Hello and welcome to viewers in the uk and around the world. Im martine croxall. The education secretary for england says the governments approach to re opening of schools will be cautious and based on scientific advice, but he warned that the longer schools are closed, the more children miss out. It comes after teaching unions expressed concerns over plans to re open schools in england from the first ofjune. A further 468 deaths of people whove tested positive for coronavirus in the uk were reported in the last 2a hours, taking the official number of deaths to 34,466. Heres our education editor bra nwen jeffreys. Classrooms empty now in england, but in just two weeks some children are due to return. The hope covid cases will have dropped. The education secretary said it is a tentative step. At the press conference i asked how School Governors could make the decision. And on that point about the School Governors, they are going to be thinking about their legal responsibilities in terms of making each school safe. How are they meant to reconcile that conflicting advice they are getting from you and local councils . What we would ask them to do is look at the guidance very carefully, and recognise the fact that we are there to provide the very best for every single child who goes to that school. The best way of doing that, the best way of protecting children, the best way of giving them the best opportunities in life, is actually to have them coming back into school. For those trapped in flats, for children vulnerable to hunger or domestic violence, growing concern about their need for school, for a place to learn but also a place of safety. I fear that the best interests of children, which we are all meant to be looking at within this debate, are being overlooked. Ive raised the issue of the hundred thousands of Vulnerable Children which will be carrying risks out of school, they wont be getting access to education, and they may have fragile home environments, and Mental Health will be suffering. Schools are getting ready as best they can changing classrooms, contacting families. It will be Parents Choice whether to send pupils. Some may need to return to work. Teachers say many others remain fearful. So far, out of 28 children in my class, we have had ten responses saying they will send their children, but a lot of those still have reservations about that, and they have queries they would like answered before they make the choice. Teachers unions still have many questions. Government scientists will keep it under review, and a final decision is likely just days before englands schools return, while those in the rest of the uk remain closed. Branwen jeffreys, bbc news. The government have insisted they will be led by the science when making decisions so what does the science say about how children are affected . Lauren moss explains. Weve only known about covid 19 for under six months, and the Science Community is still learning about it. One of the Big Questions to answer is how are children affected. Put simply, children seem to catch coronavirus as much as anyone else. The survey by the office for National Statistics published this week suggests that one in 400 people in england has coronavirus and that children are also just as likely to test positive as adults, but they dont appear to develop symptoms which are a serious or be as vulnerable to it. In terms of the respiratory illness weve seen in adults were really not seeing that in children, which of course is great news, and the cases weve had in oxford where we have found coronavirus, it seems to have almost been an incidentalfinding. So if children catch coronavirus, how likely is it, then, that they can carry it and also spread it . Any increase in social mixing could lead to an increase in the r number, the rate of transmission. Children are super spreaders of diseases like flu, but we just dont know how infectious they could be if they have little or no symptoms. If you have a low infection rate in society, and you have systems in place to test and track and quarantine, then schools are a very good place to start, because the transmission will be low and you will be able to manage the situation and work out how to open up the rest of society. Its early days as we begin to take steps to emerge from the lockdown. What we learn in the weeks and months ahead will shape what our new normal becomes. Lauren moss, bbc news. Primary children in denmark have been back at school for a month now. It was the first country in europe to reopen its primary schools, after containing the virus early on. There have been fewer than 550 deaths there so far. Many other countries are looking to the nation for a blueprint as to how to reopen schools elsewhere. Lets go to copenhagen now to talk to dorte lange, the Vice President of the danish teachers union. Thank you so much forjoining us. What were the precautions that has to be put in place in denmark before a school could reopen . Hello, good evening. There had to be lots of precautions made, for instance smaller groups of children who are not in contact with each other, lots of hand washing facilities and we also needed to be able to teach outside as much as possible. So, those were. And two metres apart when kids were seated in the classroom, if seated in classrooms. Also, i must say that one of the things we can say that we can share with the world is that we have a very good follow up, up to the reopening, from a very good cooperation between teachers unions and the government and local authorities. And to build on that, i must say that teachers and students have been feeling quite safe in the reopening. There has been concern expressed by teachers unions in england about reopening schools at the beginning of next month. What advice would you give them to try to calm those fears . Well, actually, i would rather give the advice for the government and local authorities in england to take teachers considerations into consideration, if you like, to involve them in the Decision Making and have them at the table while you discuss how to do things. Because they are the ones who know about the kids, and the way that they behave in schools. Their advice should be taken quite seriously. But, given how denmark has managed to keep the number of deaths down, to thankfully quite low in comparison, how applicable is what you have done their two other countries that have seen much worse infection rates . Well, i must say, one of the background is why we can go back to