Onto this any longer than hang onto this any longer than necessary but to keep it as long as the Scientists Say that it has to be there. Chris, thank you. Dont go away. Hello and welcome to audiences in the uk and around the world. Youre watching a bbc news special. Were covering all the latest coronavirus developments globally and here in britain. Were expecting the uk news briefing by downing street in the next few minutes. Chris mason is here. Chris, we were talking about some of the messages government is giving out, trying to prepare people for what might be a long haul. What are the statistics saying at the moment . A new set of statistics being published every afternoon, and they are always bleak. A total in the uk of 1228 patients have died after testing positive for coronavirus, that was the figure at 5pm last night. That was up 209 on the
previous 2a hours. In terms of deaths that was the second biggest day on day rise we have seen in this pandemic in the uk, 21 higher than the equivalent figure from the day before. If you look at the testing that has been going on, the total of 127,737 people had been tested as of nine oclock this morning, with 19,500 positive results. The government has faced lots of questions in the uk about the scale of testing when it is compared elsewhere, particularly with germany and south korea. The uk now saying its testing around 7000 People Per Day on average over the last week. The previous average for the week before was 5 00 but there is certainly a desire for that to step up. Ministers have been saying in the last couple of days they are stepping it up significantly for nhs
staff on the front line. Obviously real worry that we have heard expressed on so many of our programmes from the front line nhs staff that they are exposed to the virus every hour of every day if they are working in close proximity with covid 19 patients but also that concern that, because the tests have not been there, people might be self isolating unnecessarily. If they are showing one of those relatively generic symptoms, a temperature or a persistent cough, they decide therefore to stay at home on medical advice for a week, the rest of their family being at home for a fortnight, that they are depriving their services from the nhs and may not have the virus. So the government has been emphasising in the last couple of days stepping up that testing. They said it would crank up significantly this weekend for those on the front line, and perhaps we will see that come out in the figures in the coming days, because the questions around testing are one of the persistent ones that
keep coming back to ministers. It wouldnt surprise me if it heads in the direction of the communities secretary leading to daves government briefing alongside the deputy chief medical officer for england because clearly, as ministers acknowledge, stepping up the testing makes mapping and handling the epidemic a little easier because you have a greater sense of exactly what we are dealing with. Thank you. We are expecting that briefing within the next few minutes so dont go away and we will come back to you straight after. The Italian Deputy health minister, pierpaolo sileri, says he believes italy is currently experiencing the peak of the coronavirus outbreak. More than ten thousand people have died there the highest death toll anywhere in the world. He told the bbc that the country might see a drop in the death rate in a week or ten days time. Mr sileri was speaking to the bbcs andrew marr. I believe the lockdown starts to work. I mean, we started lockdown
in the middle of march. I mean, we did start with the first lockdown between the eighth and the ninth of march, so obviously you need to wait at least 1a, 17, 18 days after that to see the reduction of number of infected people. Over the last few days, we had an increase of infection and this was due to the increase of the swab that had been performed. So we are looking, we are searching more and obviously we have more results of positive people, mainly with low and without symptoms. Im sorry, can i ask you to explain exactly what has changed, do you think . Over the last two, three days, we start to do more swabs, especially to trace. You are testing more, basically. We are testing more, exactly. And obviously, when you test
more, you may find more positive people and this will explain the increased number of positive people that we found over the last two days. But i believe that we are living in the peak of this epidemic. I believe that in one week time, ten days maximum, we will see a drop of positive cases. That was the Italian Health minister. Us President Donald Trump has backed away from imposing a quarantine on new york and two adjoining states, despite saying yesterday that he was considering the move. Instead, residents are being strongly advised against nonessential travel. Freya cole has more. New york city. Home to more than 8. 5 Million People, now a dangerous hotspot for the spread of disease. There are more than 33,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the city alone. Across the entire state, more than 700 people have died. President trump told reporters he was considering a two week quarantine to stop the spread in new york and two other states, but just hours later he backed away from the idea, saying on the recommendation of the White House Coronavirus task force and upon consultation with the governors of new york, new jersey and connecticut, i have asked the cdc to issue a strong travel advisory. Effective immediately, the centers for Disease Control and prevention urged residents in the three states to stop all nonessential Domestic Travel for 1h days. It says the advice does not apply to employees of Critical Infrastructure industries, including trucking, public health, Financial Services and food supply. The idea of an enforced quarantine
