Transcripts For BBCNEWS Coronavirus 20200420

Welcome to bbc news, the latest on the coronavirus pandemic. We will be talking about the shortage of protective equipment and indeed, the fa ct protective equipment and indeed, the fact that there is no sign of an early end to the lockdown itself. More warnings from hospitals in england over shortages of protective equipment. Supplies of gowns are very low in some areas. The government insists a big consignment will arrive from turkey as soon as possible. A total of 16,509 patients have died in hospital in the uk after testing positive for coronavirus. Thats up from aa9 from the day before. No hurry to lift the lockdown. Borisjohnson tells cabinet colleagues that stopping a second peak of coronavirus cases is now his priority. Were expecting the official Daily Briefing from the government at 5 00pm. This afternoon, well be hearing from the chancellor rishi sunak and well bring you that live. The governments furlough scheme to keep staff on the payroll despite not working goes live. There were 67,000 applications in the first 30 minutes. As some small shops re open in germany, across the world, countries are taking the first tentative steps in lifting restrictions. And the duke of edinburgh makes a rare Public Statement, praising those tackling the pandemic across the uk and keeping essential services running. Its a. 30. Welcome to viewers on bbc one for the latest bbc news special on the coronavirus pandemic. Our main story this afternoon is that the Prime Minister has told cabinet colleagues hes concerned that relaxing the lockdown measures too soon could lead to a second outbreak of coronavirus. Borisjohnson apparently met his Deputy Dominic Raab at chequers, the Prime Ministers country residence, on friday to discuss the crisis. Mrjohnson has faced widespread criticism for his failure to chair or attend several Emergency Committee meetings at an earlier stage in the crisis. The government is also under fire for the lack of protective equipment in some areas. A number of hospitals in essex are considering washing and reusing protective gowns for use by front line staff. Mid and south Essex University Hospitals Group says its sensible given the possibility it might run of gowns in the future. In the last half hour, the number of deaths reported in hospitals across the uk has been released. According to the department of health and social care, a further aa9 deaths have been recorded in the last day, taking the total number of deaths related to coronavirus in hospitals across the uk to over 16,500. During the day, germany announced that smaller shops would start to reopen because experts have decided the outbreak there is coming under control. And in the us, the new york governor says cases there are slowing, not growing. 0urfirst report this afternoon is from our Health Correspondent lauren moss. First of all, we are putting our gowns on. Gloves, gowns, masks and eye protection. The kits to Keep Health Care workers guarded against covid i9. Its really important that we cover as much of us as possible. But supply and distribution are a continuous struggle, with organisations representing staff saying many dont feel safe. Half of those responded saying that they have felt under pressure to work with high risk Covid Patients without the level of ppe which is stipulated. Many distraught calls from nurses, and nursing staff, calling us saying that they feel worried about going to work. And now theres a warning there could be consequences to care. I think we are dealing with alterations in the style of delivery of care, which mean that we might not do as many things as we did previously, we might choose not to go and review a patient three times an evening, we have to do it twice in an evening, because there simply is not the resource for us to put on and take off our ppe. Last week Public Health england changed its guidelines to allow some gowns to be washed and reused. And its notjust an issue for hospitals. Gps, care homes, Nursing Homes and hospices have also reported shortages. We are now trying to deliver this to 58,000 different institutions. As i said, we have delivered overi billion pieces of protective equipment. All countries are facing this challenge, this is a Global Health emergency, all countries are trying to secure the equipment that they need for their health service. So we are working in a competitive Global Environment in terms of securing this equipment as well. Last night a plane carrying ppe from china including 10 million facemasks landed in scotland. Another plane full of protective equipment from turkey was delayed. The Foreign Office says it hopes that flight will take off later, but even then the kit on board is not expected to last that long and has to go through checks to make sure it is suitable. A00,000 gowns, obviously, would be welcome if and when they arrive. But the nhs when it is actually at full tilt is probably getting through 150,000 gowns a day. So what we really need to get to is from the current rather hand to mouth approach to where sustainable supplies consistently and sustainably arrive. That is what our trust leaders and the staff on the front line need. Manufacturers, including burberry and barbour, are turning their hands to making protective clothing but there are calls for more organisations to be able to help. Because all of this product was being made and imported, there wasnt the specifications and the prototypes here. So the whole supply chain has had to be put back together again here to make this product. We are getting there now, but there have been some delays. Appreciation for those on the front line continues. The duke of edinburgh has today made a rare Public Statement saying he recognises the vital and urgent work being done by so many, and he has thanked all key workers. Stock levels of personal protective equipment vary across the uk. Officials in wales and scotland say they have enough to meet demand. Northern irelands first minister says it is an evolving situation. Keeping those caring for others protected themselves as one of the largest challenges brought by the coronavirus and it will continue to be an ongoing race against time. Lauren moss, bbc news. Weve had quite a few official figures in in the last half an hour. From government. Lets get more with our Health Correspondent, jane dreaper, shes with me now. For those of you was joining us, lets just go through what the official figures tell us today. So we now have the full pictures for the uks latest figures for deaths. These are the ones which took place in hospital, associated with coronavirus. Aa9 further deaths across the uk, the bulk of them in england, a29, 12 in scotland, nine in wales, and the remainder in Northern Ireland, so that brings the total now to just over 16,500. 0bviously total now to just over 16,500. Obviously a big figure, a grim figure, this is a lot of sadness for a lot of people. We can never forget that, but, within that, that rate of increase is showing a steady but slow improvement for the rate of increase is gradually getting slower, but a little bit of caution because they could be a delay due to the timeline of reporting over the weekend. It is monday, after all, but in general, good picture of gradually improving, the situation. It will be interesting to see what the government advisers say about that in the News Conference in 20 minutes time. From your point of view, when you look at these figures, what is important in terms of setting them in context, notjust looking at the figures themselves, which are alarming and upsetting enough for people, but really to look at the broader context, especially when we start to compare . Weve heard people say today there are issues to do with regional variations, variations between countries in the way they construct their own health services, for example, so when you look at the figures, what are the factors you look for . The regional variations are interesting, i think we have seen different hotspots, if you like, particularly in england. For example, in todays figures come out of the a29 deaths in england, there are more deaths reported from the north west of england than in london. So things like that are interesting and for once we are seeing the problem isnt entirely confined to the capital, the north west has significant figures. Almost an overtaking in terms of the numbers of deaths, so this is patchy, we are going to see the virus and its effect happening in that way. Theres been lots of talk today about the Prime Minister being concerned about a possible second peak later this year and that he doesnt want the lockdown to be relaxed too soon. Because he is focused on that. What is the current thought on that among medical and scientific experts . I think really a feeling that, you know, although we are seeing an improving situation we are seeing an improving situation we are by no means out of the woods with this. And so, all the experts are saying that the measures, although it may be trying people is patience, we have to stick with it, soi patience, we have to stick with it, so i think we would hear that tone in the press conference thats about to happen and also will hear some tough questions about testing because a number of tests are running at 19,000 a day in the latest figures, bear in mind we are ten days away from the end of the month, and the government admits it is an ambitious goal to get to 100,000 tests a day by the end of the month and today we saw the Welsh Government abandon their target for testing, trying to get to 5000 a day, by mid april but didnt get there because of difficulties in getting the chemicals they need. Just a quick final thought, if i may, on protective equipment. Again, that has been such a sauce of anger and frustration for lots of staff in ca re and frustration for lots of staff in care homes and hospitals. Where are we on that in terms of supplying more material . Its a challenge, particularly with gowns as weve heard over the last few days and there are critical shortages of gowns, this has