This is bbc news. The latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. The second night in intensive care for borisjohnson as he continues to receive treatment for coronavirus. He is comfortable, he is stable and in good spirits. While he has had oxygen, he has not been on a ventilator. We hope to get an update on the Prime Minister pass condition in the next few hours. But meanwhile the government does not work goes on. The death toll in spain rises to m500. Work goes on. The death toll in spain rises to 1a,500. But that World Health Organization says the outbreak is slowing down. Paris introduces tougher lockdown measures including no exercise outside is
more than 10,000 people die there from the virus. The new Nightingale Hospital in london starts treating its first patients. Some good news, two and a half months as thousands in wuhan enjoy the left of the travel restrictions. And joy for one patient investor as a patient who spent two weeks in hospital with the virus is now through it. Hello. Welcome to bbc news. Broadcasting to viewers in the uk and around the world with an update on the uk by mr bryson boris
johnsons condition. After he spent a second night in intensive care after being treated for coronavirus. The latest update is that he is sta ble the latest update is that he is stable and in good spirits. He is receiving oxygen but does not need a ventilator. He had been overdue to to review the situation regarding the lockdown this sunday. The government does not know when they will ease restrictions. The nhs nightingale, the new temporary hospital in london has started to receive its first patients. A76 days, the streets of the city of wuhan were largely deserted. Trains and services have resumed as people are able to leave the city if they dont have the virus. Elsewhere in spain, there has been another rise
in deaths. 700 and 57 people 757 people have died in the last 2a hour is taking the death toll to 1a thousand 500. Despite that, President Trump has said there were signs that the us was reaching the top of its curve. We will have more in the world throughout the app. First, the Prime Ministers condition here. Our Political Correspondentjonathan condition here. Our Political Correspondent jonathan blake. Another night of care for the pi minister. Last night downing street said he was being closely monitored and in good spirits and described his condition is stable. Get well 0011 his condition is stable. Get well soon messages from nhs staff, they among the many, wishing Boris Johnson well. The man standing and sought to reassure the public last night, dominic raab infused
optimism. The number of deaths in coronavirus rose by 708 and the number of cases of the virus to a total of 55,2a2. That, said the governments chief scientific adviser, could be a good sign. Its possible that were beginning to see the beginning of change in terms of the curve flattening a little bit. We wont know that for sure for a week or so. But what were not seeing is an acceleration. Its important that we keep these new cases down, because of course, this in turn leads to the number of people going into hospital. And the aim all along is to reduce the number of cases below the capacity of the nhs, and to save lives. But it doesnt mean restrictions in place to slow the spread of coronavirus are likely to be
lifted or eased in the nearfuture. Its too early to say when we will actually reach that peak and when we might be able to make any changes. And therefore the message at the moment is very clear however lovely the weather this easter weekend, stay at home, protect the nhs, save lives. Now is the time we need to be really firm, and Everyone Needs to be firm, about sticking to that message. Because if we are, as the statistics appear to show, making a little bit of progress on that, nows the time to hold to it, to make sure that we do see those beneficial changes. The government insists it is getting on with its work while the Prime Minister remains in hospital. But anxious hours and difficult days lie ahead. Jonathan blake, bbc news. Ina in a moment we will speak to helen kat using downing street. But first lets speak to Sangita Myska whos outside st thomas hospital. I know we dont have anything do in terms of information right now, but i suppose that one of the things we have been getting our heads around in the last few hours is how long it does take patients to recover after they have been in intensive care. Yes, you have hit a point. The debate that has been raging this morning over when the Prime Minister will be discharged and after that, when he may be ready to get back to work. It might be useful at this point for me to take you back a little bit with a timeline of how the pi minister ended up here. It was more than ten days ago that he started displaying symptoms of coronavirus and on sunday, news broke that he still had this persistent temperature. At that point, he was advised to admit himself here to st thomas hospital. It was chosen because it was a most
convenient and also because it is a centre of excellence. It was then on sunday evening that he was admitted here. On monday night, he was then moved into the intensive care unit and then on tuesday night, last night, he spent his second night there. As of yet, there is no update on information as to how his condition is. As you say, this morning there was a debate about how long it will take him to recover. The answer is that nobody knows. This is a huge talking point internationally. What we know about this virus is that it is extremely difficult to predict. We know that it is highly contagious, much more contagious than the annual flu we get here in britain. Some people say up get here in britain. Some people say up to three times more contagious. For the mass number of people, they will experience mild symptoms, a range of symptoms, but most usually with a calf and cough and
symptoms of tiredness. Boris johnsons temperature has not decreased and that is why he is here in intensive care. Ijust want to stress what downing said last night, he is not on a respirator and that is crucial. In answer to your question, it is patients that are put on respirators that we know are 110w put on respirators that we know are now suffering the illness much more severely than others. It is then that need the full on extra support to get oxygen pumping directly into the lungs. That is that said, we also know that he is receiving standard oxygen treatment. We also know that he is able to communicate, how do we know that . Because of the phrase, he is in good spirits. Should he have been working on his hospital bed on sunday night . Would it be better if he got some rest. Scientists say that it is impossible to tile. Lets go across to downing street on the politics and machinery of the government. One thing that we are of the government. One thing that we a re clear of the government. One thing that we are clear about this morning is that there will be no lifting of the lockdown on monday . there will be no lifting of the lockdown on monday . I guess that this has, because rememberwhen borisjohnson put these restrictions in place on monday the 23rd of march with that National Address to the nation . In that, he said that it would be kept under constant review. Particularly, he said that we would look again in three weeks after we have received evidence. Dominic raab who is deputising for him was asked
about this yesterday at a conference and he said that, we will take any review once we have evidence that the measures are working and we are past the peak. We are still unsure about whether that will happen. There is a legal obligation for the government to do some kind of review. That is because its gives the Police Powers to operate under certain ways. It says that it is needed to be reviewed every 21 days and the first review, on the 16th of april still needs to be carried out. What that review surmises is not confirmed and it is very much suggested that we will it will be unlikely for us to see any relaxing next week as it is all about getting us next week as it is all about getting us past the peak of this virus and if we are not there, it is very
unlikely that will change. More messaging, radio adverts going out this morning with advice not to go out. There are also letters from the pi minister dropping on doormats, mine arrived this morning. Prime minister. What about an update on the Prime Ministers cal. We have been told by downing street that if anything changes, the media will be informed. There is a Daily Briefing at about midday from the head of comms for the Prime Minister. Yesterday, we learnt at the back of that briefing about the latest condition for or is johnson. That briefing about the latest condition for or isjohnson. Is it the same timetable today . Condition for or isjohnson. Is it the same timetable today7m condition for or isjohnson. Is it the same timetable today . It is very much. Downing street has said that it is going to be transparent, it is going to keep people informed. When he was admitted into intensive care,
the media informed within our, as quickly as practically possible. They are trying to keep everyone updated and keep it as a formal process rather than an ad hoc way. We will be expecting some sort of update before early afternoon. Helen kat in downing street. We will talk to you again later. Lets talk to somebody who knows what it is like to be at the eye of the storm in terms of National Crisis in some way 01 terms of National Crisis in some way or another. This is a former cabinet secretary. Thank you forjoining us. As you say, you have been a party leader and a cabinet member. When you look at the team that are trying to co nfro nt you look at the team that are trying to confront this crisis right now, none of them are as well known as the Prime Minister, are they up to the Prime Minister, are they up to the enormity of the challenge in your view . Yes, i think they certainly are. They have had clear
instructions from the pi minister and we have a system in this country of cabinet government. The cabinet isa of cabinet government. The cabinet is a collective decision body and the cabinet is perfectly capable of making any decisions that have to be made and we all want the Prime Minister to be back as soon as possible, but i think the government is perfect perfectly capable of functioning in his absence. We have the secretary of state dominic raab deputising where necessary, but is it possible to tackle a National Crisis without a leader into circumstances where the Prime Minister may not able to get back to full work shortly. We dont know how long it will go. As i say, as things stand, because that they have set,
the government is very sensibly relying on the best medical advice, it is being extremely transparent, we are being given that advice, the whole nation is being given to advise daily. In the briefings that ta ke advise daily. In the briefings that take place around five oclock. I think, as i say, i think the government is painfully capable of functioning effectively and i think it is indeed functioning effectually. Of course. At some point these trade offs ofjudgments between these medical and clinical perspectives, Health Issues and the economy, the economy is effectively. At some point those fivejudgments are effectively. At some point those five judgments are going to have to be made. Do you think they are in a position to make them without a
Prime Minister at the helm . They will be making them collectively. They would have been making them collectively at the Prime Minister was not in hospital and was in ten downing st. These decisions are made collectively by the cabinet after discussion, after consideration of all the facts and all the evidence. If we reach that point before the pi ministers back, i very much hope he will be back as soon as possible, but if we were to reach that point before the Prime Ministers back, i think the cabinet is perfectly capable of making those decisions. Thank you very much for giving us your analysis today. Let lets turn to europe. The European Unions top scientist has resigned. He. He said he arrived at the European Research
