Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC News 20200322

Hello and welcome to bbc news. The coronavirus pandemic has now infected more than 300,000 around the world. In italy nearly 800 people have died within the past 2a hours from the virus by far the worst single day total worldwide since the pandemic began. And it brings the total number of deaths in italy to 4,825. 0ur correspondent sima kotecha reports from rome. No children, just empty playgrounds in romes largest park. Even tougher rules that have come into force today say people cannot go into them to try to curb the outbreak. Here, for several weeks, schools have already been closed. The only noises that you can hear are the bells, you know, the church bells, which is nice. But the other noise is the ambulances. Thats the only two noises that you hear. In lombardy, the worst affected region, teachers say some children felt lost without social contact, but virtual lessons are helping. To begin with they were scared, i think. Their reality had been taken away from them. Being able to actually deliver reality through a computer, even if its on a completely different scale, has been particularly important. From tomorrow, people in lombardy will no longer be able to exercise, even on their own in open spaces as part of the message aimed at slowing down the spread of the virus. All vending machines will also be banned. 0relio, how do you feel about the coronavirus . Thumbs down . Yeah thumbs down one parent in rome tells us shes worried about the psychological impact the outbreak will have on the young. Hes having nightmares, though. Hes having nightmares . Yeah, i dont know if it is connected but hes having nightmares about spiders most nights. He said hes not worried because hes brave. Youre brave . Well, thats fantastic. You seem very brave and you look very brave. Nobody has lived through times like this before. The spaces may be smaller, but as ever, everybody is learning to adapt. Sima kotecha, bbc news, rome. In spain, the number of deaths from the virus has jumped by a third in a day, to more than 1,300 behind only iran, china and italy. Madrid has been particularly badly hit and hospitals there are struggling to cope. Spains Prime Minister, pedro sanchez, has praised the countrys response to the crisis, one week into the state of emergency. But he underlined the importance of people continuing to stay at home, warning that the coming days would be extremely challenging. Translation unfortunately, the worst is yet to come. Hard days are ahead of us. Were yet to suffer the impact of the worst wave, the most harmful, that will push our material and moral capacities to the limit. Also, our attitudes as a society. Here in the uk, borisjohnson has issued a fresh warning that coronavirus will overwhelm the nhs unless everyone starts to practise social distancing and that the uk was no more than three weeks behind italy when it comes to the spread of disease. He has urged everyone in the uk to follow official guidance to stay at home to save lives. It comes as the nhs struck an unprecedented deal with private hospitals across england to utilise nearly their entire Hospital Capacity to help in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. Health Officials Say a further 56 people have died in the uk after testing positive bringing the total here to 233. With the latest heres dominic hughes. Tonight, a stark warning from the Prime Minister, the nhs is at real risk of being overwhelmed by the coronavirus. Borisjohnson warns we are just two or three weeks behind italy and the virus is accelerating. But, some good news, too, in what looks like a really significant deal with private hospitals 8,000 beds, 1,200 ventilators and thousands of staff will be made available at cost to the nhs. This is fantastic news. It will really help me and my colleagues on the front line to feel supported and to have the capacity in the hospital to admit the sickest patients to give them the care they need. My only concern about this is ppe, visors, masks, gowns. We know weve had some shortages in the nhs recently and i would like to see some assurances that the new staff who are coming on board are going to be protected and that theres going to be ppe, enough for all of us to use. Medical staff are still extremely concerned over access to adequate protective clothing. The government says enough of the right kit is available. Meanwhile, on the first day of what is meant to be something close to lockdown and strict social distancing, in the centre of newcastle, some people were still out and about. From the experts, though, a real sense that a moment of crisis is fast approaching. If you follow the advice you are saving somebodys life. This is the time in your lifetime whereby your action will save somebodys life. Its as simple and as stark as that. A picture of those who are being admitted to Critical Care units after falling ill to the virus is beginning to emerge. Data was collected on 196 patients in england, wales and Northern Ireland. More than half of them were being looked after by hospitals in london. Theres a significant difference between women and men. More than two thirds were male. And 132 patients needed a ventilation machine to help them breathe. 