Made yesterday alone. An ice rink in madrid becomes a temporary mortuary as spains death toll overtakes chinas and the plight of the homeless in the face of this crisis how some are being offered hotel rooms to give them some sort of protection. Im volunteering to do some driving for the nhs. A new army of volunteers more than half a Million People have stepped forward to help care for the most vulnerable. And in sport on bbc news, all options are on the table for rescheduling the olympic games, with organisers not ruling out a date before the summer next year. Good evening. Frontline medics have told the bbc about their concerns over a lack of personal protection as they fight coronavirus in the uk. The British Medical Association says theres growing evidence that thousands of frontline doctors are still not getting the equipment they need to treat patients with coronavirus. The Doctors Union says it means some medics are likely to become very ill and some may die. But the government says 15 Million Masks have been delivered to nhs trusts across the country since monday. 41 more people have died in the uk from coronavirus they were aged from 93 to a7. All had Underlying Health problems, except the 10 year old. It brings the total number of deaths to 465. Meanwhile, more than 500,000 people have now volunteered to help care for some of the most Vulnerable People over the next three months. With more, on the challenge facing the Health Service heres our health editor, hugh pym. I am 39 years old and i am. Karen is 26 weeks pregnant. She wants everyone to know just what its like to have coronavirus. Ive just been told that i have covid i9. And ive been ill for two weeks. Ive been in hospital now since saturday and today is wednesday. I have pneumonia in both lungs and im fighting for me and my baby. The virus can infect all ages. Five year old alfie has been seriously ill with symptoms. Hes back now from hospital and recovering at home but his mother lauren thought at one stage she might lose him. 0bviously id seen it all on the news, where everybodys got coronavirus and then the next thing, people are dying from it. And to see him so poorly, i didnt think that he was going to be able to come back from it. For doctors and nurses treating patients, supplies are urgently needed. This sportswear firm in Northern Ireland has a major deal to produce scrubs for nhs staff. But there are reports there still isnt enough personal protective equipment in some hospitals and gp surgeries, even after recent government commitments. And the British Medical Association, representing doctors, says its members are being let down. The message to the government is to not talk about increasing supplies or doing something, just please lets have the equipment now, so that doctors can feel safe, feel protected and not be in this fear of becoming infected with this virus, which would cause a catastrophe for the Health Service. The department of health said over the last two days, more than 15 million facemasks had been delivered to the front line, as well as millions of gloves and eye protectors, and the full weight of the government was behind the effort. This hospital in essex said it was a priority to protect staff and there was enough specialist equipment. Some local health workers, though, are worried about the pressure building with covid i9 patients. Im petrified of going to work. Im petrified, buti have to go to work. You have to stay indoors. There is nothing so special out there for you to be going out. Yeah, the sun is shining. Yeah . You might be dead in a few weeks because you wanted to go out and go and get some fresh air. Converting this east london Conference Centre into a giant temporary hospital is under way. Nhs and military staff are working together to get it ready. 0ne worker posted this video of the inside of the building. Weve got 4000 beds to go in. Two morgues. This hall is a kilometre long. Because of social distancing, the queens weekly audience with the Prime Minister was held on the phone. These pictures were posted on the royal family twitter account. At some hospitals, doctors do feel there have been adequate preparations. The feeling of the hospital, while there is one of apprehension, i think from the most junior trainee to the most Senior Consultant and that management as well, everybody is pulling in the same direction. Chloe middleton was 21 and has died after testing positive for coronavirus. It is thought she had no Underlying Health condition. Her mother said on facebook. Scientists mapping the spread of coronavirus say they are hopeful the nhs will be able to cope with the expected surge in cases. They predict the outbreak may peak in two to three weeks if people follow the stay at home rules. The family of a victim who died on sunday are appealing to the public to obey the governments advice, as our medical correspondent fergus walsh reports. Doreen hunt died on mothers day in luton and dunstable hospitalfrom covid 19. The 72 year old had Underlying Health conditions. Her family are appealing to the public to stay at home to fight the virus. Im sad that shes gone, but im more angry with people who arent taking notice of the