centre but the crisis has completely changed his view. In response, the European Commission said it regretted his decision. He is an italian professor of science, Mauro Ferrari. He has quite a pedigree to him. Is championed in his home country of italy as well. Before he started the job for the European Research council, he said this was the dream job he wanted, to shape the future of science for europe. He started the job injanuary. Three months in, just over that, basically he has penned a 2 page open Public Statement saying that he is now returning to the fight on the front line because he is exasperated by the european union, that the bureaucracy in brussels, ultimately he found it really not up to the job when it came to being found wanting in the
biggest emergency, the coronavirus pandemic. So he said that he wanted a project involving the reshaping of his group so that it gave the best resources to the best scientists in europe. But he claims that ultimately it fell flat. That there is the wrong type of working within this particular working group in europe. That they are almost assigned things from bottom up rather than creating things from top to bottom. He also said he was approached directly by the European Commission president for ideas on what they could do to fight covid 19. And he says that once he started directly working with her, it caused a political thunderstorm. He said they squashed his ideas. Staying in europe, in the last half
an hourspain has staying in europe, in the last half an hour spain has announced a slight increase in deaths of the day. 757 people lost their lives, bringing the cumulative death toll up to 1a,500 since the outbreak began. It is said that it is to early to be too optimistic, but the outbreak seems to be slowing down. France has gone into the worst Economic Contraction since the first world war. The economy shrunk because of the pandemic in the First Quarter. Meanwhile, germany is predicting that the economy could contract nearly 10 because of the pandemic this quarter. Lets look at china now. There has been a jump in new coronavirus cases there in the last 2a hours, although the figures are
comparatively low. 62 new cases, thatis comparatively low. 62 new cases, that is up from 32 a day earlier. Most of the latest cases are people travelling to china from abroad. Meanwhile, the lockdown has been lifted in wuhan, the city where the pandemic began. Not everybody will be able to leave their homes yet, as reported from shanghai. They were lifted at midnight local time, but it does not mean that anybody is allowed to jump on planes or has she high speed trains to leave. There is a health app that is widely used on smartphones, this tracks where you have been and whether you have had the code. If
you have had the green code saying that you have had it you have not had it, you will be asked to show these at the stations. Tens of thousands were due to leave. All of this is in the context where official government advice in the province of hubei, only one person should go to the shops and you should go to the shops and you should be wearing a mask. That is all compounded by the fact that the president has encourage people not to go to tourist hotspots or go to the cinema. Lets turn from china to the cinema. Lets turn from china to the United States. President trump has claimed his administration will shortly have another 1010 ventilators to help with the crisis. He said their machines would be available to american states and
other countries. The daily death toll in the us has reached nearly 2000. The worst week so far. The death toll from covid 19 continues to rise steeply across the country. The states of new york and newjersey have both reported their highest daily loss of life, with the number of cases in new york on a par with italy. Hospitals and Health Workers continue to struggle with the enormity of the crisis. There are also a plethora of people who are just. Incredibly, incredibly sick in a way that ive never experienced or seen before, and its awful to be able to offer them so minimum of things. So every day is honestly the hardest day. The governor of new york, andrew cuomo, says there is some reason to be optimistic. The rate at which people are being admitted to hospital and intensive care is slowing down. At the Daily White House briefing, President Trump said
much more Medical Equipment was now on its way to hospitals more than 100,000 ventilators over the next few weeks. So many that they wouldnt all be needed and some could be sent overseas. The uk called today and they wanted to know would it be possible to get 200, and were going to work it out, weve got to work it out. Theyve been great partners, the united kingdom, and were going to work it out for them. So they wanted 200, they needed them desperately. Mr trump also announced that he was considering putting he criticised the United Nations agency for its guidance that borders should be kept open as the us president banned travel by foreign nationals from china in late january. We will look at ending funding, yeah. Cos you know what . They called it wrong. The coronavirus outbreak has affected black communities in the us disproportionally. In some places, up to four times more African Americans are dying than other races. President trump said it
represented a tremendous challenge for the nation. Peter bowes, bbc news, los angeles. Lets explore the point made toward the end of peters report there about how the virus is disproportionally affecting certain communities. This is a professor of sociology at the university of manchester. The first question would be is that disproportionate effect visible in other countries, including, for example, the uk . Im conscious that a lot of doctors and nurses and other front line workers have been bme individuals. So, we dont have any clear evidence yet in the uk, but i would not be surprised if we do find a similar inequality is apparent in the uk as we have found in north america, but it is likely that this is going to be an
issue in most countries across the globe. Why is this . There are a number of potential explanations. One is that you have touched on, minority people might be in locations where they are more likely to be exposed to infection concentrated areas and cities. We know that minorities in the uk are more likely to be working on the health professions. There are much bigger more important underlying reasons which relate to social and economic inequalities which are faced by minority people across the growth. The situation they are in make some more at risk to illness, any illness and of course that includes covid 19. Importantly, it also means that they are more at risk to the underlying conditions
that aggravate the effects of covid 19 and lead to a much more difficult experience if they get an infection. Well, that is a very sad analysis. Do you think that this has immediate policy implications in terms of day to day how the government and how the hospitals and how Public Transport and all the other essential services should be operating a duty of care towards its staff . Yes, obviously all of these institutions and employers do have a duty of care to their staff and they need to think about the ways in which a duty of care is carried out. That includes care workers as well. There are also implications around the ways in which we think about the provision of Health Services are making sure that they are targeted to these communities that are at
risk and that might be particularly a mission in the United States, where the Health Insurance system faces additional difficulties for minority people to access Health Services. And that, is. Obviously, thatis services. And that, is. Obviously, that is not replicated in the uk where we thankfully have the nhs. Are those problems replicated in other countries of what you have described as the global north . Yes, it is replicated to varying extents is across Different Countries with their health care systems. There are negative experiences in terms of health care in the nhs context as well, although they may not be as great as in the United States. It is the same in other countries. Even if they do have some kind of population wide health care. Thank you for your expertise. Thank you forjoining us. The World Health Organization has criticised President Trumps remarks, suggesting the us should put on hold its funding for the organisation because it is, in mr trumps words, very china centric. They have said that the acute phase ofa they have said that the acute phase of a pandemic is not the time to cut back on funding. President trump said that the organisation was largely funded by the us, but criticised the advice imposing travel restrictions on china. He said that most of the cases that come from there. Here in the uk, paramedics across the country are putting their lives at risk working without, they complain, the right equipment. The union is backing up that complaint. Millions of kit has been sent to nhs front line staff,
the member state there is enough and they are at breaking point. The apron that we are asked to wear is nothing more than a disposable flimsy apron. Personal protective equipment is the barrier against the coronavirus. And then weve got to put on the sleeve protection that is provided, again, only goes so far up. Paul turner is a union rep who has returned to paramedic duties in the north west. Last week, Public Health england released new guidance advising any clinician working within two metres of a patient with suspected covid 19 to wear an apron, gloves, surgical mask and eye protection. But paul says there still isnt enough kit, leaving staff concerned for their own safety. I am seeing some of the strongest characters in the Ambulance Service at the moment at breaking point. And i mean some of the strongest characters. These people have done 20, 30 years in the service. I think the main concern for them is they are scared of the ppe. The ppe, as you have seen
in the video i sent you, does not protect us or our uniform. Many ambulance staff didnt want to go on camera but wrote about feeling scared and unprotected, saying theyjoined the service to save lives, not lose theirs and risk their families. And its notjust the lack of equipment that putting a strain on the service. According to figures released by the gmb union in london, one in five staff are currently off with covid related sickness. More than half, 679, are front line workers and over 100 are call handlers. The pressure and the demand on the service has only increased, with sickness levels and issues, having to self isolate, and becoming ill themselves, itsjust added more pressure. Theres going to be a huge issue with Mental Health after this with the stress and the strain that they have been put under. A Mental Health hotline for nhs staff to call or text has launched today. And the department of health says hundreds of millions of personal
protective items have been delivered around the country. But it is still a race against time to keep those at the forefront of the outbreak safe from the enemy they cannot see. Lauren moss, bbc news. An unprecedented truce has broken out in the notorious, gang infested townships around cape town, as rival gang leaders stop their endless turf wars and use their Drug Delivery networks to bring food to poor households instead. There have been relatively few coronavirus cases in south africa but the country is on lockdown to control the spread. Many people in poor communities are struggling to buy the goods that they need. Our africa correspondent Andrew Harding has this report. These are some of the most dangerous streets in south africa, and the world. Poor communities fought over relentlessly by rival drug gangs. But, today, a virus and a nationwide lockdown may have achieved what the police even the army have failed to do here. This is the american gangs turf. Most of these men have been injail some are killers. But today, instead of selling drugs and robbing people, theyre bagging up Food Supplies for hungry families. I got a phone call from two different gang leaders, both saying, andy, ive never asked you for anything, but were starving. And ijust thought, hey, if these guys are starving, theyre at the top of the food chain, then the rest of the community is going to be in serious, serious strife. To help, the gangs are drawing on their own particular skill set. The best distributors in the country, they know how to distribute things theyre used to distributing other white powders but still, theyre distributing things, and they know everybody. So, what does the community make of the criminals
