Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC News Special 20200411

This is bbc news and we will be bringing you todays downing street press c0 nfe re nce bringing you todays downing street press conference with all the latest on the battle of the virus. Our top stories. As a guest figure in the uk rise by 917, doctors are warning the store are not getting the macro to be needed to treat patients with coronavirus. The government must make sure that it delivers the ppe, which it says a cat has, to the front line. Going from the business of usual, normal ppe distribution to the unprecedented usage now has been a big challenge, and we have still got work to do. Number ten say the Prime Minister, borisjohnson, is making very Good Progress in his recovery from covid 19. As spains daily coronavirus death toll falls for the third day in a row to 510, the World Health Organization tells countries to be cautious about lifting restrictions too early. The United States becomes the first country in the world to record more than 2000 coronavirus deaths in a single day. Police in the uk urge people to stick to the advice to stay at home over the Bank Holiday Weekend despite the warm weather in many parts of the country. Hello and welcome to audiences in the uk and around the world. Were covering all the latest coronavirus developments here in britain and globally. The Health Secretary matt hancock has faced anger from the Health Profession after suggesting that some workers are overusing personal protective equipment. He said there was enough to go around if it was used according to guidance and that doctors and nurses should use it as a precious resource. The British Medical Association issued a stark warning that medics are unable to access the personal protective equipment they need to keep themselves safe while treating patients with coronavirus. They said that supplies in some areas are at dangerously low levels. Matt hancock said 19 Health Workers had died during the outbreak but it wasnt clear how each had contracted the illness. It comes as the uk recorded the largest rise over a 24 hour period yesterday, with 980 deaths, higher than both italys and spains highest daily death toll. Nearly 80,000 people have tested positive. In the United States, mass burials in new york signal the toll the coronavirus has taken. Over 18,000 people have died in the country, half of those in new york state. Europe is preparing for an easter weekend under quarantine, with the coronavirus pandemic forcing many celebrations to be held in isolation. The latest figures from spain show an extra 510 people have died, the lowest rise for 18 days. And the World Health Organization has warned of a deadly resurgence of the virus if lockdowns are lifted too early. Well have more on those stories in a moment, but first on the latest in the uk, heres our Health Correspondent laura foster. Almost 9,000 people have died after contracting coronavirus in the uk, including 19 nhs front line staff. Doctors, nurses and physios cant practise social distancing while treating patients. Their protections comes in the form of equipment such as gowns, masks and gloves. The problem is, not everyone who needs this ppe gear to treat patients safely will get their hands on it. This front line hospital nurse says they are being forced to use things they know dont offer enough protection. The situation is really bad. We are scared. Were seeing colleagues pass away every day, so this is not fair for us. We are on the front line, we dont deserve it. We dont deserve it. We need more. The British Medical Association says the problem is particularly bad in yorkshire and london. A survey of members found more than half of doctors working in high risk environments said they were short of face masks or had none. Two thirds said they didnt have eye protection and more than half said they were being pressured into working in a high risk area, despite not having the adequate gear to protect them. Doctors are also human beings. They dont want to become ill, they dont want their lives to be at risk. They have dependents, they go home to their families, and what is really worrying us is the numbers of Health Care Workers who are now in intensive care units, on ventilators, and who have tragically died. So doctors are naturally afraid, but the one thing they would feel obviously is important is to give them protection, and that is something the government owes us. The Health Secretary told the bbc it couldnt be certain the nhs staff who have died contracted the virus doing theirjobs. The work is going on to establish whether they caught coronavirus in the line of duty, at work, or whether, like so many other people, in the rest of their lives. It is obviously quite difficult to work that out. The government says delivery of ppe gear to hospitals will happen daily but says it shouldnt be overused. But the bma says it is not misuse if they dont have any. Its expected the number of coronavirus related deaths will surpass 10,000 by the end of the day. Making sure the Health Service is properly equipped to help look after future cases will be imperative if we are to stop that rising even further. Well, in the past few hours, we have had an update on the health of the uk Prime Minister, borisjohnson. Jenny kumah is outside st thomas in central london, where the Prime Minister is, bring us up to date, what is the latest . Ina in a statement, number ten say the Prime Minister is making very Good Progress. He was moved from intensive care to award on thursday, he spent three nights in intensive care, moved there on monday to be near a ventilator. In the end, he didnt need that intervention, he didnt need that intervention, he did need help with oxygen. We understand that during this time his fiancee has been communicating with him by sending letters, sending baby scans, Carrie Symonds is seven months pregnant and has also had some coronavirus symptoms. Now, in a statement, number ten say that Boris Johnson has done some short walks, it has been reported that he has been watching films and playing sudoku. But it is not clear how much longer it will take until he is fully recovered, and in the meantime the foreign secretary, dominic raab, is deputising. Polite 0k, many thanks, i will correspond a jenny kumah there. Our correspondent jenny kumah there. Our correspondent jenny kumah there. A doctor in one of the uks coronavirus hotspots says her team is approaching breaking point. Over the last week gwent has seen britains highest rates of confirmed cases of covid 19 per head. 0ur wales correspondent Hywel Griffith has more. In a battle with so many front lines, this corner of the country is having to fight harder than most. The area served by newports royal gwent hospital has a higher rate of confirmed coronavirus cases per head than either london or birmingham. No one here is sure why, but what they do know is that its taking its toll. I wish it was raining, i wish it was miserable. Amyjones has worked in war zones, served in afghanistan, but this, she says, has pushed her almost to breaking point. Emotionally, we are seeing patients our age, people that we know, relatives of people we know, that we just hope we can help. This disease has about a 50 mortality by the time you get to Critical Care, so its a toss of a coin, you know. We are going to try our best to save as many people as we can, but the disease is a horrific one. We are not able to save half the people that we are going to take, potentially. As the Critical Care beds fill up, other wards have to be converted to try and offer even more intensive care spaces. The problem isntjust how many patients are being admitted, its the fact that some may need to be here on a ventilator for the next three weeks. Dad, its a video. 0h, a video john barry davis lost his battle against the virus. The father of five had been fighting cancer and defying expectations. He was discharged from hospital to avoid covid 19, only to be rushed back in suffering with the symptoms. One day he went to hospital. The next day he was gone. It just goes to show how scary and how fast it can take you, because i was on facetime to him probably 16 hours before he died, and he looked absolutely great. He was fine. He was with it. Thats why i think its so shocking, because i never thought it would take him that quick, you know . May i ask what the purpose of yourjourney is today . Like many forces, gwent police has been reminding people they should stay at home. There are signs here the restrictions are working. The glimmers of hope are suggesting that the lockdown measures are having the impact, but if we start easing off too soon, the virus will just start spreading rapidly again, and all of the hard work of the last few weeks will be undone. Another spike in cases here would be simply overwhelming, for a place where the pandemic has changed so many lives. Hywel griffith, bbc news, newport. In spain, the number of daily deaths from covid 19 has continued to slow. The latest figures show 510 more people have died, the lowest rise for 18 days. This takes the total number of deaths to just over 16,300, the Spanish Health ministry has announced. 0ur correspondent guy hedgecoe says the mood is one of very cautious optimism. These are the best figures we have seen in terms of daily deaths since march 23rd. It is a drop from yesterday, almost by 100, compared to yesterday. Clearly that is encouraging, and it would appear to continue this trend that we have been seeing over the last week or so, where the daily deaths have been dropping. However, you have to bear in mind that we are in the easter weekend at the moment, and experts have warned that these figures have to be taken with a pinch of salt because local authorities might be under reporting the number of deaths we are seeing over the holiday period. You have to be very cautious about them, but over the last few days we have been seeing encouraging signs, both in terms of the number of daily deaths and the spread of the virus itself, which has been slowing. There is a tremendous amount of uncertainty, they have had a terrible time of it over the last month or so, but in terms of the health care crisis, there are fears there could be a spike of deaths again. There is another aspect, which is the economic aspect. I think the country is bracing itself for a really serious economical crisis. Members of the last eurozone crisis are still very fresh and that crisis hit spain very hard. I think people are worrying about that a lot. It is very much a mixed response at the moment, looking ahead to what the future holds. The us has become the first country in the world to record more than 2,000 coronavirus deaths in a single day. According to numbers compiled byjohns hopkins university, 2108 people died in the last 24 hour period. The United States has the highest number of cases in the world its just passed half a million. Its also recorded the second highest number of deaths over 18,700 just behind italy. New york state alone now has more confirmed cases of coronavirus than any single country in the world. 0ur north america correspondent david willis has more now on what has been a difficult 2a hours for the country. Meanwhile, the us Surgeon General has sparked controversy after urging minority communities to stop drinking, smoking and taking drugs to reduce their risk of contracting covid 19. Drjerome adams said the virus was disproportionately affecting black and latino populations and was criticised by some for his use of language. Call your friends and family, check in on your mother, she wants to hear from you right now. And speaking of mothers, we need you to do this, if not for yourself, then for your abuela. Do it for your grandaddy, do it for your big momma, do it for your pop pop. We need you to understand, especially in communities of colour, we need you to step up and help stop the spread, so we can protect those who are more vulnerable. More now on the news here in the uk that the Health Secretary, matt hancock, is facing growing angerfrom doctors and nurses after he suggested that some Health Workers were overusing personal protective equipment. The British Medical Association and Royal College of nursing have both raised objections. The labour leader, sir keir starmer, said the comment was insulting. Lets talk now to the shadow Health Secretary, Jonathan Ashworth. Insulting says your partys leader. Do you agree with that assessment . do agree. Nhs staff and care workers have been raising the alarm now for literally weeks about inadequate supply of ppe, thats the visors, gowns, antibacterial materials they need. And we still keep getting doctors, nurses and other health ca re doctors, nurses and other Health Care Workers telling us, pleading with us that they havent got enough kit, that they are forced to turn curtains into kit. We have seen nurses at a hospital in london forced to use bin liners. They have now been brought down with coronavirus. To somehow suggest it might be because nhs staff are wasting the ppe or overusing it, i think its frankly insulting. What should be happening is ministers getting a grip so we can get ppe to the front line as soon as possible. Could it be the case that there is toa could it be the case that there is to a certain extent a distribution problem, and clearly some places are not getting the equipment they need, but there are others where they are getting the equipment and its being overused. Have you heard any evidence that it is being misused, as the Health Secretary suggests . No, i have heard no evidence at all that it no, i have heard no evidence at all thatitis no, i have heard no evidence at all that it is being misused or wasted. I think there are issues with the distribution of the kit. Its a huge task to get the scale of the quantities of the kit out there and i appreciate