warnings. You might catch it, you might give it to somebody else, you might touch something which somebody else touches and youve killed a relative. You just dont know. These deserted streets show the stay at home message has got through. Add to that, the rapid expansion of hospital beds and a leading scientist modelling the outbreak has told mps he is optimistic intensive care units will cope. There will be some areas of the country which are extremely stressed. But we are reasonably confident, its all we can be at the current time, that at a national level, we will be within capacity. That will mean huge numbers of lives would be saved. Scientists think deaths are now unlikely to exceed 20,000 in the uk and could be lower if social distancing is maintained. The scientists tracking the coronaVirus Outbreak say theres a lot of uncertainty about their predictions. But say if the current restrictions work as expected, then the peak of cases in intensive care could come in two to three weeks and start to decline thereafter. The challenge then will be how to restart the economy without having a fresh surge of cases. Once the outbreak is under control, the key will be to ramp up Community Testing and Contact Tracing of those infected something thats not happening now. The long term hope is a vaccine, but when might it be ready . We could have millions of doses of vaccine available in as little as six months. But thats a huge effort required from today to upscale manufacturing at risk, when we dont even have the first doses being fully tested in humans. So there could, perhaps, be a way through this pandemic, but it will rely on all of us playing our part in the war against an invisible enemy. Fergus walsh, bbc news. Prince charles has tested positive for the coronavirus. Clarence house says he is displaying mild symptoms but is otherwise in good health. The duchess of cornwall has also been tested, but does not have the virus. Heres our royal correspondent nicholas witchell. Birkhall today, the prince of waless home in the scottish highlands. Its here that the heir to the british throne is self isolating, as is his wife. They had arrived here on sunday night. He was already showing mild symptoms. He was tested on monday, the results came through late last night. In a statement, Clarence House said. Scotlands chief medical officer stressed that the prince had been tested in line with normal procedures. He was tested for clinical reasons. Im very pleased also that he is very well, and, as with many people who have had this virus, has had a mild illness. The prince has met hundreds of people over recent weeks. 0n the 6th of march in newquay, he was still shaking hands quite freely. 0n the 9th of march he was at Westminster Abbey with the queen. Handshaking was out. Charles adopted the indian namaste greeting instead. But two days after that, on the 11th of march, he was evidently having difficulty remembering the no handshaking rule. At that stage, it was still something to laugh about. 0n the 12th of march, the prince was at Buckingham Palace for an investiture. He also briefly met the queen. Buckingham palace is usually pretty sparing when it comes to information about the health of senior members of the royal family. On this occasion, though, the palace was quick to say that the queen remains in good health. The queen left Buckingham Palace last week for windsor, where she has beenjoined by the duke of edinburgh. According to the palace, all appropriate advice is being followed to shield them from the virus. Nicholas witchell, bbc news, Buckingham Palace. Sweeping Emergency Powers to tackle the Coronavirus Crisis have become law after the coronavirus bill cleared the house of lords without amendment and was given royal assent. Parliament has closed tonight and in his last appearance at Prime Ministers questions, Jeremy Corbyn urged borisjohnson to make himself available for scrutiny during the parliamentary recess. Heres our political editor, laura kuenssberg. Can you all go home please. It is not a holiday, it is a lockdown. Not a time for lounging in the park, not a time to be anywhere you dont need to be. The government dont want you to travel unless it is necessary. That means tonight he will not face questions from mps for at least four weeks. Parliament is closing early. But time today for an hour of pressure first. No one under any illusion about the struggle ahead. We are coming together as a nation in a way i have not seen in my lifetime, to help defeat a disease and to help save the lives of many, many thousands of our fellow citizens. And we all understand that that will involve a sacrifice. But fine words dont mean the governments approach is effective enough. By chance, the last such outing for the labour leader too. If you are living in a small flat and you are told to isolate and you have a large family and a large number of children, the levels of stress are going to be huge. We need clarity, not confusion, and we need delivery and not dither. This is an emergency. The truth is the health and economic costs of this virus are deepening by the day. People deserve strong leadership. A plan for the self employed is promised tomorrow. It is a ghost town, all the staff just left. But none of the mps who would have scrutinised it will be here. It is quite eerie walking to the commons. This is where mps have their offices, it is normally bustling with staff. 