sudden change of focus . There is relief here, for sure, that a gangs ceasefire has taken hold during the lockdown. We live to help each other, even if its gangsters. Even if its not gangsters. Theres no such thing as gangsterism. In these times, all of us stand together. But it is hard to tell what people here really think about the men whove terrorised their neighbourhoods for decades. The authorities are sceptical. I dont think it exonerates you when youve done so much evil one good deed doesnt suddenly wipe it all away. Maybe they can commit to slightly more long time good. Put down the firearms permanently and stop intimidating and robbing residents then were good. Because of the lockdown, im not able to film with cameraman Barnaby Mitchell and producer karen schoonbee. Im injohannesburg, not cape town. But two gang leaders agreed to talk over the phone. Do you think south africa
and your community will be changed by this experience . Yes, maybe it will. It must be peace. And thats whats happening now, yes . Yes. Do you think this will last . Maybe, maybe not. So, once the virus is over, maybe the fighting will start again . Maybe the fighting will start again. But i trust in god. God will make a way. So, a temporary ceasefire, a temporary lockdown, and just the sliver of a chance that the virus will bring lasting change to some of the most dangerous streets in the world. Andrew harding, bbc news, south africa. Well, lets talk now to Jacques Sibomana in cape town, he spent many years working with south africas institute for crime and reintegration of offenders. Thank you forjoining us. What is your assessment of this Unexpected Development . I think everyone is
looking to what is going to happen. One thing that covid 19 has done is bring people together in the most isolated way. The current involvement definitely is good for the community because everybody need all hands on deck. People are struggling to access essential goods, food and water to drink. We are looking to see how the involvement goes further and we can ta ke involvement goes further and we can take it beyond the lockdown, beyond covid 19 pandemic. Take it beyond the lockdown, beyond covid19 pandemic. You would hope that it will be local government and National Government that would be helping citizens rather than drug gangs. Do you think this is going to increase the dependence in some communities on those gangs . Well, i mean, it is a double sided sword really. The government alone cannot offer sufficient support and help
that people need. This is why we see the gangsters contributing. Perhaps not looking in the way that the community can be dependent on the gang but this will create an opportunity to start opening the dialogue. It is really crime the solution . Is crime the answer to Community Development . I am hoping that the government sees this as an opportunity also to have this dialogue, engaging with the gang leaders, and showing the community that they themselves have the power to improve their own community. That they themselves have the power to improve their own communitylj to improve their own community. suppose, i was thinking about other situations where crime organisations have got involved in the delivery of essential services and obviously one in history that i can think of is
the mafia in southern italy and sicily. I suppose the signs there are not enormously encouraging in terms of transforming in a positive direction in the long term. The delivery happens, people have easy access to the community in a fast and efficient way. Traditionally in crime organisations,. And efficient way. Traditionally in crime organisations,. Oh. And efficient way. Traditionally in crime organisations,. Oh. I am sorry that we have lost that. That was a fascinating insight on crime gangs there. Let us think what you let us know what you think on that. Lets return to the lifting of the lockdown in the chinese city of wuhan where the coronavirus pandemic started. China reported its first death
from the virus on the 11th january and 12 days later wuhan was cut off by the chinese authorities, planes and trains leaving the city were stopped, and the buses, subways and Ferry Networks suspended. The lifting of the lockdown comes the day after china reported no new deaths from the disease since it began publishing figrues. With me now is professor steve tsang director of the china soas institute. What you what you think the chinese public are thinking about it . Under the leadership, china has delivered a miracle, china has triumphed over
covid 19 while the rest of the world struggles. People in china i think will be a bit more sceptical about this especially in wuhan but they are waiting and desperate to come out of the lockdown. Can i ask you for your insight into the question of numbers. We talked about numbers of numbers. We talked about numbers of infections and deaths and countries like spain and italy and the United States have overtaken chinas numbers. There is doubt internationally about the reliability of chinas numbers throughout. Where do you think the truth lies and where do you think the chinese public think the truth lies . We dont know the real infection rate what the deaths are in china. The figures in china are there to be patriotically and serve
there to be patriotically and serve the interests of the party and in particular xi jinping. The interests of the party and in particular xijinping. While we have seen clearly a dramatic reduction of both infections and deaths in china, we also saw that when xi jinping said the figures of death will have to be reduced to zero and very quickly after that, the figure was reduced to zero. It is the same old if it is too good to be true it probably is. The science doesnt change. If we look at the figures in china with the figures in, say, italy or the uk or the us, theyjust dont add up. Four people in wuhan, they have seen the number of people queueing up to collect the ashes of their loved ones at the end of the lockdown and therefore theyjust cannot believe that wuhan only had a death of just
cannot believe that wuhan only had a death ofjust over 2500 people when they also knew that the crematoriums have been working 2a hours, seven days a week for many, many weeks. That just doesnt add days a week for many, many weeks. Thatjust doesnt add up. And yet, to be fair, they clearly have very considerably got it under control now, whatever the numbers of infections and deaths. I hear what you are saying about the difficulty of establishing that and agreeing a figure, but do you think that their methods of getting their epidemic under control have lessons for us . Is the miracle, the triumph that you mentioned at the beginning, is there anything that in the uk or other countries across the world can learn from china here . I think they clearly are lessons we can learn from china. It is a new virus that we are facing for the first time and we are facing for the first time and we all make mistakes stop learning
from other countries making mistakes will help us manage it better. Now, the limitations of lessons from china is that the implementation of the very draconian measures in china, while they worked quite well, may not be acceptable to democracies where we have other considerations. Mainly in terms of the rise of individuals and respect for individuals, are we prepared to do the kind of thing is that the Chinese Government have done in wuhan and elsewhere in our own country to our own citizens . If we are not prepared to do that, then some of those lessons, while they are valuable for inspirations, may not be practicalfor us are valuable for inspirations, may not be practical for us to implement. Thank you so much for joining us. You are welcome. Lets look at the economics of all of this. Many countries around the
world seeing their economies in paralysis. Some looking over the brink of recession is. Lets talk about one of the missions that uk brought in to try to help the Job Retention scheme. It is far larger now than initial estimates suggested. It is likely to cost 30 to £a0 billion overjust three months. That is over three times initial estimates according to analysis from the Resolution Foundation of the latest figures from the british chambers of commerce. Andy verity now reports. Job retention schemes are meant to help them stay in business and still pay staff. Companies like those who are working on this construction site near battersea Power Station in south london will keep staff on even if theyre not working, putting them on furlough, meaning leave of absence, and the governments promised to reimburse 80 of their wages. The furlough scheme has been brilliant because what its enabled us to do is keep the capacity within our business and capability, so that when we come
through this, we can then redeploy our people immediately so we can go back to work. The latest figures released today by the british chambers of commerce find 37 of small and Medium Sized Companies are furloughing at least three quarters of their staff, and a fifth will furlough their entire workforce. If that patterns repeated across the economy, the Resolution Foundation estimates at least a third of all private Sector Workers will be paid through the scheme at a cost to government of £30 billion to £a0 billion. Businesses leaders say firms need money fast. If they dont receive some of the funding by the end of this month, many of them are going to have to take drastic steps. Im afraid that we would see an increase in the rate of business failures and wed see a lot of otherwise Viable Companies going to the wall. But there are holes in this giant safety net. Sajan devshi changed jobs just after the cut off date at the end of february, so his new employer cant help him. This arbitrary date that the chancellor has put
in 20 days before the lockdown even occurred, we dont qualify for furlough pay and, effectively, we dont qualify for any state support either. Theres tens of thousands of people in this position like myself. Whatever the schemes flaws, though, Companies Agree without it, this economic emergency would be even worse. Andy verity, bbc news. From economics to religion. As people around the world isolate religious communities are finding new ways to celebrate Community Events and stay in touch with fellow worshippers. Tonight is seder feast, which marks the start of thejewish festival of passover, one of the biggest events in thejewish calendar but while lockdowns are in place around the world communities are unable to get together. One organisation that has come up with an innovative way of celebrating the festival is Chabad Lubavitch uk and im
joined by their chief executive rabbi bentzi sudak. Thank you for talking to us. What normally happens and what difficulties are presented . Thank you. For those who are not familiar, the sedar night is the first night of passover. It is probably the most central evening ofjewish of passover. It is probably the most central evening of jewish life. Families get together for a special meal. There is a seder plate which is difficult to obtain food, kosher wine. It is a night when people retell the story and it is the link in the chain from one generation to the next of 3000 years. This night serves the link in the chain between family from generation to generation. It is a little bit difficult if you are not that well versed with it and you havent done
it. There are communal seder. The difficulties this year were we have every year about 3000 people coming to our seders many runnable people dont have access to the special foods so this would be a very big challenge. We have developed something that normally is designed to be delivered to hospital beds, this is an all in one kit that fits in one box and even in one hand the patient can bring it over to the bed. It is well decide and it doesnt look like a it is well designed and there are detailed in the aesthetic. The problem is we could not import any because we only make a few and they come from china. We put together this kit that is all in one, a000 of them, it unravels