that, but its not like we didnt know this was coming. Many have been raising the alarm about ppe since january and february. So it should be no surprise to ministers that they needed to move heaven and earth to get the kit out there. It was welcome that matt hancock said yesterday they have a plan but we have seen ministers cou ntless plan but we have seen ministers countless times at press conferences say that kit was getting to the front line and there has always been a big mismatch between what ministers tell us at press conferences and what doctors and nurses tell us from the ground. We are in the situation we are in. Matt hancock was asked earlier in the day whether he would back any Health Worker who said, no, they dont want to go to work because they are not adequately protected, and he said thats not a decision he could make for someone else, it would have to depend on circumstances on the ground. What would you say in those circumstances is. And i think youve got. Circumstances is. And i think youve got. Im like that academic. I am on the tv im on the tv, girls give me a second. It is easter weekend, we understand. Im going to go viral. Let daddy do this. Their grandma has sent them some money for easter. Jonathan ashworth, shall we save your brushes and come back to you shortly. Why dont you deal with the pressing issue your daughters have and we will talk to you shortly. That might bea will talk to you shortly. That might be a better idea. Thank you. Lets talk about what its like on the medical front line at the moment. Were joined from birmingham via webcam by dr ron daniels, whos an intensive care doctor. Hes also director of the uk sepsis trust. Thank you forjoining us here on bbc news. Give us a sense, doctor daniels, of what its like to be at work at the moment. Its completely different to anything i have known in my 2a years of being a doctor and anything any of my colleagues have known stop its hard, its challenging, its difficult. We are twice as busy with covid 19 as we normally are at this time of year. We have had some preparation. There are some chinks in the armour, that is fair, but everyone is pulling together, and thats the one positive thing to come out of this crisis for the nhs. Can i ask about your own experience of personal protective equipment. Do you have sufficient in your unit . We have heard from people who havent had sufficient ppe, who havent been able to access it, and have even been told to treat patients without appropriate ppe, and that is wrong. If we are not protected then we should not be treating patients. They have certainly been problems with the supply chain and areas with national stocks. There have been problems with local procurement and local supply chain and delivery to individual wards. In my own practice we are fortunate, in birmingham we have the Defence Medical Services who have taken an enormous Logistics Programme to make sure our staff in intensive care in Birmingham Hospitals are well protected. You are in the West Midlands, and that is second behind london in terms of being a hotspot for the disease. How much time do you feel you had to prepare for the situation you find yourself in now . I think its been often said that we were ten or 1a days behind london, and thats probably right. Probably the shorter end of that timescale the stop we saw pockets of increased numbers of cases in places like wolverhampton before it hit across the West Midlands as a whole so we had a luxury of a period of time to prepare. We were not perfectly prepared but we did have time to double our intensive Care Capacity and that has placed us in good stead right now. You are also the director of the uk sepsis trust. What sort of. How has that background helped you in dealing with covid 19 patients . Sepsis, for those who dont know, is the bodys response to infection. I have been working in the space of threatening illness and life threatening a list for a long time. Covid 19 is completely different to anything we have dealt with before, including sepsis but there are things we can draw from this as a charity. We have instructed the people we look after, Vulnerable People who have had sepsis, some of whom have had it a number of times, that they are at increased risk of severe reactions to covid 19 so they are now shielding themselves. There are many similarities between the bodys response to covid 19 and the bodys response to covid 19 and the bodys response to covid 19 and the bodys response to sepsis, usually a bacterial infection, and that can help us in how to deliver advice and ca re help us in how to deliver advice and care to patients. Clinically there are huge differences and im not trying to pretend itsjust are huge differences and im not trying to pretend its just sepsis, it isnt. The third thing is the charity has transferable skills. We support people affected by sepsis, particularly those who have been to hospital and intensive care and the after effects of covid 19 will be almost identical to the after effects of surviving sepsis so we have decided, we have agreed with trustees, to expand our support services urgently to deliver post hospital care to patients. And finally, you have worked in the nhs for 25 years. Have you ever known a time like this . No, i have known nothing like this. As i said at the beginning, there are some massive challenges, and there are a whole load of difficult situations. This is emotionally challenging, it is challenging the Mental Health of staff as well as families and patients. That will give us a huge problem in the immediate aftermath of this crisis. But there are some positives. What we have seen is eve ryo ne positives. What we have seen is everyone pulling together. We hear about grit and determination but the most common question asked by collea g u es most common question asked by colleagues from all disciplines, not just intensive care and anaesthetics, is what can i do to help. People are rolling up their sleeves and getting mucked in and thatis sleeves and getting mucked in and that is fantastic to see. And i hope it outlasts the crisis. People are very grateful for your work and we wish you all the best. Thank for speaking to us on bbc news, doctor ron daniels. We can now return to the shadow Health Secretary, Jonathan Ashworth. We were speaking about the issue of personal protective equipment. I was asking you, the Health Secretary had been asked about what any Health Worker should do if they didnt have the protective equipment they would want to have. Should they be able to say they didnt want to work, and he said it should be up to individuals to make that decision for themselves. What do you think . Should a Health Worker be able to say they wont go to work if they dont feel adequately protected . They shouldnt be put in that position. Every Health Care Worker and every nhs work at this weekend, while the rest of us are at home with ourfamilies, while the rest of us are at home with our families, as you have just seen, are so thankful for what our nhs staff and social care staff are doing, but they should be properly protected because they are putting themselves at risk, but they are also putting patients at risk. They are putting people at risk of transmitting infection. If people feel too scared to go into work then they have to discuss that with their line managers and bosses at work. Its line managers and bosses at work. Its another reason why the government must really now move heaven and earth to get ppe out to the front line. I know there have been improvements in the army has been improvements in the army has been delivering stuff overnight. I thanked the army and everyone involved in distribution, but there are involved in distribution, but there a re clearly involved in distribution, but there are clearly still problems and issues that need fixing, because its not fair to ask nhs staff to put themselves at risk like this. Those problems and issues, you would say are because of a lack of planning by government . say are because of a lack of planning by government . I think so, but thats what we need to understand. Its not like these issues were not raised weeks ago. Ministers have continued to tell us they are on top of it. About a month ago we had a budget where we were told that it was a budget where the nhs would get whatever it takes, whatever it needs, and that provoked glowing headlines for the government. That was a month ago, and clearly the nhs isnt getting whatever it needs because there are still doctors, nurses and health ca re still doctors, nurses and Health Care Workers telling us, pleading with us, that they havent got the protective equipment, gowns, visors and gloves and so on that they need. This needs fixing as soon as possible and the government really have got to get a grip. We will leave it there. Thank you to Jonathan Ashworth and think you are coming back to us as well. Pleasure. Lets give you an update on some stories making the news around the world. The indian Prime Minister, narendra modi, has decided to extend a nationwide lockdown to tackle the spread of coronavirus without giving details as to how long the additional period would last. The shutdown has left millions jobless, with the poorest suffering most. India has 7,600 confirmed cases, with 239 deaths. Brazil has become the first country in the Southern Hemisphere where more than a thousand people have died of covid 19. But president bolsonaro continues to challenge the travel restrictions imposed by brazils state governments, urging people to return to work. Health officials predict that the country is still some weeks away from its peak, and are concerned that the virus could spread out of control in poorer areas. South korea has announced plans to use electronic wristbands to enforce quarantine measures aimed at containing the spread of the coronavirus, claiming the move is necessary as many have not observed a Government Order to stay at home. Since april one, people entering the country from abroad are placed under a1li country from abroad are placed under a 1k day mandatory quarantine. With warm Weather Forecast for much of the uk this weekend there are fears people might be tempted to gather in parks and on beaches. But the government is urging people to stay at home over easter. Dan johnson is outside regents park in central london. This is Primrose Hill in north london, usually a very busy spot. Fairto london, usually a very busy spot. Fair to say it is not deserted today. Plenty of people out enjoying the fine weather and taking exercise. The police are on duty as well driving around the park and reminding people they are entitled to come here and spend time and take exercise and walk the dog, but they shouldnt be hanging around. We have seen police speak to some people laying out on the grass, some with families and some look like they have been sunbathing. Thats the sort of thing police are trying to stop, any gathering that is longer and larger than necessary, they are trying to interrupt and reminding people they shouldnt be out of the house for any longer than they need to be. Some Police Forces are giving a signal that they are starting to step this up. While the vast majority of people are abiding by restrictions they say after nearly three weeks of engaging, educating and encouraging people, they are now ready to step up to taking further enforcement action against the minority of people who are still out and about and may be not abiding by the restrictions. Its an unbelievable world we live in at the minute with everything turned upside down. Not least the fact it is so sunny here in london and in the south on the bank holiday, but the overwhelming message is the majority of people are abiding by restrictions. Studio many thanks, danjohnson. Here, farmers are warning that crops could be left to rot in the ground because of a shortage of Seasonal Workers from Eastern Europe due to the coronavirus lockdown. The National Farmers union say they need up to 70,000 fruit and vegetable pickers in the weeks and months ahead. Theyre calling for a land army of workers, including those who have been laid off in the hospitality sector, to help with the harvest. Heres our Business Correspondent sarah corker. Its massively serious. We cannot get people across here from Eastern Europe, so we are having to rely on english workers. The asparagus crop is ready for picking in rural north yorkshire. For the last decade, this farmer has relied on polish and czech workers, because this is hard labour that britons havent wanted to do. But now he is appealing to students and those who have lostjobs in bars, cafes and shops for urgent help. There is no alternative. Either get english workers or we dont pick the asparagus, or we pick very little asparagus. The rest would just go to waste, and then there wouldnt be the fruit and vegetables in the shops. Seasonal workers mostly from Eastern Europe would usually live on site, in these caravans, but with borders closed and aeroplanes grounded, they are likely to be empty this summer, and british farmers are now facing a shortage of between 60 and 70,000 fruit and vegetable pickers. Gregor came here four years ago from poland and says it is backbreaking work. Up and down, up and down. Many people have got problems with legs and back. So do you think british workers will come and pick . I think so, definitely. And demand for groceries has surged. Last month, shoppers spent an extra £1. 