Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC World News 20200421

Healthcare professionals. Hello and welcome to audiences in the uk and around the world. Were covering all the latest coronavirus developments nationally and globally. Within the past hour, President Trump has tweeted that hell sign an executive order to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States because of what he called the attack from the invisible enemy a term he has used to describe the coronavirus. Also, in the us a key oil price has plunged below zero for the First Time Ever, because of the pandemic. Producers are now paying buyers to take supplies off their hands. A body representing Health Service trusts in england has warned that the the supply of face masks could be jeopardised if the uk government begins advising the public to wear them. Supplies of personal protective equipment are still in short supply in the uk. An raf plane has flown to turkey to pick up a delayed delivery. The number of people currently confirmed to have the coronavirus in italy has fallen for the first time. Officials announced a drop of 20, compared with the day before, with fewer people in intensive care beds. Well have more on all of that in a momemt but first that breaking news from the us on immigration. Lets get the latest from our our north america correspondent, peter bowes. Peter, what do you make of his tweet . Well, it is a surprise and it is a drastic move by the president if indeed he follows through on what he is saying. In this tweet, describing the invisible enemy, we know that is the expression he uses for coronavirus and we know we understand the implications for the american economy, 22 million americans have signed on front Unemployment Benefits over the last month so the consequences long term for the consequences long term for the economy look likely to be quite drastic and the recovery, a lot of economists year i saying could be quite slow on the one hand, its easy to understand the president s concerns about the job, this would indeed be quite an unprecedented move to suspend immigration. We didnt give much detail, not saying how long immigration would be extended for and there are already travel bands existing from china, from europe, and the borders with canada and mexico are both closed. To what extent mexico are both closed. To what exte nt d o mexico are both closed. To what extent do you think this is playing to his audience, knows that he wants to vote for him in november . Well, it certainly falls into the narrative that weve heard a lot from President Trump, indeed candidate trump as he was campaigning for the job, someone campaigning for the job, someone will be very tough on immigration andi someone will be very tough on immigration and i think its very likely that if he pursues this and suspends immigration, there will be both legal and political objections to what he is trying to do, especially from immigrants Rights Groups because this is a move that would have far reaching consequences and some might argue would also be damaging for the us economy and damaging for the us economy and damaging for business in terms of restricting the movement of people into the country. Simon, some states in the us have been calling and protesting about the lot down and the damages doing . Thats right. This decision of the president or announcement of the president comes at a time when some americans are complaining that the lockdown or at least the stay at home orders have been going on for too long. Some say there were unnecessary in the first place in campaigning to get those restrictions lifted and also at a time when some straights states are expected to slowly get back to normal. Weve seen beaches in california normal and florida opening up to people to an florida opening up to people to a n exte nt florida opening up to people to an extent and in georgia, some businesses opening from the end of this week, next week some restau ra nts of this week, next week some restaurants allowed to open. On the one hand, the country is slowly beginning to get back to normal but this new announcement for the president will certainly have far reaching implications for that recovery. We shall keep a close eye on him as today progresses. Thank you for telling us more about that tweet that came in the last hours. President trump is also brushed off concerns about all in the price of oil in the United States which sought trading at 37 a barrel at one point. That means producers we re point. That means producers were playing paying people to ta ke were playing paying people to take oil off their hands, something thats never happened before. Mr trump said the price would bounce back. Lets talk to our middle east business correspondence. Our middle east Business Correspondent Sameer Hashmi is in dubaifor us. People working in the oil industry said to me this is com pletely industry said to me this is completely crazy. Talk as to what happened. It sure is crazy, sally. Its unprecedented, historic, never before in the history of all oil trading has it fallen below zero. This was the benchmark which at one point fell and even touched two 50, closing up even touched two 50, closing up ataround even touched two 50, closing up at around 37. This particular price was for the contract the month of may which was expiring on tuesday. Buyers or traders in the market have to ta ke or traders in the market have to take the oil and a situation is such in the market that there is a huge oil supply. There is no Storage Capacity, especially in the United States. Some buyers some buyers have been renting out tankers to store oil. When they approach all these buyers, they started selling in panic because they didnt want to ta ke because they didnt want to take the oil because they cant keep it but if you look at the wti numbers forjune, it is still about 20 but that reflect what the actual demand is in the market. But we could be here in one month. But things dont progress in terms of the