like a place mat. Each item on the seder plate is clearly marked so you just have to match the two places to where they go. It has all the prayers inside, all that special bread, the wine, the book and also some inspiration because it is not just about passing on the tradition, it is about celebrating our freedom but personal freedom, freedom it is about celebrating our freedom but personalfreedom, freedom in general, the fact that were free today and the fact that each one of us today and the fact that each one of us is free every year to get out of our own inhibitions grow to a new level. So we managed to manufacture this all in the last two weeks, british manufacturing. The companies who worked with us under very difficult conditions really came together with us. That was a solution we had. That is fascinating. I dont suppose you have one right there . One of the
kits . I want to see one. This is how it comes. This is the all in one kit. We did send some. This is how it opens. It even has a toy frog in the. What is the frog for . This is the. What is the frog for . This is the seder plate that unrolls. You can see each one of the items. the seder plate that unrolls. You can see each one of the items. I am trying to read it. Eggs, vegetables. It is a special item, each one is a special item and each one comes in special pods that were professionally created in a factory. I actually dont have those pods because we partnered with delivery on thursday night. We had to give
out our last pods. I dont have one with me because we have given out our last one. How are you going to manage tonight, then . our last one. How are you going to manage tonight, then . I have got my own but they dont come in a kit, they are home made. It wont come with the whole intake it. I do have one of the frogs here if you dont mind. One second. This is the book that it comes with. This is the seder guide, in explaining how to do it. This is a recent tradition, the frog. On the frog, is that religiously significant . The significance of it is in egypt, when the dues
when the jew were stuck there. There we re when the jew were stuck there. There were ten plagues, the first one was water turned to blood, the second was the place was overrun with frogs so recently many people like to play with toy frogs as they go through the story because the whole story of passover, the whole evening tonight is about engaging the kids, making it fun. It is all about getting the intrigue, asking questions. Judaism encourages people to ask questions and tough ones. We want the children to ask those questions. Any prop that you can add that will get the children to ask questions is very significant and that is what the frog is therefore. It actually bounces but i cant do it on air. That is what the frog is. We didnt even go cheap on the extras. Im afraid we have to leave it but i am
so impressed. Im so impressed that you have got the delivery is organised. It is such a wonderful. I would just like to give credit to all those thousands of volunteers. And the representatives around the ukfor and the representatives around the uk for delivering these kits and butting the items together. It was a mammoth task to get to a000 families. With each family having two or three people, many thousands of people. And big thanks to deliveroo as well. Thank you for being with us this morning. We are going to go back to some of the economic news. France has gone into recession after the worst recession since the second world war. It sank by 6 of the First Quarter because of the pandemic. In germany, they are predicting nearly 10 this
quarter. Lets get more on this from our economics correspondent andrew walker. That is a very sombre picture. The figures we have had from the bank of france are an extremely early estimate of what was going on. The period they are looking at is a little more than a week finished. There was a lot of guesswork frankly. We will get some much firmerfigures from guesswork frankly. We will get some much firmer figures from the official french statistics. There is no question that it has been a savage contraction in Economic Activity in almost every country in the planet. This first indication we have from france is a sign of that. That particular figure of 6 , you say is the worst since the second world war, it is indeed. It is slightly worse than the figure they
had in the spring of 1968 when there was very serious political unrest, civil disturbances, across france. We have already had a bigger impact than that. Bear in mind that the restricted measures that have been introduced by the french authorities really only started to bite towards the end of this three month period. And, andrew, germany and other european. Germany is the powerhouse of the european economy. It is talking about a 10 contraction. What does that mean for everybody else . It means something similar for everybody else, frankly. Germany is very strongly industrialised so it is much more dependent on selling goods to buyers in other parts of europe and indeed other parts of the world. Not quite such a service dominated economy as many others in europe are but one of the most exposed sectors of all in this crisis is tourism and one thing
you can say for sure is that there will be a lot fewer tourists travelling across europe over the summer months. Maybe if we are lucky, we will see a lot of the restrictions beginning to ease up by the time we would normally expect the time we would normally expect the tourist season to be in full swing but it is all profoundly uncertain at this stage. Thank you very much for that. We have a break line which has come out of the governments meeting, the covert coordinating committee chaired by dominic raab in the absence of the Prime Minister. He has been talking this morning about a new Mental Health hotline at that part of a package of measures to support the nhssi. A package of measures to support the nhss1. A million staff as they help patients with the coronavirus. This hotline is a call or a text number staffed by thousands of specially trained volunteers to offer support and advice for the pressures that
front line Health Workers are facing every day. Of course, the enormous difficulties they have putting on all of that Personal Protective Equipment, the risks that they face and of course the hugely tragic circumstances in which they see some of their patients passing away. So not surprisingly, the physical pressures and their Mental Health pressures and their Mental Health pressures a re pressures and their Mental Health pressures are immense and hence this hotline that has been started. Anyone who does need further help will be signposted to other services, according to this press release that is coming out of the government briefing this morning. Specialist bereavement support, psychological support, phone line between 7am and 11pm. Text service 20 a7. The telephone number is 03001317000. Simply text front line
85258. You are watching bbc news. Here in the uk, lets take a quick break and look at the weather. Hello again. Pollen levels across england and wales today are going to be high yet again. If you are going outside for the permitted duration of time, do bear that in mind. Most of us are looking at sunny spells and in the sunshine it will feel quite warm. The exception to that is across parts of Northern Ireland and scotland where we have a weather front producing more cloud but increasingly the rain will turn lighter and more patchy in nature. As it sinks southwards, it will brighten up behind it across the north highlands. For england and wales, there is some cloud around but equally sunshine as well. The
cloud will be thick enough here and therefore the odd sharp shower across southern england, the midlands and east anglia and south wales. But we will not all see a shower. Temperatures ranging from eight to 22 celsius. Overnight, the weather front continues to sink southwards taking cloud and spots of rain with it. Clear skies behind it means they will be patches of frost in the highlands. It is not going to bea in the highlands. It is not going to be a cold night across england and wales though. Mist and fog will lift leaving a fair bit of sunshine but we could see the odd sharp shower again in some southern counties on the midlands but they will be the exception. Alma weather front pushing northwards and clinging on to the north of england. Along the coastline, it will also feel cold with the breeze. By the time we get towards easter weekend, we still have High Pressure with us but on
good friday, a weatherfront have High Pressure with us but on good friday, a weather front coming in from the west is going to introduce rain, albeit slower than we thought this time yesterday. For good friday, we are looking at the weather front slowly coming in and introducing cloud and rain into Northern Ireland and western scotland. Sharp showers ahead of it across scotland, Northern England and north wales. In the sunshine further south and east, we could see temperatures as high as 2a celsius. For saturday, we still have a weather front moving across, introducing fairly light rain, a fair bit of cloud at times, still the south east hanging on to the brightest conditions for the longest and here too we will see the highest averages and 23 celsius. This is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. A third day in intensive care for Boris Johnson as he continues to receive treatment for coronavirus. He is comfortable, he is stable, he is in good spirits. He has had oxygen. He has not been on a ventilator. We are hoping to hear an update on the Prime Ministers health soon, but for now the work of the government continues. The death toll in spain rises to more than 1a,500, but the World Health Organisation says the outbreak is slowing down. As cases continue to rise across europe, the eus top scientist
resigns. But some good news two and a half months on, thousands of people in wuhan enjoy theirfreedom as the chinese authorities lift travel restrictions in the city where the pandemic started. And joy for one patient in leicester, who spent two weeks in hospital with the virus but is now through it. Hello and welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in the uk and around the world. An update on the uk Prime Minister Boris Johnsons condition is expected later this morning, after he spent a second night in intensive care, being treated for coronavirus. Third third day. The lastest we have from downing street is that mrjohnson is stable and in good spirits. Hes receiving oxygen, but does not need a ventilator. Mrjohnson had been due to oversee a review of the uk lockdown on monday. The government has said that it doesnt yet know when it will be able to ease the measures. Meanwhile, nhs nightingale, the new temporary hospital in east london has begun to receive its first patients. Elsewhere, the lockdown has come to an end in the chinese city of wuhan, where the pandemic first emerged. For 76 days, the streets of a city of 11 Million People were largely deserted. Train and Plane Services have resumed and people are able to leave the city if they dont have the virus. Spain has seen another rise in the number of deaths. 757 people have died there in the past 2a hours taking the death toll to over 1a,500. The United States recorded its largest spike in cases yesterday with more than 1800 fatalities. Despite that, President Trump said that there were signs the us was reaching the top of its curve. Well have more from across the world throughout the hour, but first on the latest of the Prime Ministers condition heres our Political Correspondent jonathan blake. Another night in intensive care for the Prime Minister. Last night, downing street said he was being closely monitored but in good spirits. They described his condition as stable. Get well soon messages from nhs staff. They are among the many wishing borisjohnson well. The man standing in for him sought to reassure the public yesterday. Dominic raab said he was confident the Prime Minister would recover, and there was some cautious optimism about the wider picture, too. Although yesterday saw the highest daily increase yet in the number of deaths from coronavirus, rising by 786 to a total of 6,157,
