Transcripts For BBCNEWS Breakfast 20200317

Welcome to breakfast with Louise Minchin and dan walker. Our headlines today dramatic changes to life in the uk as the government advises everyone to avoid non essential contact and travel in the battle against coronavirus. I cannot remember anything like it in my lifetime. I dont think there has been anything like it in peacetime and we must accept that it isa peacetime and we must accept that it is a considerable psychological and Behavioural Change that we are asking you and asking the public, the nation to do. But i have no doubt that we can do it. Anyone over the age of 70, pregnant women, and those with certain Underlying Health conditions are being urged to be especially careful. New measures to boost business through the Coronavirus Crisis. The chancellor is preparing a new injection of cash as some pubs, bars, restaurants say new measures could push them out of business. The grand national is off but what about the euros . Uefa is expected to make a decision on the European Championship at an emergency meeting later. Amid the turmoil, we bring you the examples of kindness and compassion as the difficult times bring out humanity at its best. Good morning. For england and wales today cloudy with some sunny breaks, scotla nd today cloudy with some sunny breaks, scotland and Northern Ireland have a bright start with a few showers and some heavy rain later. All the details in 15 minutes. Its tuesday the 17th of march. Our top story. Stay at home whenever possible. Thats the message from the Prime Minister borisjohnson as the government introduces strict new measures to combat coronavirus in the uk. Charlotte gallagher has the details. Everyones way of life in the uk is now having to change because of coronavirus. Things we take for granted like meeting friends, going out for a meal and the theatre, we are now being told to avoid. People being aware of the symptoms of the virus, a High Temperature, cough, and breathing difficulties is key. If you or anyone in your household has one of those symptoms, then you should stay at home for 14 days. That means that, if possible, you should not go out even to buy food or essentials other than for exercise and in that case, at a safe distance from others. This is now the advice. Avoid gatherings in crowded places. If you can, work from home. Stop unnecessary visits to friends and family and care homes. Only use the nhs when you need to. If possible, avoid leaving your home. If you go out to exercise, keep distance from others. People over the age of 70 and those with certain Health Conditions and pregnant women are being told that the advice is particularly important to them. Infections in pregnancy is not a good combination in general which is why we are taking this precautionary measure to find out whether we should be including pregnant women in this group. In retrospect we may find it was overkill but we would rather be cautionary rather than the other way. Londons west end deserted, major theatres closing their doors. The attempts to slow the spread of coronavirus is affecting notjust Peoples Health and social life but peoples incomes too many people are angry that borisjohnson told people to stay away from venues, while not forcing them to close, which could have given them financial protection. This Central London restaurant was opened last night but many people stayed away. We want to support the staff, small community, with 18 people working here, making a living out of the restaurant, so we want to be here for our staff and for the local community as much as we can. Panic buying is happening at shops across the country. These people in wales do not agree with it. Coming here and finding more bread, no eggs, no toilet paper and things like that, it does give me a lot of concern. A lot of people elderly people use this supermarket and if we are greedy and take from them i dont think that would be showing community spirit. For now, schools remain open but this could well change stopping the government says by next weekend, people with the most serious Health Conditions must be largely shielded from social contact for around 12 weeks. More guidance may well follow stopping drastic measures to tackle a growing threat here. More guidance may well follow. Drastic measures to tackle a growing threat here. Our Political Correspondent helen catt is in westminster. First if we could lets talk about the Hospitality Industry. There are so much concern about that. the Hospitality Industry. There are so much concern about that. I think the government will have to face pressure a nswer the government will have to face pressure answer questions about why it has chosen to advise people not to go to restaurants and theatres but has not taken the extra step of saying we are formally going to close them and Business Owners say that will give them more options in terms of playing against insurance oi terms of playing against insurance or compensation. What we do expect to hear is significant additional Financial Measures from the chancellor. Less than one week ago he set out a budget and announced multi Million Pound, multi Million Pound packages to help the economy through coronavirus. We are in a different world from last wednesday so we are expecting to hear significant additional measures from him today. He is expected to appear at the daily news briefing that downing street is now doing. Labour in particular calling for more health that may help for the self employed because it is notjust the Hospitality Industry being hit the Hospitality Industry being hit the lead but would like see more help for employed people and Jeremy Corbyn has criticised the government response in terms of critters communication. All the latest detailed government advice can be found at the gov. Uk website. Just follow the coronavirus link. You can also go to the nhs website and there is information on the bbc news website and app as well. Plenty of information your questions. Today we will be speaking to a doctor. If you are at home how you should you treat yourself obscenely things to talk about and stay with us all morning, we are here for you. How you should treat yourself. So many things to talk about. The European Union will close its external borders from 11 oclock today. The schenghen Free Movement zone will also be shut at the same time. The closures come as both france and germany ramp up their efforts to combat the spread of covid i9. Adam fleming is in brussels. Adam, do you know how long these closures will be in place . The first thing to say is that here in belgium we had a lot down imposed at midnight on friday where all bars and at midnight on friday where all bars a nd restau ra nts at midnight on friday where all bars and restaurants and cafe is closed and restaurants and cafe is closed and the only shops that were open on the weekend were supermarkets and pharmacies. We had a taste here of what will happen in the uk, although a more serious version here because the restrictions are stricter. It is really strange but normal life does curry on to an extent. Carry on to an extent. The big thing is the travel ban. A proposalfrom to an extent. The big thing is the travel ban. A proposal from the European Commission and the Civil Service of the eu it must still be approved for it goes into force and what it would do is stop non essential travel into the eu for people who are not eu citizens. There are big exceptions for example the uk because we are still in that post brexit transition period for britain so british people are still treated the same as eu citizens which means british people will still be able to go into the eu and the same for ireland because even though they are a member of the eu, they are not a member of the schengen borderless travel zone. Other exceptions include things like healthcare workers and people who are transporting goods and as i said it will last for 30 days when it is approved. The idea however is to encourage the eu members to lift restrictions a place on each other. But there is no guarantee that that will work. Great to hear from you this morning and thank you for that. The last flights to leave the uk for the us took off earlier this morning ahead of a travel ban on passengers from europe. President trump has urged his fellow americans to avoid groups of more than ten people, and to stay away from bars and restaurants. David willis is in los angeles. David, what else did donald trump have to say . He wants an end to home schooling, he wants old people to stay at home and an end to Leisure Travel to and an end to Leisure Travel to and to all schooling. But these are recommendations on the part of his administration, they are not the law andindeed administration, they are not the law and indeed there are many states and indeed individual cities here where they are taking tougher action than they are taking tougher action than the federal government is itself. Case in point, San Francisco which from tonight will be putting 7 million residents of that city and the surrounding area under lockdown. They will be denied the right to leave their own homes unless it is for essential tasks such as going to the dock or going to the grocery store. Those who disobey could face fines and the feeling is that while there is no plan at the moment for a nationwide lockdown here in the United States, President Trump feels there may be a need for tougher action in the weeks and months ahead. So we will have to wait and see what happens here following this experiment in San Francisco. Ten minutes past six. How are you feeling . I am fine, thank you. Ten minutes past six. How are you feeling . Iam fine, thank you. We have been talking so much about all sorts of things. So we have moved slightly away from each other, you may have noticed. We are both well and we are not in high risk groups. And we do still like each other as much as we did yesterday. But this is probably the new normal. Everyone needs to change slightly how they do things and this is how we will be doing things. I am slightly further away today than normal. We are all looking after each other this morning and i hope everyone at home is doing that as well. Great stories coming up in the newspaper about sport pulling together to help local communities but lets start with the business and because a big meeting will happen today, probably via videoconference. Uefa will discuss foot ball videoconference. Uefa will discuss football response to the outbreak. Its expected euro 2020 will be postponed for a year and we may find out how they plan to resolve the Champions League and Europa League competitions. Olympic games organisers will also be holding a teleconference today with International Sports federations. The main focus of the meeting is to discuss disruption to qualifying events for the games. Thats increased with the european boxing qualifying event in london now suspended. But two british boxers managed to secure their places for the tokyo games before it was cancelled. But there is some good news around, the scotland women player whod contracted coronavirus has now been released from hospital. Scottish rugby say the player is feeling back to normal and no longer needs to self isolate. Just a tiny bit of good news. We are trying our best to give you is much clear and Accurate Information as we can today. I know if you are watching this morning you may have loads of questions. You may have listen to what Prime Minister in the scientific advisors and the chief medical officer said yesterday. If you have questions we will try and thresh through as many as we can today. We have experts on this show and we will try and go through that health advice. I know people probably has specific questions only releva nt to probably has specific questions only relevant to yourself but there are broader questions that we will try and address today. And, also, carol is with us as well. How are you this morning . I am good. Good is with us as well. How are you this morning . Iam good. Good morning everyone. Today we have mixed fortune with the weather. To start with if you are in scotland and Northern Ireland you will get a bright start and a chilly start sunshine and showers but you will have rain later if you are in england and wales, cloudy with sunny breaks, mild but then it will be windy in parts of north west england and wales later as well. So a mixture of weather today. We also have a weather front sinking self that has been doing so overnight producing cloud, patchy rain as well and there it is on the charts and we can see quite nicely. That cloud dropping into far south east corner eventually. After some bright spells of sunshine and showers for scotland and Northern Ireland it wont be too long before we see the rain piling in across both Northern Ireland and scotla nd in across both Northern Ireland and scotland with some of that getting in across Northern England as well. Temperature ranging from six degrees to 14. It temperature ranging from six degrees to 1a. It will be windy later and across parts of west wales and also north west england. Through the evening and overnight that front producing this rain continues to sink south and in doing so it will wea ken sink south and in doing so it will weaken so the rain comes patchy. A few clear spells ahead to where you have a clear spell it will be cooler and then behind it, again, clear spells and some showers, wintry on the tops of the hills in the mountains. Look at the difference in temperature. Cold enough for some frost in sheltered glens in scotland but nines and tens, not a bad maximum daytime temperature at this time of year. Tomorrow we start with a band of rain, not particularly heavy and all this cloud around it. Thats across southern parts of england and wales as we move further north we are back into sunshine and showers with those showers still wintry on the hills and mountains in scotland. Here it will be windy from the central belt northwards. The temperatures, well, call on the north and are looking at 7 10 as we push further south. Mild and we could see 16 with any lengthy breaks in the cloud. As we had three thursday we still have the weather front that have been with us and we will continue to do so and it looks like it will pivot and move north once again. Hardly an isobar in the chart on thursday although the wind will pick up the English Channel later on. Quite a bit of cloud and the chance of spots of rain across parts of wales and the south west, moving across scotland and Northern Ireland, lengthy spells of sunshine. Temperatures to about 9 degrees. On friday, the weather front is still with us producing some rain in the Channel Islands, sweeping into the south western southern coastal counties. Windy as well in the English Channel, noticeably so and it isa English Channel, noticeably so and it is a cold north north easterly coming down the north east so wherever you are it will feel cold. Low temperatures but there will be windchill on friday as well. Thank you, carol. See you in 30 minutes. Time now for a look at todays front pages, which are of course, dominated by one story. Britain shuts up shop thats the headline on the front of the daily mail, which says the uk is now facing the biggest shutdown of normal life since world war ii. And we are trying to make sure we are not overcrowding the sofa, like sally was saying. The daily mirror calls for people to stay safe, while also warning that the measures announced by the Prime Minister yesterday could be in place throughout the summer. Time to get anti social, says the metro. The paper reports that owners of pubs, clubs and other social venues fear they wont be able to claim for lost business on insurance after the government called for people to avoid them, but stopped short of closing them down officially. And the stage reports on the immediate closure of all plays and musicals, as theatres go dark to adhere to the latest coronavirus guidance. So many changes across so many parts of our lives. We will look at the inside pages as well. Looking at the impact on the Hospitality Industry, Kate Nicholls has said this will be catastrophic for the industry. She has described this as a handbrake turn rather than a slow motion car crash, and she said last night they have already been job losses in the Hospitality Industry. And just look at those pictures, Trafalgar Square almost emptyjust before the announcement yesterday. Edinburgh airport check in completely empty and a worker putting on a brave face, wearing that mask. Inside the guardian, thisjust face, wearing that mask. Inside the guardian, this just shows that every element of life is being affected at the moment. Labour are asking the government to think about low income earners who are renting, who could be evicted from their property. They wa nt extra be evicted from their property. They want extra protection to protect people in those categories. I know jane is looking at this, but this is in the express this morning, a £5,000 care package for a shop owner who has decided in edinburgh to give older customers care packages, packing in paracetamol, toilet paper and hand wash. He says everyone is being selfish, thinking of themselves, but now is the time to stick together. We are seeing loads of exa m ples stick together. We are seeing loads of examples of