become quite a problem in certain hospitals and ca re problem in certain hospitals and care settings, and its causing some difficulties, huge Global Demand and problems with the supply chain, both in the uk and abroad in trying to step up and with that. Jane, many thanks once again for taking us through that, our Health Correspondent. What i would like to do now, with 15 minutes to go before the official briefing today, is to bring in chris hopson, who has a great responsibility as chief executive of nhs providers, thank you forjoining us. I know its an incredibly busy and owner is time for you. What is your reading of where we are today . Well, so its a very good question because i think what tends to happen is we do tend to dive into these micro stories like for example deliveries of gangs from turkey, when actually, we should probably be stepping back and taking a Bigger Picture and the Bigger Picture is that if you look at how well the nhs is coping with this initial surge of demand, i think the general view is its extremely well. We have created 33,000 extra beds to treat coronavirus patients, we have done a whole load of really great preparations across community, Mental Health and hospital trusts, and, asa Mental Health and hospital trusts, and, as a result of all of that, we are managing to avoid the overwhelm we have seen for example six weeks ago in northern italy and i wasjust very interested to see a report about the Japanese Health system where for example, a couple of days ago, an ambulance was reported as being turned away from 80 different hospitals because they were so overwhelmed. We have managed to avoid that in this country thanks to the fantastic preparations that we did over the last eight weeks, but also obviously fantastic work of Front Line Health Care staff, so we thought of seem to be all of forgetting that in the kind of focus on some other things which is understandable, but lets not lose that a big picture. We are not losing the big picture and you have outlined it very clearly there. But im wondering if i was a doctor in a hospital, and i was concerned or indeed experiencing a lack of protective equipment, and here you are saying it lets look at the big picture, lets not get too bothered about these smaller things, i imaginei about these smaller things, i imagine i would be rather angry and frustrated to you ask me the question specifically about where we are up to generally, if you did ask me the question about where we are up to the tpp, i would have said exactly what you said. Tell me more. We are experiencing a shortage of gowns, it is something we have been flagging for the last ten days and clearly, no trust leader would want to be in a position whereby their members of staff are being asked to treat patients without the protection they need. Again, what is happening is that trust leaders all over the nhs are trying to do their very best to deal with these shortages. 0ne are trying to do their very best to deal with these shortages. One thing that has happened today, as i understand it, we now have 100,000 gowns that have arrived from the far east that are available for delivery overnight, which will be helpful that will help the number of trusts that will help the number of trusts that are running very, very low. Also trust leaders are doing everything you would expect them to be. They are, for example, looking at can they reuse single use gowns, can they wash them . Can they disinfect them in such a way they can be reused . They have been going out and doing everything they can to secure the industrial overalls, ivetas gowns, the high specification laboratory coats, that asaof specification laboratory coats, that as a of last fridays change of advice, they are now able to use. What we are saying is yes, it is not where anybody in the nhs would want to be but everybody in the service is doing their best to try and ensure the right protective equipment gets through to where it needs to be used. Can i bring you back to one thing you mentioned there, which was to do with reuse of some equipment . We were reporting earlier about some trusts, i think in essex who are saying today, they are prepared to reuse some material, gowns for example, because they might run out in future. That is the phrase they used, they might run out of gowns. If we are getting the supplies in and we get these a00,000 or so items from turkey and all the rest of it, should trusts be concerned about running out of gowns in the first place . The whole issue is that you want to be ready and prepared. As it happens, that trust chief executive i was talking to overnight. What they want to do, they want to be ready if they run out of gowns and what they have been doing, they have been looking at whether they can reuse their gowns. As an example of the invention that is going on, the innovation, they have been working out what is the best way to wash those gowns so they can continue to be fluid repellent, which is key. They have worked out that if you wash them at 60 degrees, you can wash them three times and still maintain the water repellent. What im saying, wherever i look i am seeing trust chief executives, who come on the one hand i worried about the fact they are facing down shortages, but they accept the fact thatis shortages, but they accept the fact that is the reality that is where they might be but they are working ha rd they might be but they are working hard and being innovative to make sure those shortages dont turn into a place where they are asking their staff to go out without the proper protection. They are doing everything they can to make sure that does not take place. Chris, as ever, good to talk to. Chris hobson, the chief executive of nhs providers. Lets speak now to dr Katharina Hauck from the department of Infectious Disease epidemiology at Imperial College london. Thank you forjoining us. We are looking at various elements before this News Conference takes place, including testing. From your point of view as a scientist, what were the factors you are focusing on at this point of the crisis . At this point of the crisis, it really the idea Imperial College london is looking at various exit strategies from the existing lockdown and we are estimating all different kinds of scenarios. We think a big part of those will be a scale up of testing, which the government is trying to achieve at the moment. When you say scalable testing, would even agree with those who think the progress being made, although there is some progress being made, its painfully slow and that it wont achieve the target they have set for the end of the month . What is your assessment of that . For us as researchers, it is difficult to make an assessment, what is going on in nhs planning directly. 0ur modelling is meant to provide policymakers with various different scenarios on the pros and cons of different interventions. So many of the different exit strategies that we are looking at have, as a key component, a scale up of testing so this is what we are recommending to policymakers and indeedin recommending to policymakers and indeed in other countries. One thing idid want indeed in other countries. One thing i did want to ask which is of hugely important area, is to do with how the nhs is managing its own resources within this crisis . It has had to channel lots of things in the direction of coronavirus and covid 19 obviously, but what about the things it would have been doing, the things it would have been doing, the surgery that has been put off, the surgery that has been put off, the treatment that has not been taking place, how would you explain to viewers what impact that has had . Indeed, we heard from chris hobson just before that the nhs is coping really well with this surge in demand and we have not seen the overflow of icu units that we saw in northern italy here. The problem with ppe and specific drugs and oxygen therapies, these are important issues, but in our research we looked at the capacity in the nhs here and in other Health Systems and we realised this capacity is not static but it is increasing on an impressive scale. So hospital and care homes are making a real effort in dealing with this. We have to say the staff, the front line medical staff are working incredibly hard and at levels that are probably unsustainable in the long run because it is taking a high toll on them both physically and mentally. Also, we have to see there will be downstream costs to this. We have cancelled virtually all elective surgeries and there will be morbidity and fatalities down the line on these patients whose treatment has been delayed, u nfortu nately. We treatment has been delayed, unfortunately. We dont know what these costs will be but they will be potentially significant. What we can see in our initial research is there isa see in our initial research is there is a reduction in attendances to a e departments. It is worrying because heart attacks, strokes, appendicitis, these emergency conditions will not go away suddenly, so the question is, where are these patients . They are avoiding hospitals for fear of getting infected, obviously. That will be at the forefront of their worry. When we look at the figures from the 0ns on deaths in the community, we can see that since last week, according to our research, there is a significant increase in deaths due to covid and also other conditions, which is above what we would expect to see for this time of year. It is important that we look at this research. Also it is important to tell people that if they feel unwell and if they think they need hospital treatment, to go and seek this treatment, to go and seek this treatment and hospitals are still prepared to see patients with all kinds of urgent, life saving treatments. Very important to get that message out. As a final point, this is a broader Public Health question really and lots of people are asking this question in different ways. You know, before we are at the point where there is an effective vaccine which can be used globally, before we get to that point, there will be constant concern about the presence of this virus and its potential to cause a lot of illness and death. What are the consequences of that, lets just say in the next six months . Because we are very unlikely to get a vaccine in that time. So in the next six months, were past the initial peak and the Prime Minister is concerned there might be a second peak, and that is what he wants to avoid, so in Public Health terms, for you what are the main factors involved in planning and trying to build a strategy around that . 