the number of confirmed cases of the virus rose by 3,63a to a total of 55,2a2. That, said the governments chief scientific adviser, could be a good sign. Its possible that were beginning to see the beginning of change in terms of the curve flattening a little bit. We wont know that for sure for a week or so. But what were not seeing is an acceleration. Its important that we keep these new cases down, because of course, this in turn leads to the number of people going into hospital. And the aim all along is to reduce the number of cases below the capacity of the nhs, and to save lives. But it doesnt mean restrictions in place to slow the spread of coronavirus are likely to be lifted or eased in the nearfuture. Its too early to say when we will actually reach that peak and when we might be able to make any changes. And therefore the message at the moment is very clear however lovely the weather this easter weekend, stay at home, protect the nhs, save lives. Now is the time we need to be really firm, and Everyone Needs to be firm, about sticking to that message. Because if we are, as the statistics appear to show, making a little bit of progress on that, nows the time to hold to it, to make sure that we do see those beneficial changes. The government insists it is getting on with its work while the Prime Minister remains in hospital. But anxious hours and difficult days lie ahead. Jonathan blake, bbc news. Anxious hours and difficult days indeed. Lets talk to our correspondent at downing street. It is several hours since he had entered a new honour by ministers hal. He is still in intensive care as we understand it. We expect of
as we understand it. We expect of a briefing right now. Yes. , the last update was yesterday and since then he has spent one night in intensive care. We should get more details late morning or this afternoon. It seems to have been fairly encouraging so far. Dominic raab, who says standing start to tell the cameras to say that he is doing ok but like we say, we are waiting for the official update and hopefully will have that in the next few hours. Turning from the anxious hours to the difficult days, for those left to actually run the country some very challenging issues and some very challenging m essa g es to issues and some very challenging messages to commune it. Yes, the work of government has to go on even while the Prime Minister is unable
to be in office. They have a target of increasing testing by the end of the month to do 100,000 yesterday. Below that is under target and that is being worked on by the government. There is also the issue of lockdown restrictions. They were put into place on the 23rd of march, the Prime Minister went on the tv and told us about when we can and cannot leave our homes. He did that and said it would be kept under co nsta nt and said it would be kept under constant review and he would look again in three weeks time and that would bring us to next week and there has been some discussion about whether or not that review would happen. Dominic raab was asked about this yesterday at the Daily Press Briefing and he said that they will ta ke briefing and he said that they will take any review once they have the evidence that the measures are working and taking us past the peak, and we are not at that stage yet. There is a legal application on the
government to do some kind of review next week because written into the legislation to give the police the powers to enforce this, it says that the secretary of health must review the secretary of health must review the requirements every 21 days in the requirements every 21 days in the first on must be done by the 16th of april which is next thursday. It doesnt say what that review has to consist on. It could just be matt hancock potentially looking at it and saying, they still need to be in place. It is very unlikely that anything would be changed from next week and that is because they have consistently said that this is about getting us past the peak of the virus. Helen, many thanks. Lets talk to simon lewis who was director for gordon brown that met director of communications. I think going back to the condition of the Prime Minister first and the
difficulties of communicating that to the public, what are the difficulties for a downing street director of communications who has a Prime Minister in hospital. As far as by ministers conditioners concerned, it is about how you release the news. We have seen that there is a briefing going on right now will stop the situation i was in was brought about very differently. He went to see chancellor merkel and then he woke up and realised his right eye was foggy. He went to moorField Hospital and was told that he might need an operation despite the dramatics, we were seeing that thinking about how we would handle that. The government was still running unlike the situation now where lots of people are suffering from the virus. He planned to have the operation the following sunday
but he got it second opinion, this is all in this autobiography, and didnt actually go ahead with it. Circumstances were different, how to communicate, when to communicate and how to activate an alternative standing in Prime Minister were very different. This is very different. It is much more serious and much more contracting and i think the Communications Team at number ten are doing a greatjob at the best of times and are probably stretching everything urge to handle this. Stretching everything to handle this. Im glad you made that point. Going back to something he said a moment ago about the difficulties when so many people are ill, that is this is a particular circumstance andi this is a particular circumstance and i am interested in your insight in how you would run downing street
with so many people ill, isolated or working from home or even unable to working from home or even unable to work at all. Downing street is an incredible hive and the people there are outstanding and they are working very long hours at the best of times and they will all be doing their very best. They will be using resources from other parts of the government as well. It is a complete rolls royce machine. They have to make sure that they look after themselves as well. The great thing is that everything now can be online, it can be zoom or other such things and i have no doubt that they can deliver and it is just the pace of how quickly things can be updated. One last question on communicating with her majesty the
queen, because you, as i understand, have also been Communications Director to the queen so you have seen it from both positions. We have heard all the talk about collective responsibility for the cabinet and from dominic raab, but the cabinet cannot collectively go and visit the queen or phone the queen as this is a Prime Minister duty, how will this be handled . A Prime Minister duty, how will this be handled . Everyone has been reminded that we dont have a president ial system. I am sure that Buckingham Palace would want to be informed at the moment, but that Golden Triangle as it is called, the cabinet secretary, the Prime Minister and the Prime Minister to the queen will be in constant touch. That is very important because that isa that is very important because that is a very key part of the constitution and frankly we do not have a written constitution and it is all on the basis of the precedent
of what has gone before. This is new ground that is being tried but i am sure that their contact between the palace is ongoing. Thank you for giving us the benefits of your experience and downing street. We have some breaking news for you. This is from scotland and it is on the coronavirus cases. The new figures are emerging. This is to the effect that 35a people in scotland have died of coronavirus, either suspected or confirmed and just to backtrack for a moment, the first minister in scotland is doing the daily news briefing and yesterday when she did her briefing, she said that today scotland would publish figures, notjust for confirmed cases but for probable cases also. So the confirmed cases yesterday we re so the confirmed cases yesterday were 296, that was a figure she gave yesterday. Now with the addition of probable cases and that is those who may have died in the community or in ca re may have died in the community or in care homes, rather than an actual nhs hospitals, that figure has now risen to 35a. You can see that the effect, the greater number possibly of 58 extra cases to add on to those who have died in hospital. We are expecting the daily news briefing from scotland from Nicola Sturgeon in about 15 minutes it should start, so no doubt she will say more about that. Also here in the uk, the first coronavirus patients have been admitted to londons new nhs nightingale. The temporary Field Hospital set up in just nine days and can accommodate up to a000
patients if necessary. It is the first of several to be built across the country. Lets turn to europe because the european uniontop has resigned. He condemned what he called brusselss disappointing response to the pandemic. Professor Mauro Ferrari said he arrived at the European Research council a fervent supporter of the eu, but the crisis has completely changed his views. In response the European Commission said it regretted his resignation. And that it had the most comprehensive measures to combat the virus. Our correspondent gavin lee is following developments from brussels. He is an italian professor of science, Mauro Ferrari. He has quite a pedigree to him. He has champion in his home country of italy as well. Before he started the job for the European Research council, he said this was the dream job he wanted, to shape the future of science for europe. He started the job injanuary. Three months in, just over that, basically he has penned a 2 page open Public Statement saying that he is now returning to the fight on the front line because he is exasperated by the european union, that bureaucracy in brussels, ultimately he found it really not up to the job when it came to being found wanting in the biggest emergency, the coronavirus pandemic. So he said that he wanted a project involving the reshaping of his group so that it gave the best resources to the best scientists in europe. But he claims that ultimately it fell flat. There is the wrong type of working within
this particular working group in europe. That they are asked to sign things from bottom up rather than creating things from top to bottom. Assigned things from bottom up. He also said he was approached directly by the European Commission president for ideas on what they could do to fight covid 19. And he says that once he started directly working with her it caused a political thunderstorm. He said they squashed his ideas. Spain has announced a slight increase in the coronavirus death rate, for a second successive day. 757 people lost their lives injust one day, bringing the cumulative death toll to just over 1a,500 people since the outbreak began. Earlier, a senior world health
organisation advisor whos been visiting the country said it was too early to speak of optimism but the outbreak there was definitely slowing down spain saw 757 deaths from coronavirus over the last 2a hours. In face of the devastation and destruction in the country, there is hope and evidence that this outbreak is definitely slowing down. Lets turn to the Economic Impact in europe. France has gone into recession after its worst Economic Contraction since the second world war. Official figures show the economy shrank by 6 in the First Quarter, because of coronavirus. Meanwhile researchers in germany are predicting that the economy there could contract nearly 10 this quarter. Let us turn to china now. Theres been a jump in new coronavirus cases in the latest 2a hour period in china, although the figures are comparatively low. There were 62 new cases,
up from 32 a day earlier. Most of the latest cases were people who travelled to china from abroad. Meanwhile, the lockdown has been lifted in wuhan, the city where the pandemic began. Two to 3000 people remain under observation. Lets speak to an english teacher that works there. He was one of the first british people to co ntra ct was one of the first british people to contract the virus. Yes, that is correct. Early december stop i want to talk about what is happening in wuhan today. I know a lot of viewers will take a sharp intake of breath because we didnt know existed then. How can you had it at the end of november, early december . Yes. The