9 billion. The National Farmers union is calling for a land army to keep up. Ultimately, there could be a shortage on the shelves in the supermarkets, and there could be an increase in cost, so really we need everyone to unite together right the way through the supply chain, to make sure that we can really put these fresh fruit and vegetables, british fruit and vegetables on our plate. But its the berry harvest, with sam starts and picking on hands and knees, that is worrying farmers most. There are, though, some positive signs. We have put a post on our Facebook Page and had a good response, so we have now got a lot of english people wanting to come and work for us. Has that ever happened before . Never, no, it is very unusual. We usually get one or two who venture into the fields, but they dont last very long. The government is now preparing its own pick for britain campaign, asking us all to do our bit to keep the nation fed and avoid shortages. Sarah corker, bbc news, near thirsk in north yorkshire. There have been many inspirational stories over the last few weeks of people who are doing there bit to support the nhs. The latest is a 99 year old war veteran, captain tom moore, whos set himself a challenge of walking 100 laps of his garden. He uses a walking frame and he wants to complete the challenge before his 100th birthday, which is at the end of the month. Hes nearly raised £120,000 after his initial £1,000 target. Bbc breakfasts Naga Munchetty tells us more. Step by step, captain tom moore is doing his bit in the fight against coronavirus. During the war, he served in india and burma. Now, at the age of 99, hes raising money for the nhs by aiming to complete 100 laps of his garden before his 100th birthday at the end of this month. I can get about a bit slowly, so long as people dont want me to run around too fast, i can manage and will continue to manage, as long as i possibly can. Thanks, captain tom toms efforts havent gone unnoticed by those on the nhs front line, with his own nephew adam, a junior doctor, among them. Ive been showing the nurses your interview, and theyve all fallen for you, tom, which i think you often expect. Your charm is enduring. Since appearing on breakfast, tom has smashed his original target of £1000 and has also received a special message from dame kelly holmes. Im a colonel with the Royal Army Corps and captain thomas moore has done an amazing job. Youre an amazing gentleman, youve served your country, youre serving your country now by supporting the nhs, and people like you just need all the recognition and thanks. So thank you from myself and from everybody at the Royal Army Corps and the nhs for everything youre doing. With a little more than a fortnight to go until his big birthday, toms march for the nhs goes on. Im joined now by tom moores daughter, Hannah Ingram moore. Shes in the garden at their home in the village of Marston Moretaine in bedfordshire, where herfather is doing his fundraising walk. Thank you so much forjoining us, you must be very proud of him. Incredibly proud, he is walking behind me and smashing the target. He is due to have achieved 70 lengths of the driveway today, we are expecting him to complete the 100 five thursday this week. are expecting him to complete the 100 five thursday this week. I am so sorry to interrupt you, it is just that we can see him behind you right now, walking very steadily. I mean, it must be hard work, hot work. think he is getting a bit tired, we have given him a rest day tomorrow, we felt that he deserved it, and he is taking it slow and steady, that wins the day, right . Absolutely, tortoise over the hare. Is there a structure to it . There is, he started with town last sunday, and he has been working on town every day that you can, he gets up, he will not be stopped. Ten. He achieves that every day he sets out to do it. And he has already raised £120,000, staggering. We cannot believe it. We set our target of £1000 last monday on the just giving page, we thought we as a company, we said we would give you £100, £1 for every length that you do, and lets see what we can do. We thought £1000 was realistic, we put up the page on monday, and we just cant believe it, one week later, we are at £122,000, 6000 people have donated, we just cant thank everyone enough. It isa we just cant thank everyone enough. It is a fantastic achievement, and you cant say, but we can see him again, right behind you, steadily doing his laps, it is wonderful. Your dad is going to turn 100 next month, and i guess you cant have the Birthday Party for him that you would have otherwise had . No, on the 30th of april he turns 100, and we we re 30th of april he turns 100, and we were planning a big party on the 2nd of may with all the family, all our friends, a singer, a hog roast from the local butcher, a marquee, the works, and sadly, of course, we cannot do that, and respectfully we cannot do that, and respectfully we cannot do that, and respectfully we cannot do that. We will have a much more low key party, and u nfortu nately more low key party, and unfortunately it is now up to me to make the cake but we will do the very best we can. A cake he will so thoroughly have deserved, so much to celebrate. Absolutely, it is incredible, my sister and i, anyone who asks will tell you that growing up who asks will tell you that growing up with someone a little bit older, it gives you an extra dimension in your life, and it definitely gives us your life, and it definitely gives us another window to look through life from. All the things that he has achieved ends with this incredible achievement, something that he couldnt even have understood himself, we set up a twitter account on thursday, he already has 1000 followers, who knew already has 1000 followers, who knew a 99 year old code trend on twitter . Could trend. Lovely to talk to you, thank you very much indeed and congratulations to your father. Lockdown is hard on all of us, but there are particular fears for some groups of vulnerable young people, who cant meet up with friends and could be deprived of Vital Services in the long term. Charities are warning that a quarter of youth clubs could struggle to re open after lockdown has ended. Anna adams reports. Normally, youd have 30 50 young people here after school or in holidays. Mervyn is showing me around this youth club in lewisham, south london. Its been closed since the lockdown. In what ways are you having to change the way you work . Trying to meet the people where they are, using tiktok and instagram, were basically trying to recreate the youth club and Adventure Playground experience as best we can in a virtual environment. Hi were missing you nicola is a youth worker. Shes chatting online with kids who would normally be here. Im missing you guys. Aw were missing you guys, man how do you think youll feel if youre not able to come here for three months . I think loads of people might start sneaking out and going out like that. This club is confident it will survive the difficult months ahead, but others across the country are worried about the knock on effect of coronavirus and the lockdown and what that will do to the young people who have come to rely on places like this. The National Body for youth workers says its already getting reports of some young people feeling suicidal and self harming. Were seeing lot of Services Close and not being able to reopen and provide that vital support. Theres around a million young people with hidden need that are just not being supported today. Charities say more than 20 of Youth Services will not survive this crisis. If we covered all those areas yesterday, today, well go together and come through the estate. Youth workers in north london are out looking for some of the teenagers theyve lost contact with. For now, the kids are off the streets, but can it stay that way . Its those young people who have perhaps have been involved in crimal activity or excluded from school, id be worried about that group, because those young people arent on the social media platforms that many of the other young people we work with are. In suburban st albans, these houses are full of young people trying to keep themselves busy. What are you missing the most . My girlfriend, thats been the hardest part so far, ive missed her a lot. I dont know i would be able to cope with three months, having to stay inside. Why . Not being able to see my friends, my family, its just. Lonely. If i were to know how long it would last for, that would be better mentally, but its the fact that we dont know, so its kind of like waiting every day. And that uncertainty is the hardest thing for these teenagers. No one knows how long this lockdown will last. Anna adams, bbc news, st albans. We are expecting the latest News Conference from the uk government shortly, but in the meantime ben wright is here, every day this crisis throws up new issues, what do you expect to be top of the list today . I think the backdrop is the surging death toll, the total now standing at 9875 hospital deaths, so todays total slightly lower than yesterday but still a huge number, still a huge trauma for many families across the country, i am sure that will be part of the questioning when the press conference happens. What else is around today . Yesterday we saw Matthew Hancock trying to get onto the front foot on the issue of protective clothing for medical staff in hospitals, ppe. Since the crisis began, there have been huge complaints from nursing organisations, from medical organisations, from medical organisations, the bma, saying that people working on the front line do not have the supplies that they need, and yesterday matt hancock said that there would be a new plan put in place, a new way of making sure that the equipment was distributed properly. Ithink sure that the equipment was distributed properly. I think he did say, which is very interesting, that there was enough equipment around if it was used properly, and that has triggered quite a reaction from several quarters. You know, the labour party, their leader said that was frankly insulting to people working in hospitals, the bma has said that people simply are not getting the equipment they need still, so there is an argument that rumbles on, clearly, about the availability of ppe. And of course the backdrop to this press conference is a weekend where the sun is out in much of the country, people are trying to enjoy a long Bank Holiday Weekend with these totally unprecedented restrictions in place, so how are they working, how are the police going about enforcing the new measures . I am sure that will be discussed as well. Precisely, the restrictions that people are having to live under, there has been emergency legislation brought in in the uk, giving the police greater powers, and we can, i think, expect some discussion of how those powers are being used. Yes, i am sure, they have been given wide discretion about how they use those powers, they have the ability to fine people, break up groups if they choose to, and so far i think police have been using those powers in a restrained way, we have policing by consent, as we always say. A couple of Police Forces have used those powers slightly over zealously, so im sure that will be part of the discussion today. 0k, im sure that will be part of the discussion today. Ok, done right, we will be talking to very shortly when the press conference is due. You are watching bbc news, we are covering all the latest coronavirus developments here in britain and globally. A further 917 people have died in the uk of coronavirus. It follows a stark warning from the British Medical Association that medics are not able to access the personal protective equipment they need to keep themselves safe while treating patients with coronavirus. They said supplies in some areas are a dangerously low levels. It comes after the Health Secretary said there was enough ppe to go around if it was used according to guidelines, but doctors and nurses should treat it as but doctors and nurses should treat itasa but doctors and nurses should treat it as a precious resource. Matt hancock said 19 Health Workers have died during the outbreak but it wasnt clear how each had contracted the illness. The latest rise in death takes the total number in the uk to 9875. Nearly 80,000 people have tested positive for the coronavirus. Here is Health Correspondent laura foster. Almost 9,000 people have died after contracting coronavirus in the uk, including 19 nhs front line staff. Doctors, nurses and physios cant practise social distancing while treating patients. Their protections comes in the form of equipment such as gowns, masks and gloves. The problem is, not everyone who needs this ppe gear to treat patients safely can get their hands on it. This front line hospital nurse says they are being forced to use things they know dont offer enough protection. The situation is really bad. We are scared. Were seeing colleagues pass away every day, so this is not fair for us. We are on the front line, we dont deserve it. We dont deserve it. We need more. The British Medical Association says the problem is particularly bad in yorkshire and london. A survey of its members found more than half of doctors working in high risk environments said they were short of face masks or had none. Around two thirds said they didnt have eye protection and more than half said they were being pressured into working in a high risk area, despite not having the adequate gear to protect them. Doctors are also human beings. They dont want to become ill, they dont want their lives to be at risk. They have dependents, they go home to their families, and what is really worrying us is the numbers of Health Care Workers who are now in intensive care units, on ventilators, and who have tragically died. So doctors are naturally afraid, but the one thing they would feel obviously is important is to give them protection, and that is something the government owes us. The Health Secretary told the bbc it couldnt be certain the nhs staff who have died contracted the virus doing theirjobs. The work is going on to establish whether they caught coronavirus in the line of duty, at work, or whether, like so many other people, in the rest of their lives. It is obviously quite difficult