had outraged some city leaders, who feared it would paralyse the economy and cause mass confusion. I didnt speak to him about any quarantine. I havent had this conversation. I dont even know what that means. The United States now has the highest number of cases in the world. Some medical workers say they no longer feel safe. They are pleading with residents to do the right thing and stay at home. The number of coronavirus fatalities in spain rose by 838 overnight marking the countrys highest daily rise in deaths. 6,5000 people have now died from the virus in spain, and there are just under 80 thousand confirmed infections. Its one of europes hardest hit countries, but Spanish HealthOfficials Say the virus there could be near its peak. Journalist Graham Keeley has the latest developments from madrid. The government are going to approve these new restrictions. They will come into force from tomorrow. They will mean that, essentially, nonessential workers these are, for instance, construction workers, postal workers, people working on production lines which dont relate to the epidemic, for instance, car workers. Some opticians and even people running shops that are not related to food. They will not be allowed to go to work for the next two weeks and will have to stay at home. The government is saying that they are cheered to some extent by the fact that the number of cases is beginning to level out. However, when you speak to doctors in hospitals, they say, well, that may be what the government is saying, but it seems that, actually, the problem is that not enough people are being tested, because theres a theres a shortage of testing kits. So the real picture may not be quite so optimistic. And that was Graham Keeley reporting from madrid. Now some very sad news to bring you about the death of a surgeon, an nhs consultant who tested positive for coronavirus. We have more details. He was 55 and he has died at leicester royal infirmary. This information is coming from University Hospitals of derby and burton. We have more information with nhs england saying he is the first front line worker to have died from coronavirus. He was working at burtons queens hospital before contracting covid 19 and he held the position of associate clinical director and ear, nose and throat consultant, and he died
yesterday at glenfield hospital in leicester. Colleagues have, as you would expect, paid tribute to him. The chief executive of University Hospitals of derby and burton said that Amged El Hawrani was an extremely hard working that Amged El Hawrani was an extremely ha rd working consultant and trainer. He was well liked at the trust and particularly at queens hospital, burton, where he worked. He played a leading role in the merger of the hospitals and was keen to support colleagues outside his own department. He was known for his dedication and commitment to patients and raised funds for the hospitals, including climbing in the himalayas some years ago. So the whole of his professional family are desperately saddened at losing such a valued and much loved colleague. Very sad news from leicester royal infirmary, the first front line worker, a surgeon, to have died from covid 19. Indias Prime Minister, narendra modi, has asked for his countrys forgiveness after imposing a sweeping coronavirus lockdown that he said had hurt millions of the countrys poor. In his weekly radio address, he apologised for the impact of the three week lockdown, but said india was in a life and death battle. Translation first of all, let me seek forgiveness from all countrymen. My conscience tells me that you will definitely forgive me, as i had to take certain decisions which have put you in a lot of difficulty. Especially when i look at my poor brothers and sisters, i definitely feel they must be thinking, what kind of Prime Minister is this who has placed us in this difficulty . I especially seek their forgiveness. Possibly, many will be angry at me for being locked in their homes. I understand your troubles, but there was no other way to wage a war against coronavirus. For a country like india, with a population of 1. 3 billion, it is a battle of life and death and we have to win it. The indian Prime Minister. Lets go to downing street live where the news briefing is being held. Good afternoon, i would like to update you on our response to covid 19. I am joined update you on our response to covid 19. Iamjoined by update you on our response to covid 19. I am joined by drjenny harries, the deputy chief medical officer. As of 9am today, 127,737 people have now been tested for the
virus. 108,215 have tested negative. 19,522 have virus. 108,215 have tested negative. 19 , 522 have tested virus. 108,215 have tested negative. 19,522 have tested positive. Of those who have contracted the virus, 1,228 have sadly died. The virus is indiscriminate, it does not matter who you are, where you are, or how old you are. We each have a part to play. Old you are. We each have a part to play by old you are. We each have a part to play. By staying at home, protecting the nhs, and helping to save lives. We all have a duty to one another to keep everyone safe. So today i would like to give you two updates before answering questions. The first is on the plans i have put in place to
ensure that every corner of the country can confront the coronavirus epidemic. The second on what the government is doing to shield the most Vulnerable People in society. On the first question, i have put in place in all parts of the country procedures to ensure that everywhere can be ready to move forward together. All parts of the country are now on an emergency footing. This is an unprecedented step in peace time. We have not done anything like this since the second world war. This means we are establishing strategic coordination centres across the country. Each centres across the country. Each centre is led by gold commanders. We are bringing together senior members
of the emergency services, the police, fire service, ambulance service, with local authorities and nhs to lead communities through this challenging period. From cornwall to cumbria. We have embedded within each Group Members of the armed forces, including some of the finest military planners in the world. These groups are planning the local response to the virus. Using their expertise, theirjudgment, response to the virus. Using their expertise, their judgment, and response to the virus. Using their expertise, theirjudgment, and their leadership to ensure a comprehensive, a coordinated and consistent response across the country. One issue they have been helping us to coordinate and about which i know there is a lot of concern, is the provision of personal protection equipment. We simply cannot and should not ask
