Hello, youre watching afternoon live im simon mccoy. Today at 2. The governments Emergency Committee meets as the uk looks set to move into a new phase of dealing with coronavirus what will it mean for public gatherings and schools . Well make the right decision at the right time every step of this process. People can be assured of that. Stock markets plunge so far the New York Stock Exchange was temporarily suspended as President Trump imposes a mass ban on flights from most European Countries, excluding the uk and ireland this is not a financial crisis. This is just this is not a financial crisis. This isjust a this is not a financial crisis. This is just a temporary moment of time that we will overcome together as a nation and as a world. The pc harper murder trialjury hears the 999 call about a theft
which led to his police car being sent to investigate and to him being killed. Coming up on afternoon live all the sport Katie Shanahan good afternoon. Mclaren have decided to withdraw from the opening race of the formula one season. The australian grand prix. Thats after a member of the team tested positive for coronavirus. More from you later, thank you. Looking at the weather versus helen willetts. Good afternoon simon. We look at the state of the climate of 2019, report came out yesterday and we will look at that. Helen, thank you. Also coming up well be answering more of your questions on the coronavirus outbreak, and how best to protect yourselves and your families. Hello, everyone. This is afternoon live im simon mccoy. The governments Emergency Cobra Committee is meeting right now chaired by the Prime Minister. Its expected that ministers will decide that efforts to contain infections in the uk have run their course and a new phase will signalled in the uks strategy to tackle coronavirus. Theyre expected to back moving into the second stage delay involving restrictions on movement, with the aim of pushing back the peak of the outbreak to the summer. In other developments this afternoon President Trump has banned all travel to the us from much of mainland europe. Trading on the New York Stock Exchange was temporarily suspended after stocks fell again. Italy has closed nearly all its shops; ireland is shutting all schools, colleges and childcare facilities; and the spanish authorities are considering locking down madrid. Here, 460 people have been infected. In total, eight people have died. More than 27,000 have been tested. Our health correspondent, lauren moss, reports. How are you doing . Im rishi. Nice to meet you. A day after announcing a multi billion pound battle plan to fight the coronavirus, the chancellor has met nhs staff and scientists who will be on the front line of the outbreak. Today the government is expected to announce that the uk is no longer trying to just contain the virus but slow its spread as part of officially moving into the delay phase. We outlined last week a set of measures that we might have to take around more self isolation, around changing how we work, safeguarding our most vulnerable elderly people. But again, we will make the right decisions at the right time every step of this process. People can be assured of that. The coronavirus is transmitted through sustained close contact. The first measures announced later will likely be about keeping our distance from each other. We know that the virus is spread through droplets so when people cough and sneeze, droplets come out, and if people are in close
proximity to them and breathe them in, then they can become infected in that way, but people can also become infected when people who are unwell cough or sneeze into their hands and touch surfaces, and then another person who is not unwell touches those surfaces and then touches their eyes, nose or mouth, or eats some food without washing their hands first. The changing advice today could include asking more people to work from home, recommending anyone with even mild flu like symptoms self isolates for a week, and suggesting older people and those with Health Conditions avoid crowded places. The next phase follows the World Health Organization describing the outbreak yesterday as a controllable pandemic. The governments chief medical adviser has warned that a significant epidemic in the uk could put nhs services under extreme pressure, and says healthcare workers will need to work more flexibly than they already do. Nicola sturgeon has announced gatherings of more than 500 people
should be cancelled in scotland from monday, and the republic of ireland, which has over a0 confirmed cases, is to close all schools and colleges. We have not witnessed a pandemic of this nature in living memory and this is uncharted territory for us. We said we would take the right actions at the right time and we have to move now for the greatest impact. So from 6pm today the following measures are being put in place, and they will stay in place until the 29th of march. Schools, colleges and childcare facilities will close from tomorrow. Where possible, teaching will be done online or remotely. But Health Officials here say it is vital that big steps like shutting schools and banning large Public Events are not taken too soon. The important thing we are trying to do, we will see cases rise very steeply and what we dont want to do is see too high a peak. We are trying to push that away
so we can manage patients safely through our Health System and that means intervening at the right time. The third emergency cobra meeting of the week is happening this afternoon. The next steps the government will ask us all to take will undoubtedly change our lives for several months to come. Lauren moss, bbc news. And lauren is here with me now. We are awaiting the latest figures, we are expecting them in the next few minutes but where are we so far with this . At the minute 460 confirmed cases in the uk, yesterday we saw the largest increase in a 24 hour period. The latest figures will be published sometime this afternoon. Of course, at the moment, like you mention, the government is holding its Cobra Committee meeting, the third one this week. Boris johnson chaired one on monday, there was one on wednesday, one today. And after that we may expect to get some announcement about what could happen here in the uk. We just got figures
from scotland, saying the total number of cases there has almost doubled up to 60 from 36, that is in a day. This is the pattern that we are sort of expecting, but fearing. We are expecting cases to increase quite significantly over the coming days, thats something that we have been told we should be anticipating and today the Scottish First minister has announced they will be limiting public gatherings of more than 500 people from monday. Thats something that scotland is doing, not something that everybody else is following, england has not announced that yet. We are likely to see increased measures about this social distancing side of things that we keep hearing about. As weve heard from medical advisers today, if you ta ke from medical advisers today, if you take those steps too soon there is no Clinical Evidence as of yet, that it could stop the spread of the virus. But i think realistically, each country is taking different measures around the world right now about what they are going to do. Nobody knows which is the right approach, look at italy. Theyve got
approach, look at italy. Theyve got a problem. Poland has announced measures, the republic of ireland has announced its closing schools as well, the difficulty here is we wont really know what the correct measures are to take until afterwards. And at the moment, eve ryo ne afterwards. And at the moment, everyone is sort of watching this modelling that we hear so much about, how the cases are growing but i think we can expect to see increasing cases which realistically, it means, there is person to person transmission in the uk. Very quickly, the moment is if you are showing symptoms itself icily . But a lot of people are getting ordinary calls, whats the advice to them . The symptoms of coronavirus lines can be blurred into cold and common flu symptoms but really we are told high temperature, fever, dry cough, shortness of breath. If you are sneezing or a bit banged up or Something Like that, its probably not the coronavirus, probably more ofa not the coronavirus, probably more of a cold but lots of people have these symptoms and thats the advice these symptoms and thats the advice the government may issue today,
anyone who has a respiratory tract infection, that could be any of the things i have just infection, that could be any of the things i havejust mentioned may be told to self isolate for a week as a precaution but that hasnt been announced yet. Lauren, we will get those figures i suspect in the next few minutes and i know you will bring them to us. Thank you. Our Political Correspondent iain watson is in westminster. Another cobra meeting on coronavirus. We could hear some life changing, doesnt overstate it for people with children and other things, developments this afternoon . Thats right. I think whats happening is its no secret the government is going to say we are moving now to the delay face from the containment phase. Nonetheless i think it will still feel very different, some of the measures will be very similar. Not expecting immediately a new raft of things which the government will do later on today. But i think they will be setting out the thinking and some of the future measures they could take. As far as the future measures they could take. As farasi the future measures they could take. As far as i am aware we are not going to be following ireland s
exa m ples going to be following ireland s examples and suddenly closing schools but again ministers are not ruling that out. I think they will also start to give advice as i think we will hear the cobra meeting, to older people and vulnerable groups, this will start to feel very, very different. Clearly the government is going to be emphasising how serious it is and again they will try to explain that by delaying this, they should be able to save lives because she will be able to somehow manage demand for the nhs, they will repeat again about the resources which the nhs needs to get through this. But i think we will also be hearing about some of the measures the government may take further down the line and next week, simon, of course, emergency legislation, talks between the Health Secretary and his opposite number earlier today, trying to get a Cross Party Consensus on that but once those measures are introduced, of course you will probably see greater infringement if you like on our day to day lives of the government believes that is necessary to protect public health. Next week