to work that out. The government says delivery of ppe gear to hospitals will happen daily but stressed it shouldnt be overused. But the bma says it is not misuse if they dont have any. Its expected the number of coronavirus related deaths will surpass 10,000 by the end of the day. Making sure the Health Service is properly equipped to help look after future cases will be imperative if we are to stop that rising even further. Laura foster, bbc news. In spain, the number of daily deaths from covid 19 has continued to slow. The latest figures show 510 more people have died, the lowest rise for 18 days. It takes the total number of deaths tojust over 16,300, the Spanish Health ministry has announced. Our correspondent guy hedgecoe says the mood is one of very cautious optimism. These are the best figures we have seen in terms of daily deaths since march 23rd. It is a drop from yesterday, almost by 100, compared to yesterday. Clearly that is encouraging, and it would appear to continue this trend that we have been seeing over the last week or so, where the daily deaths have been dropping. However, you have to bear in mind that we are in the easter weekend at the moment, and experts have warned that these figures have to be perhaps taken with a pinch of salt because local authorities might be under reporting the number of deaths we are seeing over the holiday period. So you have to be fairly cautious about them, but over the last few days we have been seeing encouraging signs, both in terms of the number of daily deaths and the spread of the virus itself, which has been slowing. There is a tremendous amount of uncertainty, they have had a terrible time of it over the last month or so, but in terms of the health care crisis, there are fears there could be a spike of deaths again. And in the spread of infection. There is another aspect, which is the economic aspect. I think the country is bracing itself for a really serious economical crisis. Memories of the last eurozone crisis are still very fresh and that crisis hit spain very hard. I think people are worrying about that a lot. It is very much a mixed response at the moment, looking ahead to what the future holds. For a look at the situation in germany we have spoken to our berlin correspondent Damien Mcginnis. We still have quite high infection rates here so the international estimates are more than 120,000 of confirmed infected cases, but the death toll remains relatively low compared to other european countries, so according to most estimates now its around about 2700, still a high number but what we are seeing both with the infection rate and death toll, a certain flattening of the curve we keep talking about. That means even though both are still rising, they are rising at a slower rate than we have seen certainly last week, so thatis have seen certainly last week, so that is a slight glimmer of hope. Thats what Angela Merkel said this week, she is seeing the beginnings ofa week, she is seeing the beginnings of a hopeful situation. Not quite optimism but she says if these numbers keep going down, the new infection rates and new death rates, then next week, when she meets with regional leaders from around germany, they will most likely discuss an exit strategy. The way that will look if the numbers continue to look positive in the coming days is that certain parts of the economy might start getting back to work. That could mean schools for older children, going back to part time for older children, going back to pa rt time for example, older children, going back to part time for example, or some restau ra nts part time for example, or some restaurants where you have quite stringent restrictions on numbers of people going in. Well find out more about that next week and if that is the case and the German Economy sta rts the case and the German Economy starts getting back into action, it would be some much needed good news for europe in general. That was correspondent Damien Mcginnis speaking earlier. It has become clear widespread testing for coronavirus will become crucial as countries around the world try to navigate their way out of the crisis. But policies differ and there is confusion over what it means and how it will differ. Most scientists agree testing will be critical, part of how we save lives and break out of the lockdown. We have a simple message for all countries, test, test, test. There are two main types of test for coronavirus. At the moment we are using a pcr test, normally taken with a swab these look for genetic material related to the virus. You are asking the question, does the person have the virus in their system at the time of the test . It affects the rna genome of the test itself. Pcr testing can tell if someone currently has the virus, crucial for both patients and health ca re crucial for both patients and Health Care Workers. But it needs to be analysed in a laboratory. That takes time and is expensive. It needs Skilled Staff and chemicals called rea g e nts Skilled Staff and chemicals called reagents which are in short supply. Thats one reason many countries have struggled to increase testing rates. Some like south korea have moved much faster than others. Testing along with infection tracking is partly how it has managed to keep deaths at a low level. Translation we have set this up level. Translation we have set this up as an alternative where many people can get tested in a short space of time. To the second type of test looks for antibodies in blood. This is much faster, it needsjust test looks for antibodies in blood. This is much faster, it needs just a prick of blood that can either be sent off in the post or even analysed at home in. The Antibody Testing reveals who has been exposed and who has mounted an immune response to the virus so its a pretty good guess as to whether a person may already be immune to the virus. Antibody tests are cheap and doesnt need a laboratory to process results but it doesnt work straightaway. It can take weeks after infection to produce enough antibodies to measure and there are real questions about the accuracy of the test produced so far. If we can prove they work, though, there are clear advantages. It would allow us to test Health Care Workers and theirfamilies to to test Health Care Workers and their families to see if they have indeed had a covid 19 infection and that might allow a lot of health ca re that might allow a lot of Health Care Workers to return to the front line. The other topic that has been widely discussed is use of some sort of covid 19 passport to say you have had the infection and you can now return to work more generally. The idea is an immunity passport might let some leave lockdown if they have already had the disease but it is controversial. It will open up ethical issues about whether we create a two tier society, with one group able to return to work and others not. We are already being accused in the media today of a police state, so there is an awful lot of societal ramifications over how this is used. There is a third type of test that firms are developing. Rapid antigen tests can detect an ongoing Coronavirus Infection but rather than all the expensive lab work needed for a pcr test, these should be far cheaper and quicker, based on a nasal swab or saliva sample. That could be critical in parts of the world that might not have advanced testing facilities. We might expect some companies will be able to deliver a rapid test for a pound or two. That would be a game changer if after ten minutes we could identify a large proportion of people who are infected. The next step is to prove the test can work effectively and quickly. Its not one but a combination of all these technologies that can perhaps help us technologies that can perhaps help us to keep the virus in check until a vaccine is developed. Studio that report fromjim a vaccine is developed. Studio that report from jim reed. South africas president , cyril ramaphosa, announced on thursday night that his countrys 21 day lockdown will be extended for a further two weeks. The president said there were signs that efforts were paying off, but as our africa correspondent Andrew Harding reports from johannesburg, its not yet clear whether the slowdown in reported cases is down to the strict measures implemented, or whether the virus is just spreading undetected. A Strict Lockdown here injohannesburg, and early hints that south africa mightjust be on the right track. And heres why testing for the virus in a poor township. Its several days since the first positive case was confirmed in this neighbourhood and theres a real danger it could spread. Presently, we have discovered some people in this area, thats why we are focused today specifically in this particular area. But so far, prompt testing and the lockdown appears to be working. The daily rate of new infections has slowed, for now, to a trickle. Sanitation, stay at home, social distinction, do not go out in public. That is what were asking, spread the message to everybody. This man is friends with the man who tested positive here. Now hes waiting to hear his own result. Im still afraid. We dont know who is affected or not affected. He later messages me that his family is in the clear. The lockdown, stricter here than in many nations, is causing real hardship, but the apparent slowdown of infections has prompted the government to extend it. While it is too early to make a definitive analysis of the progression of the disease in south africa, there is sufficient evidence to show that the lockdown is indeed working. Hand sanitiser, distributed in the poorest communities. The danger is that the virus may still be spreading undetected in overcrowded neighbourhoods. What are your main concerns about the situation here . Mainly, its the crowding. As you can see, people are crowded very close to each other, theres a lot of low income people, and we know they cant afford sanitisers, thats why we are coming to give them those. As for the messaging about social distancing, its still not getting through to everyone. Obviously, you need to go out and have some fresh air. You know youre not supposed to do that . I know, i know. So, two weeks of lockdown now, and south africa does feel like a very different place. The government insisting its tough restrictions will bear fruit. But here, in the crowded townships, you get the sense that not enough yet has changed. And along with that, the knowledge that its simply far too early to tell if the battle against the virus is being won. We are expecting an update from the uk government in the daily News Conference from downing street shortly. Our Political Correspondent ben wright is here with me. We learn this News Conference will be led for the first time by the home secretary. We are several weeks into the crisis and its the first time priti patel will have taken to the main podium and fielded questions and explain what she feels about the restrictions in place and how they might evolve in the weeks to come. Priti patel will be there for the government representing the cabinet and alongside her, chair of the National Police chiefs counsel Martin Hewitt and steve paris, nhs england medical director. Lots of questions for the home secretary priti patel. This is the easter weekend, lots of people told emphatically to stay indoors, avoid sunshine, beaches and parks so how are those measures being enforced. Are people adhering to government advice on how the police enforcing those powers . Does priti patel feel they are effective or does she feel they are effective or does she feel they need to go further . She will be asked about all of those. We have also seen in the last couple of weeks a surge in charities working in the domestic sector reporting people making clear they are having a really ha rd people making clear they are having a really hard time of it at the moment with these restrictions in place and im sure she will be asked about that as well. Perhaps you will be asked about borders, there are still flights coming into the uk from places like new york and people are not being checked as they get off those fights so what does she think about that . There is a lot for the home secretary to talk about in the home secretary to talk about in the context is still a surging death toll in the uk. We found out a couple of hours ago that there have been 917 new coronavirus related deaths in hospital in the last 2a hours. That figure down slightly on yesterday but still huge bringing the total number of deaths in the uk to 9875, thats the total number of deaths in the uk to 9875, thats the context. The total number of deaths in the uk to 9875, thats the context. The scientific advisers have been saying for some time that they expect the peak of this disease to hit the uk this coming week, and then last for. Well, we dont know how long. At the same time as that, there are still questions being asked about the lack of personal protective equipment for the people in the front line for dealing with this, all the Health Workers in the nhs. It is clear that the virus is still spreading, and ministers are imploring people to stay at home. You are right, there is still a very hot political argument, medical argument going on about the provision of ppe, protective equipment for medical staff working on the front line of the crisis. Yesterday, matt hancock announced a new three point strategy which he said was all about ensuring that the equipment he says is there get to the right people who needed. He said it isa the right people who needed. He said it is a precious commodity and need to be used carefully, and that prompted quite an angry backlash from medical unions, the bma, nursing groups, who said people are not getting the equipment now it is not good enough to suggest that medical staff are not using what there is in a slightly, you know, uncautious way, and the leader of the labour party, keir starmer, said it was frankly insulting. Ben, just going to stop you, we can go straight over to downing street where the home secretary is speaking. Good afternoon. Welcome to downing street for the governments Daily Press Co nfe re nce street for the governments Daily Press Conference on coronavirus. Im joined today by Martin Hewitt, chair of the National Police chiefs council, and by professor Stephen Powis. I would like to update you all on the governments plan to fight this pandemic. Our priority is to slow the spread of coronavirus so that fewer people are sick at any one time, and our brilliant nhs continues to remain able to cope. And to do this we are following the expert scientific and medical advice and taking the right steps at the right moment in time, and that is why we are instructing people to stay at home, to protect the nhs and save lives. I can report, through the governments ongoing monitoring and testing programme, that as of 9am today, there have been more than 300,000 tests carried out across the uk, excluding northern ireland. Of these, 78,991 people have tested positive. 