0bviously, build a strategy around that . Obviously, i am an economist so i am looking at this alleged trade off some people say there is between economics and lives saved. I think it is too simplistic to see it like that. We know the economic and social costs of an uncontrolled pandemic are enormous. We have done research on that and the deaths we have had, the civilian deaths, we have had, the civilian deaths, we have always said would pale in comparison to that. To say there is this kind of trade off is too simplistic. I think there will be a removal of lockdown, but it is a very, very tight rope that countries will go down. Between more stringent and suppression strategy and then more lenient, mediation strategies whereby the economy is open for some groups of workers, schools are open for some new groups, but not for others, there will be shielding of the elderly. And then, very important as scaling up of testing and contact tracing. So with Data Analysis and modelling we can carefully study in almost every real time, the impact of these successive Public Health interventions that we will be implementing, i guess, over the next months and we can see whether there is the Early Warning signs in the slight increase in infections all in deaths and we would scale back again and tighten the interventions again and introduce more stringent suppression strategies. We will be moving on very thin ice over the next months. Very interesting to get your expert analysis on that. Thank you very much forjoining us today. It was a pleasure, thank you. Our thanks to her very interesting to have her thoughts for the next six months, not just thoughts for the next six months, notjust on thoughts for the next six months, not just on the thoughts for the next six months, notjust on the uk, but abroad also. Many pupils and students should have been returning to the classroom today for the start of the new term. But schools across the uk remain shut to all but Vulnerable Children and those of key workers. And theres no date for when theyll fully reopen. Millions of children are back learning at hom with parents who are themselves getting to grips with homeschooling as our correspondent john maguire reports. Its back to school but not as we know it. Hi, im nat. Im dan. Both our children are. Fred. And noah. And how has home schooling been going for you . It is tough. It is a learning curve for us. Mr and mrs reynalds or dad and mum, really, have beenjuggling running a business, a household and a home school. It is really hard. Yeah. It is notjust the teaching thats hard. It is the juggling of work and life with that. And obviously, the boys they think, we are off school, so were off school, we can just do what we want, supposed to be off school, they do need to be learning so we have to teach them. Many children of key workers have remained at school over the easter holidays, so today may not prove that different. For the staff at these hub schools, keeping children of varying ages engaged and stimulated is a challenge. The staff are planning their weeks, linking into the childrens interests and more curriculum based work. But the children need that structure and too much free play, too much loose work the children dont benefit from that they need that close structure. Only once schools reopen will staff have the chance to assess the impact of their pupils progress. It is feared children from disadvantaged backgrounds will be affected most. We know that nothing can compensate for those relationships between teachers and their pupils so, again, planning for when schools reopen, how that catch up is going to be achieved. For those able to take advantage, technology and resources can help like never before. Today, the bbc is enhancing its online educational content and, when the school bells do ring once again, whenever that may be, it will mean were notjust getting back to school but also back to normality. John maguire, bbc news. Not long before the official conference gets under way in downing street. The latest update from the chancellor and macro to senior government advisers, so lets go straight to westminster and talk to our correspondent and if they pop up, obviously we will go to it straightaway, but just for viewers who arejoining us now, what can straightaway, but just for viewers who are joining us now, what can we expect in terms of the themes . The things i have been talking about over the last couple of days have been the the government has been putting millions of pieces of ppe into the system, over 1 millions of pieces of ppe into the system, over1 billion, but there have been questions over are they getting to where they needed to be a know it seems to be what about the supply of things like gowns, getting hold of them in the first place . The government says its a Global Supply problem, so we may well see questions about that and particularly the shipment from turkey we were told was going to hopefully come sometime today. There has also been questions around the lockdown measures, these concerns about a second peak of the virus, the worry about that, the big concern in government, notjust in terms of the damage it may do, in health terms, but that is seen as the biggest possible damage for the economy too. I think the chancellor is starting a press conference now. Good evening from downing street where i am joined by professor angela maclean, deputy chief scientific adviser and yvonne doyle, a medical advise on Public Health england. Before i provide an update on the economic situation, let me start by addressing the issue uppermost in peoples minds. Personal protective equipment, ppe. This is an international challenge, that many other countries are experiencing. Alongside the efforts of British Businesses, and our embassies around the world, we are working hard to get the ppe our front line nhs and social care staff need. We have appointed paul deighton, formerly chief executive of the london 2012 olympics, to lead on our domestic efforts to make and increase the supply of ppe. And we are receiving shipments of ppe regularly from suppliers in the uk and abroad. We are working to resolve the turkish settlement as soon as possible following unexpected delays at the weekend. Today we have unloaded a shipment of 1a0,000 gallons from myanmar. And we are of course continuing to pursue every possible option for ppe procurement gowns. Let me now turn to the economic situation. Exactly turn to the economic situation. Exa ctly o ne turn to the economic situation. Exactly one month ago today, i stood at this lectin and said we would step in and help to pay peoples wages. We promised the support would be available by the end of april. Today we deliver our promise. Hmrc opened at the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme at 8am this morning. As of apm this afternoon, over 1a0,000 firms have applied. And the grants they will receive will help pay the wages of more than a Million People. 1 Million People who come if they hadnt been furloughed, would have been at risk of losing theirjob. Firms applying today should receive their cash in six working days. Hmrc will continue to provide updates on the number of people furloughed. And let me put on record my thanks to the thousands of staff at hmrc and hmt, who have made this happen. People have come out of retirement put aside their normal duties and worked around the clock from their kitchen tables and spare rooms to get this new system up and running. This remarkable story of Public Service reminds us how many different people are playing a role in this crisis. And i am very grateful to all of them for everything they have done. It is important to be clear why we have introduced the cj are schemes we have put in place to support the self employed and businesses. We have never seen an economic crisis like this one. Times like this demand that we put aside ideology and orthodoxy. Times like this demand that the state returns to its most immediate purpose, the protection and support of its people. The goal of the new schemes we have developed is to maintain as many people as possible in their existing jobs. To support a viable business is to stay afloat, and to protect the incomes of the self employed to allow them to trade again. To maintain in other words our economies productive capacity so that we can bridge through this crisis. That is what we have done and the office for budget responsibility said last week that the situation would have been much worse if it hadnt been for our actions. But in everything we have done, even in our defence against the immediate crisis, we have also been sowing the seeds of our ultimate recovery. As we look ahead and start to plan for our recovery, it is critical we dontjust maintain companies and jobs that already exist, but that we also encourage the businesses, jobs and technologies of the future. Innovation and entrepreneurship have powered growth in our country for centuries and it is what will drive our growth as we recover from this crisis. To that end, earlier today i launched two initiatives to support the most innovative firms in the country. Worth £1. 25 million. First, we are launching a new future fund worth £500 million to make sure that High Growth Companies across the uk can continue to access the investment they need during this crisis. Launching in may, the future fund,it crisis. Launching in may, the future fund, it will provide uk based early stage fund, it will provide uk based ea rly Stage Companies with convertible between £125,000 and £5 million. 