lockdowns around the world, the lack of demand for oil right now. If this expires injune, we oil right now. If this expires in june, we could oil right now. If this expires injune, we could see a similar flurry. Thats right. There are concerns. If you remember a few weeks ago, ten days ago, the cartel led by saudi arabia and russia decided unannounced they would be cutting 10 Million Barrels of oil per day from the first of may, which roughly tra nslates first of may, which roughly translates into 10 of current global supplies but the problem is because of the fallout of covid i9 where demand has dried up, and saudi arabia importing more oil, many experts in these fields feel the cuts are not enough and there is a glut. There needs to be deeper cuts. So there may be a situation a few weeks where russia and saudi arabia and probably President Trump is pushing it in to make deeper cuts. We shall watch this space. Good to talk to you. Thank you for your time. Thats something we will discuss in more detail a little later in this programme, ill be talking to a market trim to get his take on the dramatic fall in the price of oil. The uk governments Scientific Advisory committee will meet later to go through the measures to tackle the coronavirus pandemic including if people should be urged to wear masks when out of the home. However nhs providers, the body that looks after hospital trusts in england, warn this could lead to shortages for staff, as the virus continues to take its toll on healthcare workers. Andy moore reports. Manage eat sing riat with the uks first seek nhs consultant. He was described as hugely respected as well as much loved. Manjeet singh. There will be discussions over facemasks in public, with many countries in europe discussing the policy. The mayor of london says they should be worn on public transport but nhs match nhs public transport but nhs match nhs dividers warns masks might be in short supply at the general public are scrambling to find them. Yesterdays figure for hospital deaths with coronavirus in the uk stood at 449 coronavirus in the uk stood at 419 bring the total to 16,509. Hospital 4119 bring the total to 16,509. Hospital in admissions with covid 19 are roughly stable across the country as a whole but falling in the capital. Here in london, this is now the seventh day in a row that those numbers have fallen so that means the balance between people going into hospital because they fallen ill and people going home because they are well again now is in the opposite direction so there are fewer people each day in hospital with covid 19. Fewer people each day in hospital with covid19. But there will be more official gives up this morning showing the number of deaths in care homes. Lastlys figures show 210 deaths. Many people in the ca re 210 deaths. Many people in the care set to see the true toll numbers in the thousands. Let us numbers in the thousands. Let us putting our gowns on. Parts of the nhs continue to experience problems getting a hold of personal protection equipment. Ministers set a flight equipment. Ministers set a flight was due to arrive from turkey shortly with 400,000 much needed downs. An raf aircraft is flown to istanbul to pick up the ship and there is no word on when it will return. Lets get some of the days other news. Israels Prime Minister, benjamin netanyahu, and his main rival, the knesset speaker, benny gantz, say theyre forming an emergency government of National Unity to deal with the pandemic. Mr netanyahu will be Prime Minister for the first eighteen months. Mr gantz would then take overfor the remainder of a three year term. Saudi arabia has extended the suspension of public prayers at islams two holiest sites during the fasting month of ramadan to limit the spread of the coronavirus. A shortened version of late evening prayers will be held without worshippers at the grand mosque in mecca and the prophets mosque in medina. Virgin australia has confirmed that its gone into voluntary administration. The airline is one of the first Major Corporate casualties of the covid 19 pandemic. The company said revenue dried up after it was forced to cancel nearly all flights due to the Global Health crisis. More than 10,000 jobs could be at risk. Facebook has banned event listings that violate official social distancing policies. On monday, the social media giant removed posts advertising protests in the us states of california, newjersey, and nebraska calling for an end to quarantine measures intended to limit the spread of covid 19. This was meant to be the week when Vladimir Putin won a public vote, changing the russian constitution, and so allowing him to stay on as president. But the spread of coronavirus forced him, reluctantly, to postpone that ballot. What impact is this crisis having on the stability that putin has made his trademark. Sarah rainsford reports from moscow. They used to bake here for a whole chain of phase until coronavirus. Now its takeaway ca kes coronavirus. Now its takeaway cakes only and just a handful of staff. This business is barely scraping by but its owner says the state is offering no lifeline. Transmack so when so when anastasia came face to face with her president , she didnt hold back. Transmack president , she didnt hold back. Tra nsmack i president , she didnt hold back. Transmack i dont know if ican back. Transmack i dont know if i can beg for your help without crying, business told Vladimir Putin. But its a tragedy, she said. She wasnt the only emotional one. A 12 minute takedown went viral. A couple of weeks on, she says nothing s changed. Of weeks on, she says nothing s changed. Translation at that moment, ijust needed him to hear me. There have been no results. In the government has taken measures that are not enough. We willjust have to do what we can ourselves. Its not only Small Business owners who are in trouble, its their staff as well. In siberia, social distancing is hard. How long can you manage without work . I think between one weeks and two months. Like