16 patients sadly died. 17 were able to be discharged to regular hospital wards. The rest remained in intensive care. There is now real concern about the number of cases that are presenting in london, but also a small but significant cluster in birmingham and the west midlands. But the truth is, this virus is spreading throughout the country. Here in salford, the deaths of two patients were announced yesterday. Later this week 1. 5 million vulnerable people, including some Cancer Patients and those with lung conditions will receive a letter. It will strongly advise them to stay indoors for the next 12 weeks from monday to shield themselves from the virus, all part of the effort to make sure that the nhs is not overwhelmed in the months ahead. Dominic hughes, bbc news. Lets look at some other stories in brief. Brazils largest state, sao paulo, is closing down for two weeks from tuesday to help fight coronavirus. All non essential businesses and services, including bars and restaurants, will shut. The state is home to around 46 Million People and is brazils business, industrial and financial powerhouse. There are more than a thousand cases of the virus in the country as a whole. The French Health minister has appealed to the public to hand over protective masks so they can be used by Health Workers, as hospitals in the country face more and more cases of coronavirus. He said theres no need to wear masks while shopping. Health workers in france have criticised supply shortages. Turkey has imposed a curfew for its Senior Citizens and banned restaurants from serving at tables, as the death toll from coronavirus more than doubled from nine to 21 injust 2a hours. The number of confirmed cases is fast approaching 1,000 there. The government says that there is more than enough food to go round and people have no need to stockpile. The environment and food secretary, george eustice, said people should think of others, especially Health Workers who needed to shop at the end of their gruelling shifts. 0ur Political Correspondent nick eardley has this report. An unprecedented crisis and challenge for the government, the Prime Minister continued to urge everyone to follow advice, warning of the consequences of people do not act together to try and stop the spread. Ministers are trying to prevent things getting worse in other ways, too. In shops long queues like this one in sidcup this morning have become a familiar sight. Inside, too, empty shelves are common. So this afternoon, a plea from the government dont buy more than you need. Be responsible and dont buy more than you need. It is making life more difficult for those frontline workers such as oui those frontline workers such as our daughters are nurses and anyjust our daughters are nurses and any just support staff who are working so hard in such difficult circumstances. You just need to stop it people like dawn, the Critical Care nurse who found shelves empty after a0 hours of work. Nurse who found shelves empty after 40 hours of work. It is unacceptable. These are the very people we will all need, to look after us or our loved ones in the weeks ahead. There is thought to be £1 billion of food in peoples houses now compared to three weeks ago. The reasons though, arent a lwa ys the reasons though, arent always simple. My mum is 90 Committee Says she cant come on her own, so how does that work . If i come in, i look like im the person who is taking stock from the old people in my mum cant come out to get it. Sol mum cant come out to get it. So i got her stuff. Ive come here, but there is nothing available. Although supermarket shelves may look empty, the message from industry chiefs is there is enough to go around. There is plenty of food in the supply Chain Committee issues around people and lorries, so getting that food right into the front line onto our shelves, which is why we have seen shortages in some areas. The government has relaxed some rules for supermarkets but it may have to go further. Many please so far have fallen on deaf ea rs please so far have fallen on deaf ears pleas, with the government go further and introduce compulsory limits on what people can buy . |j introduce compulsory limits on what people can buy . I dont think its necessary or appropriate for the government to take Different Stores or different items, when they are working together to identify what an appropriate limit is. For now the pleas continue, the question, whether it will be enough. Nick eardley, bbc news. As weve been hearing borisjohnson has warned that the coronavirus outbreak is accelerating, and urged people to follow the advice on social distancing. Nick eardley whose report you just saw has been telling us that ministers want people to take the warning seriously. The message from number 10 is still stark. The Prime Ministers saying the uk is just two or three weeks behind italy, urging everyone to follow that advice, without a Huge National effort to stop the spread of this virus, the nhs here could well be overwhelmed. And in the next few days, the government will urge1. 5 few days, the government will urge 1. 