W0 rse owe i it has been a lot worse over previous weekends, mind you, and there is a hope that it will get better. This is bbc news. The headlines at 11pm a sixth person dies of coronavirus in the uk, as Health Experts warn that cases could peak in a fortnights time. Health minister Nadine Dorries has revealed that she has contracted the virus and is currently self isolating. 60 million italians under travel restrictions, as the country struggles with coronavirus amid a sharp rise in cases and deaths. Public gatherings are forbidden, tourist sites are virtually deserted, and doctors give stark advice to the public. Stay at home and be prepared for a kind of war, because we are facing a war now here. In downing street, the chancellor is putting the finishing touches to his first budget, where measures to deal with coronavirus are expected to feature prominently. In edinburgh, where the former first minister is on trial for Sexual Assault and attempted rape, one of his alleged victims has been cross examined. And at 11 30pm, well be taking an in depth look at the papers with our reviewers ben chu and anna isaac. Stay with us for that. Good evening. In the past hour, a minister in the department of health has confirmed that she has tested
positive for coronavirus. Nadine dorries, who has a background in the nhs, says she has taken all necessary precautions and is now self isolating. Ms dorries says that Public Health england has been in touch wither her and are now trying to trace people who have come into contact with her. Meanwhile, a man in his early 80s has become the sixth person with coronavirus to die in the uk. The patient, who had Underlying Health conditions, caught the virus in the uk and died in watford general hospital. More than 26,000 people have now been tested for the virus in the uk. There have been 382 confirmed cases. Part of the governments plan is to try to limit the number of people who need hospital admission, and that means gps playing a central role, as Health Editor hugh pym reports. This is the sort of protective equipment which nhs staff have to wear if theyre in contact with patients possibly infected with the coronavirus. Here, two nurses demonstrate
how its put on ahead of carrying out a test. Gps are now being sent the equipment for use in their surgeries. 0ne leading gp said they expect many patients to come in, even though those who might have the virus have been urged to stay away and call nhs iii, and that will mean non urgent appointments being cancelled. We do expect cases to rise rapidly, and over the coming weeks practices who are routinely doing health checks, assessing peoples blood pressure, diabetic control, long term problems with Heart Disease and lung disease. Those routine checks will need to stop. Some gps have complained they havent yet received the equipment. Ministers say it is being sent out this week. We wanted to get the timing of the roll out right so that the equipment is there should this epidemic hit in a very large way. A sixth patient has died in the uk with the coronavirus. At watford general hospital, a man in his early 80s who hadUnderlying Health conditions. And at the specialist Childrens Hospital great 0rmond street, a Health Worker tested positive for the virus. Non essential heart surgery and related appointments will be stopped for two weeks. The son of a patient who died at the North Manchester general hospital, now in isolation himself, spoke to the bbc. My father obviously has passed away and i cannot even go to the hospital. This illness, two months ago or so, didnt even exist and yesterday itjust took away my dad, and its really, really heartbreaking. So, with the spread of the coronavirus, what is the nhs facing up to here . Whether its gp practices or hospitals. 0ne Senior Health official said today there could at some stage be thousands of cases in the uk. We can expect, if you like, a peak in cases. It has a relatively slow take up at the start and thats really where we are at the moment. It will start to rise quite sharply. Hello, jonathan, its doctor meier here. Gp video consultations will be more common, with infected patients at home, and others who want to avoid surgery visits. This is a demonstration with a member of staff. The nhs care were all used to is set to change radically for a time as the virus epidemic reaches its peak. Hugh pym, bbc news. More on the news the Health Minister and conservative mp Nadine Dorries has announced she has tested positive for coronavirus. Political correspondent iain watson is in westminster for us. As an mp and a minister, she will have had a busy diary and met lots of people . Thats right, i got herfull statement, so lets go through that first and we can talk about the consequence of this. Nadine dorries has said in a statement that as soon as she was informed, she took all the lies
cautions and has been self isolating at home. As far as im aware, she was tested last night and got the test results, testing positive today. She says Public Health england has started detailed Contact Tracing and the department and my Parliamentary Office are closely following the advice, and then she said she would like to thank Public Health england and the nhs staff. As you are saying, she may have met a lot of people, so this Contact Tracing is very important and ive spoken to sources at the department of because potentially in the midst of because potentially in the midst of the coronavirus crisis, a Health Minister in contact with her collea g u es minister in contact with her colleagues could force all of the health team into self isolation, but im told the advice of the Health Secretary and other ministerial collea g u es secretary and other ministerial colleagues have received tonight is its not necessary for them to self isolate and they havent been in contact with Nadine Dorries for several days. Im told she started to feel unwell on friday, thats when she got the classic symptoms of