many russians, shes been laid off with no pay. It is thought coronavirus could wipe out some 8 millionjobs before its done. It feels like a big fail i think, from government now. I dont feel that they are really thinking about how to make people more calm, more happy, more something. They are only worried. President putin has a lwa ys worried. President putin has always presented himself as a symbol of stability. The man who brought russia out of the chaos of the post soviet years and made it great again. This pandemic is developing into a challenge to that, not only economically but politically. This is a Global Crisis and russia is not immune. Here, though, most of the help is going to state workers and big business. Others feel abandoned. This is a serious challenge to putin and pandemic works more efficiently if you compare it to political opposition and protesters. For now, all anastasias cafe s standard deserted, with no clue when they will open for business again, if at all. This is bbc news. The headlines President Trump says hell sign an executive order to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States, a decision he made in light of what he called the coronavirus invisible enemy. The price of us Oil Goes Negative as demand dries up and producers sell rather than store their supplies. Italy has had its first glimpse of hope that it may finally be turning the tide on the coronavirus outbreak as the number of people infected with the virus falls for the first time, while france follows italy, spain and the United States in becoming the fourth country to see its covid 19 death toll exceeding 20,000. Matt graveling reports. It has had more deaths due to covid 19 than anywhere else in europe, but for the First Time Since the outbreak began, italy has seen a decline in the number of people infected with the virus. Translation the pressure on hospital structures continues to drop. Intensive care patients are down to 2537. That isa patients are down to 2537. That is a decrease of 62 people since yesterday. It is a lower number recorded in intensive ca re number recorded in intensive care ina number recorded in intensive care in a month now. Authorities hearsay the small but symbolic drop is a positive development. Italys lockdown continues until the third of may but some businesses have reopened. Optimism is being felt in other european countries. Germany has reopened small shops, Car Dealerships and Bicycle Stores in a tentative easing of the coronavirus lockdown imposed nearly a month ago. Translation we must not lose sight of the fact that despite everything, we are at the very beginning of the pandemic. We are at the beginning and not out of the woods yet. But while positives can now be seen, there are also stark reminders of the work still to be done with france becoming the latest country to record more than 20,000 deaths related to coronavirus. Translation tonight, our country has reached a symbolic and particularly painful milestone is more than 20,000 deaths. Despite the efforts of the french population to meticulously respect the confinement, social distancing and gestures, the epidemic is proving to be very deadly. The news came as residents shot fireworks at police on monday night in paris, having accuse officers of using heavy handed tactics to enforce frances strict coronavirus lockdown. In spain, the rate of new infections is falling, but regardless of the numbers, behind every death toll other stories of the lives lost. These hospital staff in madrid is paying tribute to their colleague, a 64 year old who died with the virus this weekend. One effort is curb the spread of covid 19 here has been to keep children indoors, something that has been in force since the 14th of march, but something the Prime Minister says will be eased on monday. Australia is opening up a few beaches in a bid to ease the pressures of lockdown as the country registers a drop in new covid 19 cases. Some restrictions do remain, though, as reged ahmad reports. Social distancing australian style. Three of sydneys main beaches, closed in the coronavirus pandemic, are now back open to allow for socially distanced exercise, including swimming and surfing all to help Peoples Mental Health during lockdown. Well, im hoping that they wont close it, and that people will see that, you know, if you do abide by the rules that they put in, we can all continue using it for a lot longer time. Australia has so far managed to avoid the high case numbers seen elsewhere with a slowing in the rate of covid 19 infections. One place that has seen an increase, though, is on the ruby princess cruise ship, which remains docked south of sydney. It still has around 1,000 crewmembers quarantined on board. The ship is at the centre of a criminal investigation after hundreds of infected passengers disembarked without Health Checks in sydney last month. In adelaides normally busy Central Business district, a lone kangaroo is caught on surveillance cameras, hopping around empty streets. Many australians are staying away or working from home as the lockdown continues. And while the strict measures have been credited for the low infection rate, anxiety about the toll on the economy is creeping upwards. One place thats still seeing some activity is sydneys well known taronga zoo. Although there are no visitors, the usual animal routine and training goes on. And like the public, theyre waiting for the day normality can return. Reged ahmad, bbc news. Dentist in england are facing critical shortages in ppe, forcing patients with urgent problems to take matters into their own hands. That is the warning today from the british dental association. Actresses we re dental association. Actresses were told to suspend routine appointments last month and set up appointments last month and set up emergency hubs instead to help slow the spread of the virus. Dan johnson reports. Here is a dentist at work, but not working. He hasnt seen a patient for ages. I saw isawa i saw a patient about three weeks ago. The problem is protective equipment. Dentists are especially vulnerable. Face to face without the appropriate ppe is not advice, using a drill and a spray can spread virus particles. Using a drill and a spray can spread virus particleslj didnt realise how hard it would be. Some patients are resorting to diy after failing to get treatment. They basically said unless it is stopping me from breathing, they couldnt do anything, there is no board point coming in unless i literally couldnt breathe property. This wasnt the case, but the pain nevertheless was absolutely excruciating so i thought i would take it into my own hands, really. It was quite tricky. I thought ten, 15 minutes, but1. 