0urfuture convertible between £125,000 and £5 million. Our future fund will match investments made by private investors in ea rly stage investments made by private investors in early stage businesses. 0n terms that protect of the uk taxpayer. Second, alongside the new future fund, the business secretary has worked closely with innovative uk our National Innovation agency to provide £750 million of grant and loa n provide £750 million of grant and loan funding for tens of thousands of highly innovative firms. In every sector, every region, and every nation of the uk. He, like me, believe strongly in the role of innovation and enterprise in recovering our economy. As innovation and enterprise in recovering our economy. As i said last week, right now, the most important thing we can do for the health of our economy is to protect the health of our people. We must continue to slow the spread of the virus. To make sure fewer people need hospital treatment at any one time and to protect the nhss ability to cope. Today, the governments ongoing monitoring and Testing Programme reports 501,379 tests for coronavirus have now been carried out. Including 19,316 tests carried out. Including 19,316 tests carried out. Including 19,316 tests carried out yesterday. 12a,7a3 people have tested positive and an increase of 6a76 cases since yesterday. 17,971 people are currently in hospital with coronavirus in the uk. And, sadly, of those who have been hospitalised, 16,509 have now died. An increase of aa9 fatalities since yesterday. 0ur thoughts are with the families and friends of all those who have lost their lives. As we look forward, towards the next stage in our battle against this disease, there are encouraging signs ahead that we are making progress. But before we consider it safe to adjust any of the current social distancing measures, we must be satisfied that we have met the five tests set out last week by the first secretary. Those tests mean that the nhs can continue to cope, that the daily death rate falls sustainably and consistently, that the rate of infection is decreasing, that the operational challenges have been met, and, most importantly, that there is no risk of a second peak. Soi there is no risk of a second peak. So i want to thank each and every person across the uk who was following the government advice to stay at home, protect the nhs, and ultimately save lives. Thank you. Let me know handover to angela before taking questions from the media. Thank you. The first piece of data we have to look at this afternoon is about that issue of how people are staying at home. So what we see here is a record of how many people have been using different kinds of transport since the middle of march. What that shows is how people have responded to this call that all of us do need to stay home and, in particular, what we see is for all kinds of public transport, used now, its down to less than 20 of what it was during february. Indeed, rail and tube use is down 95 . So, for all those people who have stayed at home in order to protect the nhs and save lives, i think we can look at this graph and say pretty much everybody else is doing it as well. If i could have the next slide, please. And that is reflected in these data about new uk cases running from the 21st of march two 20th of april and what we see in blue there is what are called pillar one, people who have been tested positive, mostly people in hospital, and then the orange on top is swab testing for key workers and their households. And the relief you get when you look at that picture is it stopped rising and is now pretty much stable and flat. Next slide, please. And that is reflected in these data about people who are in hospital with covid 19. Across the whole country, that also remain stable. But here in london, this is now the seventh day in a row that those numbers have fallen. So that means that the balance between people going into hospital because they have fallen ill and people going home because they are well again and now is in the opposite direction, so there are fewer people each day in hospital with covid 19. We are looking forward to seeing that pattern replicated across other regions of the country. Next slide, please. Finally, we get to the slide comparing how many people have died in the uk in comparison with other countries. We have two different ways of keeping track of that here. We have the up to date data which goes right to yesterday and thats the uk but only counts deaths occurred at sadly for people who are in hospital and those are deaths by the date of registration and then further back on that slide you can see data from the uk for all settings and that data takes longer to put together and present, so that is why, on this slide, that data is only a shorter way to run. With that, i will finish so we can turn to questions. Thank you, angela. Can we turn to hugh pym from the bbc. Yes, thank you, i want to pick up on ppe. We are hearing of continuing concerns amongst some health and ca re concerns amongst some health and care workers about ppe. Are you ashamed as a government that there are some nhs staff going into work who say they are worried about their safety because they fear their hospitals might run out of ppe . Thank you. Absolutely, everybody working incredibly hard on the front line deserves to have the equipment they need to do theirjob safely and we are working round the clock to make sure that we can deliver on that. 0bviously, 1 billion pieces of ppe have been delivered, 12 million yesterday, as you heard from me, we are improving our sourcing internationally and domestically to make sure we can get the ppe we need but its a very Challenging International context. But people on the front line can rest assured we are doing absolutely everything we can to get the equipment that they need. I dont know if you want to add anything. Yes, it is of concern and we want people who are working on the front line with patients at high risk to have what they need, and over this weekend, i know for instance 12 million pieces have been delivered to 141 trusts, and, as has been said, there is incredible work going on internationally in a very high burn rate situation, but also working to ensure that people use the guidance that is there in the most precautionary way, to make the very best use in a safe way of what is available, so a difficult situation undoubtedly, working very ha rd situation undoubtedly, working very hard to make it better, and trying to make sure we deliver to where it is most needed. Thank you. Does that a nswer is most needed. Thank you. Does that answer your question . A quick follow up answer your question . A quick follow up on answer your question . A quick follow upona answer your question . A quick follow up on a business issue, chancellor. Some Small Businesses say they are finding difficulty accessing loans. Are you considering extending the scheme and raising the government guarantees . Thank you, for the question, so i think on this question, so i think on this question of the guarantees, im not persuaded that moving to 100 guarantee is the right thing to do. I think if you take a step back and look at the sum total of everything we have done to support business, we have done a lot of direct cash support in cash grants going to businesses, obviously cut Business Rates for a large number of businesses, 1 million different businesses, 1 million different businesses are benefiting, paying statutory sick pay, and of course other fellow scheme to help businesses. Some people have made comparisons with whats going on in other countries. I think when you look at the totality of what we are doing, it is more significant in scope and scale than most other countries. And indeed, where they have used loan guarantees that are different to ours, they have done it partly because they are not doing some of the other things we are doing for example a fellow scheme or the direct cash grants. But if people are asking the question would that help speed up delivery of the loa ns that help speed up delivery of the loans im sympathetic to that and i also want to see that. Im pleased to tell you now the latest data i haveis to tell you now the latest data i have is that 12,000 loans have now gone out to Small Businesses, thats more than double where it was a week ago, double where it was one week before, i think 35,000 or so applications are being made, the a cce pta nce applications are being made, the acceptance rate seems to be running at 90 , acceptance rate seems to be running at 90 , so acceptance rate seems to be running at 90 , so i acceptance rate seems to be running at 90 , so i think there are signs of progress there which im watching closely and also working with a British Business banks to see if there are any other elements in the process we can streamline, simplify or strip out a bureaucracy. Theres a couple of operational tweaks i wont bore you with we have made just recently which will also help, but rest assured im watching it very carefully to ensure credit gas to business that do need it. Can we go next to Robert Peston from itv. Good afternoon. The ons seem to indicate today with its data that your deaths in hospitals are under reporting the totality of deaths from covid 19 by as much as ao . Do you think that is right, do you think when we get to the end of this, see the death rate, ao or more higher than the this, see the death rate, ao or more higherthan the numbers this, see the death rate, ao or more higher than the numbers you have reported so far from hospitals . The governor of the bank of england does think 100 guarantees would significantly does think 100 guarantees would significa ntly increase the does think 100 guarantees would significantly increase the volume of loans to Small Businesses, why do you disagree with him, chancellor . Finally, the Prime Minister appears to be signalling from his convalescence we will be living with something close to the kind of lockdown we have got at the moment for many weeks and months, so can you confirm that . Thanks, robert, let me address those last two questions. What the governor of the bank of england was saying it is important to get credit flowing to companies, and there are different ways to do that. There is of course things we can do to make sure the speed of the Loan Programme is improved and that is what we have put in place. There is direct cash support we have done for businesses. What he also said whilst there is a fiscal cost to all of these things and it is important to be mindful of that. I think the scale of the intervention we have done fiscally, asi intervention we have done fiscally, as i said, is more significant than any other developed country and i think we have done it in a targeted and effective way which will be most benefit to businesses. To your second question, we have been very clear, at this stage of the crisis we are absolutely focused on sticking to the guidance. We set out five tests last week to think about moving to the next stage. We are not there yet. We should follow the guidance, stay at home to protect the nhs and anything else people might be speculating on is wrong. We are might be speculating on is wrong. We a re Crystal Clear might be speculating on is wrong. We are Crystal Clear on that message. 