20,101 patients are currently in hospital in Great Britain who have already tested positive. Sadly, 9875 people have now died, an increase of 917 on yesterday. As this virus continues to devastate families across our nation, my thoughts, prayers and heartfelt condolences are with their friends, theirfamilies heartfelt condolences are with their friends, their families and their loved ones. To everybody suffering from this horrific virus, whether you are at home or receiving care from our brilliant nhs in hospital, you are in all our thoughts at this devastating time. I am very pleased to say that the Prime Minister continues to make Good Progress. But these historic figures highlight the gravity of this national emergency. These stark figures. The devastating impact of this virus and the unprecedented but necessary action we are taking to tackle it is affecting every aspect of our daily lives. This virus is also changing the nature of the threat that we face from crime. Martin and myself today well update you on the emerging crime picture, and the work that the government, along with Law Enforcement partners, is undertaking to better protect victims, and martin will set out that total crime has dropped as people follow the necessary advice to stay at home. But while the guidelines are helping to keep the majority of us safe, they also amplify danger for others, leaving people feeling vulnerable, isolated and exposed. Because criminality also continues to adapt. Fraudsters are exploiting coronavirus as a hook for new acquisitive crimes, with losses to victims already exceeding £1. 8 million. And the perpetrators of sickening online child abuse are seeking to exploit the fact that more and more young people and children are at home and are online. And in the last week, the National Domestic abuse helpline reported a 120 increase in the number of calls it received in 12a hour period. While we have not yet seen a sustained rise in reports of Domestic Abuse to the police, the increase in those seeking help for this hidden crime is extremely concerning, and be in no doubt there will be absolutely no let up in our operational response. For the victims of these crimes, home is not the safe haven that it should be, and that is why i have been working with Law Enforcement, charities, schools, businesses and local councils to address this changing threat picture. Our Incredible Police officers and firefighters are out in their communities right now, yes, helping to fight crime, but also to protect the vulnerable and protect victims. And i want to emphasise that anybody who is a victim of these crimes can still get help. Anyone in immediate danger should call 999 and press 55 on a mobile if they are not able to talk. Let me repeat that again. Anyone in immediate danger should call 999 and press 55 on a mobile if you are not able to talk. Our Outstanding Police will absolutely be there for you. The National Crime agency is also bearing down on offenders and raising awareness to protect victims of fraud, cybercrime and child abuse. But we all must do more to protect our neighbours, our friends, ourfamily protect our neighbours, our friends, our family members, by protect our neighbours, our friends, ourfamily members, by sharing information about the support that is available. The chancellor this week announced a £750 million package, a boost for charities, including those charities providing services for victims of Domestic Abuse and their families. And today ican abuse and their families. And today i can announce that we will go even further to provide support for those in danger of Domestic Abuse, and i am launching a new National Communications campaign to reach out to those who are at risk from abuse, highlighting that they can still leave home to get the support that you need. It will signpost to victims in terms of how they can access help, but also to reassure them by making sure that they can access the services that they need at this particular time. And, importantly, it will tell them that they are not alone. Coronavirus has opened britains enormous heart and shown our love and compassion for one another as we come together to help those who are most in need, and iam now help those who are most in need, and i am now asking this nation to use that amazing compassion and Community Spirit to embrace those who are trapped in the horrific cycle of abuse. To help us all look out for those who need help, we have created a new campaign, and we have created a new campaign, and we have created a new campaign, and we have created a symbol of hope a handprint embossed with a hard, so that people can easily show that we will not tolerate abuse as a society. I ask you, and i urge eve ryo ne society. I ask you, and i urge everyone to share this on social media, or in the windows of your own homes, just to demonstrate how much we ca re homes, just to demonstrate how much we care and how much our country ca res. We care and how much our country cares. And also, we can show and ta ke cares. And also, we can show and take the time out to show the victims of Domestic Abuse that they are not on their own. I am also providing up to £2 million to enhance Online Support services and helplines for Domestic Abuse so that anybody who needs that help and can access that support. These services will be boosted with new it provided by the company fujitsu to assist smaller Domestic Abuse charities and their train support workers to provide the Crucial Services remotely. We all know that there are concerns about capacity right now in the system, and particularly for refugees, to find accommodation during these challenging times. Now, iam clear during these challenging times. Now, i am clear about this if the perpetrators who should have to leave family homes, and not the supposed loved ones who they torment and abuse. Our priority is to get the abuses out, but sadly this is not always possible. So where a victim and their children do need to leave, we will ensure that they have a safe place to, and that is why we are looking at alternative accommodation to support those in need at this difficult time. Fighting coronavirus requires an Extraordinary National effort, and i would like to reiterate my personal thanks to everybody across all aspects of society, and our country, for playing their part. I am immensely grateful to everyone who is heeding the instruction to stay at home. This remains crucial over the Bank Holiday Weekend, especially as the weather continues to improve. But we have given the Police Powers to enforce necessary measures that we have put in place, including through the enforcement of fines. And i would like to thank them, our Police Officers and staff who are working tirelessly to keep us safe, for engaging with the public so constructively, to encourage eve ryo ne constructively, to encourage everyone to do the right thing, and avoid the need to use those powers. The overwhelming majority of the people are listening and making their own sacrifices to support our amazing Police Officers and staff as they protect and safeguard the most vulnerable. But my message to anyone still refusing to do the right thing is clear if you dont play your part, our Selfless Police who, who are out there risking their own lives to save others, will not be afraid to act. Their work is helping our doctors, nurses, Health Professionals to fight this virus and to save lives. If you dont follow the guidance, you will be endangering the lives of your own friends, family and loved ones. To protect those that you care about, and the capacity of our police and our hospitals to protect us all, there is just one simple thing we ask you all to do that is to stay at home, protect the nhs and the save lives. I will now hand over to martin for save lives. I will now hand over to martinforan save lives. I will now hand over to martin for an operational update. Thank you, home secretary. In many ways, this feels a very different easter weekend for all of us, not travelling to see family and friends are out enjoying the glorious weather. It feels different for the Police Officers and staff who are working this weekend too. They have new responsibilities, they are tackling new risks. The streets are empty, businesses are closed, as we all adapt to a new way of life. But much does remain the same. Officers are still out in their communities, fighting crime, protecting victims, and tackling anti social behaviour. Some examples in recent days a man arrested in the isle of wight in connection with a £10 million importation of cocaine, seven people arrested in london, including two what Heathrow Airport attempting to flee the country, as part of an Ongoing Investigation into serious violent crime, 400 Domestic Abuse suspects arrested in two weeks in the West Midlands. And as criminals seek to took advantage of the virus, a man has beenjailed for stealing personal protective equipment from a hospital here in the capital. And a less visible policing continues too, the work to trace child abusers, to track terrorists and protect us from Cyber Attacks goes on as before, and we are taking preventative action as well. The National Crime agency are now taking down fraudulent websites and e mail addresses and have launched an Online Safety at home campaign, giving parents information to keep their children safe while they are likely to be spending more time on their devices. Initial figures from all forces show a 21 fall in overall crime across the last four each compared to the same period last year. That drop, combined with the commitment of our over 200,000 officers and staff across the uk, and a fantastic response from our volunteer special co nsta bles, response from our volunteer special constables, who work more than 220,000 hours in march, means that we are in a strong position. Keep reporting crime to us, our teams are working round the clock to keep you safe and respond to emergencies. I particularly wa nt safe and respond to emergencies. I particularly want to reinforce the home secretarys message to victims of Domestic Abuse or controlling behaviour. We will come when you call for help, and two abusers do not think this is a time when you can get away with this, we will still arrest, we will still bring people into custody, and we will still prosecute. Fighting the virus and protecting the nhs and saving lives is a national effort, and police have stepped up to now work alongside communities to support those hardest hit by the virus, and to reduce the strain on the nhs and other care services. For example, two offices in london responded to a call where a 90 year old woman had collapsed in her home, they gave first aid collapsed in her home, they gave firstaid and collapsed in her home, they gave first aid and recommended she should go to hospital, but she was concerned because she did not think she would get to the shop in time to get milk. The officers were able to get milk. The officers were able to get the milk and even help to fix a broken light bulb when she got back. Two other offices in manchester responded to a concern for welfare call and encountered an elderly man who had no electricity, heating or food. The Neighbourhood Policing team, working with the local Housing Department and businesses, were able to put money on his metre, and get his fridge fully stocked for the next day, and he now has a Community Contact in case you need any further support. And offices in cambridge have been linking with the Citizenship Group to deliver tablet devices to vulnerable schoolchildren to ensure that they too can continue to ensure that they too can continue to learn at home while the schools are closed. And we have new responsibilities given to us as part of the government response to the virus, which we will use carefully. In the uk, police again their legitimacy and authority from the consent and support of communities and the public. We are implementing the new regulations in that tradition of british policing. Since the new powers we re british policing. Since the new powers were introduced, officers have engaged with thousands of people and in most cases these people and in most cases these people have quickly understood why it is important to follow the rules and no enforcement has been necessary. Officers on the ground are telling me they have seen a great amount of support from the public and indeed are getting thanks for the role they are playing. However, we have had a small minority of people who, despite our best efforts, have refused to follow the instruction and officers have needed to use enforcement powers. Next week we will publish full data on enforcement so far which will include this easter weekend, but i can tell you now that using