seems an awfully long time away, this story developed by the hour. We will hear the results of the cobra meeting and any decision made when, this afternoon . Yes, this afternoon, i think its perfectly possible we will see once again one of those press c0 nfe re nces will see once again one of those press conferences that are now becoming familiar, the Prime Minister in the centre, flanked by the chief medical officer, flanked by the chief scientific adviser as well. And again, the government approach is to say it is following the signs. Of course, the thing is, science in different parts of the world seems to be saying Different Things. The politics seems to be saying Different Things as well. Weve heard about the response in ireland, we are going to get a ministerial statement and told in the Scottish Parliament later this afternoon after Nicola Sturgeon the Scottish First minister announced at first ministers questions she wa nted first ministers questions she wanted to see gatherings of more than 500 people banned, to take pressure from the Emergency Services. The Czech Republic has banned flights from 15 countries including the uk. There is a
political pressure on borisjohnson to be seen to be acting, flanked by the experts, he will be able to say he is very much following their advice which is not to do a host of measures to soon and to make sure that those raft of measures are effective, again his spokesman as stressing today that we will not be following the american league, on a flight following the american league, on a flight ban because the science does not suggest that as an effective way of slowing the spread of the disease. Thats all very well but if youve got the Scottish First minister and weve heard from the irish taoiseach this morning, if as ireland has done, they shut down schools there, scotland has a similar announcement, the Prime Minister has little choice, really . Is going to get bounced into the decision, isnt it . Its a very difficult situation for him. I think at the moment hes been able to say he is following the medical and scientific advice. But at some point, a political calculation does have to be made. At the moment hes got some protection from this because although the labour party is saying he started this process late,
he should have chaired the cobra meeting is very much sooner they havent really broken ranks on the fundamentals of this. What should for example the virus, lets hope not but should it spread more rapidly than perhaps some other countries have ta ken rapidly than perhaps some other countries have taken other measures, of course political pressure is on the Prime Minister. All these measures are happening at the moment but they are saying so far in response, for example, italy banned flights from china, italy has by far the worst crisis in europe at this stage. I think we are still going to get a very measured presentation from the Prime Minister and his advisors today, nonetheless i think some of the things they are saying they may have to do in the very near future will feel different for people and i think lots of individuals mate started to take decisions themselves, whether its older people not leaving their homes, more people working from home, but i think at this stage they will be emphasising the seriousness of this, decisions people can take for themselves and decisions they may have to make is a government further down the line. 0k, may have to make is a government further down the line. Ok, for now, thank you. We will talk later. Our ireland correspondent keith doyle is in belfast. We had that announcement from the teacher, what is happening . Leo varadkar address the irish nation before dawn, he was in washington for the st patricks Day Festivities which have all but been cancelled, and addressing the nation he said i need to speak to you about coronavirus, he said acting on the advice of the National PublicHealth Emergency team theyve decided to bring in these measures. So from six oclock today schools, colleges and childcare facilities will be closed, they wont be opening tomorrow, that will go on until the 29th of march. Any will go on until the 29th of march. A ny eve nts, will go on until the 29th of march. Any events, indoor events that have more than 100 people or Outdoor Events with more than 500 people, they should be cancelled. And he said people should continue to go to work but saying if its possible, you should work from home. In the workplace is, hes called for our workplace is, hes called for our work time to be stagger, break times to be staggered, anything that will reduce the amount of face to face
interaction that people will have. Public transport will remain open, airports and ports will remain open. He said shops will stay open as well and there are plans in place to ensure supply chains remain in place. And wont be interrupted. Restau ra nts place. And wont be interrupted. Restaurants and presumably pubs can stay open but theyve called for restau ra nt stay open but theyve called for Restaurant Owners and managers to implement measures to introduce social distancing. The exact details on that he did not give out during that speech but he did warn the nation, he said there will be more cases, more people will get sick and u nfortu nately, we cases, more people will get sick and unfortunately, we must face the tragic reality that some people will die. This is a pandemic. The official announcement yesterday. It doesnt respect borders, is this an all ireland, the island of ireland problem . Thats a very, very good question, 43 cases in the republic of ireland, one death, im in
belfast at the moment, 18 cases. But in Northern Ireland theres been no community transfer, which the politicians here have said it means we are not really in the same place as the republic of ireland but of course, the border is practically nonexistent, people walk across it, people cross it every day many times, for schools, shopping, work. Really, to say we should be one measure on one side and another measure on one side and another measure on one side and another measure on the other side, some people here are saying really, that isnt going to work. Leo varadkar said he will be discussing or has been discussing after this announcement made some hours ago with his counterparts in Northern Ireland and britain. They will be briefed. But clearly this was something that was implemented before, by the sounds of the statement, before there was any negotiations or with briefing Northern Ireland and the republic of ireland. He did say this would be a real shock for people. He said we
have experienced hardships and struggles before but he said we will prevail. 0k, struggles before but he said we will prevail. Ok, for now, keith, thank you. Professor Deirdre Hollingsworth is an Infectious Disease modeller at the university of oxford. Shejoins me now. Good to see you again. A change of emphasis from the government seems to be on the cards this afternoon. Just explain what the options are . Has your correspondence were describing the main thing that happens as we move into a more widespread epidemic is trying to flatten the curve. So if the epidemic is allowed to grow unrestrained then we would have a very high demand for basically nhs beds, all concentrated in a very short period of time so we have a very rapid, very high peak at what you want to do is flatten out that peak, make it lighter, lower, so that the Health Services can manage the demand from cases, severe cases of the virus. And how do you do
that . Its stopping public gatherings, basically and shutting schools . Social distancing is a very broad term which covers a lot of different interventions but generally, if i dont have many contacts and im not likely to acquire the virus, and also im not likely to spread to many people so its about reducing the number of contacts and also hand washing plays a partand contacts and also hand washing plays a part and not because i dont come into co nta ct a part and not because i dont come into contact with the virus that other people have deposited around. But the government will be right now considering what will seem rather drastic actions but action is that if they dont take at the right time are going to have pretty serious consequences . I think we have the example of italy in front of us. If you read some of the testimony from some of the doctors in italy who had to deal with a surge in cases, its a very distressing situation. And we wa nt to a very distressing situation. And we want to avoid that in the uk if we can. Early testing is crucial, isnt it . Yes, absolutely. But, you know,
if you are being tested and you self isolate, the time for the test today, takes one or two days, its not so much an issue, if you take that personal responsibility to self isolate at that time. The difficulty, and common sense tells you if you travel on the tube in london youre going to feel more at risk than if you are out in a rural area . Yes, we would expect in high density areas transmission will more likely than if you are in a rural area where you dont have many contacts. So, youre obviously not going to talk about a political decision but from the scientific point of view common sense would say you got to try and stop those moments were too many people are in a cluster . I think we live in a liberal democracy so we have to make some choices for ourselves so as has been said in many countries, if we make those choices about how we protect ourselves and our family in terms of hand washing and how and when we travel to work if we travel to work, and we are fortunate enough
to work, and we are fortunate enough to be able to make those choices then we will benefit society by slowing down the spread of the virus. Professor, thank you very much for your time, always good to talk to you. Thank you. President trump has halted flights from 26 European Countries to the us, saying the eu had failed to take sufficient precautions to stop the spread of coronavirus. In a televised address from the white house, mr trump said the uk would be excluded from the restrictions, which will come into force tomorrow. David willis reports. Criticised for downplaying the effects of the coronavirus, President Trump announced sweeping travel restrictions in a Rare Oval Office address to the nation. After consulting with our top Government Health professionals, i have decided to take several strong but necessary actions to protect the health and wellbeing of all americans. To keep new cases from entering our shores, we will be suspending all travel from europe to the United States for the next 30 days. The restriction will apply to foreigners who visited one of 26 European Countries in the two weeks prior to their arrival in the us. The uk is not included on that list. Trade will not be affected, the president tweeted later, but hundreds of thousands of travellers will be and the announcement took many by surprise. The leader of the largest Flight Attendant union here called the restrictions outrageous, and accused President Trump of destroying everything that makes our country great. There are now more than 1,000 cases of coronavirus here, and the illness has claimed the lives of more than 30 americans. Appearing before a congressional committee, a member of the president s Coronavirus Task force conceded that many more could be affected. So i can say we will see more cases and things will get worse than they are right now. How much worse well get will depend on our ability to do two things