0n the data, would that be for you to handle . Robert, undoubtedly the Hospital Data do not tell the whole story of total deaths. This week, as for last week, we will have a comprehensive view of that later in the week from the ons. I dont think a ao is the week from the ons. I dont think aao isa the week from the ons. I dont think a ao is a correct figure, i cannot say that, but we do expect more. In looking at the pattern, nine out of ten deaths do occur in hospital. But i feel the burden of mortality outside hospital isnt evenly distributed around the country. It will mirror where there are more ca re will mirror where there are more care homes and hospices. We will see an uneven pattern of that but we will know for sure later this week but the comprehensive number is. Thank you, robert. Can we turn to beth rigby from sky . A chance for professor doyle. Some of the bodies representing medics are deeply concerned that Public Health england have downgraded ppe guidelines on friday based on the availability of equipment, rather than Safety Standards. Do you acknowledge that nhs staff are potentially risking their own safety to look after patients . And just to the chancellor, you have put the furlough scheme in place untiljune, you now have some idea of take up, can you give us an estimate of the cost and will you extend it further if necessary . Thank you. We dont have an estimate of take up yet, it is just the first day the scheme is open and i expect those numbers to increase over the coming days and i will provide regular updates. The obr will provide regular updates. The 0br set out costs last week and we did extend it last week, given where we are in the crisis and given where we are in the crisis and given where we are in the crisis and given where we are on the state of the economy, i thought it was the right decision to provide some long term certainty for businesses and security for their employees. I cannot tell you now what the future will look like, we keep these things are under co nsta nt we keep these things are under constant review and it will depend on the evolution how we move through this crisis and onto the next phase. 0n this crisis and onto the next phase. On your specific question on ppe, i think in all cases we have taken advice and guidance that is in line with the who, the cdc and Public Health england. Absolutely, chancellor. The guidance remains exactly the same. What has happened over the weekend is to cover people and give them some security in exceptional circumstances. Advice has been produced, jointly with the nhs on how to be safe in certain circumstances where supplies may be at risk. That is a precautionary set of advice, it is quite the opposite to putting people at risk because they are not enough supplies, it is trying to ensure people are well secured and safe when there may not be enough supplies. It stresses how important it is not to take risks and when it is not right to do certain things in practice with the ppe. It is important people understand what that that is actually saying and it is advice, the guidance has not been downgraded. Is that clear, beth . Medics have told me they feel the guidelines are based on availability of equipment, not on Safety Standards and they feel nervous. Can you understand why some nhs nervous may feel, they go to work and havent got the equipment, they cannot stay in that environment . understand peoples anxieties on the front line. But i stress again the advice has been put out precisely to give them some information in those kind of circumstances, what is the right and what is not the right thing to do. It is built entirely on the guidance that exist and it is consistent with what the who and the cdc say should be done in the circumstances. Can we go to andy bell from channel five . Just to follow u p bell from channel five . Just to follow up on that, if a worker in a ca re follow up on that, if a worker in a care home or a doctor or a nurse in the nhs says, i am care home or a doctor or a nurse in the nhs says, lam not care home or a doctor or a nurse in the nhs says, i am not prepared to go into my work because i am not satisfied i have the correct ppe thatis satisfied i have the correct ppe that is appropriate, would you support their decision not to go in . In the circumstances, it is very difficult to give local advice in a local circumstances. But what we are clear with the guidance is, the guidance tells you what to do and what is safe. It is very much based on peoples judgment, the what is safe. It is very much based on peoplesjudgment, the Risk Assessment is used in the situation they are in. People have to make a decision on whether they are in a risky situation or not. It is difficult to legislate for all of that from a distance here, butjust to say the guidance is clear on what is safe and what is not safe to do. I have a follow up. Can i ask you, chancellor, as a representative of the government to answer the question as well. It is not necessarily the local advice, it is the principle. If somebody feels as though they have been put in that position, is it ok and would you support that . They should talk to their local managers who would be better to advise than i am the local circumstances. We have put in place, a hotline anyone can call to alert us to issues with ppe, which has been well publicised and everyone on the front line should be aware of that. As i reiterated before, we are determined to do everything we can to support the nhs and social care workers on the front line to make sure they feel safe in doing the vitaljob sure they feel safe in doing the vital job they sure they feel safe in doing the vitaljob they are doing. And we are doing absolutely everything we can to get them the equipment they need and they can rest assured we will work at night and day to do exactly that. Thank you, andy bell. Cant we go to richard partington, the guardian . Good evening and thank you very much. I want to ask about the economy here, chancellor. Tony blair says he is terrified about the long Term Economic consequences of the lockdown measures. Do you share that concern . And reports over the weekend suggested the treasury Analysis Shows there will be more permanent damage to the economy than the obr permanent damage to the economy than the 0br mite. Do you think there will be a u shaped recession if lock dao goes on longer than three weeks and what would you like to see with lot down being lifted . Let me answer all three of those together. In terms of what do we need to see for the lockdown to be lifted, that has been clear and it is the five tests andi been clear and it is the five tests and i reiterated those. The most important one is the last one, we cannot have the risk of a second peak. It wouldnt just cannot have the risk of a second peak. It wouldntjust be bad for bad for health outcomes, it would be bad for the economy. So we need to stick with the existing rules around social distancing. The 0br themselves said we are in a very uncertain place is to know exactly what will happen here. He would expect any responsible chancellor to make sure we have plans in place for a range of different scenarios. That is what we do and that is what i am doing. What i am saying is, the important thing now is to put in place interventions that will help bridge through this difficult period to make sure the recovery, when it comes, is as strong as it possibly can be. An intervention like the following scheme on the Job Retention scheme, that is a Million People otherwise might have been laid off, but are still attached to their employer ready to go back to work when we get through this. Theres other kinds of things we are doing that will make a real difference and ensure our recovery isa difference and ensure our recovery is a strong as it possibly can be. Asi is a strong as it possibly can be. As i said, this will be a challenging period, we will not be able to save every single job or every single business, but i am confident the measures we put in place will allow us to come out of this and get back to normal as normal as quickly as possible. Thank you. If we could go next to the daily record . Thank you, chancellor. You said business and support packages the best in the world but you are leaving thousands behind on a far from perfectJob Retention scheme. Research forecasts every household will be £515 worse off for the next three months, do you hear labours calls for universal credit to be reformed so the payments are immediate and advanced loans are paid off and the snp calls for a better deal for the self employed. You say you cannot help anyone, it doesnt sound fair, it sounds callous . Thank you. With regard to the self employed in every country, not every country has a scheme for self employed people because of the complexity of dealing with it. Our scheme covers 95 of those people who are majority self employed and here we have information on. I think when we put the scheme in place in conjunction with other various trade associations representing the self employed, it was an accepted principle we only a scheme to get money to people who we had Tax Information and records about, otherwise any scheme would be open to abuse and fraud. We started with that base and said we wanted to protect people who were mainly self employed and that means people who make the majority of their income from self employment. We counted 95 and that is almost a Million People who will be able to apply and receive payments in exactly the same way as those who are employed. 