5 tricky. I thought ten, 15 minutes, but 1. 5 hours it took. Some dents and some moving to other roles but others just wa nt to other roles but others just want to help their own patients. Frustrated i think is the only word. Frustrated that i cant do what i know i should be able to do. England was s chief dental offices of the network of more than 200 and urgent care centres is up and running to treat emergency cases. She says the right protective equipment is in place and that there is more on the way. Dan johnson, place and that there is more on the way. Danjohnson, bbc news. With many people desperate to help healthcare workers through the pandemic, an army of over 40,000 sewers from every corner of the uk have volunteered to produce scrubs. More than 23,000 sets have already been produced for donation by everyone from professional costume makers to hobby sewers at home. Hywel griffith has been speaking to some of those involved. Hello. From stitchers in somerset. To cumbria. In belfast and brighton as well. The sound of tens of thousands of people doing what they can to protect the nhs. This is my temporary work room i have set up temporary work room i have set up at home. The pandemic has meant many more Health Workers need scrubs, cotton uniforms which are simple to clean and quick to change. Within half an hour i had already received a request for 150 scrubs. A team set up in the midlands. It has been a com plete midlands. It has been a complete well when, even people are making ear guards for us, scrub bags, somebody has even created labels saying superhero cape. To put on the front of the bag. The world of opera is helping, adding a little flair as they so. We are putting front pockets where they have prints, so it is notjust plain, boring cotton scrubs. They say how much they love the little personal touch of a dragonfly or bumblebee. The basic pattern is simple to share and print. The material bought using donations. Even sewers and self isolation are helping. When they are ready, the scribes are packed up and delivered directly to the hospitals, hospices and care homes who need them. Are you 0k . Grand, thanks i have your scrubs here. They are trying to cut through bureaucracy and meet the demand. Thank you amazing that they are thinking of us in their time and making the effort. It is fantastic. People are just overwhelmed. They want to give us money and ikeep they want to give us money and i keep saying, no, this is free the desire to make a difference in such difficult times is the thread that runs through every set of these. Thank you. As people pulled together to protect the front line. It is great to hear what is going on around the country elsewhere in the world as well. Keep sending us your stories. We asked you earlier on twitter if you are stockpiling things, goods, food that perhaps you wouldnt normally under certain circumstances. We heard from angela, a regular who watches. Nice to hearfrom angela, a regular who watches. Nice to hear from you, angela, a regular who watches. Nice to hearfrom you, angela. She says she has made soups, pasta, flour and eggs before the lockdown. That was a good move. Many others are saying they are eating a lot more frozen foods these days. I will be back with all the business stories in a moment. Hello. Through our window on the weather, its nothing but blue sky at the moment. And a few more days of that to come. But there is that complication of the brisk easterly wind. It does make it feel rather cool, especially along north sea coasts. It will ease down later in the week and then all parts will turn a bit warmer. But the isobars still squeeze together as we look at the big picture for tuesday around that area of High Pressure close to scandinavia. We start tuesday fairly chilly, but particularly in scotland where there will be sheltered glens here that have dropped a few degrees below freezing. So a frost in parts of scotland tuesday, and a bit of cloud for the channel islands, south devon, cornwall, the isles of scilly may produce a bit of rain for a time. That isnt going to last long before it clears to allow the sunshine, plenty of it across the uk, these are the wind speeds, gusts are higher, around 30 40mph in places. Just as we saw on monday, that has an impact on the temperature along north sea coasts, some spots just around 10 degrees or so, whereas most areas are in the mid to high teens, near 20 degrees celsius in the warm spots. Now, overnight and into wednesday morning, a bit of patchy cloud here and there. The breeze stays up, though, and that means were going to avoid a frost again, barjust one or two spots in scotland getting close to maybe a little bit below freezing. Now, there may be a bit more cloud around on wednesday for northern ireland, parts of western scotland, north west scotland, the outside chance of catching a shower. But if you want some rain on the garden, youll be disappointed because much of the uk, nearly all of the uk will stay dry. Some sunshine, maybe not quite as breezy, a little bit warmer by a degree or two. But more so by the time we get to thursday, the isobars opening up, and that means the wind is going to be easing. Could be one or two mist and fog patches to start the day, but actually more especially on friday morning in parts of scotland and north east