to contain the influx of people who are infected coming from the outside, and the ability to contain and mitigate within our own country. Bottom line, its going to get worse. And the oscar winning Actor Tom Hanks confirmed in a statement that he and his wife, rita wilson, had tested positive for the virus in australia, where he is making a film. The Trump Administration says travel restrictions on people from china and iran helped slow the spread of the virus here, and that widening such restrictions could prove the answer. Yet many of those affected havent been involved in overseas travel, and the backlog in testing makes discovering their numbers all the more difficult. David willis, bbc news. In a moment well talk to our washington correspondent Gary Odonoghue whos at Dulles Airport. First to our brussels correspondent adam fleming. Adam, what the reaction being to
this, surprising announcement from President Trump . Well, at first it was a surprise because that Oval Office Address happened in the middle of the night european time so a lot of people woke up to the news and got quite a shock. Then there was confusion, because it wasnt entirely clear what President Trump meant some of the time and there had to be clarification. For example whether this was everyone from the eu orjust the 26 countries from the schengen borderless travel zone, it was the schengen borderless travel zone. And then i think is the morning wore on a bit of resignation that this was so many european diplomats, quite typically trump a response, putting america first. Then we got the joint statement from the president of the European Council who chairs the eu summit and ursula von der leyen, president of the European Commission saying they disapproved of this measure because it was a unilateral decision taken by america on its own and done with no consultation. Then we got the press conference, the daily televised press conference with the chief spokesman of the european
commission who read out the statement and then said, new journalists know as much as me, a european official because this has been sprung on the eu. european official because this has been sprung on the eu. I dont want to be encouraging anything naughty. Whats to stop someone in europe getting on the eurostar, going to london and flying from there . Quite, iama london and flying from there . Quite, i am a british citizen but have lived in belgium for two and have your switches in the schengen zone, i could do exactly as you describe, get a flight from heathrow to the west coast of the us on saturday. And theyd be none the wiser although i imagine us Border Guards will ask for your travel history. And if you tell them youve been in the schengen zone you will be denied entry to the us. Although i imagine the airlines in europe are probably under a duty to stop you getting on the plane if you are not entitled to get offered it the other end. Its not clear what this means for airports and airlines. Is it up to airlines to cancel flights will there be a stop on flights . And of course how do you track where people
have been . I should say the schengen zone, some people say has President Trump plucked this from the air . The schengen zone issues visas as a unit in ashes from other countries so its a kind of geographical entity rather than a random list of countries and the uk has left the eu and was never a part of the schengen zone. Which means its not been included in the span. Similarly with ireland, which of course still is a member of the eu but was never a member of the eu but was never a member of the schengen zone. Adam, dont go away, we are just getting the latest figures on coronavirus in the latest figures on coronavirus in the uk, two more patients have died in uk hospitals after testing positive, taking the total of deaths up positive, taking the total of deaths up to ten, thats coming from nhs england. 29,000 people tested negative. 590 testing positive. That is the latest figure. Adam, forgive me, obviously this story is changing by the hour, this is the problem,
isnt it . Very difficult for us let alone european officials to keep on top of whats going on. Its been really difficult for european officials, for one big reason. The eu s powers are based on what the treaties give them the member states, there is very little in any of the eu treaties about Health Matters being whats known as a competence for the eu to be run from brussels, its a National Government issues which is why for the last few weeks and months its been quite difficult to coordinate at eu level. That changed earlier this week when Charles Michel chaired the eu emergency phone Conference Call of the 27 national leaders, they said lets do more at european level. But even then, that is still quite limited to sort of sharing information, trying to have meetings for example every day, of the 27 Health Ministers are going to have a Conference Call tomorrow. The interior ministers are coming to brussels, some of them at least, to talk about, various aspects of this. But the story is being dominated by individual government responses to
facing the individual questions that they are facing on their territory. Which is why it sometimes feels like there isnt a very, very European Response to this. 0k, adam, thank you so much. Letsjoin my colleague Gary Odonoghue in washington. I dont think ive ever seen Dulles Airport is quiet as that im going to let you have a proper look. Look right down the hall, weve been speaking to a couple of people who work. They say theyve never seen anything like this. Most of the people you can see are actually of staff. It is incredibly quiet for this time on a thursday. Much quieter than they would expect it to be. Youre absolutely right. Weve had some other developments you ought to know about, congress has Just Announced its closing its doors to the public until the beginning of april. Right through the month of march. And also you know that the markets in europe,
youve been hearing, have now officially entered a bear market stage, thats a huge drop, 20 drop in their value, wiping out last year and a half games. If i can give you some perspective on that. Its taken 22 days for that 20 fall to take place. In the financial crisis, back in 2008, that took ten times as long, 270 days, to get to our bear market so you can see the spiral, sheer speed of the spiral in the markets here in the United States. But obviously the president would have had the implications of his announcement in mind when he made a dramatic announcement last night . Yes, and the mistakes he made during the announcement that had to be cleaned up, they had an impact immediately on futures trading and on markets that were already open elsewhere around the world. He said there was a ban on travel from europe, it turned out not to be like that, he said there was a ban on
trade in cargo, it turned out not to be that and also domestically, for americans, he created a lot of confusion because as you know here, there is no National Health service, you have Health Insurance here. And one of the big costs that people have to deal with here is something they call co pays, if you get a prescription from a doctor most people with Health Insurance, even good Health Insurance, have to contribute towards a prescription. Its not like it is in the uk, its a flat fee for every item, here it can be ten, 20, hundreds of dollars you have to pay on top of your insurance premium, he said all co pays relating to covid 19 would be wiped out, the Insurance Companies say its not true, its only going to be co pays relating to the testing for covid 19 so theres a lot of confusion around created by the statement from the president last night. Officials rushing around trying to mop up that afterwards. At the same time, simon, youve got
individual strides around the country, california, oregon and washington announcing these bans on gathering of more than 250 people. We now have coronavirus in 44 of the 50 United States in the us, we have it in the district of columbia as well. We have 1300 cases and about 38 deaths so far and as the chief Infectious Disease diet said yesterday, he said, bottom line, its going to get worse. What does he know, what does President Trump know that we dont in terms of ireland and the uk are ok in terms of how we are dealing with this and the eu is not . Well, he gave nojustification well, he gave no justification for exempting those, although i think adam is probably right, that the administration here took a look at the borderless nature of the schengen countries. Obviously that
includes countries like switzerland, which are not in the eu. So the ability to travel from northern italy, for example, at one stage a few weeks ago throughout europe, and decided that was the way to go. There is some justification, decided that was the way to go. There is somejustification, i suppose. At the question does remain, what happens if you hop on the eurostar and come to london . What i can tell you from personal experience here is that of the airlines in london and other places in europe, they are obliged by the board are people here, the Border Control people, to ensure, and they are penalised if they dont do it, to ensure that whoever gets on the plane has a right to enter the United States. If you go to the airport at heathrow they want to know what address you are staying at. They want to see your visa or your temporary visa. They want