80 of the average self employment income over the past few years up to a maximum of £2500 a month. We have tried to treat them the same way as possible and that will be up and running reasonably soon. With regard to universal credit, what i would say is, you talk about the way it is possible for everybody to get payments on day one from the beginning and that system has been up and running for a while to make sure people can get that advance payment and they dont have to wait. That is something that work and pensions secretary has been clear about and implementing. Removing the requirement for people to physically attend a job centre, so they can do it easily on the phone. We have injected about £7 billion into the welfare system to strengthen, not just universal credit, but income support allowa nce, credit, but income support allowance, the local housing allowa nce to allowance, the local Housing Allowance to support renters. All those aspects of the welfare system have been strengthened so the safety net will be stronger for people who need to rely on it. So whether it is the fellow scheme, the self employed scheme of the interventions on the welfare side, ifeel scheme of the interventions on the welfare side, i feel confident saying we have taken extraordinary and unprecedented steps to provide as big a safety net for as many people as is practically possible. I hope that deals with your three questions. Can we go to liam thorpe from the liverpool echo. Good afternoon and thank you for having me. My first question is to the professor, on the 11th of march, liverpool hosted a Champions League match with Atletico Madrid in which 3000 football supporters from madrid travelled across several major, International Transport hubs, despite there being a major outbreak of coronavirus in madrid at the time that left many people dead. 0n the same day, the deputy cmo, jenny harries, said the advice was at large events like this would not have a big impact on the transmission of the virus. Obviously, the chance of them festival went ahead and deliverable we have seen a surge in deaths, 250 people have died in hospital and many more in the community. In the madrid mayor has said hosting that match at that time was a mistake. I wonder, considering the advice changed and Mass Gatherings were then banned, is the government prepared to accept that was a mistake and that match and other events around the time should never have gone ahead . Quickly, for the chancellor, if i make . Liverpool council, like many town halls across the country seem to bear the brunt of the austerity agenda that followed the last financial crash, and im sure you will accept, councils across the country, particularly when it comes to social ca re are particularly when it comes to social care are stepping up and leading the charge in communities in tackling the coronavirus. I wonder if you can give a cast iron guarantee to councils, to town halls, local leaders that they will not be the ones to pay the ultimate price when it comes to the Economic Impact and they will get a fair funding settlement that will not put the people they care for at more risk . Im genuinely sad to hear so many people in liverpool have been unwell and so many have died. I think the question you raised really has to be put into the context of general policy at the time, so in our recent history when we are living our lives as normal, in that circumstance, going to a football match is not a particularly large extra risk, however, when you go to a situation of our strange lives now, where we spend all our time basically at home, of course you wouldnt add on an extra risk of lots and lots of people all going off to the same place at the same time. I think it will be interesting to see in the future when all the science is done what relationship there is between the viruses which have circulated in liverpool and the viruses are circulated in spain, thats an interesting hypothesis you raise there. Liam, i can address your other question, i used to be a local government minister so i know first hand incredible Work Councils up first hand incredible Work Councils up and the country do and they have risen to the challenge of tackling this emergency amazingly well. We absolutely want to support them during this period and get them the resources they need. My colleague, the local government secretary, just this weekend announced £1. 6 billion infunding for this weekend announced £1. 6 billion in funding for local authorities, which brings a total of extra funding we have provided during this crisis to over £3 million to provide extra resources to help them get through and provide the extra services they are and demonstrating our commitment to stand shoulder to shoulder with all those people on the front line whether they are local government Public Servants or indeed those in the nhs. Hopefully we have delivered on our commitment and will continue to do so to support local government. Did you have a follow up . Support local government. Did you have a followup . Looking back at the first question i asked, considering the guidance changed and Mass Gatherings were banned, do you think the government was too slow to cancel major sporting fixtures like the Cheltenham Festival and we are now seeing the effect of it . the Cheltenham Festival and we are now seeing the effect of it . I echo what angela said, at every stage in this crisis we have been guided by the scientific advice and have been making the right decisions at the right time. And its important if you listened to angela and her colleagues, thats what we do. There is often a wrong time to put certain measures in place, thinking about sustainability and everything else, and at all parts of this we have been guided by that science, guided by making the right decisions of the right time, and i stand by that but more generally, of course as michael gove said yesterday, this is an unprecedented situation we are all dealing with and im sure there are things we will learn from this as i have been very open about but in terms of the guidance we put in place i believe it was the right guidance at the right time based on the scientific advice we were provided with. Michael stoppard. have two economic questions and then one for angela. The first one for the chancellor, this futures fund will mean the government will likely for the first time and equity stakes ina large for the first time and equity stakes in a large number of uk start ups, seemingly a move towards a more french and german approach where the state regularly takes equity stakes to help start ups, so my question is do you believe this new equity owning approach is strictly temporary due to the crisis or does this signal a broader shift in government policy towards start ups, taking equity, a new tool really pay for the government . The second economic question, sifted as a start up itself, backed by the financial times, writing about start ups, and we know first hand a lot of start ups run with a short cash runway, and this odyssey been criticism of the British Business plan in terms of manoeuvring on some of the other funds, so what assurances can you give to start ups that this money will come quickly because six months is too late for a lot of start ups . Finally, for angela maclean, on a totally different topic, the Deputy Governor of the bank of england said it wasnt clear people would return to work and normal life even after restrictions, people are clearly very scared, so do you have any behavioural modelling which can predict how people respond when the lockdown is eventually relaxed . Thank you, michael. Angela, do you wa nt to thank you, michael. Angela, do you want to go first . Thats a terrific question, we certainly spend a lot of time speaking to behavioural scientists ahead of time and we have a hell subgroup full of behavioural scientists and everything we do, we talk to them very carefully about what they expect to happen and they are terrific, very careful scientists, and i honestly think if they were here now they would say these are unprecedented times, that makes it really quite difficult to predict how people will behave in the future. Im very happy to go away and ask them if they are thinking about. Mostly what they do is look for data to help us think through how people will behave given how they behaved in the past. And how they behaved in the past. And how much people will go back to work should become, when and if it becomes available, i think itll be a hard thing predict givenjust what strange days we are in. Thank you, angela. Michael, thank you for your questions, you are absolutely right, this is not something we have done before, so in that sense its innovative, a very specific response to the unprecedented circumstances we find ourselves in. That is why i think if the right decision to take a slightly different approach, historically, we have channelled government funding through British Patient Capital as you would know, into actual funds, to fill that gap, and that has worked well for us. I would say the uk as a european start up Success Story in terms of the capital raised in terms of new companies created and the ones which scale up, we own more than the whole of europe put together so historically we havent need to do Something Like this, and in time it may well be we dont need to have this interventionist and get back to normal but