early data from 37 forces, 1084 fines have been issued in england and wales up to thursday eighth april. So across all of those forces, there is an average of less than 84 per day. This shows the overwhelming majority of people are abiding by the rules and are staying at home to protect the nhs and save lives. I think it also shows that our approach, engage, explain and encourage and only enforce as a last is working. In those few cases where officers or forces have made mistakes in interpreting new regulations, they have quickly sought to correct them and provide the necessary clarity. We will continue to be guided by principles of fairness, proportionality and common sense. I recognise that its important the public are able to judge us on whether we are keeping to those principles, so we will publish enforcement data every fortnight as we move through this crisis. This remains a very challenging situation for everybody, public and the police, as we all adapt to the changes the country has seen. Thank you to all those officers and staff that are working this weekend and throughout these testing times. On top of the work you do every day to keep your communities safe, you are now also helping doctors, nurses and other workers to fight this virus save lives. Police chiefs will continue to work with government, with staff associations and others, to give you the guidance, protective equipment and testing so you can do yourjob as equipment and testing so you can do your job as safely equipment and testing so you can do yourjob as safely as possible. Thank you again to the public for your continued support, and my plea to you is simple. Even in times of frustration and this good weather, work with us, stay home, protect the nhs and save lives. Thank you, martin. I will now hand over to professor Stephen Powis. As we have heard, the instructions we have all been given to stay at home, avoid social contact and maintain social distancing, are all designed to ensure we stop the spread of this virus, we reduce the number of cases and we save lives and reduce pressure on the nhs. Although i know there is a lot of anger at the foolish few who think they can flout the rules, iwould foolish few who think they can flout the rules, i would like to pay tribute to the vast majority, as you have heard from martin, the vast majority of the British Public who are majority of the British Public who a re clearly majority of the British Public who are clearly complying with the instructions that have been given. And we see that in many ways, as the first chart shows, we continue to see that the use of public transport has been very, very greatly reduced, and that is being maintained over the weeks of the lockdown. In the next chart you will see that is translating from a stabilisation in the numberof translating from a stabilisation in the number of infections through to the number of infections through to the number of infections through to the numberof the number of infections through to the number of new cases, and there has been a levelling off of the numberof has been a levelling off of the number of new cases. It varies from day to day but by and large this is the sort of effect we would expect to see from everybody following those instructions. In the next slide you can see that that in turn is translating into a stabilisation, the first signs of a plateauing of people who unfortunately need to be in hospital. We can see there are more cases in london, because spread in london has come first, but early signs of stabilisation in the rest of the country too. In the next chart, unfortunately, as i and others have said before, we are still seeing, sadly, high numbers of deaths. That will be the very final thing that will change and start to decrease, but we are confident that if everybody applies, complies and follows the instructions we have all been given, that will begin to translate in the next few weeks into a reduction in the daily deaths. The nhs strategy through all of this has been to ensure we always have capacity to deal with the surge in numbers of patients with coronavirus. That has been the case and colleagues in the nhs are working night and day, around the clock, to make sure that head room, that capacity, whether its for people in intensive care units who need ventilators, through to people in generalwards, need ventilators, through to people in general wards, that headroom is there. That also means the nhs is open for business for people who have other illnesses. This weekend for example, it is a Bank Holiday Weekend. General practices and pharmacies are open. So if you are u nwell pharmacies are open. So if you are unwell with a condition that is not coronavirus, if you have symptoms of a heart attack that you are worried about or symptoms of stroke, if you have a sick child that is deteriorating. If you are pregnant and are worried about the movement of your baby, then you should be accessing the services in exactly the same way you always have done, through 111, through gp services, or in emergencies through 999. The nhs is open for business and managing and capable of managing people with and capable of managing people with a wide range of illness. As i said at the start, the entire strategy is to ensure that by following instructions, something we must all follow, we will see a reduction in deaths and we will protect the nhs. It isa deaths and we will protect the nhs. It is a Bank Holiday Weekend and a time of year where typically we would be celebrating or getting together with relatives and close friends, but im afraid this year it has to be a stay at home easter for all of us. Thank you. I think we are good to take questions from journalists. The first question, David Shukman from the bbc. Good afternoon. David, we cant hear you. Are you on mute . Is that better, can you hear me now question might david, could you start again please . Good afternoon and apologies. A couple of questions on personal protective equipment. One is a detailed one on bpe for Stephen Powis. We have great numbers of bpe being supplied but it is difficult to compare them with items actually needed on the front line in hospitals. In particular the ffp3 face masks and gowns that i gather are single use. Can you tell us how many are needed week by week and how many are actually being delivered . And a question to the home secretary, day after day, questions come up about shortages of ppp. | questions come up about shortages of ppp. I wonder if weather on behalf of the government you can come up with a date where what is needed on the front line is actually delivered . On ppe, as we have said many times, and the secretary of state for health and social care said yesterday, its absolutely critical that we get ppe out to all those who are working at the front line so they not only are protected but they feel safe. There are three elements to that. The first is on the guidance for ppe. Just over one week ago that guidance was updated. It was updated by Public Health england but in collaboration with input from a wide number of professional groups including the Royal College of nursing, the academy of medical Royal Colleges. I am confident we have a set of guidance that every professional or professionals can sign up to. And i am confident it is based on the best Scientific Evidence we have. The second strand is to ensure the supply chain is working, and this has been a huge increase in the distribution, the number of organisations that need to be supplied with ppe, so nhs england have been working with the government and supporting the government and supporting the government to make sure we get that supply through. Its difficult to give you a precise number because it varies from day to day and from organisation to organisation, but i can assure you we are collecting that information and asked the supply chain has changed, with the assistance of the military, we have that level of detail at organisational level and at the same time we are ensuring there is a good line of sight to the equipment that is available and that which will be coming in through the third strand which is procuring equipment. Clearly there is a Global Demand for personal protective equipment at the moment and i know that the government with our support is working night and day to ensure we procure the ppe we need. For instance, the ffp3 masks you mention, i have confidence we have supplies of ffp3 masks that are required. On gowns we are working very ha rd required. On gowns we are working very hard as we speak. We extended the use of downs in the guidance la st the use of downs in the guidance last week. We knew there would be some short term challenges to the supply chain but we are working very hard, including with the health and safety executive, to make sure we can use the widest range of downs possible to ensure that the supply is there. And we are procuring from everywhere and including from manufacturing bases in the uk. We have heard burberry and others are manufacturing gowns in the uk so that supply is secure. David, in a nswer to that supply is secure. David, in answer to your question, Stephen Powis has covered the main strategy and the plan that has also been outlined by the secretary of state for health yesterday here where he spoke clearly about the measures and steps that are taking place around ppe. I think it is worth noting, certainly for viewers at home, that absolutely the government is working across absolutely the government is working a cross every absolutely the government is working across every Single Agency that they would expect us to work with. Health and safety executive, Public Health england, the various groups and organisations within the supply chain. We are also working to do exactly that in terms of securing ppe for other aspects of Public Services too, the police, fire, and thats something me and martin have been working on in the last four weeks, ensuring we have the distribution and supply chain. This also links to prisons and other key Public Services. We have absolutely secured the supply chain and every single aspect of Public Service requires different guidance around ppe and also different types of guidance, and thats exactly what we have been working through. Is there anything else you wanted to come back on . Would it be possible to get a commitment to a date by when the right quantities will reach the right quantities will reach the right people, because everyday we hear from certainly nhs front line staff that they dont the equipment they need. Sure. David, look, i cant speak for every single strand right now of Public Services and ppe, but the plan has been outlined, certainly by the secretary of state for health and social care. And from a policing perspective, we are already out there in terms of making sure we have enough gloves, face masks and a substantial supply chain as well, with already 1. 5 million gloves and masks in the pipeline for distribution. This is about various aspects of various services, whether its policing, fire, prisons and the nhs. Of course the nhs is the priority right now which is why we are asking people to stay at home, but as Stephen Powis as outlined and also the secretary of state for health and social care, there is a clear plan, we are working with suppliers and manufacturers to bolster and boost the supply we need for ppe, which quite frankly is unprecedented, during this crisis. Cani unprecedented, during this crisis. Can i move on to the next question, please, which is from channel 4. Question for the home secretary. Will you apologise to nhs staff and their families who have told us its their families who have told us its the lack of necessary ppe that has led to preventable mass infections and many deaths . Imean, i mean, look, we are focused as a government to make sure that eve ryo ne government to make sure that everyone in the nhs has everything they need in terms of resources and equipment, and ppe is at the heart of it, absolutely at the heart of protecting everybody working night and day right now to save lives, to save lives and prevent further deaths. As you have heard from stephen, and from the secretary of state for health and social care as well over a number of occasions and just standing here yesterday, there isa just standing here yesterday, there is a clear plan when it comes to ppe in the nhs there have been distribution issues, they have now been addressed through working with the military, the mod, who are absolutely triaging and getting supplies out to the front line. But at the same time there is a herculean effort right now in terms of bolstering up our manufacturing capability and capacity. We have already had stephen referring to Big Companies such as rolls royce and burberry, who are upping their own production and stepping into this area, so our priority is absolutely to make sure that they are equipped, resourced, and what i would say to you is that this government and all collea g u es you is that this government and all colleagues are committed to doing that, and we are working day and night, bringing in new resources, new support staff. The mod, other government departments, working with new businesses and other partners to make sure that not only can we get supply out to people, but that we are also boosting our own supplies and demands and supply in the uk. But no apology, home secretary, for these failings that nhs staff and their families blame on the government . Well, i am sorry if people feel they have been failings, i will be clear about that, but at the same time we are in an unprecedented Global Health pandemic right now, it is inevitable that the demand and pressure is on ppe and the demand for ppe are going to be exponential, incredibly high, and of course we are trying to address that asa course we are trying to address that as a government, and that is