local government was hiding the virus. It was not on a national level, it was on a local level. Ok, thanks for clarifying that. That will worry some of our viewers around the world because they will wonder whether if local officials in a corner of china have covered it up, they will wonder whether there will be another cover up with another pandemic. You are here to talk about whats happening today. You have under lockdown for more than two months, and you are allowed out today. How did it feel . It was fantastic. It is really hard to describe the feeling. The anywhere can think about is if a prisoner was released from jail that feeling of freedom and the world is your oyster. Did you get a kind of agoraphobia of being outside . Did it all seemed too bright or did you
feel weird about approaching people closely . No, not at all. Ifeel co mforta ble closely . No, not at all. Ifeel comfortable that everyone around me is not infected. Everyone is healthy at the moment, especially with the qr codes and the tracking. It is just normal to be outside. There is a social aspect because for 70 days i have been alone aside, so getting used to speaking people a lot more isa used to speaking people a lot more is a bit ofa used to speaking people a lot more is a bit of a challenge. And so what are people saying and doing but among other behaving any differently or is itjust kind of click your fingers and life springs up around you goes back to normal like it was in mid january . You goes back to normal like it was in midjanuary . Apps enough. It has not come back to normal. There is still remnants of the virus and social distancing. A lot more security guards in the street. It is a case of that it will take a long time for things to go back to normal. It is not a magic one where
the quarantine finishes and everyone goes back to normal. Magic wand. Have you met friends to talk about these experiences . I imagine that talking to people face to face and have a hug with people for the first time in so long, that all must be how people feel after this. Yes, the problem with that is that i am one of the few foreigners that stayed and when the evacuations are happening, many of them left and now china has banned all foreigners from returning to the country so a lot of my friends are still back home in the uk and america and australia and soi the uk and america and australia and so i really dont have that physical contact at the moment because eve ryo ne contact at the moment because everyone is still very far away. Khanna, thank you very much for joining us. We wish you all the best. Connor. An unprecedented truce has broken out in the notorious, gang infested townships around cape town, as rival gang leaders stop their endless turf wars and use their Drug Delivery networks to bring food to poor households instead. There have been relatively few confirmed cases of the virus in south africa less than 2,000 with 13 deaths. But the country is currently on lockdown to try to control the spread, and many people in poor communities are struggling to buy the goods that they need. Our africa correspondent Andrew Harding has this report. These are some of the most dangerous streets in south africa, and the world. Poor communities fought over relentlessly by rival drug gangs. But, today, a virus and a nationwide lockdown may have achieved what the police even the army have failed to do here. This is the american gangs turf. Most of these men have been injail some are killers. But today, instead of selling drugs and robbing people, theyre bagging up Food Supplies for hungry families. I got a phone call from two different gang leaders, both saying,
andy, ive never asked you for anything, but were starving. And ijust thought, hey, if these guys are starving, theyre at the top of the food chain, then the rest of the community is going to be in serious, serious strife. To help, the gangs are drawing on their own particular skill set. The best distributors in the country, they know how to distribute things theyre used to distributing other white powders but still, theyre distributing things, and they know everybody. So, what does the community make of the criminals sudden change of focus . There is relief here, for sure, that a gang ceasefire has taken hold during the lockdown. We live to help each other, even if its gangsters. Even if its not gangsters. Theres no such thing as gangsterism. In these times, all of us stand together. But it is hard to tell what people here really think about the men whove terrorised their neighbourhoods for decades. The authorities are sceptical. I dont think it exonerates you when youve done so much evil one good deed doesnt suddenly wipe it all away. Maybe they can commit to slightly more long time good. Put down the firearms permanently and stop intimidating and robbing residents then were good. Because of the lockdown, im not able to film with cameraman Barnaby Mitchell and producer karen schoonbee. Im injohannesburg, not cape town. But two gang leaders agreed to talk over the phone. Do you think south africa and your community will be changed by this experience . Yes, maybe it will. It must be peace. And thats whats happening now, yes . Yes. Do you think this will last . Maybe, maybe not. So, once the virus is over, maybe the fighting will start again . Maybe the fighting will start again. But i trust in god. God will make a way. So, a temporary ceasefire, a temporary lockdown,
and just the sliver of a chance that the virus will bring lasting change to some of the most dangerous streets in the world. Andrew harding, bbc news, south africa. With that, we say goodbye for the time being to viewers on bbc world news. Now, line breaking news for viewers in the uk. A man has been jailed for three months after being caught stealing surgical masks from south london hospital. This is a 33 year old who will sentence to 12 weeks at Croydon Magistrates Court after police were called to kings couege after police were called to Kings College hospital in denmark hill on sunday. He was detained by Hospital Security staff and had stolen three masks. He has beenjailed for three
months. Now, lets get a quick look at the weather. The weather is good outside. Open the windows and let some sunshine m, the windows and let some sunshine in, but also pollen levels are quite high. Paste fifa hay fever sufferers have proper notice. The rest of the weekend will stay warm temperatures might be rising in some parts. But it will not be warm everywhere. There will be ploughed in some parts of the uk and temperatures in the low teens. Not much happening tonight, temperatures close to freezing in parts of scotla nd close to freezing in parts of scotland there. Tomorrow, again a bit more cloud across the north and it will probably turn a bit more cloudy closer to the north sea where at the moment, it isjust cloudy closer to the north sea where at the moment, it is just stunning clear blue skies. It will be 12 in
whole and then in the south, temperatures will remain in the low 20s. Goodbye. Hello. This is bbc news. The headlines. A third day in intensive care for borisjohnson as he continues to receive treatment for coronavirus. He is comfortable, stable and in good spirits. Whilst he has had oxygen, he hasnt been on a ventilator. The death toll in spain rises to more than 1a,500 but the World Health Organization says the outbreak is slowing down. As cases continue to rise across europe, the eus top scientist resigns, blaming the way brussels is handling the pandemic. Two and a half months on, thousands of people in wuhan enjoy theirfreedom, as the chinese authorities lift travel restrictions in the city where the pandemic started. Applause and joy for one patient in leicester who spent two weeks in hospital with the virus
but is now through it. Before we go on, i am going to show you the scene in edinburgh because thatis you the scene in edinburgh because that is where we expect the first minister to appear any moment to deliver her Daily Briefing. We will go back there to see what she has to say. Lets turn to paramedics because across the country, they are putting their lives at risk by put working without, in some cases, the right protective equipment. According to the gmb union. Millions of items of kit have been sent to nhs front line staff but Union Members say there is not enough and ambulance workers are at breaking point. Our Health Correspondent lauren moss reports. The apron that we are asked to wear is nothing more than a disposable flimsy apron. Personal protective equipment is the barrier against the coronavirus. And then weve got to put on the sleeve protection that is provided, again, only goes so far up. Paul turner is a union rep who has returned to paramedic duties in the north west. Last week, Public Health england released new guidance advising any clinician working within two metres of a patient with suspected covid 19 to wear an apron, gloves, surgical mask and eye protection. But paul says there still isnt enough kit, leaving staff concerned for their own safety. I am seeing some of the strongest characters in the Ambulance Service apologies for breaking into that. Nicola sturgeon has appeared. apologies for breaking into that. Nicola sturgeon has appeared. I want to start as usual today with an update on some of the Key Statistics in relation to covid 19 in scotland. Let me flag up at the outset today that because of some new detail that we are publishing, some of this is a little more complicated than normal so please bear with me as i go through it. As of 9am this morning,
there have been a565 positive cases confirmed, that is an increase of 336 from yesterdays figures. Let me be clear that these numbers will be an underestimate. A total of 1771 patients are in hospital with covid 19. That is of last night. That is an increase of 20 that i reported yesterday. Within that, 210 people, again, as of last night, we re people, again, as of last night, were in intensive care with confirmed or suspected cases of covid 19 and that is an increase of 11 on yesterday. Later today, at 2p and, further information will be published showing the breakdowns of these hospital and intensive care figures. We are recording deaths caused by covid 19. For i would daily update figure, the
ones you have heard me give every afternoon at these conferences, we now report on deaths registered by National Records of scotland where the individual has been tested and confirmed as having covid 19. In the last 20a was, i am afraid that 70 deaths have been registered in this way. That takes the total number of deaths in scotland as of 9am this morning to 366. These figures are the best figures and most accurate figures we can provide on a daily basis. However, as i have said before, in these updates, they do not ca ptu re before, in these updates, they do not capture all covid 19 deaths. National records of scotland are therefore also now publishing on a weekly basis a further report on the first of these has been published at around half an hour ago. This new report captures all deaths registered within a seven day period, that includes those who have
died with a confirmed Laboratory Diagnosis of covid 19 and also those whose deaths are presumed to be linked to covert dentine. That means this report also includes cases where covid 19 is entered in the death certificate as a suspected cause of death or as a contributing factor in someones deaths but were no formal test has been carried out. The number of deaths covered under this reporting system is therefore larger than under the daily system, when you compare the two figures on the same date. It is also, u nfortu nately, the same date. It is also, unfortunately, almost certainly more accurate. As i say, the mrs have published the first of these weekly reports today and it covers the period up to sunday at the 5th of april, three days ago. That report shows that in total by sunday 35a deaths had been registered in scotla nd deaths had been registered in scotland is linked to covid 19. You might be wondering why that combined figure is smaller than the figure i
