Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC News 20200419

On social distancing. Hello and welcome to audiences in the uk and around the world. Were covering all the latest coronavirus developments, both here and globally. The uk government has denied reports that it has drawn up plans to allow some schools and businesses to open in mid may. Ministers say itll only happen when the scientific advice indicates it is safe to do so. Elsewhere, a delivery of some protective equipment for Health Care Workers that was due to arrive in the uk today from turkey has been delayed. Theres been an increase of 596 in the number of uk hospital deaths the smallest rise for nearly two weeks. The total now stands at 16,060. Hundreds of people have taken to the streets in a number of american states to demand an early end to the coronavirus lockdown. And a star studded online concert has been broadcast around the world to honour front line workers tackling the coronavirus outbreak. Well have more on all these stories in a moment, but first our Health Correspondent, jane dreaper looks at the situation in the uk. Stephen pearson, who died from coronavirus over the easter weekend aged 51, was devoted to his wife and two daughters. He was also a Mental Health nurse who had given the nhs in the northeast of england more than 30 years service. His younger daughter bethany told me about the familys shock. We said to him, just humour us. On a scale of one to ten, one being the best day of your life and ten being the worst day of your life, how do you feel . He told us he was a five. He says, girls, look, you are worrying about nothing. Dad slept upstairs in the bedroom, my mum slepped away from him slept, and woke up in the morning and he was gone. Bethany, her mum and sister have since tested positive for covid 19 and have felt ill from the virus in the midst of their grief. Please stay at home if you can. My dad could not and he lost his life. So if you can stay at home, i know it is horrible, no one wants to be stuck at home 2a hours of the day, every day, but it is what we need to do right now and if it saves one life by staying in a house then it is absolutely worth it. The government says there is not enough information yet that would allow the lockdown restrictions to be lifted. Ministers confirmed today that hotels, pubs and restaurants will be among the last businesses to reopen and suggestions that children might be back in classrooms soon have been denied. We want to make sure that we make a balanced judgment about which restrictions can be relaxed at what time. You are quite right to say that we have stressed that the reporting in newspapers that schools will open on the may the 11th, that is not true, we have not made that decision. Lockdown is a blunt tool in and of itself. We need a testing and tracing strategy alongside it to help us manage and cope with this virus. Let us see where we get to but so far the government has not met the promises they have made before on testing. Uk scientists are working at a pace to research a vaccine that could protect against the virus but, as well as testing a newjab for safety, which will take time, researchers say there will need to be a massive effort to sort out manufacturing facilities. Those Companies Need to have new equipment, staff trained in using new protocols and new Quality Control assessments and all of that can happen but the companies that we are going to be working with are going to need to stop doing what you would normally do and make this vaccine instead. We need support for them all to make sure that that is done in a fair way while trying to do something that is really very important. Today, the drive to get vital ppe to nhs staff suffered a setback. A flight from turkey with a vital shipment, including 400,000 surgical gowns, is not expected to arrive, though the government hoped it will be here in the coming days. 0ur Health Correspondent nick triggle is here with the latest in the last hour weve had an update on the number of uk deaths. People are always pleased when they see a fall in the numbers of daily deaths. What kind of cautions should we adopt when looking at these figures . It is a drop, 596 new deaths announced is the lowest it has been for nearly two weeks. Yesterday it was 888 and asked seven days it has been ordering, but i will say is that we often see a drop at weekends, that a delay reporting the deaths into the system, but nonetheless it is encouraging, it is a lot less than it has been in previous weekends, but only looking for trends, the first signs of improvement we will see is in a number of cases. There has 5000 that shows we are flattening the curve and the plateau. The next stage is to get them done. The other question raised is the number of deaths, a survey from National Care homes about the possibility that we are significantly underreporting the number of deaths as enforced as . These daily figures are just a hospital cases. The National Care forum has been asking its members the numbers of deaths that they not only just have confirmed the numbers of deaths that they not onlyjust have confirmed but willie suspect coronavirus is involved. The official figures suspect coronavirus is involved. The officialfigures suspect coronavirus is involved. The official figures but suspect coronavirus is involved. The officialfigures but they suspect. At the start of april it was 200 deaths. This report is saying it could be six times as high as that and they have gone on reporting from april and by last week, if we extrapolate from their sample of care homes, the true number of deaths is 4000 care homes. 4000 in number of deaths is 4000 care homes. 4000 in care homes. Number of deaths is 4000 care homes. 