the very best of human nature at the moment. And we are talking about that on breakfast as well, the kindness amid the coronavirus. Fans are saying farewell to racing yesterday. That was a real moment, yesterday, when they decided the grand national would not be happening. There was a romantic notion that somehow the peoples race would continue, they would find a way even without spectators to put that on, but they cant, can they . They need ambulances, they need staff, it is simply not feasible. We will be talking about that throughout the morning. And ijust want to share this with you, this is in the mirror. Stevenage borough struggling eight points from safety but chairman phil wallace is basically mobilising the club to help elderly in their community. He says we have kitchens we are not using, we have Young Players that cant play football, and we have an army of youngsters that if asked and organised properly are going to help distribute meals and obtain supplies. He is basically going to mobilise that club to help the elderly in his local community. I think that is a brilliant thing to say. It is lovely, isnt it . Nina has already shown you one of the inside, i know so many of you will be staying at home today, obviously, because we have been asked to work from home if we can. This is from the mirror. Hardly any cars in park and ride at all, the tube virtually deserted, and we will be speaking to the mayor of london later about what is going on. Waterloo station at 910 a. M. , and you can see from the clock hardly anybody there at all. Leads deserted and manchester as well. It is a com pletely and manchester as well. It is a completely different scene out there to what we are used to. And talking about shopping, nina often looks at the sort of average shopping basket to see what is in and what is out as a pointer towards our changing habits and calculating inflation. Out our individualfruit habits and calculating inflation. Out our individual fruit pies, we are buying fewer frozen chicken breasts and frozen imported leg of lamb. In, gin and tonic. Cleaning products, presumably. This is before, obviously, toilet rolls came into the equation. Gluten free brea kfast into the equation. Gluten free breakfast cereals, and in times of trouble, crumpets. Goodness me. We all need a good trumpet. The uk is facing a challenge unlike anything it has ever seen during peacetime, and it will require a considerable change in the way we think and behave. That was the warning from the Prime Minister, borisjohnson, as he announced a new set of measures yesterday to tackle the spread of coronavirus. Here is a reminder of what he said. Last week we asked everyone to stay at home if you have one of two symptoms, High Temperature or a new and continuous cough. Today, we need to go further, because according to sage, the Scientific Advisory committee on emergencies, it looks as though were now approaching the fast growth part of the upward curve, and without drastic action, cases could double every five or six days. So first, we need to ask you to ensure that, if you or anyone in your household has one of those two symptoms, then you should stay at home for 1h days. That means that, if possible, you should not go out even to buy food or essentials, other than for exercise, and in that case, at a safe distance from others. If necessary, you should ask for help from others for your daily necessities, and if that is not possible, then you should do what you can to limit your social contact when you leave the house to get supplies. And even if you dont have symptoms, and if no one in your household has symptoms, there is more that we need you to do now. So, second, now is the time for everyone to stop non essential contact with others and to stop all unnecessary travel. We need people to start working from home where they possibly can, and you should avoid pubs, clubs, theatres and other such social venues. It goes without saying, repeat the message, we should all only use the nhs when we really need to, and please go online rather than ringing nhs 111. Now, this advice about avoiding all unnecessary social contact is particularly important for people over 70, for pregnant women, and for those with Health Conditions with some Health Conditions. And if you ask, well, why are we doing this now . Why now, why not earlier or later . Why bring in this very draconian measure . The answer is that we are asking people to do something that is difficult and disruptive of their lives. And the right moment, as weve always said, is to do it when it is most effective, when we think it can make the biggest difference to slowing the spread of the disease, reducing the number of victims, reducing the number of fatalities. Iimagine so i imagine so many people tuned in to watch that yesterday, and gasped as we we re watch that yesterday, and gasped as we were hearing really big changes being made. So many questions to be asked and answered, really. The impact on the Hospitality Industry has been felt straight away, with people already losing theirjobs. Nina has got more on this. The good news that we learned late last night was the chancellor announced there would be significant additionalfinancial announced there would be significant additional Financial Measures to support the economy. We dont know what they are going to be, we dont know what area they are going to be focused on. We will expect to find out later today. Rishi sunak willjoin the Daily Press Briefings and make an announcement later today. Dont forget its less than a week since the budget, and within that, there was a £30 billion package to help the nhs and businesses cope with coronavirus. Now, the Airline Industry will be hoping for some support. Today, of course, the travel ban to the us kicks in. Virgin has had to cut by up to 85 . Ba say it is the worst crisis in aviation history. Ryanair say they cant rule out grounding their fleet entirely. And it is notjust planes, it is the supply chains involved in that, there are 500,000 jobs to do with airlines in the uk. So it is massive. They will be wanting some of that handout today. And we are already getting e mails, this is from one hotel, bar and restaurant owner, saying i am cutting 15jobs today and giving notice because he says the Prime Minister is dragging his feet. From the 23rd all bars and restau ra nts his feet. From the 23rd all bars and restaurants will be shut. 2000 cancellations in the last week. That was one of the things that immediately came out, the Prime Minister saying were being told to stay away from pubs, hotels and restau ra nts. Stay away from pubs, hotels and restaurants. Lots of people work those places. The Hospitality Industry is the Third Largest private sector employer in the uk. It keeps around 3 Million People in work. So many of these organisations work on the thinnest margins. So many of their staff are on zero hours contracts. Kate nicholls, the chief executive of hospitality uk, the industry body that represents restaurants and bars, said the first redundancies are already happening. It is simply a case that the businesses cannot afford, with no money coming in, to keep staff going. Some restauranteurs saying optional closures has an impact on their insutrance. Insurance. The other thing everyone is thinking about is about shopping, isnt it . |j just want to quickly say every industry is affected. Yesterday, vauxhall owner groupe psa is shutting european car plants, including two in the uk, due to coronavirus fears. That affects 2500 employees in the uk. We have had a couple of people on twitter this morning saying what about going to supermarkets . If we are not encouraged to be meeting up, what is the point if supermarkets are open . But they are remaining open although if you are in one of those categories, over 70 or not feeling very well, then do stay away. The government has reiterate there is no need to stockpile at the moment. They are in regular discussions with retailers. And we have to be really considerate when we are shopping. And important to look after the vulnerable in society. I know lots of people, this is something were looking at this morning, out those people who arent able to get out to the shops, those with Underlying Health issues. Lots of questions this morning and lots of questions this morning and lots of things that we will try and ask on your behalf and make sure we try and get to the bottom of. As per usual, anything you would like to know or anything you think i havent got clarity on, e mail us and you can also find us on social media as well. Thank you for those already being in touch this morning. We know lots of you will be at home and maybe watching us for the first time. Welcome. Time now to get the news, travel and weather where you are. Good morning from bbc london. Im tarah welsh. The mayor has told bbc london that Tube Services are likely to run to a saturday timetable due to the coronavirus. Transport for london said it had seen big reduction in people using Services Compared to the same period last year. Buses and stations like euston and waterloo have also seen a drop in passengers. While most schools are open in london, a small number have taken the decision to close. The Lycee International Winston Churchill school will be teaching Children Online only. Thats despite no cases reported of the virus at the school. Uk government advice remains that in most cases closures arent necessary. We felt it was a good idea, and a safe option for us, as an international school, at this point in time. If we are doing all the stuff that we would usually do, so not much is changing. Just the physical place of where we are. Not much is changing. Just the physical place of where we arem might be fun the first few days of the first week or so, but then you might geta the first week or so, but then you might get a little bit lonely. Meanwhile, londoners are being advised not to go out for st patricks day this evening, beacause as youve been hearing, the government is now advising people to avoid pubs and unecessary social contact. Most theatres have now also shut their doors. Lets take a look at the travel situation now. There are severe delays on the piccadilly line and severe delays on the overground between gospel oak and barking. Onto the roads, police have closed the aao coming into town from ickenham to hillingdon circus. And in town, London Bridge is only open to buses, taxis, motorcycles and bikes until october for upgrade works. Now the weather, with kate. Good morning. Theres a bit more cloud around compared to yesterday. But still one or two sunny spells first thing this morning, especially the further south and east you are. And today, it is feeling very mild. Now, that brightness i was talking about, the sunshine, its not going to last for too long, the cloud taking over. One or two breaks, though, expected as we had through the afternoon, so you might see a bit of sunshine before the sun sets. The wind a bit stronger today as well, that south westerly wind, and temperatures reaching 1a celsius. Now, if you get enough of those sunny spells, the temperature could actually get up a little higher stop now, overnight tonight again it remains largely cloudy. One or two brea ks remains largely cloudy. One or two breaks leading to some clearer spells. It should, however, remain dry. Still quite easy overnight as well, and the temperature very mild. The minimum between seven and nine celsius. So again, rather cloudy starter wednesday. Not much of the way of sunshine around tomorrow, but it stays mild f10 celsius. Then for thursday, you have a temperature drop back down into single figures. Before we go, a reminder that you can get the facts about coronavirus, the symptoms to look out for and the latest information on the bbc news website and the bbc news app, which is constantly being updated. Im back with the latest from the bbc london newsroom in half an hour. Plenty more on our website at the usual address. Bye for now. Hello, this is breakfast with dan walker and Louise Minchin. Well bring you all the latest news and sport in a moment, but also on breakfast this morning. Covid 19 has brought out the worst in some people but the very best in others. From food parcel fairies to spirit lifting singers, well be hailing our coronavirus heroes. Our schools are open, for now. But what is being done to protect staff and pupils . Well bejoined by a panel of educational experts at ten past seven. And with the government advising us to stay away from pubs and clubs, how will the Hospitality Industry survive . Well hearfrom one pub chain boss. You would have noticed that normally we sit closer together essential contact we sit closer together essential co nta ct at we sit closer together essential contact at first style. It is the new normal. Im sure it looks strange if you havejust new normal. Im sure it looks strange if you have just tuned new normal. Im sure it looks strange if you havejust tuned in. And we are still a family we just reducing that non essential contact. I suppose this is what social distancing looks like breakfast style. And we are both well nor in at risk groups. We are just looking after each other the way we all must. Lets get you up to date on the latest news. The government is urging people to work from home as possible and to avoid non essential travel and socialising in public spaces. Over 70s, pregnant women and those with Underlying Health conditions have been asked to isolate themselves. Lets take a closer look at the new advice. For the majority of the population thats people under the age of 70 who dont have any Underlying Health conditions the advice is to limit social interaction by avoiding crowded places like pubs, restaurants and cinemas. And to work from home wherever possible. Pregnant women, anyone over the age of 70 and those with Underlying Health conditions have been strongly advised against social mixing. That includes home visits from friends and family. People with serious Underlying Health conditions like those undergoing chemotherapy, are being asked to stay at home for 12 weeks and will be given guidance by their gp. Dr Punam Krishan is a gp and shes also eight months pregnant. She joins us from her home in glagow. How are you doing . I am doing ok. Considering the circumstances. You heard that government advice yesterday. Are you clear on what it means for you . I come at this with two hats. From a professional, as a gp, iam pleased two hats. From a professional, as a gp, i am pleased that they have now identified pregnant women as being at risk but i do want to question why it has taken so long, considering pregnant women have a lwa ys considering pregnant women have always been considered to be higher risk of getting an infection which is why we have flu vaccinations. What were you doing before the government advice . What were you doing before the government advice . |j what were you doing before the government advice . I was going about my business as usual, taking measures. We started practising social distancing last week due to what has been happening at the gp we we re what has been happening at the gp we were running out of protective gear soi were running out of protective gear so i ended up taking my Maternity Leave earlier than i had anticipated which has been frustrating but at the same time you need to look after myself as well. And your baby is due shortly, isnt it . Two weeks. An exciting time for you. Tell us that other pregnant women as well. Is it clear at this point, from right at the start of pregnancy do you think we should be self isolating or distancing yourself . The advice at the moment is for all pregnant women to basically start practising social distancing and non essential social contact. I think that, really, distancing and non essential social contact. Ithink that, really, the pregnant group are vulnerable category and as a woman at the moment he was about to give birth i dont quite understand what the logistic possibility is. Pregnant women across the globe have other children so at the moment while i get the logic behind this, way schools i like close, we are passionate to continue our work but at the same time how do i socially distance myself while i have to drop my son off at school, my elderly parents are no longer a support system, it is really scary. I can hear that in your voice as well because it is quite a stressful time anyway, isnt it and quite a stressful time anyway, isnt itand a quite a stressful time anyway, isnt it and a worrying time. Absolutely. There is a lot of Different Things to consider when you are pregnant and at the moment information is changing constantly. We do not have enough data to show what the true risks to pregnant women are. It is a new virus. So at the moment all we can try and do is try to remain as calm as possible while basically taking advice from the experts. There is nothing more we can do. And as frontline staff it is really difficult because no doctor in the country, this is our calling, this is what we do, we lived to help people. At the same time there is not a lot of support being given to people on the front line. My husband, a gp, he only received masks yesterday in his prep is. They arrived to show that they were actually expired, they were not in date and against manufacturer policy to be useful. At the moment it is ok for my husband to be social isolation. He is terrified of bringing the virus back to me and our unborn child we also have a six year old with whom i am in contact with the Wider Community at school, so a huge amount of society, we just school, so a huge amount of society, wejust dont school, so a huge amount of society, we just dont know what is going on. You bring up so many important points and the other is that as a pregnant woman you need to see doctors, midwives, on a regular basis as well. Absolutely. And many of my friends and colleagues who are working in pregnant i having a huge amount of anxiety and although i went off early i have been trying my best to keep everyone updated with information on my own instagram because we are trying our best to help alleviate anxiety in the midst of confusing advice that changes daily andi of confusing advice that changes daily and i totally feel personally for all women out there who are pregnant at this moment in time, for those with children, because not all children are fit and well they have other complex medical issues as well. So where does that leave us . We turn up to work, we do ourjob, we look after our patients but as soon as we close the door we go home and we worry about the same thing. We are all children, parents, siblings, mothers to be. Where does that lead everyone . So the more transparency we can get, the more access to data we can get, now that has been called, provisions have to be made and consideration for pregnant women, how can we socially distance ourselves from our children, especially when we have to ta ke children, especially when we have to take them to school . children, especially when we have to take them to school . I do feel for you and everybody else who is in your position as well and i understand your worry but we will try and get some of those answers to some of those questions during the programme today. Good luck. Thank you very much forjoining us. Simply questions there this morning. One of our most important guests we will have this morning is coming up just after 730. The deputy chief medical officer. A lot of questions of the back of not only that interview but what we have from the Prime Minister at the press conference which will now be a daily occurrence. Things about pregnant women. Some of those points picked up women. Some of those points picked up there, many people asking about asthma as well. There are 11. 