documentation. I wouldnt be surprised. We dont know that yet. They havent said how it is going to work. I wouldnt be surprised if the airlines arent told, dont let anybody on your plane unless you can prove they havent been in the schengen country in the last 14 days. But now detail of how that is going to work. To be honest, america has clearly reacted strongly one way or the other to this travel ban, but it has got so many internal problems at the moment about the level of testing, the sufficient number of kits and whether they are being distributed property, whether there is proper coordination from the centre, that i suspect whether or not europeans can come here or not is not going to be high on a lot of peoples agenda. Gary, thank you very much. Gary, thank you very much. Gary odonoghue. Any development on that story we will bring them to you. There will be a press
conference after the cobra meeting. If you are waiting to hear the results of that, stay with us. A jurys heard the 999 call made by the owner of a quad bike that was stolen on the night pc harper died. The call, made by peter wallis, led Andrew Harper and his colleague to attend the incident near sulhamstead. Mr harper was killed when he got caught in a crane strap, being used to tow the stolen quad bike. Henry long and two 17 year old boys, deny murdering the 28 year old officer. Helen wilkinson is at the old bailey. Pc Andrew Harper suffered catastrophic injuries when he was dragged for more than a mile at speeds of more than 40 mph down a dark country lane in august last yearin dark country lane in august last year in west berkshire. He was responding to reports of a theft of a quad bike. Today thejury here has heard from peter wallis, who was the owner of that £10,000 quad bike. He
has been giving evidence to the jury. He described it as being late at night on the 15th of august, he was in his bed when he thought that something was happening outside. He told the jury, something was happening outside. He told thejury, in something was happening outside. He told the jury, in the something was happening outside. He told thejury, in the moonlight something was happening outside. He told the jury, in the moonlight i could see a metal object. It was the half front of a silver car with no lights. He then rang 999 and basically gave a running commentary as the theft of the quad bike was in progress. The jury heard what was a dramatic call. We can hear some of that goal now. Ive got four masked men outside my house and they have got weapons. What weapons have they got . Hand gel, they are all masked. What is your name . Peter wallis. The operator could be heard telling mr wallace not to go out because he
could get hurt. He then says to the operator, i dont care, ive got to protect that bike. Please send someone. You heard him there also say that earlier in the day he told thejury he had been say that earlier in the day he told the jury he had been confronted say that earlier in the day he told thejury he had been confronted by say that earlier in the day he told the jury he had been confronted by a group of four men in masks, but he hadnt called the police. There are three teenagers who are on trial for murder. They all deny the charges. Thank you very much. Now a weather update with helen willetts. That cuddly creature is coming out of hibernation a little too early . Yes, this is in moscow zoo. The bears have come out earlier than you would normally expect. Here is another one. They are coming out for their food. It has another one. They are coming out for theirfood. It has been another one. They are coming out for their food. It has been so warm this winter. I now but itsjust another result of our warming climate. Particularly this year in moscow,
temperatures have been phenomenal. Not below freezing, the average. That is the First Time Ever that the average temperature day or night has not been below freezing. A little bit above freezing. It is right across europe. This is obviously a global thing as well. Just illustrating this for moscow. Temperatures in helsinki have been 5 degrees above where they should be. And this all is linking in with a report that has been issued on tuesday by a conglomeration of lots of data being fed in by the National Climate centre all over the world. The worry is there is a tipping point, a point beyond which we cant bring this back . Absolutely. This climate report has said that we are nowhere near close to reaching that 1. 5to nowhere near close to reaching that 1. 5t02 nowhere near close to reaching that 1. 5 to 2 degrees temperature rise agreed in paris in 2015. In fact, we could be heading towards four to 5 degrees rise interpreter by the end of the century, globally, which is very scary indeed. Lets talk about
coronavirus because that has had an effect on the climate in areas in china particularly . Absolutely. This is just china particularly . Absolutely. This isjust a china particularly . Absolutely. This is just a temporary blip but what has happened in the last fortnight, these are the emissions of n 02, it will be the same for co2 and other Global Warming. It is remarkable. This is just Global Warming. It is remarkable. This isjust a Global Warming. It is remarkable. This is just a temporary reduction. What we are hoping for, i think is that the fact the Global Warming will be with us for decades, the wmo are hoping this next Climate Conference which takes place later this year in glasgow, there will be far more ambitious actions taken to mitigate these innovations. If you wa nt to mitigate these innovations. If you want to find out more about that, it is on climate are our monthly look at the changing climate on the bbc, on the website and the new son. In the meantime, the forecast . Yes, all
over the place. Lots of different weather across the uk. We have had some snow. This is taken in neath in the welsh valleys. No pressure with us once again. Numerous flood warnings in force. Not totally out of the woods. It has turned colder in the past 24 hours. Notably colder in the past 24 hours. Notably colder in the south. It is windy out there. Another very windy day. It continues. If you are driving for the rest of the afternoon, through this evening, it will be very blustery, could be quite dangerous for high sided vehicles, going against that westerly flow. That continues. Northern ireland primarily, but southern wales getting a buffeting as well. That makes it feel colder. Its chillier in the south. The cold air will be with us tonight. It gets colder still as we pick up some arctic air across scotland. The snowdrops to sea level. Showers. Gradually through the night we have the showers starting to diminish because
High Pressure is moving on. A sharp frost overnight tonight and at the risk of some ice. Perhaps patchy frost and patchy ice. Temperatures held up. This is what we need. It is a window of dry weather. It is a rather brief and because by the end of tomorrow we have got the next area of low pressure, the next area of rain coming in off the atlantic. Still some showers around tomorrow. Particularly for the east coast. Through the day we could see some showers through the midlands and across south eastern england. On the whole it is much drier. The winds would be lighter. More sunshine. It will feel more pleasant. Then we get the next area of rain rushing its way through overnight tomorrow. By the time we wake on saturday it is in eastern areas but not far behind the next area of low pressure. It does not look particularly ferocious wind wise but it could become slow moving for the rain. That is not what we want to hear. Please do stay tuned to the forecast if you have
plans. At the moment scotland and Northern Ireland feature for saturday but it could become stag na nt across parts saturday but it could become stagnant across parts of england and wales on sunday, which would not be good news. Helen, thank you. Sport now on afternoon live with katie. Weve seen over recent days how coronavirus has been impacting sport. And big developments todaymula one . Yes, a big move by mclaren who have withdrawn from sundays opening race of the season. The australian grand prix. That is after a member of the tea m prix. That is after a member of the team tested positive for coronavirus. Formula 1 bosses are Holding Discussions about what to do next. Seven out of the eight members tested negative for the virus after showing symptoms in melbourne. Mclaren say the affected team member is now in self isolation, adding that of their choice to withdraw from the rice was based on a duty of care. Mercedes Lewis Hamilton says it is shocking that the race is going ahead. He made it clear why he
thinks that is the case. Cashis thinks that is the case. Cash is king. I dont feel like i should shy away from the fact, my opinion. The fact is we are here. For me its shocking we are all sitting in this room. So many fans here already today. It seems like the rest of the world is reacting probably a little bit late, but already this morning you have seen trump shutting down the borders from europe to the states, you are seeing the mba has been suspended. Nba. Yet formula continues. The mba has been suspended. Nba. Yet formula 1 continues. The chinese grand prix has already been postponed to next month. The race in bahrain is due to take place behind closed doors. The race in vietnam is under threat. Could the australian grand prix be the next race to be hit due to the coronavirus . It is closer to home as well because there have been development in the premier league . Yes, some breaking news. Three Leicester City players are being tested for the coronavirus
after displaying symptoms. Manager Brendan Rogers revealed the news in the last few minutes, saying the players are being kept away from the squad. He did not say which players have been put into quarantine. He says the club has followed procedures. But if the three players stayed tested positive, that would put their premier league game against watford on saturday in doubt. Manchester Citys Champions League tie against real madrid could be postponed next week. It is because of their players are in self isolation after a madrid basketball player, who shared the same facilities as the four boroughs, tested positive. The Training Facility has now been shut. La liga has also been suspended for at least two rounds of matches. Europa league matches, that doesnt involve italian or spanish teams will go ahead. Tonight two in these clubs are playing behind closed doors. Manchester united are in austria while wolves asked for their match in athens against olympiakos to be postponed due to covid 19. That was rejected by uefa. It does go ahead. Rangers are at home to Bayer Leverkusen but will play behind closed doors in germany in the second leg. Northern irelands euro 2020 play off in bosnia at the end of this month could be postponed. The bosnia has given any fa have asked for a postponement because some of their team play in italy. And englands friendly against denmark at wembley on the 31st of march is set to be cancelled. That is the expectation of the danish fa, who have stopped all football in the country until the end of the month. We should get more clarity next tuesday. Thats because it is the day you ever have called a meeting for all 55 european members. The association and World Players Union will attend. That is via video
