant see a correlation between discharges and outbreaks. It is right, though, that, as i said, we put as much support as we possibly can do into ca re support as we possibly can do into care homes. So that include support through primary care and general practice. But it also includes support around Infection Prevention and control will stop and as you know, hospitals have got very established mechanisms for Infection Prevention and control through directors of Infection Prevention and control, the chief medical 0fficer and control, the chief medical officer in hospitals, and they are lending their expertise to the care sector with an offer to help with training and an offer to ensure the standard of Infection Control that we are well used to in hospitals is translated as much as possible to assist with Infection Control in ca re assist with Infection Control in care homes. So you are absolutely right to point out that the nhs plays a part in supporting collea g u es plays a part in supporting colleagues in social care, and also Public Health, because of course the directors of Public Health in local authorities are really key part in this as well in managing and preventing outbreaks in care homes. Are you happy with that, sean . Preventing outbreaks in care homes. Are you happy with that, seamm preventing outbreaks in care homes. Are you happy with that, sean . If i canjust are you happy with that, sean . If i can just follow up on a question and go back to steve, if i may. Sticking with vulnerable groups, we have reported today on new deaths in Mental Health units published by the cqc. Mental health units published by the coc. Why Mental Health units published by the cqc. Why has nhs england not published the data it receives on a wee kly published the data it receives on a weekly basis on the deaths of people with learning disability and autism . A slew of charities and parents and families are worried about this lack of transparency from nhs england especially in what is a traditionally marginalised and vulnerable group. Will you commit nhs england to publish that data and what can you do to ensure families and loved ones to assure. What can you do to ensure families and loved ones to assure. People with learning disabilities and autism might wider Mental Health problems, as you will know, i really key to nhs englands work and you know from the Long Term Plan that we published at the start of last year just quite the focus we are placing on those groups of individuals. It is really important that they get the appropriate care and the right ca re the appropriate care and the right care and have parity of care with everybody else. So we are not losing that focus. In terms of patients with Mental Health who are u nfortu nately with Mental Health who are unfortunately dying with covid 19, many of those have been transferred from Mental Health facilities into acute hospitals. It is a small number but they are being transferred. And yes, i can commit that we will publish that data. We have been looking at how we can do that as part of our. We publish deaths daily and we are looking at how we can report on those groups, andi how we can report on those groups, and i will commit that from next week we will be publishing data on learning disabilities, autism and Mental Health patients who have died in acute hospitals and we will do that on an ongoing basis. Thank you very much, sean. And finally we have a Stephen Pollard from thejewish chronicle. Many people rely on charities for social care, and with the huge rise injob losses, those charities which provide administrative support and help with benefits and so on, the demand for them will soar at the very time when theirfunding has them will soar at the very time when their funding has basically stopped. The one thing you hear consistently from charities is that the governments package, while welcome, is nothing like big enough. Given that a lot of these charities are providing services that either wouldnt exist, or would cost taxpayer a fortune if the taxpayer wants to provide them, is there any prospect of further funding for charities being considered . Well, stephen, as you alluded to, we have that fund that was announced, the £750 million fund to support a range of charities in a wide range of areas supporting people suffering from the coronavirus. Indeed, the £16 million package that i have announced today is being drawn as pa rt announced today is being drawn as part of that £750 million funding package. There have been many, many successful bids into that covering all of the areas that you have mentioned, and also some of the food charities, and many more besides, including packages to support, for instance, smaller zoos, and some of the other venues that have been affected. It has been quite a broad package. Quite a supportive package. These are extraordinary times, but i think that £750 million fund is very welcome and has helped a lot of charities with the additional burdens they have as a result of the coronavirus. Are there any other points you wanted to make . Yes, just one. One of the most heartbreaking things for many people who have lost a loved one to coronavirus is the restriction on mourners at funerals, understandable restrictions, but no less heartbreaking for that. Ijust wondered if there is any prospect in the relaxation or easing of some of the relaxation or easing of some of the rules the Prime Minister will announce, if mourners may be allowed, you know, close family mourners, will be allowed to attend funerals . I completely understand the point you are making. This is a very sensitive issue and i also know that because gatherings at places of worship have also been stopped for lots of people from many different religions, that has also affected them as well. But it is funerals, i think, that are the hardest here. We have allowed funerals to continue for immediate family members, close family members, but i appreciate that thats not much hope for wider family who would also like to attend. This is an area that we will be looking at closely. 