of course, its something we will keep in review now that we haveit we will keep in review now that we have it and we will be able to see how it performs. But as i said, it is designed to support what i think is designed to support what i think is most dynamic parts of our economy, and will be vital for us out of this and getting back onto an u pwa rd out of this and getting back onto an upward trajectory which is why i thought was the right thing to do today. In terms of your second question on timing, six months of the scheme will be open until the end of september, it will be up and running in may, so i would say the term sheet for the convertible loan product we were match fund is Available Online at the government website, so for those people who think they might need to raise capital, if they dont have a look at that sheet, if you think it might make sense for you, start putting your round together confident it will be up and running in may and we will be up and running in may and we will be up and running in may and we will be ready there to provide the capital you require to drive your growth into the future, whether that is you at sifted or any of the other start ups that might be benefiting from the scheme. I think, with that, we are at the end, so thank you very much. Thank you, angela and yvonne, and everyone, as always, thank you for your compliance with the social distancing guidelines, please do follow the rules, there is light at the end of the tunnel but we are not there yet, so we must remember to stay at home, protect the nhs and save lives. Thank you. Studio the latest on the official daily News Conferences at number ten downing st live pictures for you from inside number ten and rishi sunak, the chancellor, with a two of the most senior government advisers on science and health. Light at the end of the tunnel, he said. Quoting dominic raab. To say the least we are not there yet. So lets have a reminder of the main points from that briefing which took around a0 minutes. The latest figures show that a further aa9 people have died, in hospitals in the uk, having tested positive for coronavirus. And that brings the total number of deaths so far in the uk to 16,509. And, addressing one of the most pressing issues, the shortage of personal protective equipment, for staff in the nhs care sector, the chancellor said it was an international challenge, notjust a uk challenge, and they appointed lord deighton to lead a National Effort to increase ppe production. He was heavily involved in the leadership of the 2012 olympics, so his organisational skills have been certainly proved in the past, and on procuring equipment, the chancellor told us that a shipment of 1a0,000 gallons has been received from my mr and then went on to talk about economic assistance, the government fellow scheme, which went online this morning, already 1a0,000 firms applying for grants. They flooded in as soon as that application site was open. That figure, we are told, represents support for 1 million jobs. There were several questions about support for people who are not eligible for that scheme and also speaking at the Daily Briefing, dame angela maclean, the deputy chief scientific adviser, said the number of people testing positive for covid 19 had stabilised and the numbers being treated in hospital for the disease were also stable, she said. Having fallen in london, in fact, she said. Having fallen in london, infact, in she said. Having fallen in london, in fact, in the past seven days. Those are the main points, and jane, Health Correspondent was listening the News Conference, lasting around ao the News Conference, lasting around a0 minutes. It was led by the chancellor, and id gone to the main statistics there, so lets pick up on ppe, personal protective equipment, because clearly this has been a major, major cause of concern and alarm and angerfor been a major, major cause of concern and alarm and anger for health staff. What was the essence of the response on that and the kind of supply that the government says is now being made available . supply that the government says is now being made available . I think they really wanted to push forward a message that they are taking this seriously. I was pretty struck by how the chancellor began the briefing by talking about protective equipment for doctors, nurses, care staff, and then moved on to talk about the economy, his area, with a big announcement about that today, but he wanted to talk about equipment at the start. They are trying to get across the message that they are doing everything that they can on this, this is clearly a difficult situation internationally. The chancellor referred to a shipment of 1a0,000 gallons arising from myanmar today but he also mentioned the slide from turkey, the extra shipment of gowns which has been unexpectedly delayed, and we also heard from Public Health englands yvonne doyle, the medical director, saying this is of concern, she said deliveries are going to trusts in the nhs, improving sourcing both here and abroad, but underneath all of this recognition that this is important, its not where they wanted to be at the any sense of whether the kind of supply levels we are talking about here, 1a0,000 items, potentiala00,000 items from turkey, other sourcing as well, in competition of course with other countries around the world also want this. So what is the sense of the level of supply and how far that will go in satisfying the kind of need there is for it . Its difficult to tell, but from what we have heard from sources in the nhs, these sound like big numbers, but these sound like big numbers, but the nhs is a big beast, and with the pressure its facing at the moment, these shipments sound as though they will last for days rather than weeks, so this is a fluid situation. The reason im asking is of course, as we were discussing before, we have had some hospitals in essex saying that they may be in a position where they want to reuse gowns for example, to wash and reuse them because they are concerned they might completely run out of them at some stage, so again, its absolutely essential to see that there is a flow of supply, notjust sort of hang around for this to be delivered on that to be delivered, but there is a consistent flow of supply that will allay those kinds of fears, and will, in fact, allowed trusts like the one in essex not to have to take what lots of people would consider to be a rather extreme measure, which is to reuse equipment and gowns in these circumstances. Thats a real concern, not least among the staff working so hard on the front line. This has been building up as a controversy in recent weeks, but particularly from friday night when the government updated its guidance and said, in certain situations, some of this equipment can be reused in the way you have described fulton that came up in the briefing, and yvonne doyle, Public Health england medical health director, said it was meant with a precautionary measure asa meant with a precautionary measure as a way of reassuring staff if they do this thats a safe way of making sure the supplies go far enough, but for people on the front line that has caused them concerns because they feel that is not as safe as they feel that is not as safe as they would like to be full that they would rather be using disposable equipment, clearly the supply chain is bumpy both here and abroad, and it has been disrupted by the virus itself because factories have closed, staff have been short of supply when it had to go sick because of the virus and its caused problems globally, but its not a satisfactory situation. Two other points i want to raise briefing if i may, although they are big subjects, so forgive me for that. First of all, the all important testing sheet. Now what do the latest figures on testing tell us and how far away are from that 100,000 testing a day target . Tests are running at about 19,000 a day. Ten days left to get to what has been called the ambitious goal of 100,000 a day. One of the main points they are considering in order to relax the restrictions and they went through them again and the fifth was, that there is no risk of a second peak. Lots of people listening to that would think there is bound to be some kind of risk of a second peak, so how do you come to the conclusion at some point, without a vaccine in the system, how do you come to the conclusion that there is no risk of a second peak . Isnt that almost impossible to achieve . It is very difficult from what we know at the moment about the virus because you need to know how the virus is behaving, notjust among hospital patients, but out in the community and if there is potential for people there to be spreading it around at a point it would go out of control. But it is difficult to establish that at the moment. Jane dreaper, thank you for taking us through that. Also listening to the briefing in detail than at westminster is our correspondence helen kat. It is a bit blustery there, but what for you, with the main bits of interest that came out of that, that rishi sunak started press conference by addressing the issue head on of around ppe before they got into talking about the economic side. He did address that head on and the challenge of supplying that. But then he did get into more on the economic side, as you would expect from the chancellor. We heard about the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme which opened this morning and that is where firms can apply for the government to pay 80 of their employees wages. So we found out from that that buyfor pm this afternoon and it opened at eight oclock this morning, by four oclock, a Million People will be going on to be furloughed and they will be able to keep theirjobs. He pitched that is sowing the seeds for starting to plan for our recovery. He mentioned more money to go in to start up firms, new firms to try and look forward to restarting the economy and £750 million towards Small Businesses doing research and development, particularly in a so looking forward to the economic future. But he did