3 million adults in the uk who have asthma full should those should those people be self isolating as well . Also about vulnerable adults and those over the age of 70, we will try to get some clarification and, again, if you have a specific question send it through. Jonathan van tan will be here after 730 and we will spend as long in that interview as we need to to try and some clear guidance and advice as to what we heard yesterday and what i know many of you are thinking about how we react and how we go about our daily life stop stay with us. It is 20 minutes to seven. Its exactly a week since stringent measures were put in place across italy to tackle the spread of coronavirus. More than 2000 people there have now died thats more than any other country after china. Sima kotecha is in rome with the latest. Sima, its been a very difficult week for italy. Around 6pm every day it feels as if this country stands still because thatis this country stands still because that is when the government announces the daily coronavirus death figures. As you say, more than 2000 people have now died across italy from this infection and almost 28,000 people have been infected. As you say, the stringent measures have beenin you say, the stringent measures have been in place for a week now and it is still not clear whether they are working. We spent the day in rome yesterday asking people how they are finding adapting to them. clapping a display of resilience and solidarity. Locals in rome feeling optimistic about what lies ahead as the country tackles the worst Health Crisis in a generation. How do you feel the government is doing . Sorry . The Prime Minister, do you agree with what is happening . Yes, i do. Why . Because its the right thing to do, i think. Ive never seen rome in this situation. Popular streets, empty. No tourists, nothing open. Orlando is a taxi driver. He tells us the soul has been ripped out of italy. Im not busy because there are no people. Only to the hospital, some tourists, but very, very dull. The country has enforced rules preventing people from moving around. Stay indoors, especially if youre older, theyre told. But some are choosing to rebel. We try not to meet people, not the family, not friends, nothing. Np, because we think we have to walk a little bit. And the advice for people who are older is to stay indoors . Yes, yes we know. You are not staying indoors . Np, because we think we have to walk a little bit. Every two days we take a walk. The contrast is stark. We are in the centre of rome and usually these steps are packed with tourists. Men are selling roses but today. This. Bell tolls completely deserted. A week on from when the measures were first announced, and churches are providing a place of solace for worshippers. The pope recently said he wanted clergymen to give those infected comfort. Its a place to have contact with some to get socialisation not to be alone, not to stay alone in a place in a room. The government has put 25 billion euros into the economy to give it a cash boost, as many businesses remain closed. But everyone has to eat. And on some corners in rome, takeaway places remain open. Translation its a special emergency situation. Everyone has a responsibility to do our bit. You mustnt approach each other, everyone must stand at least a metre apart. The world is watching italy closely to see whether what its doing succeeds in killing this virus. The oldest person to have died from coronavirus here in italy has been a 95 year old, the youngest a 38 year old. Most of those people have been men, 70 of them, and most of those fatalities have happened in the north of the country where hospitals are incredibly stretched. They are running out of intensive ca re they are running out of intensive care beds and running out of things like facemasks and ventilators. An incredibly desperate situation in the north and there is concern that that outbreak could move to the south where thousands of people have been travelling to in recent weeks. Wait to get that update from italy which has been at the centre of so much of the concentration and focus for the last few weeks and outside of china and has the highest death rate. That is why we have been spending time looking at what is happening there. We are still looking at what is less and less sport, and another one gone. A really big changing picture, and there are so many awful things going on at the moment, you might think doesnt really matter that things are being cancelled . But the news heard late last night at the grand national is off is quite significant. It is the peoples race, the one race that a lot of people stop and watch, even if you are not people stop and watch, even if you a re not interested people stop and watch, even if you are not interested in horseracing. But they took the decision last night that it simply cannot go ahead. The grand national has been cancelled. The festival of racing at aintree, near liverpool, was due to get under way on 2 april. It attracts a worldwide audience of around 500 Million People and bookmakers say around £150 million is bet on the race. But the racing industry is still trying to continue. Kelso in scotland held races behind closed doors yesterday. The British Horseracing Authority said it plans for scheduled meetings to go ahead, but some may be cancelled. Meetings at taunton and Wetherby Today will be the first in england affected by the behind closed doors announcement. So going ahead but without spectators. Were likely to find out later what might happen with this years european football tournaments. Uefa will be holding a Video Conference with representatives of its 55 associations, leagues and players unions to discuss footballs response to the coronavirus outbreak. It is expected that euro 2020 will be postponed for a year and we may find out how they plan to resolve the Champions League and Europa League competitions. Olympic games organisers will also be holding a teleconference today with International Sports federations. The main focus of the meeting is to discuss disruption to qualifying events for the games. Not yet talking about postponement and cancelling but the postponement and cancelling but the postponement and cancelling but the postponement and cancelling of events leading up to the games. That has increased, with the european boxing qualifying event in london now suspended. It had been held behind closed doors since sunday and was due to run until 2a march. Two british boxers have managed to secure their places at the Tokyo Olympics if they happen. As you already know, all of the countys football has been cancelled for the foreseeable future. So how are footballers staying sharp during self isolation . I bring you the stay at home top bins challenge. Here is derby countys martin waghorn, stuck at home with no football doing his challenge. Absolutely brilliant. He has nominated several other footballers to have a go. I saw a player from wolves doing that, and he against his own house and it landed back in a wheelie bin. They are very skilful. Lets think of ways to keep ourselves amused. Here is carol with a look at this mornings weather. And look at that beautiful beach. Isnt it gorgeous . Good morning, everybody. The weather today is really mixed, so if you are in scotla nd really mixed, so if you are in scotland and Northern Ireland, after a relatively bright start with a few showers, you are going to see some rain later on. If you are in england and wales there is quite a bit of cloud around. There will be some sunny breaks, but the wind is going to strengthen in the west later on. So really mixed. The reason we got all the cloud and england and wales is because of that weather front which has been thinking southwards through the course of the night, weakening all the time, so the rain and it is more patchy in nature. But as we move further north, a nice bright start with just a few showers, before the rain comes in, and some of this rain will be heavy and some of this rain will be heavy and persistent across Northern Ireland and scotland, and some of that also just getting into the far north of england. Temperature wise, six to about 1k north of england. Temperature wise, six to about 1a or 15 degrees. Now, as we head onto the evening and overnight, looking at that rain sinking steadily southwards. Again, asa sinking steadily southwards. Again, as a weakening feature, there will beafair as a weakening feature, there will be a fair bit of cloud ahead of it. But some clear spells. Some clearer spells behind, with one or two showers, some of which will be wintry on the hills in the mountains, and cold enough in some sheltered glens for a touch of frost. But look at the temperatures further south. Nine or ten, they wouldnt be bad as maximum day temperatures at this time of year. So as we head on through the course of tomorrow, there goes that front. Again, still some rain on it, but the rain fairly patchy in nature. Behind it, some brighter skies, sunshine and also some showers. Some of those still wintry in the hills and mountains of scotland and from the central belt northwards it is going to be pretty windy. Temperatures in the north, seven to about eight degrees. As we come further south we are looking at double figures. And for any spells of sunshine further south, we could well see 16 degrees, which is 61 fahrenheit in old muggy. Very warm for this time of year. On thursday we still have this pesky front which has been with us or week and is likely to remain with us. Here it is resting on the south, just tipping a little bit further north through the course of the day. Parts of South West England and also wales could well see some rain. Quite a lot of cloud in southern counties, showers across the Channel Islands on thursday, and the temperature is much lower than we are looking at in the next couple of days, nine and ten. Further north, it is going to be drier, but they will still be some showers, and some of those will be wintry in the hills and mountains, but equally there will be some sunshine. Now, during friday it is going to be windy, especially through the English Channel, and it is going to be a cold day anyway. And there will be a significant windchill. There is also going to be some rain here. Moving away from here, were looking at drier conditions, some sunny spies, a few showers, but despite what you can see, 7 9, it will feel rather nippy. Thank you very much, and thank you for keeping us company as ever sunny skies. The final flights left the uk for the us this morning ahead of Donald Trumps travel ban on passengers from europe, but measures to tackle the coronavirus mean returning passengers will arrive in a country which feels very different from the one they left. Lets speak to julia manchester, a reporter at the us politics website the hill. She is in washington. Thank you very much for coming on bbc breakfast. First of all, can bbc breakfast. First of all, thank you very much for coming on bbc breakfast. First of all, can i get your reaction, and how do you think Donald Trumps latest measures have gone down in the us . M think Donald Trumps latest measures have gone down in the us . It is interesting, we have seen a bit of an revolution of President Trumps reaction to all of this. Earlier this week, on sunday, he essentially said americans should relax. Were going to get through this. He was having a very laid back approach to this. However, number of his medical officials on his Coronavirus Task force, namely doctor anthony fauci, who has been very much a public face of the response here in the United States of the coronavirus, was saying we need to overreact in order to flatten this curve. Yesterday we saw President Trump give a press conference around 3pm and said this is going to be very bad, we could potentially see this stretch out too as long as august. You are seeing the administration start to say that they are not recommending more than ten people get together at a time. They are saying people should stay away from discretionary travel, stay indoors or avoid going to non essential meetings and such in the near future. So non essential meetings and such in the nearfuture. So you have seen non essential meetings and such in the near future. So you have seen a major tone shift from President Trump, that is now starting to match those on his task force. Yes, a big change in tone, the president saying measures need to be in place for 15 days. Any of our viewers who watch the 10pm news in the uk last night will have seen a special report from the us, where there were people queueing to buy guns, as well. Explain that thinking to us. Right, so here in the us, i would say the thinking with guns, at least with a portion or a segment of the population, is there is always a fear that the government could take my guns. Take an americans guns, thatis my guns. Take an americans guns, that is always a fear of some segment of the population. So whenever there is greater Government Intervention or some kind of instability in the government, and right now there is a lot of questions, you are seeing a National Emergency declared, so that is a form of Government Intervention, you are going to naturally see americans in certain parts of the country or americans who own guns go to purchase more guns, and you are going to see the gun industry in this country very much take control of this. However, i would say it is potentially not all attributed to the coronavirus. This could be the case of the fact that it is a president ial year, and the fact that we could see a new leader, a new leader who is not as friendly to guns, leader who is not as friendly to u. Leader who is not as friendly to guns, in the name of Bernie Sanders orjoe biden, in the nearfuture. So in the media, it is probably because of the coronavirus. However, in the long term, we have seen an uptick of gun sales here in this country, because it is a president ial year as well. I am sure we will speak to you again soon, julia. Thank you for that update from america. From panic buying to job cuts, ruined holidays and cancelled sporting events, the coronavirus has brought a flood of bad news stories, but we have also seen some great examples of humanity at its best. Jayne mccubbin has been seeking out some of the best moments of kindness, compassion and good humour during these difficult days. Da ryls face daryls face is the first week can attach to the west of the crisis here in the uk. He was a gracious gentleman, gifted with a beautiful voice, whether he was reading or singing. A dad or granddad, he was 88 when he died. This family is not for flowers at his funeral, but for random act of kindness. In the midst of the fear, the panic buying, the a cts of the fear, the panic buying, the acts of selfishness. Take it away. It is kindness which is starting to shine through. You can see it in romain, a musician who is organising free concerts at