5 Million People in england alone to stay at home to protect themselves from the virus, the list of who they think is the most vulnerable will be published soon. It is, as they say, an extraordinary period in british political history, the Prime Ministers saying to note people should stay home, it could help save literally thousands of lives. Nick eardley there. A number of high street firms including top shop and john lewis have announced theyre temporarily shutting their stores, although they will still trade online. The labour Leaderjeremy Corbyn has said the government should do more to provide Economic Security for those affected, while one minister has admitted it will be operationally difficult to help self employed people as our Business Correspondent katy austin explains. Huge chunks of the economy have already felt the pain as customers stay away. Jobs have already been lost. This restaurant in london has already been badly affected. Then came the call to close. Most are phony to help you and i have tried to treat the staff as best as they can for as long as best as they can for as long asi as best as they can for as long as i can. If the government could help with that, that would be a fantastic help stop under a would be a fantastic help stop undera grant would be a fantastic help stop under a grant scheme, the government will fund 80 of wages for employees who now wont be able to work, up to £2500 a month. Vat payments will be deferred, self employed people arent covered by the Wage Subsidy Programme but benefits are being increased. The chancellors latest Emergency Support package for the economy was welcomed by business groups and something that will save hundreds of thousands of at risk jobs, that will save hundreds of thousands of at riskjobs, but many self employed people say they are facing a cliff edge, too, and they need more help. At the moment, onejob left today, so my income has gone from £200 a day to about £1a a day. So a massive, massive increase. Unemployed people wa nt increase. Unemployed people want wage subsidies extended to them, tojust want wage subsidies extended to them, to just make self employed. Them, to just make selfemployed. So they can meet the cost of living self employed people. The cost of living selfemployed people. The government said it was doing what was operationally deliverable in a short timescale. We are working with those people and urging self employed people for forbearance. So there is a range of measures that have been set up stop many businesses are trying to adapt to see this out. More temporary store closures were announced this weekend. Meanwhile, the wage grants scheme, continues and the crunch looms. This is bbc news. The headlines the death toll in italy has seen another dramatic rise. Nearly 800 people have died in the last 2a hours from coronavirus, the highest total anywhere in the world since the outbreak began. In spain theres also been a big rise in the death toll, an increase of more than 300 people, bringing the total number of deaths there to more than 1,300. In the us, a number of states have ordered shutdowns, with one in five americans soon set to be under a stay at home order. The virus has claimed almost 280 lives there and infected more than 19,000 people. Meanwhile President Trump says the us has agreed new measures with the leaders of canada and mexico to control non essential travel across its northern and southern borders. Weve also reached agreements with canada and mexico on new travel rules at our northern and southern borders to halt the entry of the chinese virus while continuing trade and commerce, and weve had very good talks with Prime Minister trudeau and this morning, with president lopez 0brador. We talked aboutjoint measures that were taken to prevent the spread of the virus in our countries and to temporarily suspend non essential travel. We had a great conversation this morning with the president of mexico, and our close cooperation with mexico and canada will keep our people healthy, keep their people healthy, keep everybody safe. Brazils largest state, sao paulo, is closing down for two weeks from tuesday to help fight coronavirus. All non essential businesses and services, including bars and restaurants, will shut. The state is home to around a6 Million People and is brazils business, industrial and financial powerhouse. There are more than 1,000 cases of the virus in the country. 0ur correspondent katy watson is in sao paulo. There are more than 20 Million People in sao paulo city itself stop are they prepared to go on lockdown . To be honest, it feels like the city is under lockdown already. Big Shopping Centres have been closed, only supermarkets and pharmacies are open. Some restaurants arejust doing delivery only. You go out into the streets and there are very few people out in the streets. The parks around the city are all close, you cannot get a ccess city are all close, you cannot get access to those. So it feels like sao paulo is taking this very seriously. Sao paulo has the highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases, being the biggest city. So it is taking this very seriously, especially looking at what is happening in europe, i was speaking to one doctor who said that he does not want to make the same mistakes that have happened in europe, so they are trying their best. Many feel that the Public Health system will not support the level of cases that they are concerned about getting. What about trouble, given the fact sao paulo has one of the busiest airports in the entire region . Travel. Airports in the entire region . Travel. So far the airports are still working. Certainly foreign citizens are not allowed in the country. The land borders have closed as well, apart from with uruguay. So it is still kind of high functioning in that sense, certainly, compared to other parts of the region. Argentina is on total lockdown. There is peru. Venezuela. 