people to be on the front line without the right protective equipment. We have a clear plan to ensure that those serving this country at this time have the right equipment. We have established the National Supply distribution Response Team and they are supported now by members of the armed forces and other emergency services, who work around the clock to deliver the equipment to the people who need it most. 170 million masks, 42. 8 million gloves, 13. 7 million aprons, 182,000 gowns. Almost 10 million items of cleaning equipment. 2. 3 million pairs of eye protectors. All delivered to 58,000 nhs trusts and
health care settings, including gp surgeries, pharmacies and community providers. Every single gp practice, dental practice and Community Pharmacy has had a ppe delivery, all ca re pharmacy has had a ppe delivery, all care homes, hospices and home care providers have all will shortly receive a delivery. To nhs and social care workers. All those who rely on this equipment and to their families and loved ones, watching this afternoon. We understand. And we will not stop until we have got you the equipment that you need. Last weekend at this press conference, the Prime Minister and i explained why 1. 5 conference, the Prime Minister and i explained why1. 5 Million People who are extremely vulnerable to the
virus due to their Underlying Health conditions needed to stay at home for a period of 12 weeks and avoid face to face contact. Since then, the nhs has written to almost a million of these people and outline steps they need to take to protect themselves. We have established a dedicated web page on guv dot uk which those in receipt of go to to let us know whether or not they need further assistance over they need further assistance over the course of the next 12 weeks. Gov. Uk there is also a phone number on the letter they will receive shortly. If this applies to you, i know you will find it a worrying time. You will think about how you can continue to Access Medicine you need, how you can get the food and other essential supplies you rely
on. If you do not have family or friends or neighbours nearby, who you can rely on, the nhs will deliver your medicine through the Community Pharmacy network. If you register online, or using the phone service we have set up, letting us know that you need support, we will deliver food and supplies to your doorstep and, this weekend, i saw for myself first hand the first deliveries being made. The packages included cereal, fruit, tinned goods, tea bags, biscuits, toiletries and other essentials. The first 50,000 will have been sent out by the end of this week. We are ramping up production to send out as many as required for as long as it ta kes. Many as required for as long as it takes. If this applies to you, while
you will now have to be at home for a prolonged period of time, and that will be difficult, i want you to know that you are not alone. We are here to support you for as long as you need us. We have all been hugely impressed by the commitment and dedication of those working in social care, in local councils, delivering essential Public Services like ensuring the bins continue to get collected. None more so than me is the secretary of state for local government. We all respect the 12,000 heroic former doctors and nurses and paramedics who have come back to work and being deployed this weekend. And i think we have all been moved by the number of people who have signed up to be one of the nhs voluntary responders. Today we can announce an extraordinary three quarters of a Million People have signed up to do that. In every city, in every town, in every village, there is going to be work to be done. And in each of us be work to be done. And in each of us there is the power to do it. And so please take part, please play your part, please consider your friends, family and neighbours when you are shopping, please call the elderly and support them. When this is done, and it will be done, we all wa nt to is done, and it will be done, we all want to be proud of the part we have played together. Thank you very much, and nowi played together. Thank you very much, and now i will answer some questions from the media. And i think the first question today is from simon israel from channel 4 news. Good afternoon, simon. Good
afternoon. I have two questions. My question to you is. Ten days ago doctors predicted the tide would be turned in 12 weeks. What is the current forecast . And to doctor paris, i want to ask a message sent to Kings Hospital trust today said, andi to Kings Hospital trust today said, and i quote, the number of deaths being reported at kings in National Figures is below what they are experiencing. This is notjust kings, there are a number of other trusts and the centre has been made aware. At what point are we being given accurate, up to date figures on the numbers who have died . Thank you, simon. Ifi on the numbers who have died . Thank you, simon. If i can begin before handing over to jenny. No you, simon. If i can begin before handing over tojenny. No one is pretending this will be over in a few weeks but what the Prime Minister said in the past and i will reiterate today is that if we all play our part, if we all follow the
very clear medical advice, then we can turn the tide of this virus. And at the heart of that is a very simple message, which is to stay at home. By doing so, protect the nhs, and then save lives. If we follow that advice, we can turn the tide and the more we adhere to that advice, the more lives will be saved and the faster we will begin to do that. Jenny. Thank you. Picking up the point about the tide and the turning, i think this is an Important Message to get across to the public. As i said previously on a numberof the public. As i said previously on a number of these interviews, this isa a number of these interviews, this is a moving feast which is dependent on the actions we take as individuals and collectively as a population. If we practice social distancing effectively, we will move the peak across and that is a good thing because as we move it it will drop. So we need to keep practising. The data we have, the modelling Going Forward will suggest that in the time period which. Sorry the Prime Minister noted, which was 12 weeks, we would get on top of the virus and that is exactly what i hope we will do. The proof of that will come in around two to three weeks and that is because our most consta nt weeks and that is because our most constant figures, and we will come back to this in a moment, are the deaths and the deaths follow the numberof deaths and the deaths follow the number of infections. There is usually a two or three week time lag and we also need a lag for the effectiveness of intervention measures to come through. We need to wait for two to three weeks to see what we have achieved collectively, then the slope of that curve will start to indicate where a new peak will be, but we are optimistic the peak will be lower. So we need to