side the homes of anyone in isolation in london. Once we know who those people are and where they live, we can offer them many concerts. Those peoplejust have to open the doors in their windows and maybe that back garden, to uplift them, and to give them some emotional support that they need. You can see it in and his mum, paula. I love that hashtag. As well as spreading the love and spreading the hashtag, you are raising money. Is that right . We are raising money for the intensive care unit in the hospital. How is it going, mum . It is amazing. The news out there is it is serious. I think we all know it is serious. I think we all know it is serious. I think we all know it is serious, and i think we all need to do something positive. I think the talk of, you know, were going to loved ones, we need to change that. We need to say we are going to save loved ones. You can see that kindness in the football clu bs. See that kindness in the football clubs. Hello, stevenage. Off the pitch right now, but still at the heart of their communities. To facilitate the deliveries of food to those that need it, and also running an errand service, so whether you need dog walking or a prescription collected, our staff are going to try and get out the best they can. That is brilliant. Keep up the good work, stevenage. I am the music and events director for studio 338, londons biggest nightclub. And you can see it in dan, whose club will be empty, but he is turning it into a food bank and Delivery Service for the most vulnerable in his community. We have had loads of volunteers, which is fantastic, but we need more. This is a time of fear and uncertainty, but kindness too. Bravo. Wed love to hear from you on this. Please get in touch if youre involved with a project to help people through this worrying time, or perhaps you have seen a random act of kindness. Do let us know on e mail or social media. And looking ahead in the next 15 minutes, were particular talking about schools, universities, speaking to teachers and head teachers, coming up shortly. And the deputy chief medical officer is going to be here at 7 30am as well. A patch programme, but thank you for being with us this morning. Time now to get the news, travel and weather where you are. Good morning from bbc london, im tarah welsh. The mayor has told bbc london that Tube Services are likely to run to a saturday timetable due to the coronavirus. Transport for london said it had seen big reduction in people using Services Compared to the same period last year. Buses and stations like euston and waterloo have also seen a drop in passengers. While most schools are open in london, a small number have taken the decision to close. The Lycee International Winston Churchill school will be teaching Children Online only. That is despite no cases reported of the virus at the school. Uk government advice remains that in most cases closures arent necessary. We felt it was a good idea and a safe option for us, as an international school, at this point in time. Were doing all the stuff that we would usually do, so not much is changing, just the physical place of where we are. It might be fun the first few days, or the first week or so, but then you might get a little bit lonely. Meanwhile, londoners are being advised not to go out for st patricks day this evening, beacause as youve been hearing, the government is now advising people to avoid pubs and unecessary social contact. Most theatres have now also shut their doors. Lets take a look at the travel situation now. There are severe delays on the piccadilly line and severe delays on the overground between gospel oak and barking. Onto the roads, police have closed the aao coming into town from ickenham to hillingdon circus. And in town, London Bridge is only open to buses, taxis, motorcycles and bikes until october, for upgrade works. Now the weather, with kate. Good morning. Theres a bit more cloud around compared to yesterday, but still one or two sunny spells first thing this morning, especially the further south and east you are. And today, it is feeling very mild. Now, that brightness i was talking about, the sunshine, its not going to last for too long, the cloud taking over. One or two breaks, though, expected as we head through the afternoon, so you might see a bit of sunshine before the sun sets. The wind a bit stronger today, as well, that south westerly wind, and temperatures reaching 1a celsius. Now, if you get enough of those sunny spells, the temperature could actually get up a little higher. Now, overnight tonight, again it remains largely cloudy. One or two breaks leading to some clearer spells. It should, however, remain dry. Still quite breezy overnight, as well, and the temperature very mild, the minimum between seven and nine celsius. So again, a rather cloudy start to wednesday. Not much of the way of sunshine around tomorrow, but it stays mild, at 15 celsius. Then, for thursday, we have a temperature drop, back down into single figures. Before we go, a reminder that you can get the facts about coronavirus, the symptoms to look out for and the latest information on the bbc news website and the bbc news app, which is constantly being updated. Im back with the latest from the bbc london newsroom in half an hour. Plenty more on our website at the usual address. Now, though, its back to louise and dan. Bye for now. Good morning. Welcome to breakfast with Louise Minchin and dan walker. Our headlines today dramatic changes to life in the uk as the government advises everyone to avoid non essential contact, in the battle against coronavirus. I cannot remember anything like it in my lifetime. I dont think there has been anything like it in peacetime and we must accept that it is a considerable psychological and Behavioural Change that we are asking you and asking the public, the nation to do. But i have no doubt that we can do it. Anyone over the age of 70, pregnant women, and those with certain Underlying Health conditions are being urged to be especially careful. How will the chancellor boost business through the Coronavirus Crisis. As some pubs, bars, restaurants say new measures could finish them off the government says therell be a fresh injection of cash later today. The grand national is off but what about the euros . Uefa is expected to make a decision on the European Championship at an emergency meeting later. Good morning. Across england and wales today it is cloudy with a few sunny breaks with the wind picking up sunny breaks with the wind picking up on the west later. Scotland and Northern Ireland are dry and bright with showers that will be replaced by some heavy rain. More in ten minutes. Its tuesday the 17th of march. Our top story. Stay at home whenever possible and particularly if you are elderly, pregnant or ill. Thats the message from the Prime Minister, borisjohnson, as the government introduces strict new measures to combat coronavirus in the uk. Charlotte gallagher reports. Everyones way of life in the uk is now having to change because of coronavirus. Things we take for granted like meeting friends, going out for a meal and the theatre, we are now being told to avoid. People being aware of the symptoms of the virus, a High Temperature, cough, and breathing difficulties is key. If you or anyone in your household has one of those symptoms, then you should stay at home for 1h days. That means that, if possible, you should not go out even to buy food or essentials other than for exercise and in that case, at a safe distance from others. This is now the advice. Avoid gatherings in crowded places. If you can, work from home. Stop unnecessary visits to friends and family and care homes. Only use the nhs when you need to. If possible, avoid leaving your home. If you go out to exercise, keep distance from others. People over the age of 70 and those with certain Health Conditions and pregnant women are being told that the advice is particularly important to them. Infections and pregnancy is not a good combination in general which is why we are taking this precautionary measure to find out out more, we should be including pregnant women in this group. In retrospect we may find it was overkill but we would rather be cautionary rather than the other way. Londons west end deserted, major theatres closing their doors. The attempts to slow the spread of coronavirus is affecting notjust Peoples Health and social life but peoples incomes too. Many people are angry that borisjohnson told people to stay away from venues, while not forcing them to close, which could have given them financial protection. This Central London restaurant was opened last night but many people stayed away. We want to support the staff, small community, with 18 people working here, making a living out of the restaurant, so we want to be here for our staff and for the local community as much as we can. Panic buying is happening at shops across the country. These people in wales do not agree with it. Coming here and finding more bread, no eggs, no toilet paper and things like that, it does give me a lot of concern. Coming here and finding no bread, no eggs, no toilet paper and things like that, it does give me a lot of concern. A lot of people elderly people use this supermarket and if we are greedy and take from them i dont think that would be showing community spirit. For now, schools remain open but this could well change. The government says by next weekend, people with the most serious Health Conditions must be largely shielded from social contact for around 12 weeks. More guidance may well follow. Drastic measures to tackle a growing threat here. Charlotte gallagher, bbc news. More Financial Measures to help the economy will be announced by the chancellor later. Our Political Correspondent helen catt is in westminster. Good morning. The next Daily Press Conference will have the chancellor, is that part of the plan . Yes, he will appear alongside the Prime Minister later and set out what these are additional significant Financial Measures are. I think he will face questions as you heard about the decision to tell people do not go out to pubs, do not go out to clu bs not go out to pubs, do not go out to clubs and theatres but not for the government to take that extra step and formally close them which Business Owners would say give them access to financial protection. We dont know what those Financial Measures are yet, in the budget last week the chancellor set out 7 billion a pound £7 billion package for business and workers that included things like a loan scheme allowing banks tos loan to small business, schemes to scrap Business Rates for hospitality business. It does feel like this week is a different world so we expected to go a lot further with help for airlines, we expect, that have been hit by the double whammy of falling demand and travel bans. The labour leader met borisjohnson last night and said he wants to see more support for self employed people. The governmental advice at the moment is that they will make it easierfor them to access the moment is that they will make it easier for them to access benefit. And we will stay across all those developments through the day on the bbc. We are here until quarter past nine. And we will be able to hear rishi sunak and the Prime Minister give the next Daily Briefing later on today. All the latest detailed government advice can be found at the gov. Uk website. Just follow the coronavirus link. The french president Emmanuel Macron has placed the entire country on lockdown, saying were in a health war. The measures, which are similar to those announced in italy and spain, will last for at least 15 days. Our paris correspondent Hugh Schofield can tell us more. Hugh, how have the french people reacted . They are stunned but they are waking up they are stunned but they are waking up to the reality of all of this. It stems from the fact that government and the medical profession took great front and was very angered by the scenes over the weekend when parisiens were all out on the streets and in the parks and on the banks of the river as if nothing had changed and mingling together. So this is a psychological electroshock that the government wanted to give to radically change everyones lives. It does not kick in for another few hours but the streets are very empty this morning as i cycled in and it will feel very strange around the city and around the whole country, is the point. For the whole country, is the point. For the next two weeks, possibly longer. Thank you very much, hugh live from paris. Nina is here on the sofa because you have breaking business news. Is it coronavirus related . No, probably the one story this morning thatis probably the one story this morning that is not. In the last few moments we have learnt that Carphone Warehouse will close. They will close all their stores entailing 2900 redundancies and they are an Umbrella Organisation with many different providers within them. They say it is not covid 19 related, they say it is to do with a changing mobile market. They mean they are getting more deals online and less footfall in store. Pc world are not affected and we will get statement on more detail later. But Carphone Warehouse will close all 531 Stores Next Month and nearly 3000 redundancies there. High street continues to change. Redundancies there. High street continues to changelj redundancies there. High street continues to change. I know later in the programme we were talking about the programme we were talking about the impact of the coronavirus on the Entertainment Industry as well. We heard this morning from hospitality uk but also someone who e mailed in saying jobs have already been lost in hospitality because of the extreme measures. Thank you very much. As usual, lets get an update on the weather. Carol has it for us. The weather will be cheerier because for many of us today it will be dry with some rain in the forecast and a fair bit of cloud around. First thing this morning you can see we have a weather front with some patchy rain and showers dotted across scotland and Northern Ireland, getting into Northern England as well. In scotland and Northern Ireland in Northern England we look at some dry weather for a time. Before rain pulsing later in two Northern Ireland, scotland and eventually Northern England. Whereas for the rest of england and wales, some of that cloud will break and we will see glimmers of sunshine but the wind will pick up across west wales and north west england. If you are travelling back later in the afternoon, it still will be wet across scotland with some mountain snow was well on the same across Northern Ireland. A lot of surface water and spray on the road and just into the far north of Northern England. South of that, dry with some rain but still a bit of cloud around, murky times along the coast of wales and the south west and dont forget strengthening wind as well. As we head through the evening and overnight here comes the weather front full moving steadily southwards bringing in some rain as it does but the rain turning that bit lighter. A couple of clear spells ahead, more clear spells behind with some showers, still wintry and cold enough in parts of the north for a touch of frost. But these temperatures further south are more like maximum daytime temperatures at this time of year. We see the weather front sink southwards with a lot of cloud around it, behind that, sunshine and around it, behind that, sunshine and a few showers, mild in the south, cold in the north. Many adults are working from home today as the uk steps up the fight against coronavirus. Most children and Young Children will be off to lessons as usual. Schools in england have been told to stay open. Public Health England says this is because children are less vulnerable to the virus than adults. In scotland, there are no plans for a blanket closure of schools yet, but a number have been shut for deep cleaning. Schools in wales are also still open, but the health minister, vaughan gething, said closing them could be an effective strategy if the virus continues to spread. In Northern Ireland, the education minister, peter weir, said now is not the right time to close schools. Breakfastsjohn maguire has been to a nursery in north wales, where teaching children about the virus is part of the school day. This is why we need to wash hands. Let me give you some soap. Washing handsis let me give you some soap. Washing hands is a game, a song, and more important than ever hear it the nursery. This close to the border they sing in both english and welsh. Ising they sing in both english and welsh. I sing happy birthday and i wash my hands. Why is it important to keep your hands clean . Because you might spread germs when you cough in your hands. Do you know what to do when you cough . What you do if you and wash your hands . You get germs. You need to keep them clean, dont you . The children do not have a care in the world but it is very different for the adults. We avoid play centres in places like that. We will not be going anywhere unnecessarily, stick to the park, stick to the outdoors and our three year old has been teaching us how to wash our hands, that is new. Otherwise just trying to be sensible, really, and not doing anything, not going anywhere we do not need to go. |j not doing anything, not going anywhere we do not need