england. For most, thursday will be another day of clear skies. The wind isnt as strong, even along north sea coasts its a little bit warmer, but the warmest parts of england and wales will be approaching the mid 20s. Just a few subtle changes going into the weekend, perhaps a bit more cloud around. The slight chance of a shower, a little bit cooler by then. This is bbc news with the latest business headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. Us oil prices tank, as they slip into negative territoty for the first time in history and Turbulent Times for sir Richard Branson, as he tries to save his Virgin Atlantic airline by using his luxury island as collateral. Hello and welcome. Lets start with the price of us oil known as west texas intermediate because over the past 24 hours its price has turned negative for the first time in history. That means Oil Producers are paying buyers to take the commodity off their hands. The price for us crude in may dipped to as low as minus 37. 63 a barreljust a few hours ago, over fears that Storage Capacity could run out in may. Producers have been struggling to sell the commidity as the global lockdown has kept people away from petrol pumps. Howeverjune contracts for us crude are in a better position, they are currently trading atjust above 20 a barrel. Joining us now is james hughes, whos the chief market analyst at scope markets. You at scope markets. And i have been talking for yea rs you and i have been talking for years about the business stories. Did you see this one coming . Absolutely not. Through my 20 years in the industry, i would never have expected to see a negative oil price and thatis see a negative oil price and that is the key thing, the big headline we are looking at, the first ina headline we are looking at, the first in a lifetime situation. Weve never seen oil prices go into negative territory like this. Even the rolling prices which take into account all of the futures contract, even they are at historic lows. This is an unprecedented situation we are in. To see negative prices, oil sellers paying people to ta ke oil sellers paying people to take Oil Contracts off their handsis take Oil Contracts off their hands is something i never thought i would see. And this is despite the historic agreement between opec and russia, saudi arabia, President Donald Trump is having to open up donald trump is having to open up government donald trump is having to open up government reserves where this oilfor may up government reserves where this oil for may can be stored. The problem is, opec and opec plus, they have looked to have one of the biggest cuts that weve ever seen but the problem is, the demand situation. We have lockdown of however many people around the world which grinds industry to a halt in the general publics life to a halt. But that also takes away the demand for oil and if you look at some of the stock pile areas, there is a place called cushing in the us which is the hub for storing and their storage has gone up by 48 since the end of february. That has massive numbers and almost full there as well so without anywhere to store the oil, nobody wants to take delivery ofa nobody wants to take delivery of a contract which says, i need to give you some oil so if somebody wants to take a contract away from that, people will say i dont want that, i need to sell it quickly which is why there is a collapse in the price. The may contract expires today. Will we see the same thing happen if this lockdown continues in most countries around the world . Thats the interesting thing. Asa thats the interesting thing. As a contract comes to expiry and it does expire today. It tends to spec how much the oil is worth now. Today, the demand is worth now. Today, the demand is still low. Going on another month, we dont know if the lockdown is going to ease. We know in some countries, lockdown is starting to ease which means gradually, demand will start to pick up so maybe we dont expect to see it in such a drastic situation but demand will still be at historic lows we can expect to see prices falling to areas like this where we get to the expiry of the june contract. James, thanks for your time today. Lets talk about food, another important commodity. Agriculture ministers from the g20 countries will be holding an extraordinary Virtual Meeting later today to discuss the impact of covid 19. Ministers are concerned the pandemic may destabilise the fresh fruit and vegetable sector, and as a result lead to Food Shortages globally. According to freshfel thats the European Fresh Produce Association its members face rising costs of around 540 million a month due to the virus. read on of around 540 million a month due to the virus. Were nowjoined from brussels by philippe binard, whos the general delegate of freshfel europe. Thank you for being on the programme. Just talk us through the challenges your members are facing in wider costs are going up facing in wider costs are going up so much. I think there are two kinds of problems. First the sector is trying to secure Seasonal Workers and this is something with european guidance, adopted on the 30th of march but these need to be implemented by each of the Member States and we see that in each of the countries, there are different situations but in the end, there is still some scarcity of Seasonal Workers, people who are travelling across europe for the mobility inside europe, romania, bulgaria, poland to countries like germany, the netherlands, the uk as well. And also we need some mobility from outside the eu, a lot of workers coming from the uk in Seasonal Workers coming from the ukraine. There has been progress, but a lot of difficulty to have the necessary results to pick the product which is already there, i think product which is already there, ithink in product which is already there, i think in the uk there is a discussion about this, it has been this debate as well in germany a few weeks ago and if the workers are not there, we might have a lot of