0bviously attend. This is an area that we will be looking at closely. Obviously i cant prejudge what the Prime Minister might say on sunday. But i can reassure you that we are very, very conscious that this is an incredibly sensitive matter, that people want the opportunity to pay their last respects. 0bviously people want the opportunity to pay their last respects. Obviously we have to be cautious because we have to be very careful about large social gatherings. But it is something that we are giving consideration to. Right, thank you very much. Thats the end of the questions that weve got today will stop i would also again, as i have done before, just like to conclude by recording my thanks to all of those working in the Food Industry from supermarkets and food manufacturers, right through to farmers. It has really been quite an extraordinary effort over the last couple of months to ensure that we keep food on our supermarket shelves. Thank you all very much. Studio of the environment secretary George Eustice bringing to an end of the latest downing street briefing. We can have a quick recap and out of the main points from that briefing. Which saw £16 million pledged to help the vulnerable access food during the pandemic. The press conference was led by the environment secretary George Eustice. He began with an update on the number of deaths from coronavirus in the uk. 31,241 people have now died after testing positive for covid 19 in all settings that means hospitals, care homes and the community. An increase of 626 since yesterday. Mr eustice then went on to announce funding to provide food for those who are struggling as a result of coronavirus. The programme will provide millions of meals over the next 12 weeks to at least 5,000 charities and Community Groups in england. Mr eustice added that while the nation is eagerly anticipating the Prime Ministers update on lockdown measures on sunday the governments advice still remains the same and it is vitally important that the public continue to follow current guidelines in spite of the Sunny Bank Holiday weekend. To consider some of that, i am joined by our medical correspondent fergus walsh who is here with me now. Fergus, as always, the briefing started with some data is to quite where we are. Do you want to run us through . Lets look at one of the slides, daily tests. Now, there were 97,029 tests done yesterday. I think thats the sixth day in a row that we havent met the 100,000 target. It is bobbing around the 100,000 but of course we now have a new target of course we now have a new target of 200,000. And then if we move on to the number of new cases, weve got 4649, and you can see in orange the ones done in the community and the ones done in the community and the blue ones in hospital. Although it doesnt look like its coming down very much, many more tests are being done so we do have a shrinking epidemic. If we then go on the slide for the number of patients in hospital with covid 19 throughout the uk, thats fallen to 11,788, so 18 down on a week ago. And at one point there were more than 20,000 patients in hospital. Thats another sign that this epidemic is shrinking because those people in hospital would have been admitted at least three weeks ago. They would have caught the infection. And then the number of patients in Critical Care, less tha n number of patients in Critical Care, less than a third of Critical Care beds are now occupied by covid 19 patients, and thats been decreasing over the uk for the past two weeks. And then on recorded deaths, the seven day average, which sort of flattens out, pea ks seven day average, which sort of flattens out, peaks and curves over the weekend, again, thankfully we have got a declining, a decline in daily deaths overall, but still hundreds every day, still shocking figures when you think 626 deaths overall. So those are the figures. But perhaps what a lot of people are waiting for is to get some kind of hint on what we might get from the Prime Minister on sunday. George eustice was asked repeatedly. What did you glean from what he said . Well, not a great deal, except that he said we would expect a broadly similar approach. And that broadly similar approach. And that broadly similar approach. And that broadly similar approach i also heard in wales earlier today. So, what did we get in wales . We got potentially Garden Centres, some Garden Centres reopening, recycling centres, people being able to exercise outside more than once a day. And thats the only measure that Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish First minister, was considering. So i think we are not expecting any fireworks on sunday night from boris johnson. But expecting any fireworks on sunday night from borisjohnson. But what we will be hoping for, or many will be hoping for, is some kind of road map for the future, maybe with dates on it, or at least with some kind of indication of when other measures might come in. And yesterday, in fa ct, might come in. And yesterday, in fact, at the briefing, there was talk about milestones, wasnt there . Which did seem to indicate that there would be some sort of plan. Yes, because we rightly look at the number of deaths, but we dont get every day the number of people whose health is seriously affected as a result of, say, not going for cancer screening, people who are not on Clinical Trials because those have been cancelled, and people whose Mental Health is affected. And then what we are storing up in terms of the Economic Impact here, which will lead to concerns about deprivation, unemployment, and all those things have to be factored into the balance, but the problem is that none of the governments around the uk, and the uk government centrally, have much room for manoeuvre, and in part, although the epidemic is shrinking, its not shrinking as fast as people would like. If we look at the all important r number, the average number of people that each infected person passes on the disease too, it is bumping along below one, so we have a shrinking epidemic, but not by much, and various figures have been given, 0. 