to go. I am staying away from my mother because she has a cold and the software but just in case i am not going near her. My little girl is the research is not asked very much. But she just wa nts to is not asked very much. But she just wants to know she has to wash your hands and i say yes, come on, wash your hands. The nursery has over 270 books that make children on its books that make children on its books and a0 style. This is not the sort ofjob where people can work from home and as the virus spreads so does the uncertainty. Often grandparents are involved with childcare but if they self isolate then that help disappears. Many of our children share parents and grandparents looking after them and then come to the nursery. So i think it will have an impact, certainly. No more germs because we washed. Can you see them in the water . Just as the coronavirus does not accept age or International Borders it will affect varying aspects of our lives presenting challenges and making everyday normal life anything but. Challenges for so many people. We will particularly focus on education in schools for the next few minutes or so. Lets speak now to geoff barton, the general secretary of the association of school and college leaders. He met the education secretary yesterday to discuss the impact coronavirus is having on schools. Thank you so much forjoining us. You will be talking to head teachers, et cetera, all the time. What is the feeling . They will have heard the Prime Minister, how are they feeling today . heard the Prime Minister, how are they feeling today . I think theres a good deal of anxiety, to be honest, louise. I havejust had the message from the head of a large school in yorkshire saying he has 17 staff away today, and so you have two stories, i think. We understand absolutely the kind of mission to keep young people in schools, they are the ones least likely to be affected and therefore keeping schools open as a government priority, backed by the science. We totally get that. The trouble is if you are a head teacher, like one in bristol yesterday texted me saying 20 of my staff were off this morning and another four had to go home because of their children being taken home from Primary Schools, you can see that heads are in a really difficult position in terms of how do you balance the needs of your staff and the needs to have decent provision for educational standards for young people . And it is proving difficult for them. Yes, im sure it is something everyone is waking up and juggling with this morning. You are at that meeting with the education secretary. What can you tell us about it . I think there were probably three things that we talked about. One is to say exactly what i just said. Here is the reality on the ground, where no one is doubting that we have a kind of civic duty to do everything we can to keep schools open until tell us that we shouldnt do that, but do understand the realities of what that means, and the difficulties, and the vulnerability that some heads are feeling in their communities, where people online are criticising. Secondly, we talked about whether we should actually be looking to try and make sure that we prioritise certain groups. So would you prioritise children who are preparing for exams, children of key workers so you can keep children in the Health Service, for example . And what about those children whose only hot meal doing the day comes in schools . What would happen to them if the School Closed . And the third thing we talked about was the exam system, because there are lots of gcse students and a level students who will be worried about whether their exams will go ahead, and i think we need a clear steer on what the likely scenarios are there. That is what we were saying to the secretary of state. Do you have a steer at this point . There will be lots of people thinking exactly that, gcses, a levels coming up soon. What are the options . Well, i think probably the options are either to explore moving them back, so there has been talk about candy exams happen in september . I think thatis exams happen in september . I think that is a real problem, having been a head teacherfor 15 that is a real problem, having been a head teacher for 15 years. Logistic b it is very problematic, and those young people who are preparing now and expecting to do their exams in four weeks i think i going to feel pretty shortchanged. But i think probably what we are saying to the secretary of state and to the regulator is the more you can do to say what your priorities are, so our a levels other priority, our english and maths gcse the next level, for example, and are there ways that we can have assessment that doesnt need children going into school . It would be helpful to think that that thinking is happening and to hear some advice about it. Thank you for your time. I know many of you are maybe preparing to ta ke know many of you are maybe preparing to take your children to school this morning, getting ready to go to school or may be staying at home and self isolating. Lots of you have been sending in your questions about education, so lets put some of those to some experts we have on the sofa this morning. Michelle murray runs a group of Primary Schools in stockport, and ian fenn is the head teacher at Burnage Academy in manchester. Thank you for your time this morning. I think it is really important to have you guys here, because just having a chat with you in the last few minutes, you are asking some of the same questions that some of our viewers are asking this morning. Lets try and go through some of those. What sorts of decisions are you making about staying open . What are your staff telling you, what are your pupils telling you, what are your pupils telling you, what are your pupils telling you at the moment . There is a lot of anxiety among the children, the younger ones just because they are young and they worry about things they dont understand. The older ones are really concerned about will their exams go ahead . Because for them, they have been working throughout their lives to this point, and it is the thing which worries me the most, if you like. And i think that is something which i dont have an answer for. The staff seem to be coping with it very well, but then they are professional, they understand the importance of keeping the schools open, and to say there is no concern would be ridiculous. We are very worried. Not so much on the medical side of things, but on the effect on the children and on the wider society, were we to have to close at some point in the future. And were not trying to cause panic or anything, but you are talking about legitimate concerns for students preparing for their gcses, for the a levels, and the parents and carers of those students. So lets say schools were to close at some stage, which we anticipate may happen, it may be days, it may be weeks away. How . Is it possible to still run those gcses and those a levels this summer . Not remotely. You have to have the schools open just for the children taking the exams. You could probably separate the desks further apart, and supervise it in that way. A huge operation, though, isnt it . But it is preferable to cancelling them or postponing them. I think that would have a devastating effect ona that would have a devastating effect on a lot of people. And, you know, many of our children, my school, for example, dont have anywhere to work at home. They do rely on that free school meals. And the longer we can keep the schools open, from the point of social cohesion and allowing key workers to get to work, the better it will be. And also for the better it will be. And also for the kids to learn. Michelle, for Primary School children, i am sure there are many parents having those conversations with their kids. We we re conversations with their kids. We were doing it as a family around the dinner table yesterday and at the end of it our nine year old said we dont really want to talk about it anymore, because it is hard to have that conversation about things that will affect their lives without sort of upsetting them or making them feel worried about what is going to happen. Thats right, and that is where it is slightly different in primary, isnt it . Because you have a range of ages, with very young ones, that you are trying to talk about what is happening in the world, in terms of keeping safe, and keeping healthy, and hygiene patterns, whereas the growing awareness is the children particularly where you have a learner lead curriculum, where children are encouraged to question around what they are learning and find answers. These children know what is going on and they are looking into it, and they are asking questions about it. And i think it is important, you know, that we give them that context, but also they are safe in our hands in school. Out of the mouths of babes, they often ask the mouths of babes, they often ask the best questions, dont they . John evansis the best questions, dont they . John evans is a deputy head in dorset. He says there are real problems this morning with a number of teachers self isolating. Schools are likely to be forced to either partially or fully close very soon, not on government advice, butjust on numbers of staff. Is that an issue for the premise because you are looking at . Currently we havent got issues with capacity with staff. I think some of the children are currently. Probably about 20 to 30 children in each school are off because they have got some symptoms, and obviously they are at home. But obviously the worry is, though, as that extends and perhaps staff also haveissues that extends and perhaps staff also have issues themselves, that they wont also be able to come to school. So it is a balancing act, really. And i think it is important to have a plan and a strategy. And as ian said, we want to keep schools open as much as we can for our communities. Which is the official government advice, as well. Another question to put to you, someone who says i work in a college, i want to go into work because the government wont close schools by the college has 12,500 students passing through there each week. I feel we are being put at risk and putting our lives at risk to come to work now. Are you happy with the sort of advice you are getting from those above you and those in government . are getting from those above you and those in government . I think the advice has been really good. I know that there has been a lot of criticism about us doing things differently in this country to eve ryo ne differently in this country to everyone else, but for once the politicians have been listening to the chief medical officer, the chief scientist, and they dont seem to be playing this politically, but rather putting the advice first. And as that advice changes and evolves, we have to move with it. I mean, i today sent home four members of staff who are pregnant, one diabetic, because that is the latest advice that came out last night. So you are just following the advice. Following the advice, because they do no better than me what the medical implications are. And i wouldnt think for one minute of second guessing what it is that i should be doing. I will follow advice, because i think it is one of the occasions where we really should in education follow the advice of the experts. Thank you very much for taking us through some of your thought process this morning. I am sure that has been helpful for some of our viewers preparing for the school day to day. More than 100 universities have now banned face to face teaching and have moved all lectures online. The university of liverpool is one of them. Professor gavin brown is the pro vice chancellor for education there. What are you doing to ensure your stu d e nts what are you doing to ensure your students are still taught . Good morning, louise. So we stopped all of our face to face teaching yesterday, and we are now moving everything online. We have got a lot of experience in delivering online education, so we feel that we can make a really good job of that, and give our students a good experience. So our staff are working really hard at the moment to transfer all of their teaching, and their thoughts, and their resources, online so that those students can get through the semester, graduate on time, progress on time, and thats how we will support them. Yes, that is so many questions. So many of them will be really worried, wont they, about the impact on their degrees and possibly on their career. So lets talk about specifically graduation. All your students who are due to graduate will do that, and what about Graduation Day . So we are absolutely committed to getting our stu d e nts absolutely committed to getting our students graduated, and obviously we are already quite a long way through the semester anyway, so you know, we have enough marks to make sure that our students can graduate. Obviously there are some issues in professional programmes like clinical programmes, that we are working through, but we are confident that all of those students will graduate on time. I think graduation ceremonies are a different matter, though stop so they are due to happen injuly. At they are due to happen injuly. At the moment, we are keeping a close eye on that and keeping a close eye on the governments predictions around the sort of time course for this outbreak. So we havent cancelled those yet. Some other universities have, but we are keeping that under close review. But our priority is to make sure that stu d e nts our priority is to make sure that students graduate and progress. The ceremonies may have to come at a later date. Thank you very much, a quick snapshot of what is going on ata quick snapshot of what is going on at a university, professor gavin brown. You are watching bbc brea kfast. Brown. You are watching bbc breakfast. In the next few minutes we will be getting medical advice, and there are so many questions being asked by you. Time now to get the news, travel and weather where you are. The mayor has told bbc london that Tube Services are likely to run to a saturday timetable due to the coronavirus. Transport for london said it had seen big reduction in people using Services Compared to the same period last year. Buses and stations like euston and waterloo have also seen a drop in passengers. While most schools are open in london, a small number have taken the decision to close. The Lycee International Winston Churchill school will be teaching Children Online only. That is despite no cases reported of the virus at the school. Uk government advice remains that in most cases closures arent necessary. We felt it was a good idea and a safe option for us, as an international school, at this point in time. Were doing all the stuff that we would usually do, so not much is changing, just the physical place of where we are. It might be fun the first few days, or the first week or so, but then you might get a little bit lonely. Meanwhile, londoners are being advised not to go out for st patricks day this evening, because, as youve been hearing, the government is now advising people to avoid pubs and unecessary social contact. Most theatres have now also shut their doors. Lets take a look at the travel situation now. There are severe delays on the piccadilly line, and severe delays on the overground between gospel oak and barking. Onto the roads, police have closed the aao coming into town from ickenham to hillingdon circus. And in town, London Bridge is only open to buses, taxis, motorcycles and bikes until october, for upgrade works. Now the weather, with kate. Good morning. Theres a bit more cloud around compared to yesterday, but still one or two sunny spells first thing this morning, especially the further south and east you are. And today, it is feeling very mild. Now, that brightness i was talking about, the sunshine, its not going to last for too long, the cloud taking over. One or two breaks, though, expected as we head through the afternoon, so you might see a bit of sunshine before the sun sets. The wind a bit stronger today, as well, that south westerly wind, and temperatures reaching 1a celsius. Now, if you get enough of those sunny spells, the temperature could actually get up a little higher. Now, overnight tonight, again it remains largely cloudy. One or two breaks leading to some clearer spells. It should, however, remain dry. Still quite breezy overnight, as well, and the temperature very mild, the minimum between seven and nine celsius. So again, a rather cloudy start to wednesday. Not much of the way of sunshine around tomorrow, but it stays mild, at 15 celsius. Then for thursday, we have a temperature drop, back down into single figures. Before we go, a reminder that you can get the facts about coronavirus, the symptoms to look out for and the latest information on the bbc news website and the bbc news app, which is constantly being updated. Im back with the latest from the bbc london newsroom in half an hour. Plenty more on our website at the usual address. Bye for now. Hello, this is breakfast with Louise Minchin and dan walker. Lets get you up to date with the news. Measures to tackle the spread of coronavirus in the uk have been dramatically stepped up. The government is urging people to work from home if possible and to avoid non essential travel and socialising