conference. Discussions will include all domestic and european competitions, including euro 2020 this summer, which is due to be played across 12 cities. And despite concerns, the Cheltenham Festival is well under way. Thousands are in attendance with the ryanair chase among the featured races. You can keep across all of those on the bbc sport website. And tonight at 6 30pm we will be answering any questions you have about the coronavirus. And the impact its having on the world of sport. Just tweet bbc your questions to get involved. That is only sport. Goodbye for now. Katie, thank you. Now its time to answer your questions on coronavirus and how the outbreak is affecting your finance. Our Business CorrespondentSimon Gompertz is here with me in the studio. Iamto i am to crack on with this. Lots of people, lots of questions. What will happen to those whose employers do not pay sick pay and who rely on a weekly wage to pay loans and utility bills, will they be penalised for missed late payments . Well, i guess palmer means well day, the employer, be penalised if they dont pay statutory sick pay, which the employer has to do. They dont pay statutory sick pay, which the employer has to dolj didnt which the employer has to do. didnt read it that way but all right. If your employer doesnt pay you statutory sick pay, then they themselves are subject to a penalty. It is £300. 60p per day for each day they dont pay it. If they are persistent, there are thousands of pounds per penalties. There is a regime to punish employers who dont pat regime to punish employers who dont pay. The problem is they dont have to pay to everyone. You need to be earning up to a certain threshold, so people who are part timers, doesnt work so well for them. And what you get is £94 a week. That is
something but it is a lot less than average earnings. About 20 . If your intention is to encourage people to self isolate and stay at home, they might look at that amount of money and think, its not enough. I need to work somehow, may be put it off for a bit. I would read it also, its a misleading question, but if you dont pay your loans and utility bills on time, you could get penalised . Yes you will, wont you . Yes, you will. One of the things that hasnt happened, we had a raft of helpful measures from the chancellor yesterday, but one of the things was not to go to Energy Providers and say, give people consideration, dont ask for gas and electricity payments for this month and next month because it is a difficult time. That hasnt happened. If you can fall into arrears, the most common form of debt in this country, not loans from banks, it is debt to utility
companies, council tax debts, which will have to pay. Matthew says, i am a freelancer, my work stream has dried up. Is there any state help available . Ive never claimed for benefit. I am trying to ask my mortgage providerfor a payment holiday. I think he has put his finger on something here. What the chancellor has been saying is that people should, if they are freelancers or self employed, perhaps they have to self isolate, perhaps they have to self isolate, perhaps their workers gone away because of economic problems, that they should claim benefits. They should claim universal credit and you can get around £300 a month from that. A lot of people are and arent used to claiming benefits and will not take that step and dont trust i can get the money. The truth is it can get the money. The truth is it can take several weeks to get universal credit. I can see his problem but what has been held out to them is the prospect of being hit able to apply for benefit. What a landlord be covered if a tenant has
to close his or her business . Tough situation. I have not seen a solution of that sort. There are various help for businesses and there is a Hardship Fund that has been created for the local authorities to help people and the chancellor has given money in that direction, so you can apply to your local authority. Nothing specific. Bill says, the government says universal credit is available for people not entitled to other benefits. At these payments alone or none payback entitlement . benefits. At these payments alone or none payback entitlement . A benefit isa none payback entitlement . A benefit is a benefit. It is a payment. It is not alone you have to pay back. And it is not different other benefits. It takes in what was jobseekers allowa nce, it takes in what was jobseekers allowance, housing benefit etc. It isa allowance, housing benefit etc. It is a replacement. Last question, gemma slattery, i would like to know if creditors such as Mortgage Companies or credit cards would be forced to defer payments for those who have decided self isolate . Yes. We havent got there yet. Where
mortgage lenders are forced to give people mortgage holidays. Im not saying that wont happen in the future. We are not there yet. Some of them have said they will give people mortgage holidays on a case by case basis, for instance, natwest, tsb, for two to three months. So thats good. I think people need to be slightly warned about this. It doesnt mean youre never going to have to pay that money. It means it is going to be put off to a later date. So those few months of interest and principal. They were recalculated after three months and your payment will go up slightly to compensate from the fact you have had a holiday. Simon, thank you. We will have another round of your questions at 3 30pm. A Civil Servant has alleged that alex salmond, the former Scottish First minister, started a Sexual Assault by telling her to get on the bed. She was giving evidence on the fourth day of mr salmonds trial. Hes accused of 14 Sexual Assaults against ten women, and denies all the charges. James shaw joins us from the court in edinburgh. Yes, evidence today from a witness who we can only describe as woman f because of a court order preventing us from revealing her identity, she talked about an evening in december of 2013 when she was supposed to be working on some documents with alex salmond in his official residence, bute house, in edinburgh. They were supposed to be working in the sitting room but it was extremely cold. Mr salmond suggested they go u psta i rs to cold. Mr salmond suggested they go upstairs to a bedroom. They did that and they sat at the table and they we re and they sat at the table and they were working on the documents. Mr salmond, according to the evidence from the witness, produced a bottle
of chinese spirits. The witness thought it was a fresh bottle but by the end of the session she thought it was empty or nearly empty. As time went on, she felt they were not making any progress on the papers. She decided it was time to make your excuses and leave. As she was trying to leave the first minister, alex salmond, said to her, get on the bed. She sat on the bed and as she described it in court today, she didnt know exactly what happened in the following seconds, but she found the following seconds, but she found the first minister on top of her, touching her body and saying that she was, as she described it, irresistible. She said she felt panic and disbelief as this was happening. Shortly after that she said that somehow she wasnt quite sure how perhaps alex salmond shifted his weight. She was able to get away. She managed to leave the room and she went down to an office in the basement of bute house, sent
some e mails and went home. Later on she thought about what had happened and she went through the official channels to complain about it. A few days later, according to her evidence today, mr sam and apologised. He said he knew that his behaviour was inappropriate. He said he was drinking more than normal because he was under stress and he said that he wanted her to carry on working with him. She agreed to do that. In her evidence she said there we re that. In her evidence she said there were no more inappropriate incidents after that. She was also cross examined by mr salmonds defence lawyer, gordon jackson. Cross examined by mr salmonds defence lawyer, gordonjackson. He characterised what had happened as a bit of cuddling, a sleepy cuddle, is what he put to the witness. She replied, and these are her words, refute a ny replied, and these are her words, refute any suggestion that i cuddled the first minister. He then asked her, did he try to restrain you . No, she replied. Did he ask you to stay . No, she replied. That was the full extent of the evidence we heard from
woman f today. James, thank you. James short. A Business Update now. Another dramatic day on stock markets. In europe stocks facing their worst ever day loss. This comes after President Trump announced a 30 day travel ban from mainland europe overnight. The ftse100 down more than 9 , trading at its lowest levels since the 2008 financial crisis. Making today amongst its top ten falls of all time. It is now down 27 since the 21st of february. That means it is down by about a quarter in that period. Airline and travel stocks take the biggest hit. Oil also a huge drag on the ftse 100. When we look at the ftse 250, more uk focused companies, that is
done by a similar amount. Although european markets are seeing similarly dramatic falls. Paris and frankfurt. Other european markets. The real drama has been taking place on wall street. A suspension of trading for 15 minutes because the falls were so dramatic. Samira hussainjoins us now. The aim of the tool, did it work . Have we seen a fall in the drop off . Immediately after trading resumed the falls continued. The dowjones at one point hitting 9 lower. Now it has sort of stabilised, down more than 7 . Can you believe this is what we are talking about thou . It has stabilised at low below 7 . The falls have been massive this week. It has been the entire week that had been seen these dramatic falls. Wall street was looking for
direction from the white house and it is clear it did not get that from the us president , donald trump, on wednesday, which is why we are seeing this dramatic reaction. Some era, many thanks. Today weve been discussing the impact that coronavirus is having on the retail sector, and Shopping Centres in particular, as the owner of some of the uks biggest malls, intu, has said there are doubts that it can survive unless it raises extra funds. The firm which owns manchesters Trafford Centre and the lakeside complex in essex reported a two billion pound loss in 2019. But what about the ongoing impact on an already belaugured high street . Im joined by tom molnar, ceo at gails bakery. Tom, have you noticed a reduction in customers coming into your bakeries . Yes, we have seen softer trading, especially in central london. We are fundamentally a neighbourhood