also address the coronavirus of Business Interruption loa n coronavirus of Business Interruption loan scheme, which questions have been raised about how effectively thatis been raised about how effectively that is working. Rishi sunak said there had been suggestions that the government should be raising the percentage of those loans that guarantee from 80 of the whole thing, 100 . Rishi sunak saying he was not persuaded that was the way to go and that in totality, he believed with the measures they are taking on the fellow scheme, in totality it was more significant in scale and scope what the treasury is doing here than in other countries. He did seem to admit it was not working perfectly, and work was being done to speed up the process. So we do have a political reaction to that. Labour are saying they believe they hope the government will look again at that 100 guarantee for Small Business loans. Compared to other countries we have seen very compared to other countries we have seen very low numbers of struggling businesses to access those and their concern is, if action isnt taken there will be an insolvency crisis of Small Businesses. They are calling for regular updates on the Job Retention scheme now it has started, that has been made by keir starmer and the shadow chancellor, anneliese dodds. So a bit of a reaction to the measures rishi sunak was talking about. Helen, we will be talking to labour in a short while. So thank you for that. Campaigners say the coronavirus is creating a National Emergency for Mental Health and they say it could go on for yea rs. And they say it could go on for years. Charity helplines are dealing with calls from websites offering support. Our correspondence, jon kay has the story. Another day over, but we face more weeks of lockdown. The aim is to protect our bodies. But whats the impact on our minds . Along the bristol channel, we found people only too aware of the strain on Mental Health. Its just a fear of you getting it or a loved one getting it. Its hard to talk about it. It is ha rd its hard to talk about it. It is hard to face to face conversation. am not sleeping that well. You have to keep yourself motivated doing stuff. If you just sit there, it will grind you down. Weve spoken to some of the uks largest Mental Health charities. Some of them help veterans. Others support young families or people with financial problems. And theyve all told us that there has been an unprecedented increase in demand for help over the last month. Whether its grief or anxiety, isolation or loss of control. Charities say people of all ages and all backgrounds are asking for support. Many of them have never thought of themselves having Mental Health problems before. Some help lines are getting 50 more calls than usual. Two thirds of people are telling us that Mental Health has worsened in the last two weeks. And we think this is the start of a sign of people beginning to really struggle with their Mental Health. Alone time for me is, quite frankly, hell. Ben blogs about his battle with alcohol. He says not being able to attend meetings right now is putting his recovery at risk. I would give anything to be able to walk into an aa room tomorrow full of people in my situation and just kind of share our pain in the moment. And without that opportunity, how tough are things now . Incredibly and without connection you feel . I like to think i wont drink, but i dont i honestly cant say. And i have to put my head on the pillow every night and say, thats another battle one. Thats another day over. Campaigners fear this pandemic is triggering a Mental Health emergency, needing more support than ever before and lasting for years after lockdown is over. John kaye, bbc news. Tributes are being paid to an 8a year old nurse from oxfordshire whos died after contracting coronavirus. Margaret tapley was still working at Witney Community hospital up until earlier this month. She chose not to self isolate and was determined to carry on looking after other people. Her family say she was hard working, caring and perfect. Duncan kennedy reports. There are some lives, some faces, some people, that give themselves to memory. Margaret tapley will endure as one of those. A nurse for a0 years, now taken by the virus she had worked to keep distant from others. Very caring woman, she loved herjob. Margaret was 8a, she died yesterday. Leaving a family engrossed now in grief, but abundant in pride. Very confident. Very caring woman. She loved herjob. Loved animals. Always had someone to talk to. I remember i used to live in london and she would talk to everyone on the tube. Which used to be really embarrassing because thats not what you do in london she was 8a, she knew the risk of working with coronavirus. Why did she continue working as a nurse . She was very aware of the virus, always took loads of precautions. Her thought was, if she doesnt catch this virus, she might catch the flu in a year, was very aware, but also, she could never imagine leaving her work family. It was at the Witney Community hospital in oxfordshire that margaret cared for her patients, including those with coronavirus. Despite her age, she worked three nights a week. One colleague said she didnt want to retire, and they considered her a legend. Her grandson, tom, says she wasnt a mythical person to herfamily, just a profoundly caring one. Do you think it ever crossed her mind to pull out during the course of the coronavirus because she was in a High Risk Group . Im sure it crossed her mind. Im sure its crossed everyones mind whos working on the front line. In terms of conversations had, i dont know about that. But grandma continued to go into work to the very last and gave everything she could to the people she cared for. We are living through a time of collective grief and contemplation of loss. Margaret tapley one name, one face, one more life given to the care of others. Duncan kennedy, bbc news. The duke of edinburgh has made a rare Public Statement praising those tackling the coronavirus pandemic across the uk and keeping essential services running. Prince philip who is 98 and retired from public duties in 2017 said he wanted to recognise the vital and Urgent Medical and scientific work taking place. In his message the duke also gave thanks to key workers including those involved in Food Production and distribution, refuse collection and postal and delivery services. The duke and duchess of sussex have told the uks tabloid press they are ending all co operation with them. Harry and meghan have written to the editors of the sun, mirror, mail and express titles and websites, accusing them of distorted, false or invasive stories. The couple have relocated to california after stepping back as senior royals. Now its time for a look at the weather with chris fawkes. Hello there. High pressure remains firmly in charge of our weather this week, and that means theres more in the way of dry, sunny weather. It will be quite warm away from eastern coasts as well. Earlier in the day, one of our weather watchers went for a socially distanced walk along the deserted beaches of lyme regis. Blue skies pretty much nationwide. The exception really towards the channel islands, the isles of scilly, where we do have some cloud that is bringing some rain, actually, into france at the moment. That could get close enough to bring an odd isolated shower but, for the majority, its a dry day and a dry night as well, with clear, starry skies. Its staying quite breezy, so temperatures around a to 7 celsius across england, wales and Northern Ireland. In scotland, cold enough for some frost again in sheltered glens. That takes us on into tuesday, and its almost a carbon copy repeat performance nationwide. Again, a day of lots of sunshine, again well have brisk easterly winds. Gusting at around 30, perhaps a0 mph in places. Bear in mind, those easterly winds are blowing across cool sea temperatures temperatures out on the water just 7 to 9 celsius. Thats why these eastern areas of scotland, eastern areas of england are a little bit cooler, with temperatures around 13 to 15 degrees but, come in land, thats where we see the highest temperatures, further west, where we are seeing highs reaching perhaps the high teens to low 20s across parts of wales, the southwest midlands and perhaps parts of england too. The area of High Pressure stays with us for wednesday as well, but the isobars are getting more widely spaced, and that means the winds are going to be that bit lighter. Again, for most on wednesday its a dry day with sunshine from dawn till dusk, barely a cloud in the sky. With those lighter winds, temperatures can climb that bit higher. Even towards some of our eastern coastal areas, 16 degrees in hull, but were pushing well into the 20s across of england and wales, turning a bit warmer as well for Northern Ireland and western scotland too. Thursday is likely to be the warmest day of this week. Again, well have plenty of sunshine, although there could be the odd mist or fog patch in the countryside just to start the day, not lasting long at all. Those temperatures peak at around 23 or 2a celsius, so it is going to be pleasantly warm in the sunshine. Beyond that, it does turn a little bit cloudier, a little bit cooler as we head into the weekend. And theres the threat of a few isolated showers as well. Thats your latest weather. The government comes under sustained pressure for failing to provide sufficient ppe for healthcare workers supplies promised at the weekend have still not arrived. From the oldest to the very youngest, a special report from inside one hospital treating coronavirus patients. You think were getting to grips with this and then you get another onslaught of admissions again, so every day, you think, today will be a better day, but itjust never, ever comes. Its just constant. The number of people whove died in hospital with coronavirus in the uk reported in the last twenty four hours is aa9, reflecting a steady drop over the last few days. Also tonight. The government scheme to pay furloughed workers has begun today