0r back as normal any time soon. It is going to be an odd time. While they packed up themselves, they packed in their fears of making ends meet, brits stuck abroad. The 80,000 care homes around britain, what date will they expect tests to be carried out on the day that symptoms emerge . Can he help more people make the right decision by giving an absolute assurance to the 5000 self employed people in mansfield . Charities including those on the front line of the National Response to coronavirus, working with the seriously ill, the elderly and the young are an absolute dire straits. New sweeping powers for the government have passed now, so this gate so close but the questions remain. Can you say the government is coping . There arent enough test and people are struggling to make ends meet and some people are being forced to go to work when they dont feel they are safe. We are getting through it together, with an unprecedented programme of support, not just for businesses, but for workers of all kinds across the country. Never in our history has the government put its arms around people in the way that we are doing now. Yet no politician can make a plea like this. Mark is a0 years old, he wants you listen. Coronavirus wants to kill you. It wants to take all the life out of your lungs. So that you cant even breathe. I am grateful i am alive today. Laura kuenssberg, bbc news. Our health editor, hugh pym, joins me now. We are seeing more and more very ill patients and at the same time, the doctors, nurses are having to look after them and the protection they haveis after them and the protection they have is a big worry . Yes, we had an expert prediction that the nhs across the uk should just about cope with the surge in patients expected but there will be some parts of the uk that struggle more than others and that is what the staff are worried about. We have had their concerns about protective equipment, some of them have been in touch with us some of them have been in touch with us today. One doctor saying she had to buy four pairs of eye protectors because there were no visors. A Community Nurse saying they had no protective equipment, only allowed to use two masks a day and each should only last 15 minutes. Another hospital has said actually, protective equipment has come pouring in injust the protective equipment has come pouring in in just the last few days. The department of health says the full weight of government is behind this issue. The other big priority for the government is ventilators for intensive care beds, getting hold of them has been a plea to business to provide them. Tonight, dyson, the vacuum cleaner maker, has received an orderfor 10,000 ventilators and agreed to provide them, designed from scratch. They have had engineers working around the clock. It is not clear about the timing on this, they will still need medical approval but it isa still need medical approval but it is a big boost to the 12,000 figure that had been so far identified by the nhs in england. Hugh pym, thank you. The pandemic has prompted a surge in the number of people filing welfare benefit claims, with almost 500,000 applications made in the past nine days. Many are believed to be from the self employed. The department for work and pensions has admitted there have been problems with the system, as our social affairs correspondent, michael buchanan, reports. All of the work i had planned for april and may, and march as well, is 100 cancelled. I have absolutely no employment now, whatsoever. No football means no income for sport cameramen. Last week, jonny lindsley was forced to apply for universal credit, without success. The phone eitherjust automatically hangs up or if you get through, a couple of options on the menu, it eventually rings out and hangs up. Nearly 500,000 people have applied for universal credit since monday of last week. The record demand is creating long delays for applicants. 0n social media, people have been sharing how long theyve had to wait on the phone. For those who went online, it was no better. Alex found himself at position 103,000 in the queue. When we checked on his progress today, he said hed finally got into the system at 3am, but missed his slot as he was asleep. Recorded message we are currently experiencing high call volumes. Jonathan humes contract as a Research Associate ended this month. Hes called the universal credit helpline between 80 and 100 times in the past few days. Infuriating. And stressful. Because until this is sorted, i have no income. Theres been no communication from anyone. I think the systems just overwhelmed. The Unprecedented Demand for benefits suggests a rapid and possibly record rise in unemployment, just as jobcentres have been shut. Closing jobcentres was inevitable in the current climate, but it will put more pressure on telephone support and online services. And that, at a time when the system was struggling to cope anyway, with the many thousands of people forced to apply for benefits to make ends meet. Can i bid you both a very warm welcome . Appearing before mps today, officials insisted claims were being processed, but they acknowledged the surge had created difficulties. Weve had capacity problems, absolutely, with the verify system, working really closely with the Government Digital Service and their providers to build capacity in there. There are things they are doing to build capacity, to change the way that system works. So, i;m really hoping that system will see some changes and improvements. 