school so early in denmark was because the total lockdown of the country and society was done so firmly and so quickly. So that we actually had the contamination rates very low. And they were about to go lower when we reopened the schools, and they were not that high in denmark as we have seenin not that high in denmark as we have seen in other countries. So, that is also why it was a success to reopen. And, luckily, it is still going down, the contamination rates are still going down in denmark. Down, the contamination rates are still going down in denmarkm down, the contamination rates are still going down in denmark. If you have smaller classes, with fewer pupils and more teachers per group of pupils, how much extra money did you need from the government and local authorities to allow that to happen . There was some extra money, mostly for cleaning, extra cleaning and kindergarten and schools. We had more cleaning after every lesson and after every day. Also, the staff needed that. That is quite another story. We have a hundred years of tradition in denmark, to have the Labour Market regulated by collective agreements. So we could actually ask public employees, unions for public employees, we were able to make new agreements with our employers in the public sector, talking about how can we step in for each other. So, we had people coming in to help us in the schools and in the kindergarten. And we were also ready, if we were needed somewhere else. But now the schools were the places that opened early, and i think one of the key words here is actually cooperation about things that we need to do, so that everyone feels that their concerns are really taken seriously, feels that their concerns are really ta ken seriously, and feels that their concerns are really taken seriously, and that we can help each other in this situation. Its great to hear your experience. Thank you for your time. Italys Prime MinisterGiuseppe Conte says the country is taking a calculated risk in easing lockdown restrictions, with gyms and swimming pools able to reopen on may the 25th. Cinemas and theatres will follow in mid june. Italy is also allowing people to travel in and out of the country from the 3rd ofjune. Its a significant change in a nation that imposed one of the worlds most rigid coronavirus lockdowns, and suffered significant loss of life. More than 31,000 italians have died of covid i9 since late february, but the infection rate has fallen quickly. In neighbouring austria lockdown measures are being eased steadily but surely. Our correspondent bethany bell has more. Well, yesterday cafes a nd restau ra nts opened after two months of lockdown. People have been out today in cafes having pizzas and things like this, it is slow but steady, we are told, so far, people going out to visit. Also, some of the border controls between austria and its neighbouring countries, like germany, are beginning to ease. Germany is now allowing people who have family on both sides of the borders to cross more easily, and instead of having systematic controls at the borders of germany, austria and switzerland, they are now spot checks instead, although people still have to have a valid reason to visit and cross the border, it is not for Tourist Visits yet. The hope is that if the infection rate remains low, that the borders can be completely opened by the middle ofjune. Austria has announced plans to slowly start allowing theatres and arts festivals to slowly ramp up again injune and july and august. But small numbers so far, and we are told that major cultural events, like the salzburg festival, will be taking place in quite a limited way compared to normal, and some festivals are thinking about cancelling completely. Its the first weekend since some lockdown restrictions were eased in england with members of the public now allowed out for unlimited exercise. Local councils have warned people to stay away from beauty spots and beaches and many seem to have heeded the warning as andy gill reports. In normal times, more than 3 million day visitors come to the dales every year, and its not hard to see why. The National Park and local authorities, though, think it is too early to loosen the coronavirus lockdown. The big fear was that the car park would be full all week, and the river bank was going to be like blackpool when blackpool was busy and open, nobody social distancing. But as it is, we have a slow increase in the amount of people coming, that feel safe to come. But in grassington today, some people were taking advantage of the new guidelines, some travelling from harrogate and leeds. If you follow the guidance and you socially distance, you make sure that you are not touching anything. We have not seen anybody, really, but everyone we have seen has been a friendly and kept to a safe distance. We feel fine. They reopened the car park here so visitors dont park in the centre of the village or on verges, and the idea is that that will reduce contact, and possible infections between tourists and locals. Tourism is vitalfor this part of yorkshire, and they do want visitors back here once it is safe. Striking the balance between saving lives and saving livelihoods is the challenge here as everywhere else. Andy gill, the yorkshire dales, bbc news. 19 people have been arrested at a protest in londons hyde park against the lockdown. Around 300 people gathered, saying they object to their rights of freedom of movement and freedom of speech being restricted by the governments measures to limit the spread of the virus. Police in the polish capital warsaw used tear gas against demonstrators protesting against the restrictions imposed to contain coronavirus. Hundreds of protesters gathered in a central square, in a demonstration thats illegal under the current lockdown rules, which ban large gatherings. It followers smaller protests by Business Owners who say the authorities are not giving them enough support. In the united states, a 3 trillion package to counter the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on the economy looks unlikely to pass through the senate. House democrats voted through the package of tax cuts and spending on friday. But republicans, who hold a majority in the senate, say they dont like the package and plan to vote against it. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said nows the time to cast Party Politics aside. If theres ever a moment in this government, in this country, where its not about politics, this is the moment. For senators to be talking about, im not going to bail out blue states because the blue states have more coronavirus cases, shame on you. Shame on you to look at the death toll in this nation and say, i want to count how many people passed away by their political party. The state departments Inspector General has become the latest senior official to be fired by the us president. Democrats say mr trump is retaliating against Public Servants who want to hold his administration to account. Ive been speaking to lara brown from the George Washington university who explained the results of a recent survey which showed democrats are more likely than republicans to see the coronavirus in the most serious terms. tx well, part of it is because, traditionally, in the last few months, we have seen a higher prevalence of cases in those urban cores where the majority of democrats live. There has been, really, a transition in this virus in the last month or so, of high prevalence counties, moving from those urban centres and the inner suburbs, out to more rural areas and more of the exburbs. There is a reality that many of the individuals in those urban centres are democrats. They have seen the impacts of this pandemic, and so it is not surprising to me that more democrats right now than republicans have viewed this virus as being a Serious Health threat. I imagine some of these numbers may change as we go forward, and as the number of cases in the rural areas and exurbs increase, as they have in the last few weeks. So how is that connected to the fact that republicans are more hopeful about the economy . You will see that many republicans are following the president , and many of the republican elected officials, who are very concerned about the economy, and are wanting the economy to bounce back and recover quickly, so that they will not be in a seriousjeopardy as they believe they will be, come november. November, of course, being when the president ial election takes place. To what extent do you believe those looming elections are influencing the white house policy on coronavirus . Well, its odd, because, quite frankly, if you were the incumbent party and you knew that you would be on the hook for all of the bad things that portend this virus, which include economic problems, one would think that not only would you try to solve the health problems, and assure that we have greater testing, certainly ramping up the efforts around the vaccine, but also something to treat the virus when we are sick, and yet we are not seeing that. You would also assume that the white house would fully back the bill that Speaker Pelosi moved through the house. Because you would want to try to say to the american public, we have done everything we can, and we are continuing to help you in whatever way we know how. And that is not what we are seeing. We are seeing a white house that is really engaged in a lot of distractions, a lot of conspiracy theories, and is, essentially, firing those individuals who are seeking to investigate or put forward any information that might negatively reflect on President Trump and his administration. Why do people not see through that, then . Because you have nicely teed up my next question, which is about the dismissal of the Inspector General in the state department he was apparently going to start looking at mike pompeos behaviour . Correct. But one of the realities of the administration, and our current time, is that the president s base of supporters believe that there has been an effort on the part of deep state officials, meaning individuals who are career officials, who have an alignment or an affiliation with the democratic party, to go after trump since before he was even elected. So, there are many people within the Republican Base who say good for trump, he should be able to do whatever he wants, he shouldnt be held to account, and everything he is doing is great. So, they see these firings, of which there have been four in the last six weeks of Inspector Generals who have been looking into Trump Administration activities, or who put forward reports that were negative towards this administration. It was a big day for german football fans as Borussia Dortmund marked the return of the bundesliga with a convincing derby win over schalke. With a round up of all saturdays games heres gavin ramjaun. Hello, there, this is your latest sports news. Lets start with the resumption of the german bundesliga. Players saw the lighter side of having no fans cheer them on due to the strict coronavirus measures in place, but Borussia Dortmunds players still put on a heck of a show. Their revierderby match against schalke was the highlight of the days games, but take a look at this, a strange sight before the match with no spectators on hand to greet the teams as they arrived into signal iduna park. Security and police, though, were present to make sure coronavirus safety guidelines were carried out. Well, staff and stewards for the match werent taking any chances either, with sophisticated cleaning equipment to minimise the risk of infection. Some of those measures included spraying and cleaning the balls before use. All eyes, of course, on the bundesliga right now being the first major top Flight Division in europe to restart, after a 66 day shutdown. And who else to score the first goal back . Erling haaland, the prolific norwegian with his tenth goal in 11 days for dortmund. The celebrations with team mates, though, kept at a distance, as players were instructed not to physically congratulate one another. That the first goal in a 4 0 victory over schalke, keeping dortmund in second place. In the days other results, an injury time winner gave wolfsburg an injury time winner at augsburg. Hertha berlin won 3 0 away at oppenheim. Rb leipzig remain third after coming back to draw i i with freiburg and it was goalless between dusseldorf and bottom side paderborn. In the late game, frankfurt took on monchengladbach. All the details on the bbc sport website. That win for dortmund means Bayern Munich lead byjust one point ahead of their game against union berlin on sunday. Like all bundesliga teams, their players are staying in quarantine following rules set up by German Football League task force. They also need to travel in two buses to ensure safe distances between players are maintained. Earlier, i spoke to lutz pfannenstiel, the sporting director of fortu na dusseldorf, and he told me the atmosphere without fans inside the grounds wasnt something to worry about, as football