have given today of 366 for Laboratory Confirmed cases and i wa nt to Laboratory Confirmed cases and i want to be clear that that is simply down to a time lag. The figure i have given for confirmed cases is more up to date but as of the 5th of april, which is the reporting date this week for the combined figure of 35a, the number of Laboratory Confirmed cases as part of that total was 220. I am aware that this all sounds more complex today than usual but hopefully it will become clearer as the additional reporting system becomes more familiar. I want to stress that it is all in the interest of providing information thatis interest of providing information that is as full and comprehensive as possible. It is important to stress that these figures record deaths according to the date of registration of death. This is normally done quickly within three days, there can be a gap of up to eight days between someones death and the death been registered. Nrs is therefore looking at ways in which in future we can also publish
information by date of death, although i should say this is more complicated to do. There is one other issue in the figures this week that requires some explanation and it is again due in part to the transition to new systems for registering deaths. In the week from monday 23rd of march to sunday 29th of march, registration offices in scotla nd of march, registration offices in scotland were closed at some times as they began preparations for remote death registration during the pandemic. That means that some of the registrations last week would ordinarily have taken place the week before and that in part explains why the figures for all deaths last week, not just those the figures for all deaths last week, notjust those attributed to covid 19, are much higher than in the same week in previous years and why there appears to be such a sharp increase in overall deaths in one week. However, not all of that sharp increase in deaths which is over and above the numbers attributed to the virus, can be accounted for by that
backlog being made up so this is an issue that we are exploring and studying further. The final point i wa nt to studying further. The final point i want to make is that these new weekly figures include more detailed detail than has previously been the case. They provide breakdowns of death according to Health Board Area, death according to Health Board Area , sex death according to Health Board Area, sex and age. These breakdowns show that it is those who are older who are more likely to die of covid 19, however they also show that nobody is immune, that younger adults can also succumb to covid 19 and everyone, therefore, should follow the rules to protect themselves and to protect others. It is important to understand why this information matters. It is notjust that we want to count how many people are affected by this virus, although that is of course very important. This information, though, is also essential to helping us understand who is most severely impacted by the virus, how it has spread and is spreading across the
country, and whether there are any hotspots where there are more cases than we would expect to see. It also helps us plan for how many beds we needin helps us plan for how many beds we need in our hospitals and it will help to tell us when the peak of this virus is passing and when we might be able to make decisions about lifting some of these restrictions. I have reflected on this before at this podium and it is something i reflect on regularly, it can be really hard hearing accounts of numbers of deaths, and i understand that it can make us feel powerless, thats something we cant see or feel is taking so many lives, but we all do have power as individual citizens and i want again today to stress that full stop by following the rules, by staying at home, by self isolating when we have symptoms, all of us can help to reduce the number of deaths. Finally, i have said this on several recent occasions, but i think it is appropriate to say it again, i focus on the statistics in these updates because they are really important to
give some overall sense of how the virus is spreading but i am acutely aware that deaths are much more than statistics. Each and every one of these deaths represents an individual who has whose loss is a cause of great grief. I want to express my condolences to everyone affected. I want to update you briefly before hand you over. The first point relates to Personal Protective Equipment. We have seen the letter that a range of medics wrote yesterday expressing concern about the ppe they are currently using and about the ppe they are currently using and i want to make clear that the interim ceo will be reaching out today to understand those concerns and the cabinet secretary will be discussing this issue directly with the bme and the rcn. This is an issue where we will always, always strive to listen, understand and address concerns that are being
expressed. We understand, i understand, how crucial it is that health and care workers have the equipment that they need for the environment that they are working in. That is why we issued updated guidance last week. The second related point i want to mention is that the cabinet secretary and the deputy first minister willjoin costner in a call with trade unions this afternoon to seek to resolve concerns expect by those who are working in the care sector. We dont think we are very far apart at all from the care sector and care workers on this. It is, after all, in everyones best interest for care Sector Workers to be able to do theirjob Sector Workers to be able to do their job safely so Sector Workers to be able to do theirjob safely so i want to stress again that if issues and concerns are raised with two, for example about the well being of care workers, we will seek to address theseissues workers, we will seek to address these issues fully and quickly. We know how much we owe to workers in the health and care sector all of the health and care sector all of the time but particularly now. We are incredibly grateful for everything you are doing for us right now and we know that we must
protect you as you protect and care for us. The third issue and final issue i want to cover is support we have made available today to help stu d e nts have made available today to help students who are facing hardship. A £5 million fund will be made available for this, more than a million of it comes from our Higher Education Discretionary Fund and the Scottish Funding Council and it will be made available to colleges and universities immediately. Students can apply directly to the college or university for these funds and i would encourage them to do so. Finally, in these briefings i often, asi finally, in these briefings i often, as i have done today, sadly talk about those who have lost their lives from this virus but in these really tough times, it is important that we dont lose sight of good news, so i want today to pass on my very best wishes to daphne. Daphne is 98 years old and she has been receiving treatment for covid 19 at
nine wells hospital in dundee. Note that i said she has been receiving treatment. She has now recovered from this virus and she is back at home. Her recovery is an inspiring and very welcome good news story but it is also a reminder that even in dark times, there is always light and hope and i am sure all of us wish daphne very well. I will hand over to the interim chief medical officer but i want to end by repeating to key guidance. Stay at home except for essential purposes and do not meet with people in other household. I know this gets more difficult with every single day that passes but it remains vital. It is how we slow the spread of this virus, how we give our nhs the best chance to cope with all that it faces, and it is also about how we all Work Together to save lives. So thank you once again to everybody who is following this advice and doing the right thing. I will hand
over now to doctor greg smith of the interim chief medical officer and then i will hand over to the cabinet secretary. Thank you. The focus on the statistic to deaths on coronavirus today but what i would like us all to remember is that behind the statistics lie real families who are experiencing loss and grief as a result of losing their loved ones. We look to them to be sensitive to that loss and i want to express my own condolences to those who are experiencing grief just now. This data helps us to understand better how covid 19 is impacting across scotland. Alongside other sources of data, it allows us to understand the characteristics of those affected most severely and this allows us to plan in greater detail. This means that the response of how we help people with curvy 19 is very much more focused on those who need most help. The participating clinical networks
across the uk and europe and we will continue to use all the Available Networks that are open to us to develop learning both in the uk and in our international community. I wa nt to in our international community. I want to emphasise to you that those links have never been stronger. I am in regular dialogue with the other uk cmo is in relation to how we learn and develop our approach to covid 19 and my team are similarly involved in a variety of conversations and committees across the uk and indeed europe to see how we can improve our approach to covid 19 as we gain more experience and more evidence as to how we respond to it. This information is important both to understand the direct and the indirect impacts of covid 19 and how it is affecting the scottish population. With that in mind, iwant scottish population. With that in mind, i want to return to a message that i gave when i last appeared here on monday. It is really, really important that you understand that if you are experiencing symptoms
that make you feel unwell or urgent symptoms like chest pain or unusual briefing that you are seeking help for those. I want to get across very, very clearly that the nhs remains open to you. Im in regular dialogue with the academy of medical royal colleges and we will be chatting to them later on this afternoon to see exactly how we can make sure that that message about where and when you should be seeking help is available to you so that it can guide you as to how to approach our Health Services. Thank you. I will hand over to the health secretary. Thank you. will hand over to the health secretary. Thank you. I want to briefly touch on ppe again this morning. To repeat that with the first minister, all of us are absolutely determined to do everything we can to make sure that our staff and health and social care have the equipment that they need to do theirjobs as safely as possible. As the first minister said, we will
discuss the issue of ppe and its appropriate use in the social care sector with unions later today. We are very sector with unions later today. We are very clear that the guidance allows the use of appropriate ppe and we want to make sure that we ensure that that is clear for eve ryo ne ensure that that is clear for everyone and that the supplies are there and are distributed to then when they need that. I am also in regular contact and had a conversation yesterday with scottish ca re conversation yesterday with scottish care to discuss amongst other things their concerns over the distribution of ppe. We reached a number of important resolutions to some of those and we are acting on them from yesterday in order to ensure that as a supplies come out from nss or that new ordering and direct supply route that i have spoken about before,
that i have spoken about before, thatis that i have spoken about before, that is destination point is such that is destination point is such that care home workers, home care workers and others can access it easily and swiftly. It is also the case that might own officials have a daily call with our unions representing staff in both health and social care and there ppe is one of the issues that is covered amongst others. Finally, i should say just amongst others. Finally, i should sayjust on this that, again, i will be discussing this to understand the concerns that may still exist for the bma or the rcn and look to see what more we can do to resolve them. We are absolutely clear that as issues arise, i want to be able to know about them so i can act on them. We have sufficient supplies of ppe, now we have a number of orders already placed coming in weakly, we continue to work to increase that supply chain and make sure that we are confident that our supply can