10,000 benefit officials will now be moved to process the new claims, lives suddenly interrupted, debts immediately soaring. The costs of a lifetime stacking up in days. Michael buchanan, bbc news. More than 500,000 people have signed up to the nhs volunteers, just 2a hours after an appeal was launched. The governments target was half that number. But theyve been indunated with people wanting to help care for the most vulnerable, delivering food and medicines, driving patients to appointments and phoning people who may be isolated. The Prime Minister said they were essential in the fight against the virus. 0ur north of england correspondent Judith Moritz reports. Hi, iam kirsty, im volunteering to do some driving for the nhs. Hi, my name is robert howard. The nhs asked for help and thousands replied, an army of volunteers growing all the time who have signed up online to do their bit. I recently had pneumonia so i couldnt put myself at physical risk but this is a volunteer role that i can do from my home. I would like to offer some form of Human Connection and support to other people in my community. I am volunteering so that there will still be an nhs around for my children when they are all grown up. This feels very strange. I normally watch you on tv pete elwick is self isolating but keen to help others and rushed to register last night. We are very conscious of the help we are getting from family, friends, and this just seemed the obvious thing as soon as i heard about it. And tell me how exactly you are hoping to help through this app. I suspect that some people will be just pleased to have a voice on the end of the phone, or even to have a phone call at all. The nhs has advertised four separate volunteer roles through the app good sam. From your sofa, like pete, you can offer phone support to people who are feeling lonely or, if you can get out and about, you can sign up to deliver supplies to people who are self isolating, to transport patients who are fit for discharge, or to deliver equipment and medicines for nhs Services Like pharmacies. This chemists has been inundated with orders and its staff have given the news of volunteer help a cautious welcome. I have got a really good Delivery System in place my drivers are checked and my drivers are trained with what to do. I am very happy to use volunteers if they are at that standard. If they are not, though, we can still use them within the pharmacy to help us organise the workload for the delivery drivers and to support Patient Access elsewhere. The volunteers are considered a vital part of the effort to cope in this crisis. There is no Health System in the world that could cope if coronavirus gets out of control. So, yes, the nhs is stepping up, our wonderful staff are doing all they can to ensure that we respond to this crisis but we also need the public to step up as volunteers to help us. The number of people signing up continues to rise. The nhs says it is possible to volunteer and stay safe through social distancing, so that everyone can play a part during this emergency. Judith moritz, bbc news. And if you want a reminder of the new restrictions the government has introduced, you can find a full list of them on the bbc news website. Spain has now recorded more coronavirus deaths than china. 738 people with the virus died in the past day alone, taking the total over 3,000. Italy still has the highest death rate, though. More than 7,500 people have died, and over 75,000 have been infected, but the infection rate has slowed for a fourth successive day. In france, more than 1,300 people have died. Almost 3,000 people are in such a serious condition that they need life support meaning more than one third of frances ventilation beds are occupied. Theres a similar situation in spain, where more than 2,500 are in a serious or critical state. Almost 3,500 have died. 0ur correspondent, damian grammaticas, joins us from madrid. Yes, that bold fact here has been really shocking for many people, that spain now, a country of 47 Million People, has registered more deaths in this Virus Outbreak than china, with its more than1 billion people. Hospitals here are swamped. Every effort in spain now is being mobilised, to try to fight the virus, but what has really, really shaken people is that death toll. 738 in the past 2a hours, the highest of any country in the world today. On a dark day for spain, a sobering sight. Van after van carrying bodies of virus victims. This is madrids biggest ice rink. It has been requisitioned to hold the dead. They need it there are so many now. Arriving at spanish hospitals are more and more cases, infections here