in public places. The over 70s, pregnant women and people with Underlying Health conditions have been asked to isolate themselves. Lets get some more detail on that government advice. Professor Jonathan Van Tam is the deputy chief medical officer for england. He joins us from westminster. Thank you so much for spending some time with us this morning. We are keen to run through some specific questions from our viewers with you today, trying to get some help for us to help our viewers and for people to get a takeaway from listening to you this morning, someone who is in on the high level conversations and very much in the know. Can we start by asking about the big shift yesterday we saw in government policy and described to us, if you can, what brought about that change. We have always said that change. We have always said that in the uk we will follow the science very carefully. And that also means following the epidemiology which is the shape of the disease epidemic as it emerges. What has become quite clear in the last few days is that we are now on the very sharp upward tilt of the bottom of it, but nonetheless an u pwa rd bottom of it, but nonetheless an upward tilt of the epidemic and we can expect the situation to change relatively quickly now and now is the time to add in these additional measures which we expect will reduce the infection rate and protect vulnerable people. I cannot stress enough to your viewers that the advice we have given is incredibly important for everyone. And that is why we will spend as much time as we can with you this morning going through the advice. The World Health Organization had a clear message, test, test, test. We are getting questions about the testing of people with mild symptoms and how wide will that Testing Programme be pushed out . Will we see more of that taking place in the uk . Testing individuals to find out if they had coronavirus . I will begin with the comments from the World Health Organization. I am sure he was at least as much as directing to the uk and directing to other parts of the world where Testing Capacity is very limited and needs to increase dramatically. Now that we face this Global Pandemic of coronavirus. In the uk we already perform a high level of testing compared to most nations on the planet. For now we are absolutely focusing our testing where it is going to help us most, where it is going to help us most, where it is going to matter which is in patients on the intensive care unit, patients admitted to hospital with coronavirus and special situations such as our rakes where in these situations it helps us to manage the patients involved and helps us to get the Infection Control precautions exactly right. To your wider point we do have an absolute ambition to increase testing as much as we possibly can. There are already significant moves afoot inside the Health Service and public Health England to further increase the Testing Capacity. But we will continue to try and drive this up as much as we can. We understand that it is a better place for people to be if they understand their diagnosis stop right now we must focus the testing where it is going to do the most good for the country as a whole. A huge appetite for information from so many viewers this morning. Some specific questions. First, those who are pregnant. We spoke to a pregnant healthcare is professional who had many questions. Kate is a nurse and pregnant. Do i self isolate for 12 weeks and does that mean not working as well . So when it comes to this coronavirus it is a new disease and it has been with humans around the world for just it has been with humans around the world forjust a it has been with humans around the world for just a few it has been with humans around the world forjust a few months. We are learning more and more about it full of we are being very precautionary in terms of the advice we give to pregnant women to increase their social distancing. We know that a whole range of normal infections are more serious in pregnancy. And the advice we are giving is extremely precautionary. I know that my collea g u es precautionary. I know that my colleagues in the nhs are working through the specific advice for healthcare through the specific advice for healthca re staff through the specific advice for healthcare staff at the moment. Im not sure you could answer this one but these are genuine questions coming in about Breast Feeding. Is Breast Feeding ok if the mother has symptoms of covert 19 coronavirus themselves . This question has been looked at and it has been concluded that there is no obvious risk associated with Breast Feeding and Breast Feeding is incredibly important for a baby and incredibly important for a baby and incredibly important for a baby and incredibly important for mother and baby bonding and our advice at the moment is that with respect that it is an individual womans choice as to whether she breastfeeds, our advice is that this is the best thing to do. Should women at any stage of pregnancy, another question we get a lot, at any stage of advice, follow this at any stage of the pregnancy should they follow this advice . The early signal is that the highest risk will be towards the end of the third trimester, in other words from around the 3a week, that kind of position. But we are being very precautionary and saying that because we do not know enough about this disease yet we have not got enough information on the disease in pregnant women, the best thing to do is to take a precautionary approach and advise social distancing to identify that this is strongly advised for pregnant women as a whole group. We cannot ask everybodys questions morning, i should point out to those watching, but there is detailed advice on both the government website and also nhs. Uk. Some questions for those who are in that position of being over 70 years old. Nikki says can you please clarify if those over 70 with underlying conditions can they go food shopping . The advice we have given about social distancing is four key things. Cut down on non essential contact with other people cut down on non essential travel, work from home where possible and dont go to pubs, bars, restau ra nts, possible and dont go to pubs, bars, restaurants, cinemas and theatres. Nevertheless we accept that life must go on and the advice is very real for everybody. It is strong advice for the over 70s and there will be in the next week or so an announcement over people who are extremely vulnerable, irrespective of their age, where the advice is Even Stronger about staying at home. So what i want people to do, to take away, is that this advice is very strong and to the extent possible you should ask a neighbour to do food shopping for you or a friend. You should use Online Shopping as much as you are able to do so and keep these visits to places where you can come into contact with other people as low as you possibly can get. Another question just coming in here about nhs staff. What are you doing to support frontline social ca re doing to support frontline social care staff in nhs staff in terms of access to testing, nurses, carers, of social workers and just the provision of the equipment that they need to do theirjobs. It is an absolutely correct point that we are going to rely very heavily on the professionalism and the fitness of our nhs workforce in the weeks and months to come. It is going to be a time of exceptional pressure in the Health Service and from that perspective we will want to keep as many of our healthcare workers as fit as we can and able to work and we will prioritise testing to ensure that healthcare workers are not unnecessarily kept in isolation conditions when that is not needed and we will use our Testing Capacity flexibly to make sure that that happens. In terms of the other question about personal protective equipment, we have, for a long while, planned to be ready for such an event. We have very large stockpiles of personal protective equipment which are being released to the nhs over a period of time in order that there will be enough for our healthcare workers. And we hear from some nhs workers that they struggle to get that equipment but there is stuff available as you say and hopefully it will be out to them as soon as possible. Clive wants to know if you could clarify to people with type one or type 2 diabetes, will they have to stay at home for 12 weeks . These are people with Underlying Health conditions. What is the advice for that . The advice for Underlying Health conditions is that essentially if you are somebody who currently is offered a flu vaccine because of your high risk conditions or because of your age, accepting the fact that we are saying over 7a coronavirus and accepting the fact that we give flu vaccine to children and we do not mean children in that advice, and we say yes, absolutely, we give you strong advice about self isolation. And tim says can you ask and offer advice for patients with immunosuppressant drugs. Should he self isolate . The answer to that is yes. On top of that, work is under way and we expect this will take notionally about one week from now, to identify exceptionally vulnerable individuals and they will be people who have poor immune systems for a variety of reasons including chemotherapy, cancer, immunosuppressant drugs. Chemotherapy, cancer, immunosuppressa nt drugs. Those people we say clearly that we are working towards giving specific advice in the next week and that will be in the form of a letter from the nhs. For now, yes, absolutely social distancing is very firmly meant for those patient. Some people will be getting extra information. Identifying them as extremely vulnerable and they will be asked to do the very best they can to self isolate. And that extra information will come in the coming days. A load of questions about asthma and we wondered if you could summarise the advice here because we get many people saying that they have asthma and many children have it as well. What is the advice for asthmatics . Should they be isolated for 12 weeks or is it only those people who have been told that they may need a flu jab and what about children with asthma was to mark i will throw the questions in together if i can. What advice is children under five with asthma. Daily inhalers but there conditions are well managed. What is the risk to children in that position . I dont want to go into enormous detail into every single risk group but we are saying it is the people who are offered flu vaccines other than children who fit into our risk agrees. People for whom the advice is very strong about social distancing. For children i would say that we do not yet have com plete would say that we do not yet have complete information but there is now beginning to be a fair bit of information and from china it is clear that children are not badly affected by the coronavirus. We cannot say whether that is at the moment, we cant say if that is because they are not being infected in great numbers or whether in actual fact it is a very mild illness for children but what we can say and what i can reassure is that all the signals so far are that this illness is mild in children. And a question about isolation. 1a days if someone in the house falls ill. If someone in the house falls ill. If someone falls ill at the end of those 1a days, do we all have to continue to isolate for another 1a days . No you do not. There are two rules that run together. As you know we already announced that it was important for individuals with symptoms of coronavirus to isolate for seven days. That rule, if you like, it holds but in addition now the first case in a household will trigger the entire household isolating for 1a days. And it is perfectly possible, entirely plausible, that somebody else will develop the coronavirus during that 14 develop the coronavirus during that 1a day period. An if it is on day two of the fortnight then they too are likely to have recovered by the end of the fortnight. If it is on day 12 of the fortnight with two days left to run then, of course, the chances that they will be fully recovered on day 1a are low and that person should stay in for the seven days and everybody else who is well leaves the house at 1a days. You thank you very much for staying with us for quite a long with us for quite a you thank you very much for staying with us for quite a long time in answering those questions. I know you cant answer everything and they will be more advice coming for particular individuals in the coming days, but thank you forjoining us on breakfast this morning, and so many questions answered there. As we say, we will make sure that is on our social media, because if you have not had a chance to look at it and you have got particular concerns, it may well be that he has exactly answered one of those questions. There is also advice for all the different age groups and whether you are vulnerable or not, there is kind of a grid which will give you information as well, and there is information on the bbc news website. So much out there, and we will continue to try to get to the bottom of what we all need to be doing. Hopefully that was helpful to you this morning. Continue to send those questions in. We have reams of questions, which is understandable, because everyone is asking what it means for them and those broader questions about health Going Forward over the next days and weeks ahead. Sally is with us this morning as well. Just a couple of updates and a big day in terms of decisions about what sporting events we are likely to see over the summer. Were likely to find out later what might happen with this years european football tournaments. Uefa will be holding a Video Conference with representatives of its 55 associations, leagues and players unions to discuss footballs response to the coronavirus outbreak. It is expected that euro 2020 will be postponed for a year, and we may find out how they plan to resolve the Champions League and Europa League competitions. Olympic games organisers will also be holding a teleconference today with International Sports federations. The main focus of the meeting is to discuss disruption to qualifying events for the games. Britains biggest horse race, the grand national, has been cancelled. The festival of racing at aintree, near liverpool, was due to get under way on 2 april. It attracts a worldwide audience of around 500 Million People, and bookmakers say around £150 million is bet on the race. But the racing industry is still trying to continue. Kelso in scotland held races behind closed doors yesterday. The British Horseracing Authority said it plans for scheduled meetings to go ahead, but some may be cancelled. Meetings at taunton and Wetherby Today will be the first in england affected by the behind closed doors announcement. We will let you know when we know about the euros and the olympics. We will let you know when we know about the euros and the olympicsm is one of those things where you worry about life looking very different, what were doing this morning is trying to answer as many of your questions as you are sending through this morning. We will be here throughout and we will have normal things as well, including the weather, with carol. Thank you, good morning, everybody. We have had some beautiful weather watchers pictures in this morning, like this one from herefordshire. You can see the cloud around, a hint of brightness as well, but generally for england and wales today it is fairly cloudy, especially close to the coast. The wind will pick up and we will see one or two brighter brakes. Scotland and Northern Ireland are off to a fine start with a few showers, but for you, fine start with a few showers, but foryou, rain is fine start with a few showers, but for you, rain is coming your way. So we have got this weather front here which is sinking south, producing the cloud and rain, but it flicks back and takes a swipe at Northern Ireland and scotland, and later Northern England. So enjoy your bright start, because later the rain is coming your way. A lot of dry weather for the rest of england and wales. Murky along the coastline is, here it is also quite damp with some patchy rain, and the wind will strengthen across North West Wales later. Quite gusty winds. Temperatures ranging from six in lerwick to 1a or 15 as we push towards the south east. Through the evening and overnight, the rain in scotland, Northern Ireland and Northern England stinks further south, taking a lot of cloud with it. There will be one or two breaks in the cloud further south, but most of the brakes will be further north, and it will be cold enough in some sheltered glens for some frost and there is also the risk of ice on untreated surfaces. But come south, look at these temperature s. They would be pretty good as our maximum temperatures at this time of year. As we had to tomorrow, our band of rain continues to sink southwards, weakening all the time. But there will be a fair bit of cloud around it as well. Behind it, for Northern England, Northern Ireland and scotland, some sunny spells but still some showers, but feeling cooler. Those temperatures eight or nine, but as we come further south, 16 degrees. As we move through thursday we still have this weather front which has been with us all week and you can see how it moves from a cold front to a warm