bakery. The situation, if it does get worse, that will play a very Important Role in the neighbourhood. Feeding people with nutritious food. Of course. That is what you are known for. What about the impact on the other elements of your business, online orders and deliveries to restau ra nts a nd online orders and deliveries to restaurants and businesses . Well, we do quite a lot of business to some of the top chefs and hop top hotels in london. That is softer because theres less tourism. On the delivery side we do have a pretty active platform where you can do is and delivery. That is less on the business side now. We are thinking that might be an Important Role for us and each community, to deliver food to people if the situation gets worse. Has there been an impact on the supply chain . Ours is pretty minimal. We source most of their products from the uk. We have a bit ofan products from the uk. We have a bit of an issue with the french butter that we have taken for the last 30 yea rs. That we have taken for the last 30 years. But we are working that out. We hope that wont be too big of a
problem. You have also launched a line of waste not products, which are literally made from the previous days leftovers . It took about a year to develop. A lot of work went into figuring out how to do it and getting the methodology right. We ta ke getting the methodology right. We take food that its a couple of days old and we use that with some flour, to make a really delicious sourdough bread that is done well and tastes great. Just briefly, what would you say the behaviour of your customers is . Yours is bakery and a cafe. Are still people buying the produce but perhaps not sitting down to enjoy it within your high Street Stores . Yes. It hasnt changed too much yet. We do see more people doing click and collect. They spent a little bit less time. We are mostly takeaway anyway. But i havent seen big
behaviour changes. Ok, interesting. Thank you. A lot of people thought gails was run by gail speak to you later. Now the weather forecast. Hello there. It has been a showery and windy day across the northern half of the country. Those winds have been whipping to gale force, pushing the showers eased with us now to relatively low levels. Even in the sunshine we have had those brisk showers coming through. It has felt chillier. A colder theme will continue as we go through the evening and overnight. Colder air again across northern scotland. Snow to low levels. Gradually through the night a ridge of High Pressure builds. Cutting off the shower activity away from the north sea coast. And western extremities. Colder tonight in the north. The ice mass risk is there. Patti frost in the south. An ice must risk hereto. Some showers meandering down the north sea. For most it is a much drier picture. It will feel chilly still despite the sunshine, particularly so in the north. Hello, youre watching afternoon live im simon mccoy. Today at 3. The governments Emergency Committee is meeting as the uk looks set to move into a new phase of dealing with coronavirus which could force schools to close. That, as itsjust been announced two more people have died in the uk taking the number of People Killed from the virus to 10. We will do what it takes to help get the country through the immediate challenges of coronavirus. President trump suspends travel from 26 European Countries into the us but not the uk and ireland in a bid to combat the spread of the coronavirus. This is not a financial crisis. This is just a temporary moment of time that we will overcome together
as a nation and as a world. That decision by President Trump has caused Global Stock Markets to plunge the New York Stock Exchange was temporarily suspended after losses hit seven per cent. In other news. The pc harper murder trial jury hears the 999 call about a theft which led to his police car being sent to investigate and to him being killed. Coming up on afternoon live all the sport with Katie Shanahan. Katie, their shears. Three leicester players are being tested for the coronavirus. After displaying symptoms. Their manager Brendan Rodgers says they are being kept away from the squad but did not say which players have been put into quarantine. More from you later, thank you. And helen has the weather. Simon, a return to enter it certainly feels a chillier today. A little sunshine in between. What about the rest of the week and the weekend . We will have a look in 30 minutes. Helen, thank you. Also coming up in the programme. Well be answering all your questions on coronavirus in a special programme with the World Health Organization from geneva. Hello, everyone this is afternoon live im simon mccoy. Two more people have died in the uk from coronavirus, bringing the total to ten. The patients one aged 89, the other in her 60s both had underlying Health Conditions. It comes as the governments Emergency Cobra Committee is meeting right now chaired by the Prime Minister. Its expected that ministers will decide that efforts to contain infections in the uk have run their course and a new phase will be signalled in the uks strategy to tackle coronavirus. Theyre expected to back moving into the second stage delay involving restrictions on movement,
with the aim of pushing back the peak of the outbreak to the summer. In other developments this afternoon President Trump has banned all travel to the us from much of mainland europe. Trading on the New York Stock Exchange was temporarily suspended after stocks fell again. Ireland is shutting all schools, colleges and childcare facilities; italy has closed nearly all its shops; and there has been a jump in the death toll in spain, where 84 people have now died. Here, 590 people have been infected, a rise of 134 cases, the largest daily increase since the outbreak began. In total ten people have died. More than 29,000 have been tested. Our health correspondent, lauren moss, reports. How are you doing . Im rishi. Nice to meet you. A day after announcing a multi billion pound battle plan to fight the coronavirus, the chancellor has met nhs staff and scientists who will be on the front line of the outbreak. We outlined a set of measures around how we might have to change. But we will make the right decisions at the right time, every step of the process , right time, every step of the process, people can be assured of that. We know the virus is spread through droplets. When people cough and sneeze, droplets come out and people are in close proximity to them and breathe the men, they can become infected in that way. But people can also become infected when people who are unwell cough or sneeze into
their hands, touch services. Another person who is not unwell touches those services and then touches their eyes, nose or mouth and eats foods without washing their hands first. The changing advice today could include asking more people to work from home. Recommending anyone with even mild flu like symptoms self isolates for a week. And suggesting older people and those with Health Conditions avoid crowded places. The next phase follows the World Health Organisation describing the outbreak yesterday as a co ntrolla ble the outbreak yesterday as a controllable pandemic. The governments chief medical adviser has warned a significant epidemic in the uk could put nhs services under extreme pressure. It says health ca re extreme pressure. It says Health Care Workers will need to work more flexibly than they already do. Scotlands first minister has announced gatherings of more than 500 people should be cancelled from monday. And the republic of ireland which has over 40 confirmed cases is to close all schools and colleges. Weve not witnessed a pandemic of
this nature in living memory and this nature in living memory and this is uncharted territory for us. We said we would take the right actions at the right time and we have to move now to have the greatest impact. So from 6pm today the following measures are being put in place. They will stay in place until the 29th of march. But Health Officials here say its vital big steps like shutting schools and banning large Public Events arent taken too seriously. Arent taken too soon. The important thing we are trying to do, we will see cases rise very steeply, what we dont want to do is cede to higher peak, we are trying to push that away so we can manage patients safely through the Health System, and that means intervening at the right time. The third Emergency Cobra Committee meeting of the week is happening this afternoon. The next steps the government will ask us all to take will undoubtedly change our lives for several months to come. Our Political Correspondent iain watson is in westminster. What sort of steps are we expecting and then well we hear them . The cobra meeting that you are talking about finished, lasting almost two hours, chaired by the Prime Minister. I would expect him to say what was discussed perhaps within the next couple of hours. I think we will get a public statement, perhaps a press conference, likely he will be flanked as ever by the experts, the chief scientific adviser and the chief medical officerfor the chief scientific adviser and the chief medical officer for england. The kind of steps i think we are going to see immediately will be advice to people who are vulnerable, the elderly in particular. I think more encouragement for people if they can to work from home. But im not expecting to see is something which ramps up the action immediately and follows in the steps of ireland for example. Not expecting the government to announce suddenly they will be closing schools in the uk. But they will be setting out the sort of things they
may do further down the line and that obviously is one option. They are also going to try and explain their thinking, why the scientific thinking here appears to be different from other places because im getting a sense that the political consensus and this is coming under strain now, for example, matt hancock the Health Secretary met his shadow opposite numberjonathan secretary met his shadow opposite number Jonathan Ashworth early secretary met his shadow opposite numberJonathan Ashworth early today and they discussed emergency legislation which would be introduced, labour hasnt seen the actual legislation yet. It will give the government the power to take measures such as banning big gatherings. But there is still a big disagreement over how they are treating workers on sick pay, people who arent eligible for statutory sick pay, rebecca long bailey has broken ranks and says the government response to protecting workers during the Coronavirus Crisis has been woeful so we are beginning to see criticism step up and some mps from all parties are beginning to ask privately and some publicly if