4000 in care homes. It is true round the world that there is a lag, but does it matter in terms of people who are in care homes, and the staff who work in care homes who are exposed and may worry that the rate is much higher than the previously believed . Yes, the government last week announced a strategy to try and improve testing in care homes, making sure all residents can be tested and making sure the supply of ppe was improved, because this has been one of the real problems for care homes, getting hold of the ppe. Real problems for care homes, getting hold of the ppe. Talking about, they spoke yesterday about promoting this new arriving equipment from turkey. Do we know what the delay is . We know the raf is in turkey, ready to take the consignment, which includes 400,000 gallons, which the nhs has been confirming they are on the brink of going out of. It is ready to take off but the consignment is not ready. I understand it could be a couple of days before it arrives and thatis couple of days before it arrives and that is obviously a huge disappointment for the nhs, for doctors and nurses who are worried about running out of gowns. Thank you. Hundreds of people took to the streets of cities in a number of american states last night to demand an early end to the coronavirus lockdown. President trump said some businesses would reopen tomorrow in texas and vermont and accused some democrat state governors of getting carried away with their restrictions. Andy moore has this report. My body, my choice 0pen 0hio now in states across the us, there have been noisy protests against lockdown. America will reopen. For many of these trump supporters, the right to liberty is as fundamental as their right to bear arms. We need to reopen our country. We need to bring our economy back up, its killing businesses doing this. I feel the government has taken advantage of a virus and overstated it. We have 37 deceased in our state and thats a very low number. Mr trump has been accused of fuelling these protests with tweets about the need to liberate some states. A charge he didnt exactly deny. I know theres a lot of protests out there. I just think that some of the governors have gotten carried away. You know, we have a lot of people that dont have to be told to do what theyre doing. Graphs were unveiled to show that americas per capita mortality rate was lower than most countries. China is number one, just so you understand. Chinas number one by a lot, its not even close. Theyre way ahead of us in terms of deaths. Its not even close. You know it, i know it, they know it. In new york, the state hit hardest by coronavirus, another much smaller protest outside mr trumps hotel. Demonstrators laid out fake body bags, claiming the policies of the president and the Vice President have been responsible for the deaths of thousands of people. Andy moore, bbc news. For the second day running, russia has registered a Record Number of new coronavirus cases. The figure of more than 6000 represents a 21 increase on saturdays figures. The nationwide tally is now nearly 43 thousand. More than 300 people have died. Moscow is bearing the brunt. The citys mayor has launched a programme to buy blood plasma from patients who its thought have antibodies to the coronavirus. The kremlin has admitted that russia is in the foothills of the pandemic, not at the peak. There are concerns in the uk that people with serious conditions such as heart attacks and strokes may be delaying help due to the fear of contracting the virus. Dr Katherine Henderson is the president of the Royal College of emergency medicine. She also works as an emergency medicine consultant at at a Central London Emergency Department. Thank you for being with us. In terms of the work you do, it is in accident and emergency settings rather than intensive care units. By the time people get to intensive care, you know they have covid 19. You dont know what you might have only arrived in the ne. How are staff doing with that and are you worried that it will have a knock on effect elsewhere . Yes, very early on we divided our departments into areas where it was likely that the patient had covid 19 at areas where we felt their presentation did not. Risk them having covid 19 so that we could keep patients who came in and had chest pains that seem to be from their hearts, we could keep them safe. But obviously the public are worried about Community Hospitals and what we are worried about is that people who are you should be coming in, we see no reason why the number of straight heart attack should go down, so we think those patients are staying at home which worries us. So you are seeing some evidence, in terms of numbers coming in, that there has been a miraculous fall in the number of people suffering some of his other conditions . Yes. There are some conditions we would expect not to see, so people are not crashing their cars as much a twisting the ankles, so we would expect there to bea drop ankles, so we would expect there to be a drop in all sorts of patients and that is unsurprising, but in some areas we have seen 50 reduction of people attending the Emergency Department so there has been a big drop in the number of more minor complaints that people come in, so we still would expect to see patients with some of serious illnesses that they always come with. The things that we actually need to be treating early, so there is no advantage if those patients are coming in. What is the message to people who think they might be potentially quite seriously ill, they do not know, but they are worried, worried enough to know the what with but i may be thinking that the dont want to expose themselves to the risk of coronavirus . Want people to still use usual ways of getting advice. Calling 111 and getting advice. Calling 111 and getting advice, because it would not be sensible for somebody who is just worried about the theoretical risk of coronavirus not coming into a e. What we do want is that someone who