front, indicated by the red, and it will pivot a bit further north, taking some rain across South West England and also south wales. A lot of Cloud Connected with this as well. Windy as well, the wind picking up later in the day through the English Channel. But move north, and yes, it will be cloudy at times, but you will be cloudy at times, but you will have brighter skies and some sunshine as well, and temperatures well down on wednesday, were looking at 7 9d pretty much across the board. So the wind picks up later in the day across the English Channel. It will be noticeably windy on friday, a cold start with some frost, also windy along the north sea coast, with a northerly. So there will be a significant windshield during the course of friday, but equally, away from this rain on the south, it will be drier, there will be some sunshine around, and the temperature range once again roughly seven to about nine degrees. But you will need to wrap up warmly. We will do that indeed. Thank you very much. Thanks for that this morning, carol. Back to coronavirus now, and the government advice to avoid pubs, clubs and restaurants is inevitably going to hit business hard. Some firms in the Hospitality Industry are already cutting jobs. Nina has the latest on this, and some Financial Aid from the chancellor which may help. Thats right, late last night we learned the chancellor will inject fresh cash to support business. Its not clear what the Financial Measures will be, but the government has described them as significant. Rishi sunak will give some detail at the Coronavirus Press briefing which we now expect to be daily. Dont forget its less than a week since the budget, and within that, there was a £12 billion package to help the nhs and businesses cope with coronavirus. That was before thousands of flights were grounded, and then last night, extreme measures were introduced. We have been told to stay away from pubs, theatres, bars and restaurants. What does that do to an industry which employs close to 3 Million People, many of them on insecure Employment Contracts . We are joined now by Kate Nicholls, the chief executive of uk hospitality, which represents the industry. Thank you forjoining us on what i am sure is a very busy morning. How big a blow is this . This is devastating. The industry had already felt the effects of coronavirus over the last ten days, before the budget. We had significant drops in footfall and revenue, and that was only getting worse on a daily basis. We are now faced with a situation where the government has not told anybody to close, but equally, businesses are having to make some tough decisions about whether they do close, and lay off their staff, or whether they try and limp through this. But they only have a couple of weeks left before they will run out of cash and hit they will run out of cash and hit the wall. So we need urgent Government Intervention if we are to save the Third Largest employer in the uk. And your members face the decision to shut down and stop the spread of the virus or to stay open and keep the revenue coming in, but with reduced footfall, and potentially being criticised by the public. What are you telling them to do . It is very difficult at the moment because there is no real information from government that would help them and guide them to make that decision. So that really has to be dependent on what situation they are in, where they are located. Many of these businesses provide vital support, food and drink for Emergency Services workers, who are obviously going to be continuing to work throughout this crisis. So some of them do have footfall that is coming through, but they are having to make a pretty tough decision, in the absence of any information and guidance from government, and they are desperately trying to protect their staff. That is all we are trying to do. Please, government, help us, give us the breathing space so we can help protect our staff. What would breathing space look like . Would you prefer mandatory closure . Like . Would you prefer mandatory closure . If there was mandatory closure . If there was mandatory closure it is much more clear cut, it avoids those concerns from consumers you are talking about and it would help, provided the government has put in place the compensation measures like we have seenin compensation measures like we have seen in america, france, italy, denmark, germany, belgium, where they have said that if businesses are being advised to close in that way or if people are being advised to stay away from them, they will help with the cost of salaries for these workers, so that they are not going to be left without a job. Because obviously if you are closed, there is no way you can continue to pay people in the way that you have been. So they have been underwriting the costs of that, and President Trump and president macron said there should be no reason anyjob should be lost as a result of this crisis, nor should any business go to the wall. And today, hospitality of the uk faces that devastating consequence, that businesses will be lost and jobs will be lost unless we have support from the government in the same way. And just a reminder of where you stand if you work in hospitality or anywhere else, if you area hospitality or anywhere else, if you are a member of staff you are entitled to statutory sick pay if you are advised to isolate, if you are not a member of staff, you can claim income support allowance immediately. We will await that from the chancellor later. And a group which employs 600,000 people across the world, one of the biggest british Catering Companies there is, they are predicting 50 losses in they are predicting 50 losses in the First Six Months of this year. It is one of many examples that we expect to come. And in the next 15 minutes or so we have another of our coronavirus panels. We are talking toa coronavirus panels. We are talking to a biologist, gp, and to get a perspective from the over 70s. Lots happening this morning, we really appreciate you spending a bit of time with us on breakfast, hopefully you are getting some of the information you need. We will have the headlines in just information you need. We will have the headlines injust a information you need. We will have the headlines in just a few minutes. Time now to get the news, travel and weather where you are. Good morning from bbc london, im tarah welsh. The mayor has told bbc london that Tube Services are likely to run to a saturday timetable due to the coronavirus. Transport for london said it had seen big reductions in people using Services Compared to the same period last year. Buses and stations like euston and waterloo have also seen a drop in passengers. While most schools are open in london, a small number have taken the decision to close. The Lycee International Winston Churchill school will be teaching Children Online only. That is despite no cases reported of the virus at the school. Uk government advice remains that schools stay open. We felt it was a good idea and a safe option for us, as an international school, at this point in time. Were doing all the stuff that we would usually do, so not much is changing, just the physical place of where we are. It might be fun the first few days, or the first week or so, but then you might get a little bit lonely. Meanwhile, londoners are being advised not to go out for st patricks day this evening, because as youve been hearing, the government is now advising people to avoid pubs and unnecessary social contact. Most theatres have now also shut their doors. Lets take a look at the travel situation now. There are minor delays on the district line, and on the overground, there is no service between woodgrange park and barking. Onto the roads, police have closed the aao coming into town from ickenham to hillingdon circus. There are long delays on the approach. And in town, London Bridge is only open to buses, taxis, motorcycles and bikes until october, for upgrade works. Now the weather, with kate. Good morning. Theres a bit more cloud around compared to yesterday, but still one or two sunny spells first thing this morning, especially the further south and east you are. And today, it is feeling very mild. Now, that brightness i was talking about, the sunshine, its not going to last for too long, the cloud taking over. One or two breaks, though, expected as we head through the afternoon, so you might see a bit of sunshine before the sun sets. The wind a bit stronger today, as well, that south westerly wind, and temperatures reaching 1a celsius. Now, if you get enough of those sunny spells, the temperature could actually get up a little higher. Now, overnight tonight, again it remains largely cloudy. One or two breaks leading to some clearer spells. It should, however, remain dry. Still quite breezy overnight, as well, and the temperature very mild, the minimum between seven and nine celsius. So again, a rather cloudy start to wednesday. Not much of the way of sunshine around tomorrow, but it stays mild, at 15 celsius. Then for thursday, we have a temperature drop, back down into single figures. Before we go, a reminder that you can get the facts about coronavirus, the symptoms to look out for and the latest information on the bbc news website and the bbc news app, which is constantly being updated. Im back with the latest from the bbc london newsroom in half an hour. Vanessa feltz has the Breakfast Show over on bbc radio london until 10 00am, and she will have updates for you too. Bye for now. Good morning. Welcome to breakfast with Louise Minchin and dan walker. Our headlines today dramatic changes to life in the uk as the government advises everyone to avoid non essential contact in the battle against coronavirus. I cant remember anything like it in my lifetime. I dont think theres really been anything like it in peacetime and, we have to accept that it is a very considerable psychological Behavioural Change that we are asking you, were asking the public, the nation, to do, but i have absolutely no doubt that we can do it. Anyone over the age of 70, pregnant women, and those with certain Underlying Health conditions are being urged to be especially careful. How will the chancellor boost business through the Coronavirus Crisis . Some pubs, bars, restaurants say new measures could finish them off. The government says therell be a fresh injection of cash later today. The grand national is off but what about the euros . Uefa is expected to make a decision on the European Championship at an emergency meeting later. Amid the turmoil, we bring you the examples of kindness and compassion as the difficult times bring out humanity at its best. For england and wales that they are cloudy with some bright outbreaks. For Northern Ireland and scotland, you have got a fine start, but rain is coming your way later. I will have more details in ten minutes. Its tuesday the 17th of march. Our top story. Stay at home whenever possible and particularly if you are elderly, pregnant or ill. Thats a key message from the Prime Minister, borisjohnson, as the government introduces strict new measures to combat coronavirus in the uk. Lets explore that official advice in more detail. This is for the majority of the population, people under the age of 70 without any Underlying Health conditions. Everyone should avoid crowded places like pubs, clubs and cinemas. He advised against all non essential travel and urged people to work from home if possible. People over 70, pregnant women and those with Underlying Health conditions need to be particularly vigilant. They have been asked to avoid social mixing including home visits from family and friends. The chief medical officer in england has said people with serious Underlying Health conditions like those undergoing chemotherapy should expect Even Stronger advice in the next week. The advice we have given about social distancing is four key things. Cut down on nonessential contact with other people. Cut down on nonessential travel, work from home where possible, and do not go to pubs, bars, restaurants, cinemas and theatres. We nevertheless accept that life must go on, and the advice is very realfor that life must go on, and the advice is very real for everybody. It is strong advice for the early 70s, and there will be in the next week or so an announcement for people who are extremely vulnerable irrespective of age, where the advice is Even Stronger about staying in the house. What i want people to do is take away that this advice is very strong and, to the extent possible, you should ask a neighbour to do through shopping for you, or a friend, you should use Online Shopping as much as you are able to do so, and keep these visits to places where you can come into contact with other people as low as you can reasonably get that. More Financial Measures to help the economy will be announced by the chancellor later. Our Political Correspondent helen catt is in westminster. So many people concerned about businesses, jobs. This could have a huge impact. It could. We expect to hear from the chancellor alongside borisjohnson at hear from the chancellor alongside Boris Johnson at that new hear from the chancellor alongside borisjohnson at that new daily television briefing that they are doing in downing street and he will set out some additional significant Financial Measures. They will face serious questions about the decision to say to people dont go to pubs, clu bs, to say to people dont go to pubs, clubs, theatres and restaurants, but not too thermally officially close them, so they will get questions about that but these additional Financial Measures in the budget last week, we saw the government laying out a £12 billion package for tackling coronavirus, £7 billion of which was for business including scrapping Business Rates for hospitality businesses for a year, then a scheme to allow banks to lend to small businesses. We expect to see things go further today. We expect to hear about perhaps support for airlines hit by that double whammy of falling demand and travel bans and we are in a very different world from where we wear when the budget was delivered last wednesday. The labour leaderJeremy Corbyn met borisjohnson the labour leaderJeremy Corbyn met Boris Johnson last night the labour leaderJeremy Corbyn met borisjohnson last night in downing street. He wants to see more support for self employed people stop at the moment the measures are that it has been made easierfor them to moment the measures are that it has been made easier for them to access benefits, but he wants to see much more done for self employed people in particular. He is calling for measures like rent holidays. Lets ta ke measures like rent holidays. Lets take you around europe this morning. Spain hasa spain has a death toll behind china, iran and italy. The Prime Minister put the nation into lockdown on friday night saying that the pandemic requires extraordinary decisions. Damian grammaticas is in madrid for us now. What the latest there . We are now in this state of emergency, this lockdown. It officially came into force yesterday morning. That is drastic curbs on movement, which have been put in place so, only allowed out to go to work, in emergencies or to buy food, only then singly, one person at the time, and those have been in force. There are still quite a few people heading in and out of work, but here in madrid, the worst affected part of spain, the streets have emptied. All business is pretty much have closed down now other than food shops, petrol stations, and a few others. The government today is meeting to discuss the Economic Impact of this, because there are huge concerns now about that, a huge number of lay offs, also land borders from today being blocked entry of non spanish citizens, and they will wait to see whether those border controls will extend to eu wide ones all around the eu itself. Thank you, damien, live from madrid for us this morning. Carphone warehouse will close all of its stand alone stores resulting in 3000 redundancies. Nothing to do with coronavirus. This is breaking news in the last hour. This came at 7am. They will close 531 stores. They hope to dip redeploy a0 of their staff as part of the wider Dixons Carphone group but it means 2900 redundancies are expected. What they put it down to, a change in the mobile market, we are ordering more online, not operating as often and not buying the big bundle of packages in the way we used to and how much have we talked about footfall in the high street, people are not going into high Street Stores as much, but pc world and cu rrys stores as much, but pc world and currys are not affected and we expect more detail later on. Any update on the Airline Industry . You mention the chancellor will be making an announcement at the Coronavirus Press conference later. We understand that the transport secretary will be talking to Airline Bosses later on. They are worried, British Airways have called this the worst aviation crisis in history. Easyj et worst aviation crisis in history. Easyjet and rya nair worst aviation crisis in history. Easyjet and ryanair have not ruled out grounding all flights. Well be looking forward to hearing what the transport secretary and the chancellor have to say to them later today. I dont know if you have someone and yourfamily or i dont know if you have someone