0f is on total lockdown. There is peru. Venezuela. Of course, you have got bolsonaro the president , who has. Inaudible. He is very concerned about the economy. He is trying to not take it as seriously perhaps some of the state authorities, certainly. So there is a bit of a divide going on in brazil. You spoke about the economy there. As the government put in place any measures to protect people who might now be losing theirjobs if businesses are told to stay shut . There have been lots of announcements. Informal workers, the informal economy, it accounts for about a0 of the economy by some estimates. That is a huge worry, people who are now jobless that is a huge worry, people who are nowjobless and have been left go. So for independent workers, we talking street offenders, they have been given about a0 to help them. So we are still talking about low numbers compared to other parts of the world like the uk. Other parts of the world like the uk. Street vendors. That is one of the biggest concerns, how long will this go on . I mean, theyre quarantining here, this sort of semi lockdown, has already started. But the numbers we are singing in europe are not here yet. So how long will people be happy to be in lockdown if they are not seeing any changes or if they are not seeing any serious concerns . There is an argument that being in quarantine for a long time will also frustrate a lot of people and that is also a concern here. Katie, thank you so much. At the moment, millions of people have been told to stay at home around the world and distanced themselves physically from others. How is this affecting peoples anxiety and stress levels . We can speak to a clinical psychologist and professor at the university of maryland. Shejoins professor at the university of maryland. She joins me professor at the university of maryland. Shejoins me now. I spoke to a scientist on this programme last night and asked him how he managed pressure, and he said he domesticated anxiety. I had never heard about before. I wonder if that is something we should all do. What you think . Yes, i mean, i think that these are uncertain times, where everyone has all of these questions running through their heads, like, have i been exposed . Through their heads, like, have i been exposed . How long is this going to go on . What is going to happen to the economy. I think everybody is feeling a sense of anxiety right now. I think individuals who are prone to depression and anxiety might be having an even more difficult time. They have a ha rd difficult time. They have a hard time controlling but worry thatis hard time controlling but worry that is running through their heads, and all these questions, people who are prone to depression are more likely to feel the mood affects of social distancing and staying inside. I think this is a time when eve ryo ne i think this is a time when everyone is feeling anxiety, but i think there are some people experiencing it even more strongly. What can parents to help their children who might be old enough to see that something strange is going on without frightening them . Right, | without frightening them . Right, i think this is the real challenge. How do we get our kids to take this very seriously without causing a lot of anxiety . I think it is really important to consider that parents set the emotional tone for the children. And when something stressful, like this pandemic, is happening, children look to their parents for cues about how to respond. Soi for cues about how to respond. So i think that at a time when there is so much we cannot control, i think we need to look at what we can control. What can we do . How can we keep some semblance of structure, some semblance of structure, some semblance of a schedule . How can we make some semblance of a schedule . How can we make sure some semblance of a schedule . How can we make sure that we and our kids are sticking to their sleep routine . We know that sleep affects mood, et cetera. Just one more question. In normal times it is really frustrating, looking at other peoples perfect social media feeds, and we see the same thing starting now, but some pa rents a re thing starting now, but some parents are getting really frustrated seeing other parents putting up tent parties, showing how magical isolation is, when some parents are really struggling at home trying to work and juggle . That is so true. I think facebook has been plastered with these homeschool schedules, but i ta ke homeschool schedules, but i take one look at them and think, wow, but is not realistic for me, im trying to work from home. I think when we set these Unrealistic Expectations for ourselves, based on social comparison with other people, were going to look at and say, wow, im so inferior. Why is it that they can do this and i cant . I think we need to keep in mind that first of all, i am sure that first of all, i am sure thatis that first of all, i am sure that is one snapshot out of the day for them as well, but that we really need to be kind to ourselves and realise that this isa ourselves and realise that this is a tough time for us. We need to be doing our best. Without trying to look at what other people are doing or how other kids seem to be so happy with their parents on facebook and my child is really struggling with this. You know, how can we kind of be kind to ourselves and not set these Unrealistic Expectations . I think that is really important. In australia, the authorities have closed manys famous bondi beach. Police took action after beach goers exceeded the newly imposed