coronavirus, including a dry cough, pains in her chest. Shes apparently in good spirits today, but of course she had a constituency surgery over the weekend, she was signing some legislation on friday and im told she was present at a downing street reception on thursday. The way Public Health england work is the way, people she has been in contact with are traced backwards, people she has been in close contact with over the past 2a hours, and then work backwards. So at the moment we dont yet know the full consequences, we dont yet know how many other people may yet have to be tested or how long they were in her company. Of course, theres been lots of talk at westminster about the potential need to suspend parliament. Health secretary matt hancock made it very clear last week that he thought decisions of great magnitude needed to be taken, down the line of closing schools or
earning public gatherings, public scrutiny would be necessary and the speaker i know is reluctant to suspend the house of commons and as far as suspend the house of commons and as faras im aware, suspend the house of commons and as far as im aware, there no suggestion the house of commons would be suspended. Public Health England traces will be trying to work out when and where no where Nadine Dorries was in westminster and who she was in contact with. Iain watson in westminster there. Unprecedented measures are being enforced tonight right across italy to try to limit the spread of coronavirus. As the number of cases and deaths rises sharply, italy faces growing isolation, with thousands of flights cancelled and stringent controls on its borders with austria and slovenia. Public gatherings, including Sports Events are banned, and schools and universities are closed. Italians are being advised to stay at home. The number of confirmed cases has risen to more than 10,000. And the number of deaths in italy has increased by more
than a third to 631. Here in the uk, a sixth person has died italy correspondent mark lowen reports. All residents stay at home, orders the police. From naples in the south to the supermarkets of rome, to the Financial Capital up in milan, news of the restrictions spread as fast as the virus. In bologna today, they began to adjust to the toughest limitations since the war. Public gatherings banned, bars and restaurants closed from 6pm, tables a metre apart, schools, museums and nightclubs shut. Everyone is affected. Italians, tourists, and expats living here, staying put as several Airlines Stop flights. Well, obviously we wont be able to travel in the immediate future. Weve been told we can only take trains between cities in italy for reasons of work or health or for some extraordinary emergency and apart from that we must stay
put, but that seems sensible. Another thing is they have put this spotlight on age groups and it makes me feel really, really old. But im optimistic about it. Moving around requires a form which we also had to complete, allowing travel for work or Health Emergencies or to return home. We would have to produce it if asked. It says here that falsifying this document could lead to prosecution. Never could people in italy have conceived of the idea that they would need this to be able to move within their own country. As we drove out, traffic seemed quieter. Roads are open, though slovenia says it will close its border and austria has banned italians entering unless with medical certificates. We have come out of bologna and were on the motorway to rome
and we havent seen any Police Checks for the documents, so its still not clear how these restrictions are going to be enforced. We pulled over and got through to a doctor in one of the worst virus hit areas. Hospitals are near breaking point. We need more beds, more doctors, more nurses, because i think that in one to two weeks we will reach the top so if we will not have more facilities we will not know how to take care of the patients. We are facing a war now here. In rome, deserted tourist sites show the huge Economic Impact. The government now discussing suspending tax and bill payments to ease pressure. From inside the vatican, the pope led mass, urging priests to have the courage to visit the sick a risky call. And often its too late. Even funerals are now banned,
replaced with a restricted blessing. The virus is killing and taking italys dignity with it. Mark lowen, bbc news, italy. Several airlines, including British Airways and ryanair, have cancelled all their flights to and from italy for a month, leaving some passengers stranded. Others, including air france, have announced drastically reduced timetables. Transport correspondent tom burridge provided more details from heathrow airport. With airlines cancelling thousands of flights today, some people have contacted us who are out in italy wondering how theyre going to get home. Some people, a small number, will be able to book on ryanair flights which will still operate until friday and easyjet is going to operate a small number of what it calls rescue flights in the coming days, both to bring people back to britain and central travel out to italy. Now, the government is talking to airlines, im told its a fluid situation and theyre trying