we are following the science in the uk, how come that science appears to be different from denmark, for example, ireland who have taken the measures today, the Czech Republic putting in flight bans, slovakia stopping travel in and out of the country . I think there will be questions of the Prime Minister gives a press conference later this afternoon, we will also see questions next week in parliament we re questions next week in parliament were not emergency legislation is introduced. You mentioned dublin in that statement, ive got a statement from the Northern Ireland has meant department of health saying they are coming under growing pressure, health and social care secretary is there and they expect normal business will not be possible as we move into the next phase. This virus does not respect borders. How is this going to work . Prime minister is effectively going to be bounced into making some sort of announcement on schools, isnt he . It certainly was the case this morning when we attended a briefing in downing street. We were asking those kind of questions if ireland is going down this road what happens
in Northern Ireland . The response at that stage was there would be a uk wide response, in other words you could be in a situation schools are closed on one side of the border and open on the other there was no indication at that stage there would be following irelands lead on closing schools and childcare facilities and so one in the immediate future. But there is pressure growing on the government. We heard Nicola Sturgeon the first minister of scotland saying she was minded to ban big gatherings of more than 500 people to take pressure of the Emergency Service because, not necessarily to stop the virus spreading but to ensure police and ambulance crews and so on were not at sporting events when they should be preparing themselves for a big spike potentially in virus cases. This going to be a ministerial statement in scotland later today so the political pressure if not the scientific pressure is building on the Prime Minister. Thank you very much. Any news from that cobra meeting we will bring it straight to you on
afternoon live. We are expecting something while we are on air so keep us switched on. You are watching afternoon live from bbc news. President trump has halted flights from 26 European Countries to the us, saying the eu had failed to take sufficient precautions to stop the spread of coronavirus. The uk and ireland will also be excluded from the restrictions, which come into force tomorrow. David willis reports. Criticised for downplaying the effects of the coronavirus, President Trump announced sweeping travel restrictions in a Rare Oval Office address to the nation. After consulting with our top Government Health professionals, i have decided to take several strong but necessary actions to protect the health and wellbeing of all americans. To keep new cases from entering our shores, we will be suspending all travel from europe to the United States for the next 30 days. The restriction will apply to foreigners who visited one of 26 European Countries in the two weeks prior to their arrival in the us. The uk is not included on that list. Trade will not be affected, the president tweeted later, but hundreds of thousands of travellers will be and the announcement took many by surprise. The leader of the largest Flight Attendant union here called the restrictions outrageous, and accused President Trump of destroying everything that makes our country great. There are now more than 1,000 cases of coronavirus here, and the illness has claimed the lives of more than 30 americans. Appearing before a congressional committee, a member of the president s Coronavirus Task force conceded that many more could be affected. So i can say we will see more cases and things will get worse than they are right now. How much worse well get will depend on our ability to do two things to contain the influx of people who are infected coming from the outside, and the ability to contain and mitigate
within our own country. Bottom line, its going to get worse. And the oscar winning Actor Tom Hanks confirmed in a statement that he and his wife, rita wilson, had tested positive for the virus in australia, where he is making a film. The Trump Administration says travel restrictions on people from china and iran helped slow the spread of the virus here, and that widening such restrictions could prove the answer. Yet many of those affected havent been involved in overseas travel, and the backlog in testing makes discovering their numbers all the more difficult. David willis, bbc news. As weve been discussing, that decision from donald trump took many by surprise. Reports that he did not consult eu leaders, goading him because it takes time. That is the latest from the afp news agency. Quoting him. We are hearing that the Czech Republic has banned entry to citizens of 15 countries including the uk from midnight friday. 30 day state of emergency, including a ban on 15 countries, the citizens of, Czech Republic citizens and foreigners with permanent residents are also banned from visiting those countries for 30 days. All pubs, bars and countries for 30 days. All pubs, bars a nd restau ra nts countries for 30 days. All pubs, bars and restaurants closing from hpm bars and restaurants closing from hpm 6am effective today. Stringent measures in the Czech Republic. What about here . So if the government moves to the delay phase, what will happen to people in care homes . Lee peart is the editor of Industry Trade magazine, care home professional, which has been reporting on temporary visit bans and changing practices in care as the first cases of coronavirus in care homes are confirmed. Hejoins me now. And the difficulty of course, we are talking about the most Vulnerable People and thats very much the
target of this virus, if you like . Of course weve seen that, the experience in china so far. The figures weve had from their is that 1596 figures weve had from their is that 15 of the over 80s are fatally exposed to the virus. Whereas for the younger population, under 50s, the younger population, under 50s, the fatality rate is a lot lower. What advice would you give people because elderly, sick residents, they rely on visitors, many of them, dont they . Well, weve been in touch with a number of leading care home providers this week and almost all of them are giving out advice to avoid nonessential visits to their loved ones and obviously minimise interaction where you can. What does that mean in practice . The problem is once the virus gets into a care home, you have to take urgent and quite extreme measures . Yes,
absolutely. I think obviously they are looking at a number of ways in order to screen these people, theyve been looking at screening people from the category one and two macro countries that are most exposed to the virus. They are looking at a number of ways of preventing some groups for instance, stopping social interactions with large groups within the community, i guess its just a large groups within the community, i guess itsjust a question of large groups within the community, i guess its just a question of trying to stay, weve seen this expression, cocooned from the community as much as they can. What are people who are in the homes, what are you hearing how they are reacting to this . This is quite terrifying moment for people because we never been through anything like this before . Yes, im sure its a very scary scenario for these people. But care home providers are doing their best, they are pulling out the stops to make sure the residents remain in contact with theirfamilies, sure the residents remain in contact with their families, their friends, technology is very useful in this
way. Obviously they are using ipads and maintaining Telephone Communication as much as they can and obviously providing as much reassurance as they possibly can for the residents who may be obviously concerned. Its good to talk to you. Thank you. Nadra ahmed is the executive chair of the National Care association, which represents care home operators. Shejoins me now. Thank you for coming in. This is a really challenging moment, isnt it . It certainly is but i think the thing to remember, we start in a good place. The dna of social care is around Infection Control in our ca re is around Infection Control in our care homes. Our staff are trained to ensure that there is no cross contamination, bats and norm, part of the induction. This, of course, isa of the induction. This, of course, is a very different time so weve started at a good pace. And what providers have done very quickly
over the last four or five weeks is that they have started to double their efforts around it and im hearing from providers who have said weve actually put in a very strong regime of cleaning throughout the home, deep cleaning, all throughout. Weve already heard, constant reporting on the fact that there are so many vacancies reporting on the fact that there are so many vacancies in this particular sector. On the basis that were almost talking when rather than f, ca re almost talking when rather than f, care homes are going to be affected, what will happen, will they be able to stay open a staff start getting sick . Thats the biggest challenge we face as a nation. Social care is that sort of route or Vulnerable People who can no longer live alone or choose not to live alone but then weve also got people who are living alone. And we are heavily reliant on alone. And we are heavily reliant on a workforce who are highly skilled, they are working very hard to ensure they are working very hard to ensure they deliver against all the odds. Now, what will happen in the event
that we get somebody in a care service, a member of staff who then has to self isolate, is you immediately, got 122,000 vacancies in our sector. Not going to be able to conjure up staff overnight. And so we will then be facing this very challenging period of how we deliver the service, based on a possibly decreasing number of staff in that service. I suppose what im asking is can you cope and the answer is no, isnt it . Well, we have to cope, i think weve got to cope with this because Vulnerable People are actually depending on us so we are looking at things, we are talking to the department of health, we are hoping that we will be working at a much more strengthened partnership with the nhs and with local authorities. I think the message is social care needs to be supported at this moment in time, we hear a lot