meet the demand that is there and pa rt meet the demand that is there and part of that is also, of course, i will work across four uk nations. Let me finish by reminding that if you work in social care and you have any concern at all that you are not receiving the equipment and ppe that you need when you need it, there is a dedicated e mail address for you to get in contact with us on that. That e mail address is covid 19 health ppe gov. Scot. The e mail is monitored and we act to do our very e mail is monitored and we act to do our very best to resolve this. Our health and social care workers matter to us greatly and we will do everything we can to ensure they
have the Personal Protective Equipment that they need to do the job they are doing for all of us. Thank you very much. Can i now turn to the journalist who wish to ask questions. We have a large number of questions. We have a large number of questions so i would appeal to journalists for as much brevity as possible. We will try to comply with that ourselves and to avoid duplication. We will get through as many questions as we can. First up, lisa summers from the bbc. Thank you for addressing the issue of ppe. I think that the issue that some of the medical professionals we have talked to have around ppe is that they believe the guidance issued by Health Scotland is for a basic level and they dont believe that it is adequate to protect them. What can the Scottish Government do to reassure them that it is and can the Scottish Government increase production of perhaps more sophisticated ppe so everyone can have a better level of protection . The guidance that has been issued is
guidance issued on a uk wide basis by all four nations. That guidance was informed by expert input so this is not guidance that governments alone have put together. It has expert basis to it. There was a concern expressed , expert basis to it. There was a concern expressed, i think it was from yesterday, it was one of the concerns that a letter has gone out from the chief nursing officer here, it makes it seem that the guidance has been diluted in scotland. That is not the intention. We want to address if it is open to that interpretation, want to fix that. In terms of the quality of ppe, we are dealing with supply, distribution, guidance and quality is another one. We are seeking to maximise all of the supply routes for ppe and we will do that domestically as well as internationally. There are global constraints on the supplies but we are working hard on that. In all of the work we are taking forward, we
are striving to make sure that it is the right quality of ppe and the guidance is right in terms of what workers need to use it and in what circumstances. As long as people have concerns, we are at a time of heightened anxiety understandably, so we will strive day by day to address any concerns that are there so that we can resolve those. A couple of weeks ago, there were concerns with the Ambulance Service, we work to resolve that. We will systematically take on these issues and address them so that people have confidence on the ppe they are using. Do you have anything to add . No, i dont think so. I would say in addition that as the first minister said earlier, the group of individuals who have raised some concerns about the quality of the ppe although the ppe that we are using does meet the who guidelines, as does the guidance itself, that issue, the interim cmo is reaching
out to representatives of that group to understand what the issues are around quality and to look to see if we can reassure them on that or if there are, from the discussion, further issues that we need to take up further issues that we need to take up and address. The absolute assurance from all of us is that where there are issues to be addressed, we will address them. Alan smith. A further question on the guidance of one health board which has stopped Health Visitors and immunisation visit because of what the health board has called conflicting guidance. What more can you do to clear up this guidance and what would your message he to other Health Boards who are perhaps looking at stopping Health Visits and immunisation visit which will be and immunisation visit which will be a big concern to a lot of new mums. I want to look at the details of the particular issue there that we can address it fully but i will hand over to the interim cmo to talk
about the importance of immunisation even at this time. First of all, i think it is really important to understand that they guidance has been formed that has been made clear that there is a single point of truth of where we go from this to make sure there is no misunderstanding between any of the countries. It is clearly evidence based and it has been agreed after a period of consultation with representative bodies. Important activities like essential immunisation are things that must continue. I will go back to the point that i made when i was speaking, other illness which is there in a society in normal times has not gone away and it is really, really important that we emphasise that these other protective measures which are there designed to protect the population continue. On the particular issue you raised about health board particular issue you raised about health boa rd and particular issue you raised about health board and immunisation, we will look into that further and come
back to you with more detail later on. Peter mcmahon. First minister, i wonder if you have seen an open letter to you from care workers organised by the gmb union. Those ca re organised by the gmb union. Those care workers organised by the gmb union. Those ca re workers say organised by the gmb union. Those care workers say they do the best they do for the people they are looking after but they feel let down by their employers looking after but they feel let down by theiremployers and looking after but they feel let down by their employers and by their government. They dont feel safe, they are not getting the ppe they need and they are not getting the testing they think they need, and they say directly, you have lost our confidence. They say directly, you have lost our confidence. That means they say directly, you have lost our confidence. That means you, first minister. It is an open letter to you. Should you not be meeting directly with those workers to listen to what they have to say and to try and sort out the problem is that they say they have . Not only at high seen it, peter, i referred specifically to these issues in my opening remarks because i do take them so seriously. That is why i spoke about the meeting that the
deputy first minister and the cabinet secretary will take part in this afternoon and the unions which includes gmb. I will meet with whoever i need to meet with. I think people will understand that on occasion i have to have other ministers directly dealing with some of these issues for me but there is absolutely. Of these issues for me but there is absolutely. We of these issues for me but there is absolutely. We are going to leave Nicola Sturgeon there because we have breaking news from downing street. Lets go over to our Political Correspondent. We have had the latest update on the state of the latest update on the state of the Prime Ministers help from downing street via his medical team in london. It sounds much as he was yesterday. We are told that the permit minister remains clinically stable, that he is responding to treatment and he continues to be cared for in the intensive care unit. We understand he is not working, he is in intensive care but he does have the ability to contact all of those that he needs to and he is said to be in good spirits. It sounds largely similar to where he was yesterday evening. Is that the
sum total of the important lines from hospital . It is. This is what his medical team deemed to be the important medical information to pass out, so that is the overall position that he is in. Helen, thank you so much. I think can add also that there is no change on the lockdown timeline so no change there, no expectation of a review right now. The Prime Minister much as he was, that is the latest Health Bulletin from st thomas hospital. Now the weather. Plenty of sunshine outside and hopefully a little bit of sunshine inside tojust lift you hopefully a little bit of sunshine inside to just lift you up. This hopefully a little bit of sunshine inside tojust lift you up. This is the outlook for the rest of the week. It is going to be staying warm across many parts of the country but it is not that warm everywhere. In fa ct, it is not that warm everywhere. In fact, across scotland and Northern Ireland, farfrom fact, across scotland and Northern Ireland, far from it. Fact, across scotland and Northern Ireland, farfrom it. It is
relatively fresh. You can see clouds on the satellite picture here, there isa on the satellite picture here, there is a weather front in the north and that also means we have got some slightly colder air. Nine celsius in aberdeen. In newcastlejust to slightly colder air. Nine celsius in aberdeen. In newcastle just to the south, 16 celsius and london around 21 celsius. These are the evening temperatures. If you have been out briefly and you are a hay fever sufferer, you may have noticed those pollen levels over much of england and wales are high. Tonight, that area of cloud is stuck across the north of the country but also it will stop the temperature dropping too low. To the north, not fire are freezing but the rest of the country it will be a relatively mild night. Here is thursday. Not much change with the weather because there is not much wind to move things around. The wind it out in the atlantic at the moment. Things im keeping warm across much of the country, certainly across england and wales. The north sea coast, scotland and Northern Ireland, quite a bit
fresher. The wind and the weather fronts out in the atlantic are nearing us and they are slowly closing in on the uk as we head through the easter weekend. That means there will be some changes coming our way eventually. Good friday is still pretty one depending on how much sunshine we are going to get. There are a few blobs of blue so there is a possibility of some hit and miss rain. So there is a possibility of some hitand miss rain. It so there is a possibility of some hit and miss rain. It could be 23 celsius on good friday in london. Perhaps the peak of that one is heading our way. Back to these weather fronts. You can heading our way. Back to these weatherfronts. You can see heading our way. Back to these weather fronts. You can see they are flirting with the uk during the course of the easter weekend, that means increasing arts of cloud and also eventually as we head into monday, i know that is after easter, but temperatures are dropping down to 13 celsius. A big drop in london. The next few days are staying warm across the majority of the uk but eventually things are going to gradually cool down. The Prime Minister remains in intensive care in hospital, being treated for coronavirus. In the last few minutes downing street has said borisjohnson is few minutes downing street has said Boris Johnson is in few minutes downing street has said borisjohnson is in a stable condition, is responding to treatment, and remains in good spirits. He is comfortable, you stable, he is in good spirits. Whilst he has had oxygen he has not been on a ventilator. We will have the latest from westminster. Also this lunchtime, more than two weeks into the uk wide lockdown, the government says it is too early to think about easing restrictions. Life in wuhan, the state chinese city of the pandemic originator sta rts city of the pandemic originator starts to return to normal, as some restrictions are lifted. The rising cost of keeping workers
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