limit on outdoor mass gatherings. Australia hasjust recorded its biggest dailyjump in confirmed coronavirus cases, with be total now over 1000. Sean hassett has more. This was bondi beach on friday. Its the most popular strip of sand in sydney. Too popular, in fact, for the current crisis. On saturday, the authorities closed it down. Its with a significant level of disappointment that we have to move today to not only remove people from bondi beach, but use this as an opportunity to remind everybody that the health act must be complied with. Large crowds of people flouted the restrictions brought in earlier this week. The Australian Government has banned outdoor gatherings of more than 500 people. Its also requested people to keep at least four square metres apart when out in public. What we saw this morning here on bondi beach was the most irresponsible behaviour of individuals that weve seen so far. Some beach goers admitted they were trying to squeeze in one last swim. I think this is a last hurrah, to be quite honest. I think that from tomorrow this will definitely. I mean, we shouldnt be doing it now. Officials say this closure will be temporary. When the beach reopens, police and lifesavers will work to make sure the 500 person limit is respected. But the government has warned of long term closures if people dont practice responsible social distancing. And that applies to more than just beaches. The Prime Minister has flagged the possibility of locking down virus hotspots as early as next week. Shaun hassett, bbc news. And it does make a traditional italian song is being played around the world is a show of solidarity for everybody living in italy. Freya cole took a look at some of the body is being shared on social media. The Serbian National theatre performance for their audience, from the safety of their own homes. It is hoped the video will remind people of the great tragedy in italy and encourage people to stay indoors. The traditional italian folk song bella ciao is being played from rooftops across italy to boost morale. The tune dates back to the late 19th century and was sung to protest harsh working conditions and rice patties in northern italy. Today the hardships are of a different kind. Bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao. Another rendition of bella ciao, but this time from a Small Community in germany. The group took to their balconies as a show of support for italians, knowing they too could be forced to live under more restrictions. It is the first time the neighbours have performed together, but given the amount of fun, perhaps not the amount of fun, perhaps not the last. Just to let you know, all of us here are really tempted tojoin all of us here are really tempted to join in, all of us here are really tempted tojoin in, but we wont. Now for the weather. Hello there. There is a lot of fine and settled weather in the forecast right across the country. But we will see subtle changes in the north west. As High Pressure hold on for most of us, this weather front will encroach in to bring more cloud, outbreaks of rain to the north west and also fairly strong winds. The rainfall amounts really could mount up here as we move into next week. But for most of us its going to be settled, thanks to that area of High Pressure. So dry for most with a good deal of sunshine around. Well continue to have a chilly wind, certainly over the next few days and nights will be cold, with some frost around. Now, as we head into the early part of sunday, looks like we could see some low cloud just rolling in off the north sea into the north east of england and into eastern scotland. A bit more cloud for the west of scotland as well. Further south, though, clear skies. Its going to be a chilly one and we will see a touch of frost in places, particularly through central northern areas. Now, the cooler air mass is still with us as we head through sunday, being brought in on an east south easterly wind. So there will be a bit of a chill to the air again. Its going to be a chilly start generally across the board, but bright with lots of sunshine. We should see that low cloud across the east coast drift northwards and clear away. And then we should see more sunshine, in fact, through the day for Northern Ireland and for much of scotland. But by the afternoon, most of seeing some sunshine, with fewer clouds around. The winds still a feature, but not as strong as they were on saturday. So i think, with the sunshine, and slightly lighter winds then, it shouldnt feel too bad. If you are out of that breeze the top temperatures 11 12 degrees. But cool across southern and eastern coasts. Now, as we head through sunday night, theres another cold one under clear skies. That weather front starts to close in to the north west of scotland. So here less cold that it will be further south. It could be quite a cold night, in fact, through sunday night. And for monday we start off with quite a bit of frost around, at least clear skies with plenty of sunshine too. So that will compensate for the cold starts. Winds a little bit later as well, coming in from the south east. For the north west, though, it turns cloudy. Outbreaks of rain for the hebrides and into the Northern Isles as that weather front loiters there. But elsewhere, in the sunshine, not feeling too bad, this is bbc news. The headlines the death toll in italy has seen another dramatic rise, due to coronavirus. Nearly 800 people died in a 2a hour period,