about the support for the nhs which is absolutely needed. Were you disappointed by the budget . Absolutely, i was. Disappointed by the budget . Absolutely, iwas. I disappointed by the budget . Absolutely, i was. I think when the announcements were made around the nhs which we absolutely appreciate, we all are recipients of that care, it would have been nice for the chancellor to take that moment to indicate that there was within that, or additionally there was money for social care. When we are talking about families, many, if they are affected themselves, family members may be self isolating, they cannot visit though that they are worried about. What can be done to make people less, fear is a real thing, there is panic coming in various parts and we are talking about the most honourable, we are talking about people, this virus targets, arent we . Absolutely. I think what we are saying is if
arent we . Absolutely. I think what we are saying is i you hose arent we . Absolutely. I think what we are saying is i you think its the service do you think its inevitable . Providers are getting nervous, people cant be coming in, you know, we have this scenario where people will say i have not got the flu and they still come in and visit and you can see that theyve got something or theyve got Something Else so you know, we live with this on a regular basis. Its done out of goodwill, its not because they are being callous, its just because they want to see their loved one. Im not being flippant but one cough and you are out, basically . Providers are saying they are making sure when people come in they are asking people to wash their hands, use the gel, there are other ways. I was saying to someone this morning, you know, if youve got an old iphone, others apply, lying around, theres nothing stopping you doing face time, get that phone into your loved one so you can keep in contact, there are other ways, we got the technology. Lets try and use it. I think the challenge we
haveis use it. I think the challenge we have is that people who have dementia, will not understand why their daughter isnt visiting because routine is part of it. We dont think about this, do we . There isa dont think about this, do we . There is a real human response. A Human Element to it and i think weve got to try and balance this really well because we look after not only the physical needs of people, we look after their emotional and social needs. And then weve also got a responsibility to this wonderful workforce who are delivering this, you know. They are putting themselves in harms way in many ways. Make sure care is received. Its really good of you to talk to us. Obviously our thoughts are with everybody but particularly those looking after the vulnerable. Thank you so much. You are watching afternoon live. Any developments on the coronavirus, exchanging by the moment but we will bring them to you. Moving on to other news. A jurys heard the 999 call made by the owner of a quad bike that was stolen on the night pc harper died. The call made by peter wallis led Andrew Harper and his colleague to attend the incident near sulhamstead. Mr harper was killed when he got caught in a crane strap, being used to tow the stolen quad bike. Henry long and two 17 year old boys, deny murdering the 28 year old officer. Our correspondent Helen Wilkinson is at the old bailey. Pc Andrew Harper suffered catastrophic injuries when he was tried for more than a mile at speeds of more than 40 miles an hour down a dark country lane in august. Last yearin dark country lane in august. Last year in west berkshire. He was responding as you say to reports of the theft of a quad bike. Today the jury the theft of a quad bike. Today the jury has heard from peter wallace, he was the owner of the £10,000 quad bike. And he has been giving evidence to thejury bike. And he has been giving evidence to the jury and he described, it was late at night on the 15th of august last year. He was in his bed when he thought that something was happening outside. He told the jury, something was happening outside. He told thejury, in something was happening outside. He told the jury, in the something was happening outside. He told thejury, in the moonlight something was happening outside. He told the jury, in the moonlight i could see a metal object, it was the
half front of the silver car with no lights. He then rang 999. And basically gave a running commentary as the theft of the quad bike was in progress. And thejury as the theft of the quad bike was in progress. And the jury heard what was a dramatic call, we can hear some of that call now. Thames valley police, what your emergency . Four masked men outside my house, they have weapons. What weapons have they got . Hand held things, all masks. Whats your name . It is peter wallace. The operator then later could be heard telling mr wallace not to go out because he could get hurt. The then says to the operator i dont care, ive got to protect that bike, please send someone. You heard him saying he told the jury earlier in the day hed been confronted by a group of four men in masks but he hadnt called the police. There are three teenagers
here on trialfor police. There are three teenagers here on trial for murder, they all deny the charges. Helena wilkinson reporting from the old bailey. This week bbc news is airing stories sourced and produced by young people as part of the bbc young reporter competition. One of the winners matt has been sharing his story. After giving first aid to a friend who was stabbed, hes found it difficult to get treatment himself for the problems caused by the trauma he experienced. The childrens commissioner for england says children are still facing a post code lottery for provision of Mental Health treatment a year on from a critical report highlighting the issue. The government says its transforming childrens Mental Health, to give 70,000 more patients in england access to services by next year. Heres matthews story. Ive never seen something this bad. Ive never seen something this bad. Ive seen fights, stuff like that. But obviously, not a stabbing. Im matt, im 16, but obviously, not a stabbing. Im matt, im16, this is where my story
begins. I come out of school, walked down here. My friend came up to me, panicking, something happened, someone has been attacked. Crowds of people here, here, screaming, shouting. Crying. Like something out ofa shouting. Crying. Like something out of a movie. My friend was stabbed numerous times. He was bleeding pretty heavily. I ended up getting him to the bench, where my friend was. I saw him there in quite a bit of pain. And administered first aid. What happened here affected the whole community. We live in quite a quiet city. No one really expected it to happen. I have struggled with my sleep. I have received flashbacks and also images of the event in my
mind. Come on there we go getting Mental Health support was quite hard. Quite challenging. I was given some sleeping help injanuary. Its now march and ive had no follow up, i feel like ive been now march and ive had no follow up, ifeel like ive been let now march and ive had no follow up, i feel like ive been let down. Now march and ive had no follow up, ifeel like ive been let down. What i want to know is why . In 2007 my late husband gary was murdered by a gang of youths. He was kicked and punched in the head and every kick and punch was witnessed by my three young daughters. Do you think the people that are in the background, the bystanders are forgotten about . Its the trauma and impact that people dont understand. I have been fighting as former victims commissioner to ensure weve got better at mental Health Services. But unfortunately its Postcode Lottery a nd but unfortunately its Postcode Lottery and sadly, its only if you can pay you get there quicker. My
nhs trust says in response to national pressures its improving services to help young people with Mental Health issues. Ive recently seen my friend, im happy to say hes doing very well but i walk past your everyday, every school day. Its still hard to come pass because obviously its still my mind. Its something ive got to deal with. This is mad, reporting for bbc news in cheshire. You are watching afternoon life. Time for a look at the weather. Heres helen willetts. He or she, he orshe, i he or she, i cant tell, shouldnt be coming out this early . So mild in russia, distinct lack of snow, this isa russia, distinct lack of snow, this is a brown bear in moscow zoo. Moscow have had their highest recorded temperature through the winter, the warmest winter on
record. Temperatures have beenjust a little over freezing, record. Temperatures have beenjust a little overfreezing, averaging day and night you are standing in front of the food there we go. It isa in front of the food there we go. It is a pair, is it . Yes, i dont know what this bear eats, but the novel that will be but anyway, the bear is out early and eating. Its been so mild. Above freezing, unprecedented, the first time in history. In fact theyve had temperatures quite a significant chunk above the average. Im going to have to break in, im so sorry. We are going to scotland. The first minister making an announcement about coronavirus with the chief medical officer. I the chief medical officer in the cabinet secretary will be happy to answer whatever questions you have. Can ijust firstly reiterate the contents of the daily update that was published at2 pm. The daily update that was published at 2 pm. As of today we have reported 60 confirmed cases of covid 19. That is as i indicated in
parliament earlier, it will be a sharp spike in cases from the number announced yesterday which was 36. We have said consistently now for the past couple of weeks that we have been expecting to see cases rise and that will continue to be the case. The other significant factor from the update today is that we have evidence in a further two cases of community transmission. And that is clearly significant in some of what im coming on to talk about around the the cobra meeting hasjust concluded. It was attended by the Scottish Government first minister of wales and Northern Ireland as well. The decision has been taken that we have now moved from a contained phase into the delay phase, where the objective is to seek to slow down the spread of the
virus, to reduce the numbers who will be