problems because we need to pick and prepare the fields and pick in the summer, summer fruit like peaches, nectarines, apricots and later in the year, apples, pears and citrus to what the first problems. The second is the significant increase of the cost, as you say. Almost about two months, increase costs for two months, increase costs for two reasons. The first one is all the Safety Measures in the social distancing that is needed, this is increasing the efficiency of the operation, slowing down the process, when you need to transfer the worker from their accommodation to the field, they cannot be any more travelling altogether so there could be three or four persons in the minivan and not anymore larger number. And there is also another cost. Really quickly, what do you want from 620 quickly, what do you want from g20 agricultural ministers in terms of support . What i think the moment, were more looking at some support at european level. We need some flexibility in the legislation, we need to have a package of exceptional measures to cope with these increase costs. As you say, it is 500 billion euros of added costs at the growing and shipping level, also the cost costs in the chain and we need to look at this crisis and all other policies, emotion, search and innovation, that was popular two months ago. People are talking about it today. I think there are a lot of things on the agenda. Sorry to interrupt you, im afraid we are out of time but there is so much to discuss, its a huge issue and we shall talk to you again, i would imagine, issue and we shall talk to you again, iwould imagine, as this progresses. Thats a squeeze in some of business stories. Sir Richard Branson has pledged his luxury Necker Island resort as collateral to help get a uk government bailout for his struggling airline Virgin Atlantic. The Billionaire Virgin Group boss said in an open letter to staff he was not asking for a handout, but for a commercial loan, believed to be around £500m. It comes as virgin groups airline in australia faces administration more on that later. The Uks National Cyber Security Centre says it took down more than 2,000 online coronavirus scams last month. The body said this included 471 fake online shops that were selling fraudulent virus related items. The ncsc has also launched an email reporting service, which the public can use to flag any suspicious activity. Facebook has launched a dedicated gaming app earlier than planned, in its latest attempt to grow its presence in the Online Gaming world. The app lets users watch gaming streams and leave comments without interacting with the rest of facebook. In recent times, facebook has struggled to compete against the likes of twitch and youtube in the gaming market. Lets take a quick look at the markets now. Quite a quitea dip quite a dip in share markets. The Energy Stocks are very weak, given the realfall in the price of western texas intermediate but also brent crude as well. Also its earnings season at the moment and Many Companies are coming out with their latest earnings news and their projections for the future which of course is pretty pessimistic given whats going on. But something is entered in the United States. You can see how brent is trading as well, down 0. 5 at the moment. Lets return to the growing troubles force Richard Branson because this morning, this morning Virgin Australia has confirmed that its gone into voluntary administration making it one of the first Major Corporate casualties of the covid 19 pandemic. The carrier has over us 3 billion of debt and it had asked the Australian Government for a loan, but that was rejected. Mariko oi nowjoins us from Asia Business hub in singapore. Tell us more. Well, of course, the carrier had Financial Issues even before the coronavirus outbreak but a sharp fall that we saw in our travel really was the final blow. As he said, the carrier was asking the Australian Government for financial help but they rejected that request, saying the company should asks it saying the company should asks it ask its rich owners and stakeholders to help like the uae government, singapore airlines, and Richard Branson. The airline is seeking potential new buyers and possibly investors but there are several concerns surrounding this news, firstly, job losses. It employs about 10,000 people directly in australia, especially in the state of queensland but another big concern is that qantas, its bigger rival, could have a near monopoly without it and of course, there are some domestic flights that only Virgin Australia blue as well is quite troubling times for notjust those who work for the company but also passengers as well. Good to see you, thank you. Of brompton is a british maker of folding bicycles with worldwide sales. Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, however, it has seen its revenues tumble. So what is its strategy for staying in shape . Bromptons chief executive, will butler adams, explains. The first thing is, protect cash. Cash, cash, cash. Not worried about profitability, just protect cash. We caught the first signs of something going fun injanuary when obviously this it china because we have some of our supply chain coming in from china. We have some of our supply chain coming infrom china. We thought we be able to manage it and then somehow, in no time at all, it picked up and went do, suddenly europe dropped down 30 of our sales potential, just going overnight and then it started hitting our supply chain in the uk, we decided to have lockdown in the uk, the whole lot knocked for six. When this hit, the first thing is, protect cash. Cash, cash, cash. Not worried about profitability particularly, just check cash. Going to furlough, that is really valuable for us. Its probably saving about 100,000 pounds. Ouraim is to saving about 100,000 pounds. Our aim is to try and Stay Together through this. There are opportunities on the other side. Im not sure everybody is going to want tojump on side. Im not sure everybody is going to want