to work out exactly how many flights are needed so anyone who lives in britain who is out in italy at the moment can get home but airlines are being hit more broadly because passenger numbers locally have fallen off a clear and thats why youve seen airlines like Norwegian Air cutting 15 of their flights out of their schedule in the coming weeks and saying theyll temporarily get rid of some staff stop you British Airways has e mailed all their staff asking if they will take under voluntary unpaid leave. The Airline Industry is a precarious place at the best of times, this is the worst of times and airlines are being hot hard. Tom burridge reporting there. Lets take a look at some of todays other coronavirus developments. Chinas president , xijinping, has visited the city of wuhan, the origin of the coronavirus outbreak. His visit is being seen as a sign that the authorities believe they have the situation there under control. China has recorded its lowest number of infections, just 19 on tuesday. All were in wuhan apart from two people who had arrived from overseas. In california, after five days stuck on a cruise liner off the coast of california, more than 120 british passengers on the grand princess are this evening waiting to board a plane home. Theyll have to be screened for coronavirus, but if they are free of infection they should arrive in the uk tomorrow afternoon and begin two weeks of self isolation. Its notjust italy thats been badly affected, lets have a look at some of the other countries in europe. In spain, where1,6li6 people are confirmed to have coronavirus, the lower house of parliament has been closed for a week after a member tested positive for the virus. Almost 1,500 people now have the coronavirus in germany. The first ever bundesliga football match to be played behind closed doors will take place tomorrow night. And in france, the second worst affected country
in europe after italy, there have been nearly 400 new cases in the past 2a hours, bringing it to a total of 1,784 cases and 33 deaths. Lucy williamson provided more details on the measures being taken in france. President macron has said that he thinks what he called disproportionate measures would be counter productive at this stage, but there are at least five mps among those who have been tested positive including one government minister, and already in the worst affected areas of the country, schools have closed, all gatherings, there are no markets, people are cancelling their weddings, and across the country as a whole the restrictions are being tightened, so there is now a nationwide and on any gathering of more than 1000 people and that means that sporting events are being cancelled, concerts are being cancelled. 0ne are being cancelled, concerts are being cancelled. One problem france does have is that it got the first round of its local elections coming
up round of its local elections coming up this weekend, so special measures are having to be put in place to stop the virus spreading at polling stations, and they include asking voters to bring their own in. There own pens. In another sign of the Economic Impact on coronavirus, some tourism operators in the uk say theyre seeing significant cancellations. Danny savage has been talking to Business Owners in the Yorkshire Dales and the Lake District. Its only march, but the effect of coronavirus is already being felt on tourism in the Lake District. For the main Ferry Company on windermere, theyre already dealing with foreign visitors not coming. Its having a huge impact on the business. But now People Living within driving distance are staying away. What were seeing now is the reluctance of uk visitors to move around the uk, and we are hearing reports from hotels and self catering accommodation that they are not receiving the level of bookings that they would imagine at this time of year. These boats are tied up because its low season, but theres a fear that this
could be the scene in months to come, and that would be a real indicator ofjust how big a hit tourism is taking. Other businesses arent hiring staff this year, because they dont believe the demand will materialise. Well, weve already had quite a few cancellations already. Louise lets a spacious self catering annex in her home to tourists. Cancellations have consequences, not just for her. Its the cleaning lady, the laundry people, the decorators, the gardeners their income will go down because they dont have any other source of income. She cant understand why uk visitors are beginning to stay at home at this point. We popped down to ikea and john lewis at the weekend, and they were packed, cheek byjowl, and yet folk are thinking, we better not travel to the Lake District or to anywhere else in case theres a health problem. Ifind it quite bizarre, actually. So, this is the workshop room. This is our biggest letting room. A0 miles away in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales
neil and jane run an Award Winning bed and breakfast in bainbridge. In the last few days alone, theyve lost 16 nights of future bookings. But, because its a virus, they understand why. If we get somebody coming here with a cold, if we get a slight sniffle, when do you know . Thats what the difficulty is, the uncertainty. Nobody knows at the moment, which is why i think our future bookings are quieter. Im very optimistic, yeah. I think it will pick up once people understand whats going to happen next. I think theres a lot of uncertainty about whats going to happen. Back in the lakes, this is what it should look like this spring, but will it . The losses are already stacking up, and they are worried not just about their health but about their incomes, too. Danny savage, bbc news, windermere. The headlines on bbc news a sixth person dies of coronavirus in the uk, as Health Experts warn that cases could peak in a fortnights time. The Health Minister, Nadine Dorri