leaping every day. More than 5,000 medical staff have fallen sick also. So, part of spains urgent efforts are these new Rapid Testing centres, specifically for those on the front line. This nurse fears she has the virus. A colleague has it. The swabs are invasive and unpleasant. Handled with extreme care in case they have picked up the pathogen. She is worried because she has a family she might have infected too. Translation i am very worried, especially for my family and my patients. At home i stay in one room, isolated, treating myself for my symptoms alone. The whole of spain has now mobilised to fight the virus. A tanker load of chemicals arrives at an army base on the edge of madrid. Inside, they are now making hand sanitiser. Gallons and gallons of it to supply hospitals, so great is the demand. Translation what we are doing is very important. We do what we can to try to solve the crisis. So, in this battle, it is not bullets this military production line is making, but medicines, to replenish stocks that are being used up fast. And this is it, coming off the production line, packs of paracetamol. Spains military have put down their guns and their weapon of choice in this fight now packs of pills. And across spain, people everywhere are getting involved too. Designing and producing the goggles doctors are so short of. Those stuck at home sewing face masks for the elderly. Here, a nurse posts a thank you for the vital protective visor, hand made by People Living near to her hospital. Applause. And that thanks is returned. Every night, in every city, town and village across spain, acknowledgement of the bravery and sacrifice the medics are making. The sound of a grateful nation. Damian grammaticas, bbc news, madrid. In the united states, more than 800 people have now died, and there are 60,000 confirmed cases. Half of those cases are in new york state, where the governor has again appealed for more help from the federal government. Despite the mounting numbers, the governor said there are early signs that stringent restrictions on social gatherings and other measures could be slowing the viruss spread. Nick bryant reports. New york is paying a price for being the worlds most global city. The very thing that makes it great also makes it vulnerable during this planetary pandemic. It saw the tourists and visitors who normally throng places like times square partly explains why this has become the epicentre of americas coronaVirus Outbreak. But social distancing is having an effect by slowing the amount of patients needing urgent care. This is everything. Slowing the hospitalisation rates, coming into the hospitals are everything, so the hospitals can deal with the rate of people coming in. And theyre notjust building makeshift hospitals here, theyre erecting makeshift morgues. New york is still thought to be three weeks away from the peak of its coronaVirus Outbreak and its facing a chronic shortage of medical equipment. It estimates it will need 33,000 ventilators and, right now, it only has about a third of that number. Washington may be deserted but its lawmakers are working overtime to pass a 2 trillion stimulus package to throw a lifeline to american businesses. And there are political tensions here over how to deal simultaneously with an economic crisis and a Public Health crisis. Donald trumps aim of opening up america by easter has been slammed by the democrat hoping to succeed him. Id like to be able to say were going to be back to normal next friday. That would be wonderful. But it cant be arbitrary. Weve got to look at the history of whats happened, the recent history of whats happened in other countries. Donald trump is a wartime president who wants this conflict to come to an early end. I dont think its going to end up being such a rough patch. The sooner we can open, the better. It will open up like a rocket ship. I think it will go very good and very quickly. Coronavirus testing near hollywood in california. Scenes from what looked like a movie set a viral not virtual reality. Will the coronavirus spring become the coronavirus summer and autumn . Nobody knows the timeline. Nobody can be sure how this ends. Nick bryant, bbc news, new york. The German Government has abandoned its long held commitment not to take on new debt so that it can finance the biggest economic rescue package in the countrys modern history equalling around £680 billion. More than 37,000 people have tested positive for the virus in germany, but the relatively low number of deaths in the country around 200 is puzzling experts. Our berlin correspondent jenny hill reports. For so many, it is about survival. This german knitwear factory now churning out masks. Its that, the owner tells us, or go bust. Translation this is not about making big money its to help people who urgently need masks and of course its to create a certain level of security for our company. Germanys politicians are taking no chances. Today, they approved of the biggest economic rescue package in modern german history. Its costing them. They have had to abandon a commitment never to take on new debt. No Angela Merkel today. Shes self isolating after her doctor tested positive for the virus