and your family or community who has tested positive. You may have seen that. The actor idris elba has revealed that he has tested positive for coronavirus. The luther star said he doesnt have any symptoms but was tested after coming into contact with someone who had the virus. In a message on twitter, he urged fans to take precautions. Now is the time for solidarity, now is the time for thinking about each other. So many people whose lives have been affected, from those who have lost people that they love, to people that dont even have it and have lost their livelihoods. This is real, all right . He has tested positive but is tha nkfully he has tested positive but is thankfully at the moment feeling ok. Many Tourist Attractions are closed as a result of coronavirus but that doesnt necessarily mean they are lacking an audience. When this aquarium in chicago was closed to the public, its rock hopper penguins took a chance to Wander Around the exhibits. The birds called annie and edward were said to have enjoyed the experience. That is quite nice, isnt it . A personal little toe of the aquarium on your own we are trying to keep things as normal as we can on this programme given the circumstances. Heres carol with a look at this mornings weather. Cowell says that it is going to be a little bit brrr we will have some cloud across england and wales. Some exceptions to that. Starting off on a bright note with a few showers in scotla nd a bright note with a few showers in scotland and Northern Ireland, what you have rain on the way later on. We have cloud the splashes of rain across parts of wales and South West England where it is quite murky, but for Northern England, scotland and Northern Ireland after a bright start with showers, the arena is going to march in and some of that will be heavy and persistent. The rain is going to march in. It will be mild with temperatures up to 15 degrees today. The far north of scotla nd degrees today. The far north of scotland seeing some bright spells, the rest of scotland getting more persistent rain with some hill snow and mountain snow and the same across Northern Ireland and Northern England. A wet end to the afternoon. For england and wales, the rest of it, dry, mostly dry, and looking at some bright that breaks with the wind picking up across western wales and north west england. This evening and north west england. This evening and overnight bat weather front sinks south as a weaker feature, and behind it, we are looking at clear spells and showers, still wintry in the hills, and cold enough in sheltered glens for pockets of frost. Temperatures mild for this stage in march elsewhere. Starting off on stage in march elsewhere. Starting offona stage in march elsewhere. Starting off on a cloudy note tomorrow in the south with rain edging southwards, and to the north of that, looking at sharrah still wintry in the hills, colder in the north, but very mild for the time of year in the south. It is 12 minutes past eight. Until yesterday, the governments main advice to tackle coronavirus was to keep washing our hands. Today we are trying to get used to a new set of measures which the Prime Minister borisjohnson described as drastic action. Lets remind ourselves of what he said. This means that if possible you should not go out even to buy food or essentials, other than for exercise, and in that case, at a safe distance from others. If necessary, you should ask for help from others for your daily necessities, and if that is not possible, then you should do what you can to limit your social contact, when you leave the house to get supplies. And even if you dont have symptoms, but, if no one in your house has symptoms, there is more that we need you to do, now. Second, now is the time for everyone to stop nonessential contact with others, and to stop all unnecessary travel. We need people to start working from home where they possibly can, and you should avoid pubs, clubs, theatres and other such social venues. It goes without saying, repeat the message, we should all only use the nhs only when we really need to, and please go online rather than ringing nhs 111. Go online rather than ringing nhs 111. We expect another press conference later today. Lets speak now to dame joan bakewell, the labour peer and former government voice of older people. You are self isolating. Talk us through your individual decision that you made. I had a cough some time ago and i was on antibiotics from the doctor and as it phased out isaid from the doctor and as it phased out i said what should i do in terms of this virus, and she said, she agreed with me that self isolating would be the wise thing to do, and ive been happy to do it and im glad that i am, now that ive got the habit going andi am, now that ive got the habit going and i have had to cancel my work commitments and things like that, but i am adapting quickly. Im beginning to realise some of the problem is that i had. In the same way youve been thinking through theirs, everyone thinking about themselves and their families and those around them who are vulnerable, elderly relatives, what sort of concerns that you have about particularly those people who are watching this this morning thinking, there are not enough people in my life, if im isolating a man who is going to look after me . Its a very long term commitment, to begin with you have a heady excitement of getting it organised and feeling like youre part of a major experiment, but over the days, the days will get long. If you have a schedule of how youre going to spend your time, you will feel less strap and less beleaguered. So i try to have an exercise every day. Look them up on the web. Do the exercises you need to do to keep fit and that will slot in one hour of your time. Another one hour, i dedicate you reading so that i know what i will be doing at a particular time. I have started cooking more, because ive got the time and a reasonable amount of ingredients so im looking up amount of ingredients so im looking up cookery books and making food that i have never done before. I cooked some biscuits the other day. I bought two bird feeders to hang in the garden so that i can begin to study birdlife, so that is another interest added to my life. Otherwise, the days will yawn ahead day after day, and that will lead to depression, despair, lead to us breaking the rules, feeling miserable, possibly falling victim to any virus that might be around. That is helpful practical advice for people watching. It is interesting you have gone through that thinking about how to fill your days. For many people self isolation people think, it means i got to sit in a room on my own and watch tv all day, but there are things you can do, and you can go outside as long as you are you can go outside as long as you a re careful you can go outside as long as you are careful when you do it. That is important. It is hard for people in ca re important. It is hard for people in care homes, who do not have access to the sort of options that i have. So, people running care homes will have the opportunity to bring people together, to let them share, play scrabble, to involve them in online games, the internet is going to be very important, be on a phone, connect to your family is using whatsapp to talk to friends. That is going to be very important, increasingly important social structure of support. We have got to help each other, havent we . We will not get through this on our own. This is a real test of us, as a society. It might signal a new coming together of communities. Already round here people are putting notice through my letterbox saying, is there anything you need to is macro and that idea of local social cohesion has ratherfaded away in recent decades. It might well re emerge, as something, once the virus is over, as something rather valuable in society. Enjoy the biscuits and the bird watching. That is dame joan the biscuits and the bird watching. That is damejoan bakewell, speaking to us on bbc breakfast this morning. Werejoined by gp dr farrah sheikh, and virologist dr muhammad munir, to help explain more about the virus. This has only been in humans for a short time, so what do you know about it . It has been circulating in animals almost whatever so it stayed there until animals had close contact with humans and then a transferred, probably by mutations, and once it jumped transferred, probably by mutations, and once itjumped into humans since we havent seen them before, but is why they are causing a lethal impact. The government is talking about the over 70s, those with underlying conditions, and pregnant women. Is it because they know something about how the virus acts in those people . It is down to the individuals. People with underlying causes have immunosuppression all thatis causes have immunosuppression all that is disease that has affected the respiratory or cardiovascular system. If their system is not already working effectively the virus can have a lot more impact on their organs because they are more prone to the virus impact. So it is not to the virus, but down to the individual with underlying causes. Having these drastic measures, what would you say about this virus, is it very catching, is it unusual in that . This virus has interesting features which has surprised the medical community. We have seen previous viruses being very lethal, up previous viruses being very lethal, up to 80 out of 100 people could die, but this virus appears to be more contagious, but less lethal. So these are the features that make the virus stable and unique and able to sustain for a longer time, so it has a certain element of fatality, and it is transmitting between communities very effectively. There will be lots of people, at home watching right now, who are not feeling right now. How do you treat this virus s people have been told to stay at home and not go to their gp. What do you do . Theres lots of advice available on the nhs website. If you feel that you need to see a doctor, call at your surgery. If it is not to run a virus we are still open. We are trying to deal with as many patients as we can remotely by using e mail or telephone to help prevent any using e mail or telephone to help preve nt a ny footfall using e mail or telephone to help prevent any footfall into the surgery where there might be more vulnerable people, the staff working there, doctors can put themselves at risk as well, but we just need to be very vigilant. It is a practical question. We know how to deal with flu, but what do you do, take paracetamol . What is it s best thing to do is to self isolate as the government guidance has indicated, take paracetamol and fluids, and try to boost your immune syste m fluids, and try to boost your immune system with fresh fruit and vegetables if you can get hold of them and try to open the windows, get some fresh air into the room and do isolate yourselves. At what point is it becoming dangerous for you . I have heard people say that they are feeling extremely unwell. When do you actually need to see a doctor . If you are feeling unwell and not able to do normal things, one of the screening questions on the nhs 111 website is if youre not able to sit and watch tv or do normal activities, that is when you should seek help. So dial 111, activities, that is when you should seek help. So dial111, and dont activities, that is when you should seek help. So dial 111, and dont go to the surgery. Yes, dial 111 and get some advice, and you can use it online as well. Lots of other things to talk about. We had lots of information about pregnancy from the deputy chief medical officer for england. If you are pregnant, what should you be doing . Follow the advice, try to limit social contact as much as possible. You have got to look after yourself and also an unborn baby. So if the advice is to try to avoid contact with everybody, follow that advice. The government has been very clear about nonessential contact and travel, and this will all help with us passing the virus to each other. Precisely because the virus spread through droplets and requires close contact with people so if it is having social distancing, the possibility is that we will intervene with this tra nsvestite is that we will intervene with this transvestite transmission and if we carry on, the virus will ultimately peat out. One of the big changes yesterday was household isolation. If somebody in your household is ill, you will have to isolate essentially for 1a days. So how do people go about that s we we re how do people go about that s we were talking to damejoan bakewell, you are going to have to plan for that. Ive got a twoyearold daughter myself so it is staying indoors ia days, essentially, and what kind of activities will we be having to do at home . And also, for your own mental health, as dame joan said, try to get some little hobbies, cooking, reading, there are so hobbies, cooking, reading, there are so many activities available online. So we have the over 70s and vulnerable groups, and children as well, the deputy chief medical officer talking about how the virus a cts officer talking about how the virus acts differently in children, when do they become an adult, is it 16 . That is difficult to know, usually we say that between 16 18, a child becomes an adult. So many people will inevitably get this. When do you think the end of this is . Weve heard about having to abide by these new measures for months to come. What is your kind of prognosis s as it stands based on the two and a half month history of this virus, the way that it is moving between the way that it is moving between the continents and countries, what we are looking at is another couple of months are critical for this virus to be suppressed before we start seeing any decline into its spread. People have spoken about another peak in a few months. Is that likely to happen s . Within the community if it starts to decline, then in the population it would have a chance to research, so that is why we see the peak going down, and the virus that is still circulating would have mutated over that time and would come back, and we could have another peak. People are trying to get hold of you all the time. What are they most concerned about s they are concerned about it becoming very serious and ultimately fatal. What do you say to them . We know that there have been deaths, and it is about trying to contain it as much as possible by limiting social contact and trying to avoid busy places as Boris Johnson social contact and trying to avoid busy places as borisjohnson has said, and wash our hands as well, very important. Thank you both very much for talking to us, im talking about nonessential contact, we are making space on the matter one as you may have noticed. All the latest detailed government advice can be found at just follow the coronavirus link. Time now to get the news, travel and weather where you are. Good morning. Not quite as cold as it was yesterday, but a lot more cloud compared to yesterday. Claudia for most of us and there is some rain out there, particularly around wales and the south west of england. All linked into this weather front which has parked itself across central areas. To the north of that, sunny spells with a few showers. To the south, some sunshine in the far south east of england, before the cloud thickens. We could see some brighter skies, particularly in north east england, but notice the rain moving its way through Northern Ireland and into scotland. A very wet end to the day. Also quite breezy conditions for many of us, particularly towards the north, gusts of wind could be higher than those figures suggest. Temperatures, seven or 8 degrees common in northern parts, a bit chillier further south. Quite a mild day in england and wales. The area of rate will be moving southwards, you can see some green in there. Some heavy bursts of rain in the weather front as it moves southward, into wednesday morning across wales, into the midlands and eastern england. This weather front is the dividing line between the colder air to the north and still that milder air the south. That rain will continue to make its way southwards, so into england, heavy rain at times. Further north, some wintry showers. To the south, largely dry in the south east, still mild. Elsewhere, it is chillier. Into thursday, the weather front is still across southern parts. We are on the colder side of that, so a chilly day for many but are largely dry day for many but are largely dry day for many of us on thursday. Quite a bit of cloud in the south. This is worklife from bbc news, with Sally Bundock and tim wilcox. Dont go to the theatre, cinema or pub. The message from the british Prime Minister. But how will businesses cope . Live from london, thats our top story on tuesday 17 march. Its a similar picture across europe, governments tra ke drastic measures to fight the pandemic. The spanish military are on the streets, while france bans people from leaving their homes. Also in the programme. The city that never sleeps shuts down. We visit the empty streets of new york city. The best of business, how one leading beverage brand is turning its tipple into much needed hand sanitiser. And well be getting the inside track on the plight of small businesses, what should the government do . We ask one of britains best known businessmenjohn caudwell,