is not significant chest pain or significance of those on the stroke to court 999 and comment. Be assured that we will make sure that the areas most patients are seen and are kept safe, we keep the patients are separated as possible, and this is particular true of children. The chelsea to be particularly affected by coronavirus. A Paediatric Department is separate children. They will bring a sick child in hospital if theyre worried about them. Thank you very much for joining us. The latest temporary nhs hospital in glasgow will be ready to treat covid 19 patients from tomorrow. The nhs louisa jordan, at the sec or scottish events campus, will initially have capacity for three hundred patients but this could be expanded to more than a thousand. The hospitals chief executive has paid tribute to the staff who helped get the hospital ready. Iam i am delighted to confirm the excellent progress achieved in just over two weeks to design, construct and mobilise the nhs hospitalfor operational readiness. It has been a real privilege for me to meet the tea m real privilege for me to meet the team andi real privilege for me to meet the team and i also wish to thank eve ryo ne team and i also wish to thank everyone who has been involved, the words alone cannot express the immense gratitude i would like to convey to all the construction partners, the support workers and to the nhs teams from throughout scotland. Around 800 staff who have worked so hard over the last two weeks to ensure delivery of this hospital. It is named after a nurse who died in the first world war. Being overweight has emerged as one of the most important risk factors in getting admitted to hospital with severe forms of coronavirus, its being suggested in the biggest study of british people with the disease. Researchers at edinburgh university, Liverpool University and Imperial College london have analysed over 15,000 people who were admitted to hospital in the uk. The report has not yet been Peer Reviewed but will be published in the coming weeks. Lets speak now to professor peter 0penshaw, from Imperial College london, who was a joint leader on the study. Thank you for talking to us about this on bbc news. There has been some reporting on it in the newspapers. What is the is the connection cutting out . Can you hear me . The connection is cutting out. We have got a technical delay on the line so we will try and sort that out and come back to that. Millions of 0rthodox christians are holding their easter celebrations under tight restrictions. Officials in europe, the middle east and africa urged people not to attend services, fearing it would lead to a spike in coronavirus infections. But in the former soviet republic of georgia, 0rthodox leaders are at loggerheads with the government, over their decision to keep churches open and offer Holy Communion using a shared spoon. From georgia, rayhan demytrie, reports. Holy communion in the time of pandemic, taken from a shared spoon. Georgias Orthodox Church has refused to adapt the sacred ritual, despite the risk of spreading infection. Translation we parishioners come here in such high spirits that it is impossible to have doubts and fears. Holy communion is the greatest thing. Under georgias state of emergency gatherings of more than three people are banned, but last week on palm sunday in tbilisis main cathedral there were no police to enforce it. These markings here indicate the distance that people should be keeping apart from each other, but unfortunately outside, and most importantly inside the cathedral, these rules are not being observed. Inside the cathedral, worshippers are kissing icons with no disinfection in sight. Some keep their distance, but it is difficult to maintain even in a building of this size. Georgias most revered man, the patriarch, ilya ii, has ruled that the Easter Services will go ahead. This promo video shows the Georgian Police in action, issuing hefty fines for those not complying with the state of emergency. So, many people are questioning why the authorities have not penalised the church. They believe that the church is a chief political ally which they cannot alienate. They came to power in 2012 to a large extent because of the support of the church. The countrys Prime Minister says his government has been trying to strike a balance. By keeping its doors open, the church says it is providing a much needed spiritual relief to the nation. But with covid 19 infection rates going up, the countrys Health Authorities are calling on people to listen to the science for the sake of their country. Lets speak now to professor peter 0penshaw, from Imperial College london, who was a joint leader on the study. You have looked at factors of people who have been hospitalised with coronavirus. You have looked at 15,000 patients . Yes, i am one of the co authors. 15,000 patients . Yes, i am one of the coauthors. In terms of obesity, what is it that you think you may have identified . We have identified the beastie cofactor recently in influenza. It is one of the factors that make she at risk of more severe respiratory disease, and the reasons are complex. It is difficult to be sure of what exactly they are, but it is important to make sure people who are overweight realise they do need to take extra care of themselves and make sure they are not exposed. Part of the things that we need to be picking out could be something to do with, particular when you are prone, the difficulties of breathing and the extra pressure you put on your organs, presumably the lungs, they can constrict leaving . I think that is one factor. That is what people are really overweight with a bmi over 40. People who are very overweight have reduced lung function, and because of that in the Lung Function Lab when we sent we testing. In the chest clinic we can see they do have more functions, and that is partly