keep looking at this but it will be two to three weeks before we are clear whether the peak has shifted across or not. That was the first question. The second one you raised was around deaths. Clearly every death we have is a sad event. It involves the family and a lot of sadness. We have to make sure that when we are reporting, the family is content and nose and all of our data is accurate. Whether it is covid 19 or bowler, there is always a time lag to check and evaluate data, we dont want to miss report data and then correct it. The public would not have confidence if we were doing that. As we have had sadly to register more deaths, that time period takes longer. So im not aware of the communication from kings. It may be that has gone back
into the nhs, but what i can say is all of our data links up and there isa time all of our data links up and there is a time lag. For the reporting yesterday it will have been the deaths reported the previous day so it is inevitable that there will be a time lag. This is not an issue of transparency, it is an issue of ensuring all of the family that need to know and all of the parts of the syste m to know and all of the parts of the system can consolidate the information and ensure it is accurate for the public. Thank you, jenny. That is clear. The next question from paul brand from itv. Firstly to the deputy chief medical officer. Originally we were told the lockdown measures would be for three weeks. Is it safe now to assume they will go on for longer . And to the secretary of state, when will the government be making that reassessment so people can plan their lives . I will start with that one so if you look back the Prime Minister said he would review in three weeks and that links back to
the point ijust made. It would be foolish to start something one day and assume it would have an impact the next. For everyone it has taken some time to get in used in this new way of living. As a population we have evidence we are Getting Better at that as we go through, people are staying at home more, using transport less, only going to work when it is essential. Those measures have been in place solidly for a week or two. We need another couple of weeks to see that through. Asi couple of weeks to see that through. As i mentioned earlier, the issue of the three weeks is for us to review where we are and see if we had an impactjointly on where we are and see if we had an impact jointly on the slope of that curve. Impact jointly on the slope of that curve. To make it clear to the public, if we are successful we will have squashed the top of that curve, which is brilliant, but we must not then suddenly revert to our normal way of living. That would be quite
dangerous. If we stop then, all our efforts will be wasted and we could potentially see a second peak. Over time, probably the next six months, we will have a three week review and see where we are going. We will keep that lid on, then gradually adjust some of the social distancing measures and gradually get us back to normal. So three weeks review, two or three months to see if we have really squashed it, but up to six months ideally, and lots of uncertainty in that, but then to see at which point we can get back to normal. And it is plausible it could go further than that. We need to wait to see how successful we have been, and of course the bottom line is keep practising good social distancing because we will manage it quicker and better. Absolutely. From the outset of this crisis, we drew up the outset of this crisis, we drew up the measures that could be implemented, and then on expert medical advice we have chosen the
right time for this country to implement them. We have taken a number of significant steps on social distancing over the course of the last ten days, asjenny has said, and it is the nature of this virus that it takes a couple of weeks to see how effective each one of those in turn has been. When we have implemented them, we have said we will review these in three weeks or so. When the Prime Minister made his announcement on monday, bringing toa his announcement on monday, bringing to a close non essential shops and encouraging us all to stay at home, to restrict what we do in our leisure time, he made it clear we would review these steps at easter on the basis of the expert medical opinion, and that is exactly what we intend to do. The evidence i have seen suggests, asjenny has said, that the public are generally complying. I have spoken to a number of chief constables across the
country over the last few days and Business Owners are behaving very responsibly. Of course there are a lwa ys responsibly. Of course there are always in small numbers of people who are not, but in general the public is doing the right thing. The more we comply, the more we can protect the nhs, save peoples lives and the faster we will turn the tide on the virus. If i can take the next question from david shukman, from the bbc. Thank you. Two questions if i may. First to robertjenrick. The Prime Minister in his letter talks about levelling with the public, about levelling with the public, about things getting worse before they get better. What do you think they get better. What do you think the coming week is going to look like . And then a question for dr harries. We have had the confirmation of an ent surgeon, death, what message does that send
to