to jump on the tube after this and are going to wa nt tube after this and are going to want to have more independence. You are watching bbc news. The headlines President Trump says hell sign an executive order to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States, a decision he made in light of what he called the coronavirus invisible enemy. The price of us Oil Goes Negative as demand dries up and producers sell rather than store their supplies. I22 i 22 million americans have lost theirjobs. We have been to baltimore with a poor start reeling from the impact of the economic contraction. What is always remarkable about america is its scale. This is a place used to being the biggest, the richest. Right now, though, whats startling is the scale of economic contraction. Down on the ground, 22 Million People applied for unemployment benefit over the past month. This is the result, food bank lines at Elementary School in baltimore. This is a poor area, even at the best of times. My son got laid off, you, yeah. Due to covid 19, he can do security. What impact is that had . I could say, financially for us, bills and stuff, you get behind in bills, you make it the best way you can. Putting together bags of produce, bread, chicken, cereal, the american welfare system is not set out for this crisis. This is the work of charities and volunteers. Kemal and alex work for a helmet equipped entire company in baltimore, the usual work is com pletely baltimore, the usual work is completely dried up so they volunteer here. Today they asked us if we could provide some tense and cones and tables some tense and cones and tables so we got all that stuff, pulled it from the warehouse, wiped it all down and loaded up the trucks. I feel like doing things like this definitely makes me feel like im notjust sitting at home waiting for us to go back to work. We are finding ways to get out there and still be helpful, creative and still be helpful, creative and just together because thats what this is all about. There you go, sweetie, have a great day. Also playing a big role as the Baltimore City school board. Many pupils would get free meals during term time now to meals served to anyone who wants them, child or adult. The cost is growing. According to the head of the school board, this emergency is asking profound questions of american society. A lot of these folks had jobs, a lot of these people we re had jobs, a lot of these people were getting up and going to work on getting on Public Transportation and working two, threejobs and transportation and working two, three jobs and so what do you do when people who absolutely have a work ethic, people who absolutely want to support theirfamilies in absolutely want to support their families in much absolutely want to support theirfamilies in much greater numbers, are unable to do so . Thats a society question and i think were going to have to grapple with it. Right now, we are doing what we can because we know we need to do it. People like this woman, whose Family Finances has been devastated and so have those of many of her colleagues. There are only 12 workers out of many workers working. My husband, hisjob, 80 workers, nobody is working, not one. I did start collecting unemployment around the end of march but once that money has gone, we had to reapply, have proof of additional 13 weeks and it is slowly approaching. In a country with so Many Political divisions already, this virus has created another. Between those who can work from home and those who cant. Jobs like cutting hair. Derek burton has watched is thriving barbershop business destroyed in a few short weeks. It will be buzzing every david non stop on a saturday, we had a ticket machine like in a meat counter. We are losing around 40,000 50,000 a month. Are you going to stick it out . Im not going to stick it out . Im not going to stick it out. Im selling my shares off to my partner. I dont want to be involved anymore. Really . Im walking away. What does it feel like all that work . Defeat, loss, turmoil, heartache, stress. Derek didnt vote for the president last time but will in the next election. I will vote for donald trump because i think he needs to get us out of this. I dont see any point in stopping and waiting for a sign. What kind of sign are we waiting to open up the economy . We still have an economy that needs to exist regardless of any kind of illness or defect. All the while, the wages that just about kept these communities ticking over have drained away replaced by benefits that are hard to access and uncertain in duration. Although the baltimore you can find the re m na nts of baltimore you can find the remnants of long dead businesses, a reminder of once lost industry hard to restart. Right now the vast american economy, for decades the main engine of global prosperity, is shuttered, much of it silent, but how long before it cannot be restarted . Over the last few weeks, weve been speaking to the people who are keeping britain moving during the pandemic, and cleaners are playing a hugely important role. Theyre responsible for the deep cleaning, disinfecting and scrubbing of surfaces that are potential hosts of covid 19. Tim muffetts been talking to some of them about how theyre coping. One thing is clear. Hygiene has never felt so important. Clea ners never felt so important. Cleaners are critical. My name is sean and today, the paramedics have come into contact with people that have the virus and when they come back and touching surfaces. Thisjob is back and touching surfaces. This job is vitally important that the moment with the virus going around. Sean often cleans six ambulance stations across north wales in one shift. Protect myself and the family. Sometimes it makes it a really big risk but we have to crack on. Obviously, since this virus, a lot of people have taken notice virus, a lot of people have ta ken notice of virus, a lot of people have taken notice of the jobs we are doing. Lorraine and her daughter charlene clean at a Community