5 up various figures have been given, 0. 5 up to 0. 9, sojust below various figures have been given, 0. 5 up to 0. 9, so just below one. And thatis up to 0. 9, so just below one. And that is quite a big range, really. Very big range. 0ne that is quite a big range, really. Very big range. One of the leading modellers said it was more like 0. 75 to just below one, and there was talk of it being in wales on 0. 8. Nicola sturgeon said she thought it was higher in scotland than elsewhere. It may be at its lowest in london, which had the biggest outbreak, but it is being driven at the moment by cases being passed on in hospital and in care homes. They are driving the epidemic now, and they obviously need to be under control, and people need to feel confident at some point to go out, to resume work with social distancing, obviously, so that they are confident that they are not going to get the virus. And, fergus, can we expect that important r rate to be published in terms of regions, the regional differences . Yes, there is definitely talk of that, and also new research involving a group of selected individuals around the country who are going to be swab tested every week, and some will have blood tests, and this will be done on a regular basis so that we can geta done on a regular basis so that we can get a snapshot of how many people in the uk may be infected. And with an Antibody Test that we have heard a lot about, how many may have heard a lot about, how many may have antibodies to the virus and therefore may have already been infected. The tests arent perfect yet, but they can on a national and regional level give a reasonable idea, so that will come into play from next week, and we will have regional and nationalfigures from next week, and we will have regional and National Figures on that as well. 0k, good to talk to you, many thanks. 0ur Health Correspondent, fergus walsh. Many thousands of people who catch covid 19 will experience only mild symptoms. But for those who become very ill and need admission to intensive care, recovery can take weeks or even months. 0ur Health Correspondent Dominic Hughes reports. Mountain biking is roy burtons passion, but afterfalling ill with covid 19, this previously fit and healthy 53 year old is a shadow of his former self. As he became sicker, roy needed help with his breathing. Six days in intensive care followed. Now, back at home, he is struggling with the reality of rehabilitation. When i first came home, i just took everything off and my partner helped me have a shower. And just doing that, ijust had to sit and rest. I just couldnt breathe. And then the next stage was to get myself up to bed. Absolutely shattering. Just no energy, not enough oxygen going in. And its notjust the physical aftermath of the virus that has hit roy hard. Theres the mental scars of covid 19. Youre constantly worried. Are you going to infect somebody . Are you still infected . Are you going to get it again . Both the virus and the treatment needed to save a life can have a profound impact on patients. Lungs, muscles, even brain function can all be affected by an extended period in intensive care. Were getting stories about all sorts of issues. These could be physical, psychological, cognitive. For instance, your loss of muscle bulk meant you were very weak. Very often if youve been sedated for heavy lengths of time, you could have what we call psychological problems such as post Traumatic Stress disorder. David is one of those who faces a long period of recovery. Only two days before this was filmed, he still needed help with his breathing. Big breath now hes working with physiotherapists to help him get back to where he was. It can take some Critical Care patients up to 18 months to really, truly get back to their normal selves psychologically, strength wise, fatigue wise. So hes got a long road ahead of him, but he is doing a really good job. And there is a warning that a growing number of patients like david are going to need a lot of help in the coming months. I think whats really important at the moment is to start planning for that, and to think about a long term rehabilitation strategy, to enable the population to get back to full health and recovery. For many people, the battle to survive covid 19 wasjust the beginning. They have a Long Campaign ahead of them. Dominic hughes, bbc news. Give us a thumbs up, david. Thumbs up . Yeah pres spain is slowly starting to open up after one of the tightest lockdowns in europe. People can now leave their homes to exercise outdoors, and Small Businesses have been allowed to serve customers again. But there are still strict rules including compulsory use of masks on public transport, hygiene procedures in shops, and social distancing. And there are concerns that some are not following the regulations. 