our priority. Matt hancock as secretary of state has spoken about this repeatedly, the plan that he has outlined, obviously the ways in which we want to do much more to manufacture our own ppe in this country, while we also boost supplies from overseas partners and countries, where more ppe is coming into the country, but also ensuring that the distribution, which is unprecedented now in terms of health ca re unprecedented now in terms of health care settings, whether hospitals, surgeries, care homes, Everyone Needs that ppe in the front line, and everyone is working to achieve just that, whether it is through the department of health, through the cabinet office, Public Health england, through the guidance and resources we are trying to get out there. So you are apologising for there. So you are apologising for the lack of ppe which has led to mass infections and deaths of several nurses and doctors . mass infections and deaths of several nurses and doctors . I have been clear in what i have just said, you know, iam sorry been clear in what i have just said, you know, i am sorry that people feel that way, but i do want to say at the same time that we are doing everything within our power and i would means to ensure that we can boost our capacity when it comes to ppe and make sure we can get capacity, ppe out to the front line in the nhs. Thank you. Can i go on to our next question now . The sunday telegraph. Thank you, home secretary, given the rising levels of unemployment, Research Suggesting that 3 Million People are going hungry asa that 3 Million People are going hungry as a result of the pandemic to what extent are you concerned about the wider negative impact of a prolonged lockdown . And, Martin Hewitt, there have been suggestions ofa hewitt, there have been suggestions of a possible ban on outdoor exercise if the current rules are not followed, would not be enforceable . Not followed, would not be enforceable . Ed, first double, in response to your question, of course across the whole of government, we are absolutely conscious of the level of vulnerability in society, and you have already heard me speak this afternoon about, you know, categories of individuals who need support from government, but you have spoken about the Economic Impacts, and the long term social and economic consequences and impacts of this virus. The impact this virus is having on society, the fa ct this virus is having on society, the fact that we are putting forward, and we have very restrictive measures, stopping people from going into work, but also a huge impact in terms of where we are seeing staff being furloughed across various businesses and things of that nature. First and foremost, it is important for everyone to recognise that there is Government Support and financial help and support for individuals and people that need that help. There is the measure is obviously through the dwp, but for businesses as well through the department of business and the treasury. Now, when it comes to the long term situation, none of us can stand here today, it would be wrong to stand here and speculate in terms of when restrictions might move, when they would be lifted, because this government, and rightly so, is following the scientific advice through sage, which meets twice a week, to look at the measures and approaches we are taking as a government, but the most important point for me to make right now is that if people need help and support from government, financial assistance, support for their families when it comes to catering for basic bills and food, then absolutely, when it is through not just a shielding work but local government work, getting food out to communities and distribution, but also through the Financial Support the government has put in place, they help is there, and i would urge anybody who needs that help and support to get in contact. Martin. The measures that were put in place we re the measures that were put in place were put in place to save lives and stop transmission of the disease. It is very clear, within those measures, that exercise is permissible, and the reality is, as i have said, the vast, vast majority of people are adhering to those measures and doing what they can to protect people. We are not calling for any extension of the regulations. What i do call for people to do is to act reasonably. Everybody is entitled to take exercise, but it is making sure that you are taking the exercise that is necessary , you are taking the exercise that is necessary, and in a way that is what we are trying to achieve through the regulations, not in a situation where you are risk in transmitting the disease to anybody else. So if everybody asks responsibly, the vast majority of the public are, and if they encounter Police Officers when they encounter Police Officers when they are out exercising, we will engage with them, we will explain the regulations, and if it is appropriate for them to go home, we will encourage them to go home, but it is all about talking, working, using common sense, everybody being responsible. Ed, i think it is using common sense, everybody being responsible. Ed, ithink it is with amplifying the point that the reason why we put regulations under measures in place in the first insta nce measures in place in the first instance was clearly to stop the spread of the disease, and policing in particular, they have embraced that. When i look at the work, and i was speaking to all Police Chiefs with martin today, we have regular daily operational calls, and we can absolutely see the majority of Police Officers around the country are following the guidance really well. It is quite clear that, you know, we have seen one or two incidents, and we shouldnt allow a few social media post to blow out of proportion the way in which the guidance is being put in place and enforced. At the end of the day, in our country, we have policing by consent, and that means officers are engaging the public, explaining to the public why they should not be having Mass Gatherings and congregating, whilst also encouraging them to act responsibly and to do the right thing, and i think that is at the heart of the policing measures that we have put in place, and of course the relationship that we have in our own communities with Police Officers. Was there anything else you would like to come back on . Thank you. Home secretary, on the point of the negative impact of the lockdown, we re any negative impact of the lockdown, were any of those, for example, unemployment and levels of hunger and Domestic Abuse, have any of those be worse than you expected . Sorry, ed, you just broke up marginally, i think i called your question, you just highlighted and with those measures worse than we had expected, is that correct . Were they negative impacts like those levels of unemployment worse than expected . Quite frankly, the measures that were brought in a few weeks ago now, inevitably were going to have an economic consequence, and we are obviously going to work through that, and i think that has been highlighted very clearly, actually, by the work of the chancellor and the business secretary in terms of the direct impact on the economy and the types of measures they have been able to institute to protect people and their livelihoods, which i think its really important. I do think, though, that we have to recognise that the same time that there is a whole spectrum of social and Economic Impacts that will materialise over a period of time. I dont know if professor powis would like to comment on this, but working through sage, who are collating this information and data, and they will be able to help inform us on policy decisions that we as politicians will be able to undertake Going Forward , will be able to undertake Going Forward, but of course our overriding concern will be the health and well being of the public in the population, and where there is deprivation, and where there are serious issues of vulnerability, those people are our priority, we have to find ways to access them, contact them and look after them, whether at a local level through the National Schemes we are putting in place, but all of this Going Forward will rightly be based upon the evidence that comes from sage in the scientific advice will be getting. Stephen . I think it is important to be honest, and we have been, that there is no easy course through a global pandemic. There are dangers which ever because you take, and some of those relate to economic consequences. I think the chief medical officer has been very clear that from a health perspective, there are at least four things that we worry about in terms of the health of individuals within the uk, so health of individuals within the uk, so the first is the direct consequences of deaths and harms through covid 19. The second is that the Health Service gets overwhelmed by the numberof the Health Service gets overwhelmed by the number of patients, by the surge in it, and i am pleased to say, as i said earlier, that that has not happened, but clearly it is something that we worry about. The third is a reduction in access to Health Services because we have had to use a lot of our capacity for covid 19, and i talked earlier about the need for people who have other health conditions, particularly Emergency Health conditions, to act the Health Service. On the fourth is the Health Service. On the fourth is the Long Term Health effects of the economic consequences of lockdown. And some of those are in opposite directions, so it is very hard to ensure that all of those are mitigated completely. So as i said at the start, there is no easy path through a pandemic, but the government has said all along that it will plot that course based on the best possible Scientific Evidence, it is sagesjob to provide that evidence to the government, and of course as we learn more about the virus, that evidence becomes clear all the time. Thank you, stephen. Thank you, ed. Nigel nelson from the sunday mirror, good afternoon. Hello. This is a question for Stephen Powis, in a sense a continuation of the last one. Is the reason that you will not discuss an extra strategy is because they cannot be one until there is a vaccine, which is 18 months away . Will some restrictions have to stay in place until then . And if so, what with those restrictions look like . And a question for the home secretary, this is your first time at one of these where have you been for the last three weeks, and now you are back, did you speak to the Prime Minister today . Thank you, i will start with stephen and come back to you. So on a vaccine, a vaccine is clearly an important part of any long term management of this virus, so Vaccine Development is under way, this is a Global Health emergency, probably the greatest Global Health emergency we have had ina century, Global Health emergency we have had in a century, and i think what you are saying is the greatest scientific response to that that we have probably known. So the virus was identified very early on in the epidemic in china, it was sequenced, its genetic code was made available very quickly, and that has allowed academics and companies around the world to very quickly start to develop vaccines, and you will be aware of the various groups that are starting to make progress and very early trials in patients, and im really pleased to say that some of that Ground Breaking work is being undertaken in the uk, the university of oxford you will have heard about, and one of the great strengths of the uk is its life sciences, the academic base and industry, so we will be at the forefront of that development. Vaccines take months to develop, we need to make sure they are safe and effective, and then they need to be manufactured and deployed, so they are not the only component of an exit strategy. So i wouldnt Discount Drug treatment, so drugs and medications we are learning about all the time. They are also important components of the management of Infectious Diseases, such as this virus, and again there are Clinical Trials going on around the world, including here in the uk, with thousands of patients are already being entered into Clinical Trials so that we can very quickly determine what drugs are likely to work. And it may be likely that drug treatment may come before a vaccine treatment, and that is why it is important to learn as much as we can through Clinical Trials of drug treatments. Then there are other components of managing this virus, some of which are, well, part of which, of course, is the social distancing approach that we have at the moment. All of those, sage and others will need to give advice to government as the science emerges, as to how they interact and what the best because a head is, but i dont think we can emphasise enough that we are still in round one here. We are still fighting the virus very early on, and what is absolutely critical at the moment is that we follow the instructions that have been given, we maintain social distancing, because any strategy will require us to get on top of this virus, and it is only by everybody following the instructions, staying home over easter and instructions, staying home over easterand in instructions, staying home over easter and in the days to come, that we will have confidence that we have got an underpinning to go forward in terms of any strategy. Im delighted to be here today with martin. Weve spoken to each other for the last four weeks every day. Ive been in the home of this work virtually every single day. Three days a week in the home office, actually. In a range of areas all related to this national pandemic. This coronavirus pandemic. Itll come as no surprise to you and to others watching this, when we think about the daily cabinet meetings, the meetings taking place, whether it comes to the nhs, the economy, Public Services, police and, when it comes to the policies of the home office in particular, the support we are giving to the nhs. Whether it is through the visa changes i brought through the visa changes i brought through over the last few weeks or its the work of the border force where we are prioritising medical equipment. These are the changes ive been working on. I think at this important time im sure viewers will want to know at home that all of their government ministers are working night and day to help to defeat this virus. Its important they keep the public safe. Youve heard the message that we want people to stay at home. Follow the rules, full of the guidance we have been undertaking and pursuing. But importantly, making sure this government is working at every single level across every single government department. Follow the guidance. This is notjust the work of one government department. That we work together, support together, to absolutely get us through this national pandemic. Was there anything else he wanted to come back on, nigel . Just to stephen powerss thought. The question was, whether its drugs or a vaccine, will we have to carry on with some form of restrictions until one or the other is actually found . Restrictions until one or the other is actually found . 