because of the extra weight of tissue which is pressing on the lungs and the capacity for the diaphragm to descend and i did lungs to expand. That is part of the reason. We have no that for a long time, you have to make allowance for that when you do tests, but it is a complex issue which may be linked to diabetes, which is of course related to being overweight, and some people who are very overweight may be diabetic i dont know it. There are other factors which may come into play. It is a complex disease. It is very important to recognise that. And its good that when you are in the middle of a pandemic no one is able to lose huge amounts of weight. You would not recommend people to start crash dieting as a way of protecting them 19 . Absolutely not. Doctors can always give the protecting from covid 19. This is not the moment to go crash dieting but it is the most take extra care of yourselves and make you not exposed unnecessarily. Can i ask you briefly about Something Else reported in the sunday times today . This is about meeting back in mid february, which you are not able to attend, it was about a decision the Government Advisory Committee made to not raise the threat level, to be made at moderate, even though the number of infections were significant by then in china. The paper reported that at how to meeting, you would have recommended raising the threat level. Do you think they were too relaxed about coronavirus early on . Yes. I was looking back at the notes on a webinar i delivered what i was in the United States then, my view at the United States then, my view at the time was that this was a very serious threat and could lead to many thousands of deaths, but if i had been present at the meeting i can tell you that i would have necessarily dissented from the Group Decision, these are very much izzy Group Decision that is reached at these meetings. It is very hard. I dont think it is useful for me to start saying that i would have said anything differently if i had been in the room. The fight was, i was absent. Fair enough, thank you for your response. In that seminar, you predicted that 400,000 people to die in the uk. Now look at the figures now, are you more optimistic 4000. Are you more optimistic about our ability to do this . Yes, but i dont like it is looking like a small proportion of the population getting infected, yet we have seen a substantial number of deaths very u nfortu nately. Substantial number of deaths very unfortunately. I think it is a bit early to say, but it is crucial that we get on with every x effort to get a vaccine. We need to get vaccines worked on ahead of those getting branded to first make sure that the vaccines can make a difference and also that the vaccine is protecting against the infection. Thank you very much. You are watching bbc news. Some of the biggest names in music have joined forces to celebrate Health Care Workers in a globally televised concert. Lady gaga, Paul Mccartney and Billie Eilish were among the artists who performed songs from their living rooms and the Rolling Stones managed to play together from four separate locations. Some of the biggest names in music have joined forces tonight a british version of the event will be shown on the bbc and, among those performing will be the kingdom choir, the gospel group who performed at the wedding of prince harry and meghan markle. Karen gibson is the leader of the kingdom choir and joins me now. Lovely to see you again, still smiling how important do you think this concert is for lifting spirits . So much. We have seen the response that music has had. You see people singing from their balconies, you have got people posting virtual videos online, saying on their own. I think music is something that really gives people hope, it inspires that, and we have had people say that of our music, so for a global cartilage is going to be very special. You must be very frustrated, running the squire, how much you keep in touch with everybody, how hard it is to rehearse across the internet, because broadband speeds. All the little technical hiccups, must make a difficult . It has been challenging, not a nightmare, because we are all learning new skills. We are learning how to stay collected when you cant connect physically, so as long as receipt other via video chats, it is something. It has been a challenge but we are getting through it and we are managing to create a quire sound through the technology. Let us hear and extract no. Now. Lord, ive been broken, although im not worthy im blinded by your grace you came and saved me lord, ive been broken, although im not worthy you fixed me now im blinded by your grace you came and saved me said what viewers can see was karen singing along there. We have got 18 choir members they are all taking part. You guys have tried to storm the . People love it, they really do love this song so we love to sing in four people. Are you hoping for a good audience and out when you tune in at1917 . Good audience and out when you tune in at 1917 . We have cost our artist in the line up so we hope you poaching in and responds. Thank you very much for the party tonight. There will a special highlights programme tonight 0n bbc one at 1915 thats the one world together at home global concert. Now its time for a look at the weather with chris fawkes. So many we have had lovely skies, High Pressure is in charge of the weather. It is good to be a dry night with a brisk breeze on our eastern because last post. Maybe if you practice of frost in scotland. Tomorrow, High Pressure still with us but stronger eastern wins, 40 mph, so for most it will be sunny to the day, the wind will be knocking the edge of temperatures, particularly in the east of england and scotland. Those winds will eventually fall out as we get towards wednesday and temperatures will push well up into the 20s at that point