Hospital in essex. How has your work been, how challenging has it been . It is in your mind the whole time that what if someone has got it orare that what if someone has got it or are they showing symptoms . But i think it is have to get on with things, what would happen if everyone thought, oh, cant do it. Everything would come to a standstill. Nothing would work without everybody. But without us, the situation would be a lot worse. Everything has to stay clean, everything has to run as it should. Lorraine was my other daughter candice thought her mum and sister werent getting the recognition they deserved. Her Facebook Post but a huge response. My mum, my sister has two boys and she is a single parent. I think what they do is incredible. I think taking Something Like this, this began this huge for a people to appreciate and realise the importance of the jobs they are doing. How does it feel to hear your sister and your daughter talk like that . It is lovely, really nice. Makes me feel. It gives me a lump in my throat i am a night domestic, just on my way to work now. Samir cleans at new Cross Hospital in wolverhampton, the West Midlands has been a covid 19 hotspot. He works alongside another cleaner, shane. The job that we do, it is important as anyone else. Without cleaners, the hospital would have been shot down by now due to health and safety and cleanliness. You both say you are able to access the correct ppe equipment, but you still feel at risk. Every time you walk in, you still think your life is at risk. It feels like a different stage you have ta ke eve n like a different stage you have take even more precautions, where the right ppe before you go in, take it off. Do you feel people are appreciating what you do more than they did before . Were not noticed in general, but now, we have been, and it does feel very nice to be appreciated. Job satisfaction and, at last, recognition and respect. A clea n recognition and respect. A clean sweep. Tim moffat, bbc news. Good to hear their stories, isnt it . Well, we have been looking at a story online today on the business page. You can find this story about the items that have seen sales soar, we can look at it here. Noodles smash sales up as people stock sta ples, smash sales up as people stock staples, and apparently in the month of march in the uk the average family spent another £63 a month on their groceries, all the consumer goods that they have been buying. So we asked you, what are you up to . What are you purchasing as you spend more time at home . Of course we are eating at home. I heard from many of you as ever. Thank you for getting in touch. Charlie in colorado says vitamin b, that is what i have been to filing. We heard from jack edwards who said simply wine, wine and more wine. Jack, you are not aligned. Wine sales are up significantly that you are not alone. Many others have been in touch. Look at all those replies. Thank you for your company and those replies. Thank you for yourcompanyandl those replies. Thank you for your company and i will see you soon. Hello. Through our window on the weather, its nothing but blue sky at the moment. And a few more days of that to come. But there is that complication of the brisk easterly wind. It does make it feel rather cool, especially along north sea coasts. It will ease down later in the week and then all parts will turn a bit warmer. But the isobars still squeeze together as we look at the big picture for tuesday around that area of High Pressure close to scandinavia. We start tuesday fairly chilly, but particularly in scotland where there will be sheltered glens here that have dropped a few degrees below freezing. So a frost in parts of scotland to start tuesday, and a bit of cloud for the channel islands, south devon, cornwall, the isles of scilly may produce a bit of rain for a time. That isnt going to last long before it clears to allow the sunshine, plenty of it across the uk, but these are the wind speeds, gusts are higher, around 30 40mph in places. And just as we saw on monday, that has an impact on the temperature along north sea coasts, some spots just around 10 degrees or so, whereas most areas are in the mid to high teens, near 20 degrees celsius in the warm spots. Now, overnight and into wednesday morning, a bit of patchy cloud here and there. The breeze stays up, though, and that means were going to avoid a frost again, barjust one or two spots in scotland getting close to maybe a little bit below freezing. Now, there may be a bit more cloud around on wednesday for northern ireland, parts of western scotland, north west scotland, the outside chance of catching a shower. But if you want some rain on the garden, youll be disappointed because much of the uk, nearly all of the uk will stay dry. Some sunshine, maybe not quite as breezy, a little bit warmer by a degree or two. But more so by the time we get to thursday, the isobars opening up, and that means the wind is going to be easing. Could be one or two mist and fog patches to start the day, but actually more especially on friday morning in parts of scotland and north east england. For most, thursday will be another day of clear skies. The wind isnt as strong, even along north sea coasts its a little bit warmer, but the warmest parts of england and wales will be approaching the mid 20s. Just a few subtle changes going into the weekend, perhaps a bit more cloud around. The slight chance of a shower, a little bit cooler by then. Good morning. Welcome to breakfast with Louise Minchin and dan walker. Our headlines today masks for the public could put nhs supplies at risk a warning from hospital bosses as government advisers meet to review advice. Well loved and hugely respected tributes to accident and emergency consultant Manjeet Singh riyat who has died after contracting covid 19. Good morning. The value of american oil dipped below zero for the First Time Ever yesterday, reflecting the state of the global economy. What does it mean this side of the pond . Ill have the details