makes its return. We are normally a team that is really pushed by its supporters. Our home games are usually 16,000 to 5a,000 and its a buzzing, electrifying atmosphere there, so, obviously, thats something that our players are really used to. That was missing today but we knew that before, i think we could prepare our minds before the game that this part will be missing. But, of course, you can ask the big question, is the home advantage there or is it gone . I mean, in our case, of course, if we were to have a full stadium, it would be betterfor us but, as i said before, we are happy to be back, we have to really respect the rules and i think this is what its all about, to have a concept and to really live up to all the rules and regulations. Even the social distancing of the substitute players, with the distance in between and the face masks on, it is something which is very unique and difficult to get used to but i think, you know, it is part of it now and we need to deal with it and we try to make the best out of it, but its definitely lots of details. Absolutely. And how much would you say of an example did saturdays matches set for other leagues around the world who would have been watching, including the premier league . Well, definitely a good one. We still have four games to go before the match day is concluded, so i think we have to think now match day to match day and i think the first one now, the first match, it was quite good, it was promising, so i think if we can keep it up in that level, focusing on all the details, then i think that concept, that prime example which is set in germany, can be also used by lots of other leagues, like in england or in spain or in italy. Lutz pfannenstiel there, and that is all the sport from us for now. Scientists in britain have begun a trial of sniffer dogs to see if they can be trained to detect the presence of coronavirus before symptoms appear. The Clinical Trial is being boosted by £500,000 of investment from the uk government with the hope that, if the scheme works, each dog would be able to screen around 250 people an hour. Youre watching bbc news. Tonight, you should have been watching the new Eurovision Song Contest winner crowned. But the event was cancelled due to the pandemic. It was due to be held in the netherlands after Duncan Laurence won the competiton in 2019. The bbc hasjoined european broadcasters to showcase all 41 songs that would have competed this year. However, no winner will be declared. I spoke to pauljordan who is known as dr eurovision. I asked him how disappointed fans of the contest were. Well, first of all, the jacket, i am getting good use out of it, if you cant wear it on eurovision night, when can you . People were very disappointed, of course, fans devastated, in fact, but i was pragmatic about it. Worse things are going on in the world, it is disappointing, but today i woke up with a lump in my throat, it is a shame, people worked really hard, but great that there is coverage on the bbc tonight, and people are going to have parties regardless. I am having one myself, in isolation of course, and it is once a year, but hopefully next year we will be back. Who do you think would have won . I am not normally allowed to express a preference, but the icelandic entry was fantastic, that is where i would have put my money. Mine too, and the irony is they have never won, and the one year they would probably have won was this year. Hopefully next year, i think the singer is hoping to come back and perform again next year, so fingers crossed they will do the business again. So unpredictable, but not meant to be, the eurovision that never was. We do not know what life will look light in a years time, will we be able to travel, what will social distancing look like . But why not just let these competitors appear next year instead . So the hard work doesnt go to waste. A lot of the performers will be performing next year, it is up to the National Broadcasters to decide who represents things, but you cannot really have the same songs competing again, because some might have had more airplay, it needs to be an even Playing Field really, so next year we will potentially have most of these singers coming back, the uk representative wanted to do it again, it is up to the bbc to decide, but hopefully most of them will be back and raring to go. I didnt realise eurovision is 64 years old now, it was a bit of a joke when i was growing up, a bit more niche, and people do follow it very closely. What are some songs that have stuck in your mind, for good and bad reasons . The thing about eurovision is the variety, the diversity, such a different contest every year, but there are classics, gina g, cliff richard, and even the song volare, that was an italian song that didnt actually win, and of course abba with waterloo, so there have been some great songs in eurovision. There have been dreadful ones, but that is the unique thing about it, there is nothing like it, and that is why it has continued for more than 60 years. Now its time for a look at the weather with ben rich. Good evening. Temperatures are set to climb over the next few days, a lot of dry weather as well, but there is a chance of rain the further north and west you are across the uk, and actually we will see some rain across parts of scotland and Northern Ireland through tonight, some rain across the far north, and also these outbreaks of rain pushing in from the west. I think as cloud amounts increase, parts of northern england, north wales, north midlands could just see the odd spot of drizzle. Further south and east, some clear breaks, one or two places in south east england could to 3 4 degrees. For the vast majority, it is frost free into tomorrow morning. And then for tomorrow, the further south you are, a lot of dry weather, some hazy sunshine, outbreaks of patchy rain across the northern half of the uk, will tend to ease for a time, but then wet weather likely return to Northern Ireland and western scotland later on. Temperatures here around 15 degrees, but further south and east, warmer than today, highs of 20, temperatures climbing in the south as we head towards the middle of the coming week, but there will be some rain at times across the north of the uk. Hello, this is bbc news with martine croxall. The headlines. The uk education secretary warns the longer englands schools are closed, the more children miss out, as the Government Presses forward with plans to re open them. The best way of protecting children,