0ur europe correspondent Damian Grammaticas reports from madrid. This is a country cranking into motion again, but cautiously, keeping their distance. Rush hour without the rush, and everyone is masked. It is compulsory now on public transport, even while stations are mostly empty. Translation today is the first time i leave home and go to work. I am afraid. You dont know what might happen. You may catch the virus. Masks are handed out to anyone who doesnt have them. This woman is not taking any chances. Translation this is really uncomfortable. You cant breathe easily, but for my protection, i need it. Most people in spain are still confined inside their houses, so this limited opening brings risks, among them, as people come out, they will start to behave in a way that enables the virus to begin to spread again. A street party on the first day the lockdown was lifted was exactly what the authorities feared. Those who took part are being fined 1000 euros each. So, police move people on. As businesses open, distancing is enforced rigorously with safety tape and screens. Customers are limited to one in the shop at the time. A first visit to the hairdresser means a friendly greeting, but feet must be disinfected. Hand cleaned, and more gloves and masks. All by government order. This is a high risk place. Translation government order. This is a highrisk place. Translation riske . Yes, there is, until we have a vaccine everybody is at risk. I hope for the best. Then the place is swabbed down before a new customer is allowed in. But getting people to maintaina is allowed in. But getting people to maintain a safe separation is a problem. As the rules relaxed, the numbers outside are growing, and not eve ryo ne numbers outside are growing, and not everyone keeps distance. Not everyone keeps their distance. Not all the people are very aware of what the situation is. We respect the basic rules. Theres a lot of people, but i think we try to keep it. As safe as possible . As safe as possible, yes. Underneath the surface, there is real nervousness. Even as spain starts to relax and embrace its new found freedoms. A reminder of the latest coronavirus figures from the government in the past hour. 31,241 people have now died in the uk after testing positive for covid 19 in all settings that means hospitals, care homes and the community. An increase of 626 since yesterday. Viewers in wales are now leaving us on bbc one and will rejoin for the news at six. In the past hour weve been hearing from the environment secretary George Eustice at the daily downing street News Conference he gave an update on the governments plans to ensure the countrys vulnerable, shielded group were able to access food. 0ver1 million food parcels have now been delivered to these households. And in addition, all of those on the shielded cohort have been added to a list giving them priority access to supermarket delivery slots. So far, around 400,000 people have been offered priority delivery slots by supermarkets, and around 1 million orders have been placed, ensuring that people can shop normally and purchase the goods that they want to buy. There is, of course, a wider vulnerable group, those, perhaps, who have disabilities or who are elderly and, perhaps, dont have neighbours or relatives close by to help them, or indeed those with other conditions that dont put them in the clinically shielded group, but nevertheless make them vulnerable. And we have been working with the local authorities and some of the leading charities such as age uk, to put together a package of support to help these people get access to food. The bbc news at six is coming up but first heres the weather with tomasz. Hello. We had some very pleasant weather today, generally speaking, for ve day tomorrow its going to be every bit as warm and sunny. At least for most of us. There might be a couple of showers developing in the afternoon. And also there is a change heading towards the very far north of scotland and you can already see this change on the satellite picture. This line of cloud. That is a cold front and it is expected to bring much Colder Weather to the whole country come sunday. But through tonight we are just about seeing the signs of that cold front in the north of scotland, the winds will start to increase, but south of that the weather is calm and mild. And in fact, early on saturday morning, we are talking around 7 11d, low temperatures first thing. So here is the forecast for the morning, lots of sunshine. As i said, there might be a few showers developing, just like today across parts of england and wales, but a huge change there in northern scotland, cloud and rain and stronger winds, 10 degrees in stornoway, seven for our friends lerwick, but for much of the country there is orange colours indicating summertime temperatures. And then on sunday, once that cold front sweeps through, we will see increasing cloud, spell of rain, cold winds as well. We are going to notice the strength of the wind particularly on north sea coasts and in the south east, where they will be gusting up to 40 mph, perhaps a bit more in some places. And in the north, cold and a force in wintry showers across the hills of scotland. The temperatures on sunday really will take a dive, we are talking at least a 10 degrees drop, if not more in most major towns and cities. Only seven in newcastle, nine in norwich, around 13 or 14 degrees there in london, and then the following night, so this is actually sunday night into monday, we will see an air frost developing across the northern half of the uk and probably a ground frost across the south. So a chilly start to monday. Those strong winds blowing in off the north sea again, very cold in the shade compared to what we have seen. Dropping further, single figures along the north sea coast and barely making double figures across many areas in the midlands, 12 degrees in london. It is going to stay fairly cool until around wednesday or thursday, and after that it looks as though the temperatures will pick up just that little bit. Bye bye. This is your victory victory of the cause of freedom the words of Winston Churchill, as we remember victory in europe day 75 years ago. Commemorations have been taking place all over the uk. The prince of wales laid a wreath at balmoral as the nation fell silent at 11am this morning. Street parties take place socially distanced across the country. Some remember taking part 75 years ago. With that little celebration of freedom, you know,