0r restrictions until one or the other is actually found . Or is ending lockdown going to be a economical decision, rather than a science and health one. Stephen powiss thought. I will leave the political question aside. Thejob thought. I will leave the political question aside. The job of scientists and doctors and other clinicians is to provide the government with the best possible scientific advice as to the strategies to manage this virus over the months to come. And probably over longer than months, because its highly likely that this virus will become established worldwide in population. So this was never going to bea population. So this was never going to be a sprint over a few weeks. This is going to be a longer race. Its this is going to be a longer race. Its going to be a marathon. We do as all countries need to do, is develop our strategy and plot our course through that. Ive given you some of the examples of the sorts of things that we need to consider, and asi things that we need to consider, and as i have emphasised, its only a couple of months since this virus emerged. We are learning more and more about the science all the time. Therefore, is that new knowledge becomes available, we will need to evolve and modify our course to manage it over time. That, if you look back in history at Infectious Diseases which have come into the uk, and how theyve been managed, it will be no different this time. In terms of the economic consequences, i think terms of the economic consequences, ithink in terms of the economic consequences, i think in the previous answer i gave some sense of how we think in terms of health, of trying to counterbalance the effects of economic consequences on health. But there is no easy course through this. There is no magical solution that doesnt require difficult decisions, and difficult choices to be made. But fundamentally, as the government have said, we need to base these decisions on what the science is telling us. I would conclude by affirming what i said previously, that this government is absolutely committed to following the advice which is being provided. The scientific advice. We are in a New Territory right now. I see the scientific report every single day from various government scientific advisers. As do all my colleagues. And i think importantly weve been very clear in terms of the direction of travel, how we are basing our decisions. They are based upon the evidence, they are based upon the facts, and, of course, we are learning every single day. We have to make decisions in due course. But right now, the message to the country absolutely is to follow the advice from the government. That advice is based on scientific and medical advice. That is effectively what i would urge everybody to do. Thank you. May i move on to harry cole from the mail on sunday. Good afternoon. Youre already delayed immigration bill means a rapid passage through parliament in order to get ready for the end of the transition period, supposedly at the end of this year, what is the governments plan to allow legislation voting in parliament to continue while this lockdown drags on, and would you personally back the ideas put a round of a Virtual Parliament and remote voting in order to get your bills through . And it was reported this morning that the Prime Minister faces a lengthy spell at chequers as he gets better. Whats the message from the cabinet and from you on when he should return to work . Let me start with your last question first. The message to the Prime Minister is that we want him to get better. He needs the time and space to rest and recuperate and recover. But it is absolutely vital and the whole of cabinet would support that message. It is vital that our Prime Minister gets well. I think that is the priority and the focus right now. Youve mentioned the immigration bill, which was due to come to parliament on the 21st of april. I think its fair to say, at this stage, obviously we are fully adhering to the guidelines being put in place right now when it comes to going to work, etc. We dont know yet, and there are many discussions, andi yet, and there are many discussions, and i cannot elaborate any further on those discussions, about how parliament will resume and function. I think at this particular time we have to focus the resources of government, all of our energies, ministerial responses, cabinet responses, every single sinew of government focusing on saving lives and dealing with this awful disease, this virus, coronavirus. But i do think at some stage, you know, we will inevitably have to think about the work of parliament, scrutiny, and also legislation. But i think right now we are focused on absolutely making sure we save lives. Would you like to come back at all . Yes, i wonder if any present powers had advice for anyone, not just the pm, but anybody who has suffered badly from this virus, and whether they should return to work . Iam whether they should return to work . I am delighted the Prime Minister is recovering, as well. I am not his position. The team at saint thomas are world position. The team at saint thomas a re world class. Position. The team at saint thomas are world class. They will be looking after him. They will do what all clinicians do for patients, they look after whether it is another recovery patient from coronavirus, or anything else, they will give appropriate advice based on the clinical condition and what the patient has gone through. And the personal circumstances of that individual. Thats what doctors and other clinicians do day in day out. Im absolutely confident they will give the Prime Minister the correct and appropriate advice. Thanks, harry. Im going to move on to simon binns from lad bible. This is for the home secretary and mr hewitt. We called seven major Police Forces across this weekend understand figures around dispersal is, arrests, and finds last weekend in order to get an understanding as to whether people were listening to government guidance. Only one shared the fact that they had been involved in over 1100 coronavirus breaches. It is appreciated you have shared the numberof it is appreciated you have shared the number of fines handed out today. Does the government or the npc see no the figure for arrests, and for the average fine . And will there be stronger support for the police to help them tackle this continuing problem if the numbers go up continuing problem if the numbers go up rather than down in the first two weeks of reporting and collating that data you mentioned previously . Let me begin before i hand over to martin. Ill ask martin to talk about the data. In his opening remarks he spoke about the Data Collection that we are now doing. First of all, im absolutely clear and unequivocal in support for the police. And that means in terms of giving them the resources they need through this really challenging time. Ive spoken previously, not just today, about notjust backing them, but making sure that through them, but making sure that through the guidance we are putting forward that i am powered in the right way to engage, explain, and encourage members of the public that they come across. And lets not forget we have policing by consent. Our Police Officers are members of the community in which they operate and police. We are supporting them. There is a lot of work we are doing in terms of, yes, notjust empowering them, and its not about new regulations and guidance, the powers are there. At absolutely restating and reiterating the message to the public. Which is, if we are serious and absolutely committed to an serious about saving lives, then we need the public to stay at home. The breaches or the number of breaches you mention for Greater Manchester, i think they are absolutely consistent with the feedback me and martin have had, as well. Weve seen certain practices, garden parties and house parties, andi garden parties and house parties, and i think Greater Manchester police would be the first to say that they are out there breaking them up. Thats completely going against the grain and the spirit of having these measures, these guidelines, and we are asking people to ta ke guidelines, and we are asking people to take individual personal responsibility. Because even being out there in the Public Domain they could absolutely help to spread the disease and put other lives at risk. Thats what we dont want. Martin, would you like to speak about the data . Even with that number, if you think of a very densely populated area like Greater Manchester, i would like to say that the vast majority of the public are abiding by the rules and they are acting responsibly. Thats a really important point to make. But if we think about why these regulations we re think about why these regulations were put in. The purpose of these regulations were to save peoples lives and stop the spread of the virus. We might describe them as breaches, but the police will respond to those calls when people let us know about that, and our objective is to get people back to where they should be and to avoid the transmission. Its really important we are responding. We are responding across the country when we are finding out about those. But the important point is we are engaging, explaining, and getting people to return home. Only in those extreme cases will we have to resort to enforcement, which would be by a fine, or if there was some other activity potentially an arrest. We know how many arrests we are making, as we always do. The fining system isa very as we always do. The fining system is a very new system. Weve now got it centrally co ordinated. And as i said in my opening remarks, next week, wednesday, we will be producing data on exactly how many fines we have given out as part of this process. And other data in terms of how we are policing the lockdown period, and, as i said, again in my remarks, we will be showing that every two weeks. The really important point is that anybody can transmit this virus. Everybody needs to be responsible. We will engage with people to help them be responsible, and to understand what is required. So, this isnt about how many arrests and how many fines, this is about getting the majority of people, which they already are, abiding by the rules, so we are able to protect the rules, so we are able to protect the nhs and save lives. Thanks, martin. Was there anything else you would like to say, simon . It sounds like we are waiting until next week to get those figures. I suspect if the data does show an increase in breaches over that two week period, would that lead to stronger powers, and what would those look like . Are you having those conversations . What more could you do beyond what already exists to get the message home, and to make sure people are not flouting the guidance there already . First of all, i come back to the theme of the questions and the answers weve given so far this afternoon. The purpose of the guidance we put down, and the regulations that went through parliament over three weeks ago, as martin has said, was absolutely to stop the transmission of this virus. We dont want people out there behaving in an irresponsible way and effectively helping to spread the virus. We will obviously come and this is not just virus. We will obviously come and this is notjust about breaches, but we will make our decisions as we previously made around regulations and the guidance which were sent out to Police Forces around the country, based on the trends, the Scientific Evidence that also comes forward over the next week or so. And we actually have to look at all of this in its totality. Then we will absolutely, as with all aspects of government right now, keep under review, look what is going on. But i come back to the main point that we have seen so far. The majority of the British Public, and i thank them for the way in which they are following the guidance and the guidelines of government specified and put out, and to say to the Police Officers themselves, theyve been working incredibly well and ha rd across been working incredibly well and hard across communities to engage, to explain, and encourage people not to explain, and encourage people not to go out there in the Public Domain unnecessarily. And we will continue to do that. We will absolutely work with our police and colleagues, Police Forces around the country, to continue to do that. We will have to leave this briefing from downing street, because it is time for a news bulletin. But if you are in the uk and you want to keep listening to this News Conference, you can do so on bbc radio five live. Now, it is the tea time bulletin